Donia Human Rights Roundtable | The Hazards of Reporting on Human Rights Abuses

Attend in person or via Zoom. Zoome registration at https://myumi.ch/ypWPX

Please join Baktygul Chynybaeva (Kyrgyzstan), Kunāl Majumder (India), and Zahra Nader (Afghanistan), three of this year's Knight-Wallace Fellows, as they discuss the challenges of reporting on human rights abuses by governments and other actors. Our three panelists will offer comparative insights from their field experience and lessons for all of us seeking to understand violations happening beyond our borders.

Moderator: Susan Page - Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan's Law School. Director; Weiser Diplomacy Center

Ambassador Susan D. Page is a professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy's Weiser Diplomacy Center, and a professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School. She has deep expertise in international relations, particularly in Africa. Her senior level roles have included Assistant Secretary General/Special Adviser on Rule of Law, Global Focal Point Review Implementation, Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) to the United Nations Mission for Justice Support to Haiti (MINUJUSTH), first U.S. Ambassador to newly independent South Sudan, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to the African Union, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, key adviser to the peace process that resolved Africa’s longest-running civil war through international mediation, head of rule of law programs for the UN, and a foreign service regional legal advisor and political officer in East, Central, and Southern Africa. Page earned a JD from Harvard Law School and an AB in English with high distinction from the University of Michigan. She was awarded a Rotary International Postgraduate Fellowship to Nepal where she conducted research on women’s and children’s rights. In addition, she received certificates of merit and distinction from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland before attending law school. Ambassador Page is an elected member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, a board member of Road Scholar, and a member of the Association of Black American Ambassadors.

Knight-Wallace Fellows:

Baktygul Chynybaeva

Baktygul Chynybaeva is a journalist from Kyrgyzstan with more than 20 years of experience covering healthcare, environmental and human rights issues. Fluent in five languages, she currently serves as a correspondent for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Central Newsroom in Prague. Her investigative reporting on the dire condition of children’s cancer care in Kyrgyzstan inspired significant reforms in the country’s policies. Chynybaeva is also actively involved in organizing training sessions and capacity-building programs for journalists across Central Asian countries.

Kunāl Majumder

Kunāl Majumder serves as the India Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, where he documents and researches press freedom issues and advocates for journalists’ safety. Additionally, he advises Impulse Model Press Lab, which supports reporters covering human trafficking, and served as a visiting faculty member at the Mass Communication Research Centre of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. Majumder has held leadership positions in news organizations, including Tehelka, Indian Express Group, Rajasthan Patrika Group and Zee Media Corporation. Recognized with the UNFPA-Laadli Award for Gender Sensitivity and the Statesman Award for Rural Development, Majumder’s reporting spans politics, business, foreign affairs, human rights, culture and conflict.

Zahra Nader

Zahra Nader is the founding editor-in-chief of Zan Times, a nonprofit news outlet that covers human rights in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, with a focus on women and gender-based issues. Nader’s journalism journey began in Kabul, where she reported for local and international media, including The New York Times, on sensitive issues such as honor killings, virginity tests, single women-headed households and the social stigma of being a divorcee or a widow. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Time and Foreign Policy to The Guardian, The Daily Mail and Deutsche Welle. She publishes Zan Times from Canada, working with a group of mostly women journalists and editors, both in Afghanistan and in exile.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at wesleywr@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.