Sandra Kong’s capstone projects focused on advocating and bringing awareness to the political conflict in Myanmar following the military coup on February 1st, 2021. Along with other strong advocates and community members, Sandra worked with Global Movement for Myanmar Democracy (GM4MD), a youth-led grassroots organization coordinating international action among the Myanmar diaspora in support of Myanmar’s democracy, to create a centralized website platform for international campaigns and resources. While the website was created as a way of providing credibility and information about GM4MD’s projects, it quickly became a digital space providing real time and archival updates of the democracy movement such as snapshots of campaigns, political advocacy mechanisms, poetry and art, and breaking updates about fallen heroes. Moreover, the website’s central advocacy mission of positioning Myanmar’s political conflict as a global issue was critical in highlighting how the human right abuses (from women’s rights violations to endangerment of democracy to preventing access to healthcare) had impacts beyond Myanmar.

Olivia Hallisey’s capstone project analyzed the harmful health impacts of the current war in Ukraine. Inspired by Professor Paul Wise’s paper "The Epidemiological Challenge to the Conduct of Just War: Confronting Indirect Civilian Causalities of War", Olivia employed a critical mindset to research populational health disruptions, empirically breakdown the long-lasting effects of the war in Ukraine, and measure how intensely the war will affect Ukrainian communities. She created a podcast series where she interviewed Stanford community members, such as Paul Wise, Catarina Buchataskiy, and H.R. McMaster, aiding in Ukrainian relief efforts. She also hopes to recommend a strategy to Ukraine’s allies, global human rights organizations, and international peace bodies on ways of administering direct aid to combat detrimental health impacts.

For her capstone project, Cathy Nguyen researched the ways in which wealth distribution and infrastructure development, that is ethical and sustainable, can be part of the transitional justice process. Using Sierra Leone as a case study, she examined how the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) grew so large and influential as a result of civil unrest surrounding poverty and corruption. She further looked at the legacy of what has already been done in Sierra Leone and what more should be done, considering Sierra Leone’s position as one of the poorest countries in the world.

Jennifer Ampey’s capstone project centered on highlighting five of her fellow classmates who have made a difference at Stanford and in her own personal life. The five women interviewed shared a passion for social justice issues and advocacy ranging from education equity, access to clean water, immigrants’ rights, among others. Jenn conducted personal interviews with each classmate and curated an art presentation based on their responses and inspirations. Her final project combined individual portraits with pictures of the natural world to convey what is intangible about these women and the places they see for themselves in the world. Jenn hopes her project will convey the fire, strength, and dedication she has found in her classmates and carry this motivation into a life of human rights work

For her capstone project, Gina Sanchez curated an academic guide based on her interests in international womxn’s rights. She focused on engaging critically with landmark and recent texts in this academic field, as well as examining a variety of feminist discourses around racial/ethnic/gender identity. She diligently read bi-weekly texts covering topics such as intersectional feminism, sex-trafficking & prostitution, SGBV, international reproductive rights, and more. Her guide outlined her textual analysis and reflections of each piece of literature. Gina hopes this project will serve to inform her future graduate studies as well as be a useful resource for community-based organizations advocating for womxn’s rights.

Lindsay Newfeld’s capstone project investigated the lack of avenues available to incarcerated individuals in the United States who contest human rights violations occurring during their confinement. Her paper specifically focused on two available avenues for redress - prisoner grievance mechanisms and civil litigation and sought to answer (1) why these processes are so ineffective at producing remedies, and (2) the justification for denying this population effective access to the courts. Through interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals from Illinois, Lindsay gave insight to the depth, texture, and the perspectives of those who have experienced human rights violations while incarcerated. Motivated by her advocacy through various criminal justice and prison reform organizations, Lindsay hopes to understand prisoners’ rights through a human rights framework and create tangible change within the prison system.

Karen Chen’s human rights capstone project centered around her previous work with Refugee Services of Texas (RSTX) and aimed to create a visual art series broadcasting the message that refugee immigration enriches our communities. Concerned over the low refugee resettlement numbers at RSTX that occurred during the Trump’s presidency (less than 100 a day) and recognizing the political and social consequences the Trump administration had on the public outlook on refugees, her work with RSTX culminated in a series of works in music, visual arts, and performance. Her individual art piece for the capstone project depicts the return of refugees to various communities and the impacts on societal views on refugees in America. Additionally, she also worked with RSTX to facilitate the creation of a digital interactive dispelling common refugee myths.

