As part of its 2007 Human Rights Lecture Series

“Respect for Human Rights in the U.S.: The Challenge of the 21^st Century”

Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights

are pleased to announce the lecture

 “Challenged to Treat People Equally: the Western Shoshone Nation’s Struggle”

presented by

Rob Lafrentz

Thursday, December 20, 2007, 12:00-1:00 P.M.

at

Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.,

U.S. Bank Plaza, 200 South Sixth Street, Suite 4000, Minneapolis, MN

The United States has signed and ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and is legally bound to prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms. As such, the U.S. must guarantee to everyone, regardless of race, nationality or ethnic background, equality before the law, effective protection and remedies against any acts of racial discrimination, and the right to seek just and adequate reparation or satisfaction for any damage suffered as a result of such discrimination.

Rob Lafrentz will discuss the Western Shoshone’s claim against the United States under the ICERD. The Western Shoshone have been involved for generations in a treaty battle with the U.S. government over their ancestral land. The Indian Claims Commission ("ICC"), after never hearing arguments regarding the issue of title to the land, asserted that the Western Shoshone lost title to the land after "gradual encroachment.  Since then, the Western Shoshone have been refused access to areas of spiritual and culturally significance. Both the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States have determined that the encroachment on Western Shoshone land is in violation of universally-recognized human rights -- the right to due process, equal protection of the laws, the right to own property -- and is racially discriminatory.

Rob Lafrentz graduated from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, magna cum laude, in 2006.  In 2004, Mr. Lafrentz was awarded an Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship through the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center to work with the Western Shoshone Defense Project (WSDP) in Crescent Valley, Nevada. Mr. Lafrentz traveled  to Geneva, Switzerland to raise awareness of the Western Shoshone with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He is the recipient of the Sullivan Ballou Award given by Judge Bruce Peterson and his wife, Elissa, to individuals who are making important contributions to their community. He received his B.A. in International Relations and Middle Eastern Area Studies from the University of Minnesota in 2000. He has interned with The Advocates for Human Rights, the Cambodian Asylum Project in Minnesota and for Senator Tom Daschle in Washington, DC, and has served as a research assistant for Barbara Frey at the University of Minnesota. In 2001 Mr. Lafrentz entered the Peace Corps and was placed in Rabat, Morocco, but his service ended early due to September 11.  He is currently a member of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Committee on Foreign Relations.

Please R.S.V.P. to Julia Kashaeva at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights by noon on Tuesday, December 18.
(612) 341-3302 ext. 127 or Email: jkashaeva@mnadvocates.org
Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP.  Application will be made for one CLE credit.

This human rights speaker series will be held on the third Thursday of every other month throughout 2007. Lectures are free and open to the public (registration required). Lunch will be provided for those who pre-register. Application will be made for one Continuing Legal Education credit. For more information, please contact Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. You may find directions to Fredrikson & Byron at: www.fredlaw.com/contact.htm