Tuesday, November 30, 2021
1:00pm – 2:15pm
Virtual Event

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Presenter: Robert Bird, University of Connecticut School of Business

Discussant: Gastón de los Reyes, Glasgow Caledonian New York College

A harmful byproduct of the global economy is the proliferation of abuses in global supply chains. Too often lead firms and suppliers do not effectively collaborate. Lead firms require human rights and sustainability standards while also demanding extremely low cost goods and fast production deadlines. Suppliers faced with the impossible choice of financial survival or compliance with ethical standards, attempt to evade lead firm demands. The result is an illusion of governance that prioritizes investigations over actual changes and perpetuates “slow violence” against local environments and vulnerable populations.

To respond to this problem, this manuscript proposes a new paradigm I call ‘contractual deterrence.’ Contractual deterrence leverages a centuries-old theory of criminal deterrence, reinterprets it to incorporate a modern understanding of sanctions and rewards, and applies the theory to the contractual context of the modern global supply chain. Contractual deterrence is based upon three prongs: that enforcement of ethical supply chain standards must be predictably certain, equitably significant, and swiftly implementable. This manuscript explores these prongs and shows how the theory advances sustainability and human rights literatures. This manuscript also argues for a new multistakeholder theory of social responsibility that challenges western-dominated thinking and encourages a joint and equal partnership between lead firm and supplier in order to address pressing problems facing supply chains today.

The Business and Human Rights Workshop is dedicated to the development and discussion of works-in-progress and other non-published academic research. The paper will be distributed to registered participants prior to the Workshop. This event will not be recorded.

This event is sponsored by the Business and Human Rights Initiative, a partnership founded by Dodd Human Rights Impact, the UConn School of Business, and the Human Rights Institute.

March 13-14, 2019

The Human Rights Institute, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, and other programs at UConn will host a symposium on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, culminating in an exclusive preview and post-show discussion of Rob Miller and Henry Singer’s documentary, The Trial of Ratko Mladić (2018). The symposium brings together varied stakeholders, scholars, and experts to consider the past, present and future of international justice, examining the ICTY as an exemplar of the possibilities and limits of the quest for justice in the face of crimes against humanity and genocide.

5:00 – 7:00   “Between Evidence and Ethics in the ICTY”

Location: Bloomberg Hall, UConn Law School, Hartford

A buffet dinner will be held between 5:00 – 5:30 pm, followed by the round-table discussion

• Camille Bibles, U.S. Magistrate Judge
• Elvedin Pašić, witness, former ICTY
• Bojana Vuleta, linguist, former ICTY

10:00 – 12:00     Archives for Justice: Dodd Papers and Romano Collection

Location: Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

• Glenn Mitoma, Director, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
• Predrag Dojčinović, Research Affiliate, UConn Human Rights Institute
• Robert Donia, Research Associate, Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, University of Michigan

12:00 – 2:00       The Making of The Trial of Ratko Mladić

Location: UConn Humanities Institute, Conference Room, Babbidge Library, 4th Floor; light lunch will be provided

• Rob Miller, Director of The Trial of Ratko Mladic
• Henry Singer, Director of The Trial of Ratko Mladic
• Arthur Traldi, Trial attorney, former ICTY
• Heather Elliott-Famularo, Head, UConn Digital Media and Design, Moderator

3:00 – 4:30          Past, Present, and Future of International Justice

Location: Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center

• Richard Wilson, Gladstein Distinguished Chair in Human Rights, University of Connecticut, moderator
• Camille Bibles, U.S. Magistrate Judge
• Dermot Groome, Professor of Law, Harvey A. Feldman Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Penn State’s Dickinson Law
• Predrag Dojčinović, Research Affiliate, UConn Human Rights Institute
• Marie O’Leary, Counsel/Legal Adviser, Office of Public Counsel for the Defence, International Criminal Court

3:00 – 4:30 Teaching Genocide with Film Workshop

Location: Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, Room 162

• Alan Marcus, UConn School of Education
• Glenn Mitoma, Director, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center and UConn School of Education/HRI
• Rob Miller, Director of The Trial of Ratko Mladic

