Jim and Stephan are creating a human rights / conflict resolution clinic at Stanford and looking at how best to merge these two fields.  Here’s a list of the skills they want as part of the pedagogy for their clinic

• Basic human rights & conflict resolution technology
• Critical analysis
• Stakeholder mapping – interviewing
• Fact finding
• Understanding narratives of conflict (active listening)
• Advocacy (media, gov’t authorities, etc.)
• Consensus building
• Strategic planning & stakeholder engagement
• Dispute system design
• Litigation

Here are the comments.

• ADR has been used by HR organizations, if you don’t resolve this in our mediation the organization will sue.  Working hard on the design of the use of a system is critical when working w/ other cultures – everyone needs to know what is expected of the ADR professionals.
• It’s important to understand what you mean by human rights; it can be incredibly expansive field.
• Are you planning on being a neutral or an advocate?  Are you focusing on outcomes or process?  You’re going to be forced to be one or the other and how can you do both?
• Getting students up to speed on both of these areas is going to be challenging.  Maybe link your clinic to a survey course so students can help on these issues? (answer – quarter system where students only focus on their class)
• Rule of law is a process, not an outcome, so consider it to be on the conflict resolution side of the ledger.
• 5, 7, and 8 above are things to emphasize.
• You might think of the domestic violence arena as a place for guidance on the question of advocacy and use of adr processes as there’s been an evolution over time.
• More about the ADR movement’s issue with norm-advocacy – Susskind, Stulberg, and Waldman.
• “Oppressors” and “abusers” are stakeholders, how will they be included?