Michael Posner (lawyer)


Michael H. Posner is an American lawyer, the Founding Executive Director and later the President of Human Rights First, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the United States, currently a Co-Director for the Center of Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business, as well as Professor of Business and Society at New York University Stern School of Business, and a Board member of the International Service for Human Rights.

Early years

Posner was born in Chicago, Illinois. He received a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley Law School. He is a member of the California Bar and the Illinois Bar. After graduating, Posner spent a year documenting atrocities committed in Uganda. His work in Geneva for the United Nations earned him esteem as a human-rights advocate.

Human Rights First

In 1978, Posner was recruited by Jerome Shestack and James Silkenat to become the founding executive director of the Lawyers Committee for International Human Rights, a non-profit, nonpartisan international human rights organization with offices in New York and Washington, D.C. that works on a range of domestic and international human rights issues. He focused on refugee protection, advancing a rights-based approach to national security and combating discrimination. The organization was renamed to the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and, in 2003, renamed again to Human Rights First. In his role, Posner built the organization from a staff of two, a few volunteers and a budget of $55,000 to its current staff of 60 and an annual budget of almost $9 million.

Torture Victim Protection Act

Posner has also focused efforts to strengthen systems of accountability in countries where human rights violations occur, especially for crimes like torture, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. He proposed, drafted, and campaigned for the Torture Victim Protection Act, which was adopted by Congress and signed into law in 1992.

WITNESS

Also in 1992, Posner helped musician/activist Peter Gabriel found WITNESS, an organization that uses video and online technologies to shed light on human rights violations around the world. In its first few years, WITNESS was based at Human Rights First. WITNESS has since received numerous awards for their work including, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Humanitarian Award and The New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Award.

Role in the International Justice System and the International Criminal Court (ICC)

In 1998, Posner led the Human Rights First delegation to the Rome conference at which the statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted.

McCain Amendment / End Torture Now Campaign

Human Rights First launched its End Torture Now campaign in 2004. Posner and Human Rights First led the advocacy efforts in support of the McCain Amendment which bans U.S. soldiers and officials from engaging in cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The amendment won broad bipartisan congressional support and was signed into law in December 2005.

Academic career

Posner lectured at Yale Law School from 1981 to 1984, and again in 2009, and at Columbia Law School between 1984 and 2008.

Human rights advocacy

Posner has testified dozens of times before the U.S. Congress on a wide range of human rights topics including the protection of refugees, anti-Semitism, human rights within the business community and human rights violations in the Philippines, China, Northern Ireland, Uganda, El Salvador and many other countries. He is a frequent public commentator on these and other issues, regularly speaking at conferences and events in the United States and abroad. His opinion essays have appeared in publications including the Boston Globe, Jerusalem Post Washington Post, and International Herald Tribune.

Obama Administration

On July 7, 2009, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Posner to serve in the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. He was named to the position on September 23, 2009.

Confirmation

In his statement as the nominee for Assistant Secretary of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 28, 2009, Posner affirmed that
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U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue

In May 2010, Posner was a key negotiator in a "U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue" in Washington, D.C. On May 14, Posner gave the press conference after the event, where he described the U.S. approach to the meeting as, "Part of a mature relationship is that you have an open discussion where you not only raise the other guy's problems, but you raise your own." To that end, he said the American side had brought up the United States' "treatment of Muslim Americans", as well as Arizona's recently passed [Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, which Posner said had been brought up "early and often", "as a troubling trend in our society".
Posner's comments proved controversial in the United States. Arizona's two senators, Republicans Jon Kyl and John McCain, wrote an open letter to Posner that stated, "To compare in any way the lawful and democratic act of the government of the state of Arizona with the arbitrary abuses of the unelected Chinese Communist Party is inappropriate and offensive", and called for a retraction and apology. The conservative New York Post called the comments "misguided moral equivalence" and "despicable", citing China's treatment of its own Muslim population, the Uyghurs, as well as its policy of sending back refugees who arrive from North Korea, "where certain, agonizing death awaits them".
The State Department defended Posner's actions. Spokesman P. J. Crowley disputed the notion Posner was apologizing to China when he was actually "standing up" for America by demonstrating how debate works in a "civil society". Crowley also reiterated the Obama administration's concerns about the Arizona law, stating, "There is, as many have said, real concerns about -- that this Arizona law will inevitably devolve into racial profiling. That would be a fundamental challenge to human rights around the world".