For her capstone project, Sarah Saboorian examined the livelihood of Southeast Asian seaweed farming and fishing communities and their relationship to trade. Through a systems-thinking approach, her research paper evaluated the international legal context these communities operate under, as these have become detrimental to the farming communities while benefiting international corporations. Furthermore, her analysis took a deeper look at community organizations and the various structures under which they operate to see how other aspects of systems thinking (i.e. having the human capital to undergo negotiations with the buyers or the working capital to store materials past the season and take control of pricing, etc.) can impact the long-term viability of these communities. 

For her capstone project, Abi Lopez curated a unique art exposition celebrating the narratives and identities of immigrant communities at Stanford. Inspired by her study abroad time in Paris, Abi decided to use art as a medium to bring about visibility and nuance to topics of immigration, identity, home, and belonging. Her art exposition was showcased at the Cantor Museum Night and Spring Arts Fair and was also published on a website she coded and a digital booklet. She hopes with this project to spark a dialogue about social justice and immigrant rights, both within the Stanford community and within various spaces outside of her community.

Annika Mulaney’s capstone project examined the economic barriers to labor participation among women in India, and how this in turn affects women’s labor supply, gender inequalities in the workforce, and policies that promote women’s participation and equal rights in the workforce. Through her capstone project, Annika also analyzed how a human rights framework can be applied to economic policy to better assess quality and distribution of growth, especially in developing countries. She hopes this project will also contribute to a necessary conversation about patriarchal values, gender roles in various communities, and women’s economic empowerment.

For her capstone project, Daria Lenz explored the current rights and protections for women vulnerable to female genital cutting (FGM). Building off her previous research on the subject in HUMRTS 101, her capstone project addresses the various perspectives tied to cultural traditions, body rights, and children’s rights, as well as debates from a human rights perspective. Daria created a podcast series where she interviewed experts from the medical and human rights field to hear their opinion and research on this topic. Podcast guests included Associate Dean for Maternal and Child Health Gary L. Darmstadt, Health Equity Institute Assistant Professor of Economics at UCSF Dr. Modrek, and Professor of Medicine Dr. Stefanick. Daria hopes to bring to light the different discourses around FGM and provide a thorough understanding of this practice.

For her capstone project, Natalie Adams-Menendez studied the ways in which the American LGBT Rights Movement for queer liberation was and continues to be influenced by the Global Human Rights Movement, as well as the manner in which the concept of “human rights” has become integral to modern queer rights advocacy. Her research included reviewing scholarly articles, examining current advocacy organizations, exploring historically queer neighborhoods of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and attending community protests and events. Through her findings, Natalie aims to untangle the past and present of the American LGBTQ Rights Movement and gain critical knowledge about the future and potential of its relationship with the Global Human Rights Movement. She hopes this insight will serve as the foundation for her post-graduate career work towards advocating LGBTQ rights as human rights, both domestically and abroad.

For her capstone project, Laura Pelaez recorded a podcast series focusing on historical and contemporary human rights issues in Chile. Through personal interviews with experts in Chilean politics and history, Laura examined topics such as human rights efforts during the Pinochet dictatorship, post-dictatorship truth and reconciliation, indigenous populations’ environmental rights, among other pertinent issues. With this work, Laura hopes to shed light on the efforts of human rights activists under the Pinochet regime, as well as the present populations who grapple with the legacy of political dictatorship.

Julian Bava focused his human rights capstone on analyzing the history and text of Puerto Rico’s Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) legislation in order to determine its potential effectiveness as an accountability tool. Utilizing Article 300 of Title V (“Crimes Against Humanity”) of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico (the “Penal Code”), Julian notes how Puerto Rico is unique in offering a state level framework for prosecuting atrocity crimes and reveals the critical role subnational jurisdictions may play in shaping international law and its application within the United States. With this analysis, Julian shows how Puerto Rico’s atrocity crimes legislation provides a promising landscape that not only pushes international law in a novel direction, but also provides tangible opportunities for victims to seek redress.

