News Archive
Program in International Human Rights Law Places Wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier
12/19/2017
Representatives of IU McKinney's Program in International Human Rights Law (PIHRL) took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Ceremony on December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.
PIHRL has a history of working on issue with or related to the military, said Professor George Edwards, who founded PIHRL and is its director. The program's first major interaction with the military came in 2003, when the Pentagon asked for a law project related to the U.S. Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Professor Edwards said. Out of that initial effort grew the U.S. Military Commission Observation Project, which sends representatives to witness court proceedings related to terrorism cases.
"We decided that the PIHRL wanted to honor sacrifices made by members of the U.S. military in a formal way," Professor Edwards said." We decided to seek to pay tribute at an important U.S. military shrine. We chose Arlington."
Among those who took part in the ceremony was Suvd Tuul, LL.M. '16. "It was such an honor for me to attend the ceremony," Tuul said. "Taking part in the ceremony was more than an honor. It gave us a great chance to thank those soldiers and their loved ones, to show that they are still missed and loved, and to remind others not to forget about them and not stop thanking them." She is originally from Mongolia, and organized a Summer 2017 internship for IU McKinney 3L Jacob Irven to the LGBT Centre of Mongolia.
Captain Nelson Taku, LL.M., '12, took part in the ceremony. He is originally from Cameroon, and took part in PIHRL internships in Texas and at the United Nations in New York while he was a student at IU McKinney.
Derek Julius, '06, also was part of the delegation. A lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice, he is currently pursuing an LL.M. at the University of Oxford.
In the photo from left, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, are Professor George Edwards, Captain Nelson Taku, LL.M. '12; Suvd Tuul, LL.M. '16; and Derek Julius, '06.
