Director's Welcome

Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

Thank you for your interest in the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights (CGHR).

Our Center builds upon a tradition of interest in genocide and human rights at Rutgers-Newark. Raphael Lemkin, the man who coined the term genocide, taught at the Rutgers School of Law in the 1950s. Professor Saul Mendlovitz, the Dag Hammarskjöld Professor of Law Emeritus, continued this tradition, culminating in his current efforts to create a permanent UN Emergency Peace Service to prevent genocide.

My own path to establishing the Center dates back to the 1990s, when I went to Cambodia as a graduate student in anthropology. There I witnessed first-hand the effects of effects genocide and made a commitment not just to conduct scholarly research into the origins and effects of such violence, but to seek ways to prevent it by raising awareness and undertaking educational initiatives. This conviction has only strengthened over time as I have traveled to places like Argentina, Armenia, Auschwitz, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kurdistan, and Senegal.

CGHR has quickly grown to become a leader in its field. We hold the UNESCO Chair in Genocide Prevention and run projects on issues ranging from a U.S.-Mideast Dialogue to our annual Raphael Lemkin Award and Lecture.  In keeping with the Rutgers slogan, “Jersey Roots, Global Reach,” we have partnerships with institutions all over the world. The Center now hosts a cutting-edge book series on “Genocide, Political Violence, Human Rights” and a student e-zine, The Rutgers Humanist. And we hold regular international conferences and thematic speakers series. 

I invite you to learn more about our activities by exploring our website. Please take a look at our on-line brochure, which has been translated into multiple languages, and the profiles of our internationally renowned faculty and dynamic student associates. You can listen to podcasts of past talks given at CGHR. If you go to our new YouTube site, you will find a remarkable interview with Professor Saul Mendlovitz about his own work and the legacy of studying genocide and human rights issues at Rutgers. Please also see our list of upcoming event and activities, which you are invited to attend.

Warm regards,

Alex Hinton
Executive Director, CGHR
ahinton@rutgers.edu