Internet freedom

As Assistant Secretary of State, Posner has played a leading role in implementing Secretary Clinton's vision for Internet freedom. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee in March 2010, Posner said, "the defense of a free, open and interconnected Internet is in our national and global interests and is important for commerce, for diplomatic and political relations, and for building sustainable democratic societies." Posner frequently speaks on the topic of Internet freedom and the role of the Internet in advancing human rights and helping people build sustainable democracies.
Under Posner's leadership, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor has played a leading role in supporting democratic activists in their use of new technologies, particularly in the Middle East. Posner led efforts described as "uncharacteristically cool" to fund millions of dollars in technology development meant to aid pro-democracy activists around the world. In describing a "panic button" designed to allow pro-democracy campaigners wipe out their phones' address books and emit emergency signals to other activists, Posner said, "We're operating like venture capitalists. We are looking for the most innovative people who are going to tailor their technology and their expertise to the particular community of people we're trying to protect." Digital activists commended Posner's bureau in this approach in an open letter to Congress in March 2011, saying, "The State Department, and particularly the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, has taken significant interest in supporting technologies that enhance Internet freedom, and reached out to leading organizations in a collaborative and open approach".

Strategic dialogues

Posner has participated in more than a dozen strategic dialogues since joining the State Department. Both Secretary Clinton and Posner have placed great emphasis on building partnerships beyond the state, and giving civil society a stronger voice in shaping the political decision-making process. In her July 2010 speech in Kraków, Poland, Secretary Clinton said, "markets and politics usually receive more attention. But civil society is every bit as important. And it undergirds both democratic governance and broad-based prosperity". In February 2010, Posner and Secretary Clinton launched a Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, an endeavor to help streamline and strengthen dialogue with non-governmental organizations and other members of civil society. Clinton and Posner engaged in a town hall style discussion with over fifty civil society representatives, domestically and internationally.
In the summer of 2010, Posner participated in the U.S.-Russia Civil Society Working Group of the Bilateral Commission, which focused on prisons and migration, as well as the Civil Society to Civil Society Summit, where Secretary Clinton told participants "we need creative, committed, courageous organizations like you and yours to find innovative solutions, to expose corruption, to give voice to the voiceless, to hold governments accountable to their citizens, to keep people informed and engaged on the issues that matter most to them".

Economic and social rights

Posner has been a vocal proponent of the Obama Administration's integrated approach to human rights and the inexorable relationship between national security and economic, social, and political rights. On March 24, Posner delivered a keynote address, "The Four Freedoms Turn 70: Ensuring Economic, Political, and National Security in the 21st Century", at the American Society of International Law. The speech took place on the anniversary of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous Four Freedom speech. Posner's speech re-examined the Four Freedoms, or "moral cornerstones", and discussed the important intersection between political and economic rights, which he said are "inexorably linked". According to Posner, "Human dignity has a political component and an economic component". Posner highlighted the turmoil in the Middle East as evidence that the shaping of U.S. national security must include the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that only if the two are interlinked will peaceful societies flourish economically, socially, and politically. The unrest in the Middle East, according to Posner, "once again demonstrates the fallacy of trying to divide America's "hard" strategic interests from our "soft" interests, including our commitment to human rights". Posner stated, "The recent protests demonstrate the centrality of human rights to those interests and the links among civil, political, economic and social rights".

Voluntary Principles

Since March 2010, Posner has been involved in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Established in 2000, the Voluntary Principles—an initiative by governments, NGOs, and companies—provides guidance to extractives companies on maintaining the safety and security of their operations within a framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Voluntary Principles are the only human rights guidelines designed specifically for oil, gas, and mining companies. On March 22 and 23, 2011, Posner chaired the 11th annual Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Plenary Meeting in Washington, a multi-stakeholder forum where human rights issues in the extractives sector, particularly in areas of conflict and civil strife, were addressed. Posner also participated in the Annual Plenary Meeting in London in March 2010 and in Ottawa in March 2012. Later in May and November 2012, Posner travelled to Libya and Nigeria respectively to conduct multi-stakeholder meetings regarding implementation of the VPs. Currently there are seven governments, 20 companies, 12 NGOs, and four observers participating in the Voluntary Principles.