Emma Smith’s capstone project consisted of building a media archive documenting human rights violations during the Bosnian War from 1992-1995, often considered the deadliest conflict in Europe since WWII. Her project centered around highlighting the critical role journalism played in alerting the global public of the crisis, with war reporters and photojournalists broadcasting live –– for the first time in history –– war crimes in Europe. She worked with the Srebrenica Memorial Center (MC) and the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) to propose a project that would document, collect, digitize, recognize, and celebrate the work of international journalists who brought vast awareness to the suffering of Bosnian citizens from 1992 to 1995. For her final deliverable, Emma submitted a preliminary database of the digitized “archive,” annotated with comments and personal reflections on trends identified while collecting research materials. She hopes this project will inform historical narratives of the past and help engage citizens in discussions relating to transitional justice, memorialization, and genocide prevention in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region at large.

Siena Fay’s capstone project addressed the lack of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) representation in historical and cultural imaginaries. Through an adaptation of 14th century French novel, “La Cité des Dames”, Siena grappled with the misconceptions of TGNC communities as important historical figures and influences. This literature adaptation, titled “La Cité des Trans”, was reformulated as a modern trans-feminist piece centering a trans character who learns about other TGNC individuals who made significant history and contributions. Siena hopes this literary piece serves as an educational tool for communities, particularly TGNC youth, to learn more about the ways in which TGNC historical figures have been present across cultures and centuries to help contextualize contemporary trans issues.

For her capstone project, Brooke Beyer created a book discussion resource guide for student groups centered around human rights issues with the intention of galvanizing action and direct service. Inspired by her time facilitating a VSO Stanford Women in Law book discussion, she decided to expand this project by creating an anthology and curating lists of literary works based on thematic exploration of different human rights areas. Her capstone project also features a discussion guide for various texts and anthologies, as well as a guide on how to move beyond dialogue and get involved in direct service and community advocacy. She hopes this human rights and literature resource guide serves as a way to engage the chosen texts through a human rights lens and focus on exploring the ways in which literature can serve as a form of advocacy, prompt collective action and contribute to social change.

Sean Gallagher’s capstone project focused on the legal, social, and historical definitions of genocide and how this is constructed in the public imaginary. Through an analysis of Article Two of the Genocide Convention, Sean sought to understand how genocide is conflated with similar terms, such as mass killings, and how this has influenced its relationship to world events. He specifically studied how the Holocaust influenced modern definitions of genocide and blended the concepts of genocide and mass killing in the popular consciousness. To fully understand the underpinnings of the term genocide, Sean also utilized science fiction and the phenomenon of cognitive estrangement as a mechanism to understand genocide from the perspectives of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders, separating the legal concept from the popular (mass-murder focused) concept of genocide.

Lindsay Thornton’s capstone project examined the range of transitional justice measures available to address the serious human rights abuses committed by the government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. Her paper focused on the 2018 political unrests experienced across Nicaragua and how these was informed by the contentious rise of Daniel Ortega and his legacy in Nicaraguan politics. Lindsay also analyzed the history of the Nicaraguan Revolution, electoral politics, and public opinion, to show how anti-democratic reforms gave rise to government corruption and brutality across Nicaragua. Lastly, she considers how a transitional justice process implemented in a post-Ortega Nicaragua can help the country secure justice and accountability as well as pave the way for a peaceful and democratic future.

Brickelle Bro’s capstone project centered on examining the political, social, and historical conditions of people with disabilities and the lack of knowledge surrounding disability rights in the international human rights community. She notes how lack of knowledge and empathy has led this community to face stigma, discrimination, abuse, exploitation, and even violence during intense periods of conflict, underlining how cultural beliefs, institutional practices, and government regimes all contribute to this unfortunate treatment. As people with disabilities across various countries and governments continue to be victims of violence, such as abandonment, mutilation, and even death, Brickelle argues that in order to promote the rights of people with disabilities, the international order must recognize these as human rights violations and crimes against humanity. Through three case studies ranging from the Holocaust, USSR institutionalization, and South Sudan imprisonment laws, Brickelle shows how people with disabilities cannot be protected until harmful institutional and cultural practices are changed.