Julia Ernst to speak on Women's Rights Treaty ratification

Wayne State University Law School’s Program for International Legal Studies and the International Law Students Association will host a lecture by Julia Ernst, visiting associate professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the Law School’s Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. 

Ernst’s lecture is titled "U.S. ratification of the Women's Rights Treaty: Fabulous, horrendous or meaningless?".

“The United States has not ratified the Women’s Rights Treaty more than 30 years after it was drafted,” said Professor Gregory Fox, director of the Program for International Legal Studies. “This is puzzling, to say the least. Julia Ernst is the ideal person to help us understand the debates surrounding the treaty and the prospects for U.S. ratification.”

Ernst directs the Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program at the Georgetown University Law Center, which provides fellowship opportunities for public interest lawyers to work for a year in Washington, D.C., on legal and policy issues affecting women and girls. She also leads the Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Fellowship Program, which trains lawyers from Africa who have dedicated their careers to advancing women’s human rights in their countries. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.

The event is free and open to the public, and lunch will be provided. Parking is available for $4.75 in Structure #1 across from the Law School on West Palmer Street in Detroit. For directions to the Law School or to view a campus map, visit campusmap.wayne.edu/location/LAW.

For more information regarding the event or the Program for International Legal Studies, visit Wayne Law at law.wayne.edu/international-studies or contact Fox at gfox@wayne.edu.