Profile

Full Name

James (Jim) Cavallaro, J.D., Ph.D.

Position

Executive Director

Organization

University Network for Human Rights

URL

https://www.humanrightsnetwork.org/james-jim-cavallaro

Biography

James (Jim) Cavallaro is the Executive Director of the University Network for Human Rights. He teaches at Wesleyan University, Yale Law School and UCLA Law School. Prior to co-founding the University Network, he served as a professor of law at Stanford Law School (2011-2019) and a clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School (2002-2011). At both Harvard and Stanford, he established and directed human rights clinics and ran human rights centers. In 2014, Cavallaro introduced human rights advocacy into the undergraduate curriculum at Stanford. Cavallaro has overseen dozens of projects with scores of students in over twenty countries. In June 2013, Cavallaro was elected to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He served as President of that body from 2016-2017.\n\nJim Cavallaro has been actively involved in the defense of rights, critical reflection on the human rights movement, and the promotion of accountability at the international level. A prolific scholar and sought-after voice on international human rights issues, he is frequently called upon by the media and civil society to offer his expertise. Cavallaro received his BA from Harvard University and his JD from Berkeley Law School. He also holds a doctorate in human rights and development (Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain). In 1994, he opened a joint office for Human Rights Watch and the Center for Justice and International Law in Rio de Janeiro and served as director, overseeing research, reporting, and litigation before the Inter-American system’s human rights bodies. In 1999, he founded the Global Justice Center, a leading Brazilian human rights NGO. Cavallaro has authored or co-authored dozens of books, reports, and articles on human rights issues, a list of which is available below. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.\n\nA list of over 100 of his publications is available here. [https://www.humanrightsnetwork.org/james-cavallaros-publications]

Selected Citations to Published Materials

• James L. Cavallaro & Jamie O’Connell, When Prosecution Is Not Enough: How the International Criminal Court Can Prevent Atrocity and Advance Accountability by Emulating Regional Human Rights Institutions, 45 Yale J. Int’l L. 1 (2020), available online, archived.
• James L. Cavallaro & Meghna Sridhar, Reducing Bias in Human Rights Fact-Finding: The Potential of the Clinical Simulation Model to Overcome Ethical, Practical, and Cultural Tensions in “Foreign” Contexts, 42 Hum. Rts. Q. 488 (May 2020), available online, doi.
• James L. Cavallaro, Claret Vargas, Clara Sandoval, Bernard Duhaime, Caroline Bettinger-Lopez, Stephanie Erin Brewer, Diana Guzmán & Cecilia Naddeo, Doctrine, Practice, and Advocacy in the Inter-American Human Rights System ( OUP, Jul. 19, 2019), paywall.

History

Member for

1 year 45 weeks