June 1, 2017–May 31, 2018
Beth Van Schaack is the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights at the Law School (2014–15) and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for International Security & Cooperation at Stanford University. Prior to this, Professor Van Schaack served as Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice of the US Department of State, advising the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights on the formulation of US policy regarding the prevention of and accountability for mass atrocities, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Professor Van Schaack is widely recognized as a preeminent author and expert on human rights, transitional justice, international criminal law, public international law, international humanitarian law, civil procedure, and atrocity prevention. Professor Van Schaack has also litigated cases on behalf of victims of torture and other grave human rights abuses in US, international, and foreign tribunals. She continues to advise a number of human rights organizations, including the Documentation Center of Cambodia, the National Institute of Military Justice, the International Justice Resource Center, the Syrian Commission on Justice & Accountability, and Accountability Council.
Fellowship
Professor Van Schaack will serve as an expert advisor to the Simon-Skjodt Center. She will draw upon her expertise in the atrocity prevention and international justice fields in order to advise, guide, and amplify the work of the Center.