Human Rights Reports

Posner has been actively engaged in reporting on global human rights situations through the State Department's annual Human Rights Reports, which are submitted to Congress by the Department of State in compliance with Sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. The report offers a comprehensive record of human rights situations of almost 200 countries and territories worldwide, and uses information from nongovernmental and international organizations, U.S. embassies and consulates, and other sources. At the 2010 Human Rights Report roll-out in April 2011, Posner called it "the single most comprehensive report on human rights produced by anybody in the world—194 countries, 2,200,000 words, 7,000 pages". That year's report was viewed by more than one million people.
Posner highlighted three trends identified in the 2010 report:
  • Ongoing conflicts that continue to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations
  • Greater access to connective technologies that has helped to both promote human rights, "but also has given governments greater energy in curtailing freedom of expression"
  • The "use and misuse of national security legislation and emergency legislation to apply broad curtailments on basic civil liberties"
The following year, at the rollout of the 2011 Human Rights report, Posner emphasized two worrying trends:
  • "Flawed elections, restrictions on physical and internet freedom, media censorship, attempts to restrict the activities of civil society groups"
  • "Increasing persecution of many religious groups, including the Ahmadis, the Baha'i, Tibetan Buddhists, Jews, and Christians" as well as "racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, women, and the LGBT community, which continue to face criminalization and violence in many countries"
The 2011 report was designed to be more concise, focused and user-friendly.

Universal Periodic Review

Posner has been a proponent of the Universal Periodic Review, established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 as a process through which the human rights records of the United Nations' 193 Member States is reviewed and assessed. In November 2010, Posner traveled to Geneva as one of three co-heads of the 32-person interagency U.S. government delegation submitting the United States' first report through the UPR to the UN Human Rights Council. Speaking of the UPR at a press conference at the Foreign Press Center in April 2011, Posner stated, "We are very open to the notion that people in this country have not only a right but are well open to be critical of what we do, and we engage them in that criticism". During the week of the UPR hearing, Posner defended the United States' engagement with the UN Human Rights Council against domestic criticism, saying "this is what principled engagement looks like". He reiterated the Obama administration's stance that there was no room for torture or cruel treatment of detainees in U.S. policy: "We're not mincing words. We're not winking and nodding", he said. "The prohibition against torture and cruel treatment applies to every U.S. official, every agency, everywhere in the world. There is an absolute prohibition as a matter of law and policy".

International religious freedom

Since being sworn in as Assistant Secretary, Posner has engaged on a number of fronts promoting religious freedom, particularly in the Middle East and South Central Asia. Following the release of the 2009 International Religious Freedom Report, Posner discussed religious freedom issues in the Middle East before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. Said Posner, "Religion is a global phenomenon and all nations, including the United States, wrestle with how best to accommodate their religious diversity. We are convinced that the freedom to profess, practice, and promote one's religion is a basic human right, a social good, a source of stability, and a key component of international security". Posner has engaged on international religious freedom issues in meetings with Egyptian Coptic Christians, Chinese religious freedom advocates, Vietnamese, Pakistani, and Afghan officials, and others since being sworn in as Assistant Secretary.

NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights

Posner is the co-director of the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and a Clinical Professor of Business and Society at Stern School of Business at New York University. It is the first center to focus on human rights as part of a business school. In the summer of 2015, Posner was named the Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics & Finance at the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, an endowed chairmanship position.
In April 2014 the center put out a report on the garment industry in Bangladesh, where the catastrophic collapse of a garment factory building killed more than 1,100 people in April 2013. The report cited the common practice as indirect sourcing as a major risk factor in the safety of garment factories.

Other organizations

As a member of the White House Apparel Industry Partnership Task Force, Posner helped found the Fair Labor Association in 1997, a multi-stakeholder initiative between apparel and footwear companies, universities and non-governmental organizations aimed at protecting the rights of workers in the apparel industry's global supply chain. He sat on the FLA's board of directors until 2009. Beginning in 2006, Posner worked on another multi-stakeholder initiative called the Global Network Initiative, which was launched in October 2008. He also served on the board of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights until 2009. He was appointed to the Board of the in 2014.

Honorary degrees and awards

Posner has received honorary degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the University of Hartford, the College of the Holy Cross and the Yale University. He is also the recipient of the Fellows Award for distinguished service, Young Lawyers of the American Bar Association ; the Distinguished Service Award, Boalt Hall Alumni Association ; the Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the field of international law, Columbia University Journal of Transnational Law ; the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award, Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University ; and the Builders of the New New York Award, New York Immigration Coalition.