Release date: March 8, 2007

World Law Conference Convenes at Emory Law School

Contact: Tim Hussey, 404-712-8404, tim.hussey@law.emory.edu
Contact: Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu

World-renowned speakers and distinguished panelists will come together at Emory Law School March 22-24 to discuss world law and world health, especially the health of women in less-developed countries, as part of the inaugural conference of the World Law Institute of Emory University. The conference is open and free to the public, but advance registration is required by going to www.law.emory.edu or calling 404-727-6831.

Keynote speakers include former President of Ireland and President of the Ethical Globalization Initiative Mary Robinson (via videotape); Navanetham Pillay, judge of the International Criminal Court; and former President of Hungary Ferenç Mádl, who will deliver an address on health and human rights in the European Union. All three are advisors of the World Law Institute.

Former President Jimmy Carter, also an advisor of the World Law Institute, will commence the event, delivering an opening address at a private dinner March 22 for speakers and panelists of the conference. His remarks, which will be videotaped and played for conference attendees Saturday, March 24, will focus on The Carter Center's role in protecting healthcare rights of citizens of developing countries.

William Foege, Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health Emeritus at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health and a fellow of the Gates Foundation, will give a talk on the role of charitable foundations in the protection of women's health in developing nations.

Speakers and panelists will address the role of both civil society and government as sources of emerging norms of healthcare law. Panel discussions will explore healthcare law and practice in diverse cultures, including multi-national measures needed to prevent domestic violence, sexual trafficking of girls and young women, and female genital mutilation. Scholars also will speak on model legislation for maternal and neonatal care in countries undergoing transition, preventive healthcare measures for children, the role of charitable foundations in protecting the healthcare rights of women, and the need to introduce university courses in world law and world health.

Conference panelists include epidemiologists and other medical and legal scholars from Emory; Middlebury College; University of Minnesota; Georgia State University; the University of KwaZulu-Natal and North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), both in South Africa; Indiana University; the Georgia Institute of Technology; and Johns Hopkins and Georgetown universities.

Executives and representatives from CARE USA, the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, The Carter Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health will speak and respond to audience discussion on a variety of topics.

The conference will conclude Saturday, March 24, with James Curran, dean of Emory's School of Public Health providing an evaluation of the conference and forecasting what the future holds for women's healthcare in developing countries worldwide.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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