School plays leading role in International Human Rights program

The School of International Affairs joined together with the Law School and an Emmy award-winning team from Penn State Public Broadcasting to create World on Trial, an educational televison and interactive web series. The program brings together the best legal talent in the world to argue both sides of sharply contested human rights issues before live juries. Conceived and hosted by acclaimed human rights advocate, author and Penn State Law and School of International Affairs Professor Randall Robinson, the program challenges viewers by exploring the tension between universalist and culturally-relative notions of human rights, and the various defenses available to states with respect to alleged human rights abuses within their control. The trials are filmed before a live jury and by remote juries throughout the world. Verdicts are reported at the conclusion of each episode. World on Trial will also feature a fully interactive website. The pilot episode deals with the French law forbidding the wearing of conspicuous religious garb in public schools.