4:30 – 5:00          From the Streets to the Courtroom: Human Rights Archives on Display

Location: John P. McDonald Reading Room, Archives & Special Collections, Dodd Research Center

• Graham Stinnett, Archivist of Human Rights and Alternative Press Collections

5:00 – 7:30   The Trial of Ratko Mladić: Film screening & post-show discussion

Location: Konover Auditorium, Dodd Research Center

• Rob Miller, Director, The Trial of Ratko Mladić
• Henry Singer, Director, The Trial of Ratko Mladić

7:30 – 8:00 pm Reception in the Dodd Lounge

This event is supported by the Human Rights Institute, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, UConn School of Law, Archives and Special Collections, and the Department of Digital Media & Design.

National Anthem
Nadia Aguila-Steinbert ’21 MM

Land Acknowledgement
Sage Phillips ’22 (CLAS)

Invocation
Rabbi Lazowski

Welcome
Dr. Andrew Agwunobi

Greetings on Behalf of the State of Connecticut
Honorable Ned Lamont

Human Rights at UConn | Video

Remarks
Senator Christopher J. Dodd

Remarks
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Greetings on behalf of UConn’s Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees Chairman Dan Toscano

Introduction, President of the United States
Senator Christopher J. Dodd

Remarks
President Joe Biden

Closing Blessing
Rabbi Lazowski

This is a ticketed event. Due to COVID protocols, seating is extremely limited.

Questions? Please contact University Events and Conference Services at rsvp@uconn.edu or by calling 860-486-1038.

The Dodd Center

Dodd Impact

Human Rights Institute

Giving

The Dodd Center for Human Rights honors the public service and human rights legacies of Thomas J. Dodd and Christopher J. Dodd. Beginning with Thomas Dodd’s service as executive trial counsel to the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and carrying through to Christopher Dodd’s leadership in the drafting and adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Affordable Care Act, father and son have worked to advance justice and dignity for over 60 years.

The Dodd Center for Human Rights is home to the UConn’s world-class human rights research, academics, and outreach programs. Dodd Human Rights Impact, which was recently created with the support of Senator Dodd, fosters a culture of human rights at UConn, in Connecticut, and around the world. Dodd Impact is part of the Human Rights Institute which supports interdisciplinary inquiry into the most pressing human rights questions and prepares the next generation of human rights advocates across a range of fields. HRI offers an undergraduate major and minor – the largest at a public university in the United States – and a graduate certificate and Master of Arts program. HRI supports research by over 40 faculty in the fields of law, social work, education, the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, and others.

In addition to its human rights focus, the Dodd Center for Human Rights will continue to house the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life and the University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collection, further underscoring the dynamic, multidisciplinary nature of the space.

Learn More About The Dodd Center

The building was originally dedicated as Thomas J. Dodd Research Center in 1995 by President William J. Clinton and Senator Christopher J. Dodd to honor Thomas Dodd’s service as executive trial counsel in the International Military Tribunal, the first of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. In the year that followed, known as the Dodd Human Rights Year, UConn hosted an international conference examining the events surrounding the Holocaust and Nuremberg Trials and offered programming dedicated to human rights violations in Latin America, Tibet, and Cambodia, disability rights in North America, the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War, and the plight of African Americans involved in the Tuskegee Study. The Dodd Year began with an address from Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and concluded with a speech from former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Over the past 25 years, the building has become a center of archival research and UConn’s diverse human rights programs.

The Dodd Center: A Home for the Discussion of Human Rights

October 3, 2011 | Bret Eckhardt

The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center was opened by incumbent President Bill Clinton 16 years ago, establishing a focal point for the study of human rights at the University and in the state.

Historic Nuremberg Papers of Sen. Thomas Dodd Go Digital

February 13, 2014 | Kenneth Best

Some 50,000 pages of documents from the Nuremberg Trials will be made available to scholars from around the world.

Reflections on the Dodd Center’s Namesake 75 Years After Landmark War Crimes Trials

November 30, 2020 | Christopher J. Dodd

Sen. Chris Dodd reflects on his father’s service as a prosecutor in the Nuremburg war crimes trials 75 years after they began.

Read More Articles About The Dodd Center