Featuring: Karima Bennoune, Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law, University of Michigan; Stephen E. Biegun, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Weiser International Policymaker in Residence, Weiser Diplomacy Center, University of Michigan; Ambassador (Ret.) Susan D. Page, Director of the Weiser Diplomacy Center, Professor of Practice, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and Professor from Practice, Law School, University of Michigan; Steven Ratner, Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law, University of Michigan, Director, University of Michigan Donia Human Rights Center

The panel will examine the future of U.S. foreign policy on human rights. What signals do the new administration's actions send so far regarding the priorities of the United States? How do and will they deviate from past commitments? Who is likely to be harmed or benefit from the new stance? And is America First irreconcilable with a concern for human rights abroad, or can the two be pursued simultaneously?

Karima Bennoune
Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law, University of Michigan

Professor Karima Bennoune is the Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. She served as the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights from 2015-2021. Bennoune was also appointed as an expert for the International Criminal Court in 2017 during the reparations phase of the groundbreaking case The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, concerning intentional destruction of cultural heritage sites by extremists in Mali. A former legal advisor for Amnesty International, she has carried out human rights missions in most regions of the world. (Her recent work has focused on supporting the efforts of Afghan women human rights defenders to counter gender apartheid in Afghanistan. In September 2023, she spoke in the UN Security Council about this topic. Subsequently, she travelled to South Africa with Malala Yousafzai to take part in a panel on gender apartheid with the Nobel laureate after her December 2023 Nelson Mandela lecture.)

Stephen E. Biegun
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Weiser International Policymaker in Residence, Weiser Diplomacy Center, University of Michigan

Stephen E. Biegun has more than three decades of international affairs experience in government and the private sector, including high-level government service with the Department of State, the White House, and the United States Congress. In 2021, Mr. Biegun concluded his most recent government service as the Deputy Secretary of State, to which he was confirmed by the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote of 90-3. In addition to his government service, Mr. Biegun has also served as a corporate vice president with Ford Motor Company and The Boeing Company.

Mr. Biegun began his career as a foreign policy specialist with the United States Congress, with a focus on Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Europe, ultimately rising to a number of senior-level positions including chief of staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as the national security advisor to Senate Majority Leader. He spent two years as the Executive Secretary of the White House National Security Council, serving as an advisor and deputy to National Security Advisor. In the early 1990s, Mr. Biegun led a Moscow-based technical assistance program working closely with Russia’s first post-Soviet government.

Mr. Biegun has volunteered as a board member for several international, national, and local non-profit organizations and currently serves on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the German Marshall Fund. He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian language and political science.

Ambassador Susan D. Page
Director, Weiser Diplomacy Center
Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
Professor from Practice, University of Michigan Law School

Ambassador Susan D. Page is a seasoned diplomat with extensive experience in international relations, conflict resolution, and human rights advocacy. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, an Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a member of the Association of Black American Ambassadors, and serves on various boards, including The Carter Center Board of Trustees, the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, Road Scholar, and Lex Collective (Formerly Global Diligence Alliance).

Ambassador Page had a distinguished diplomatic career, including serving as the first U.S. Ambassador to the newly independent Republic of South Sudan and as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Haiti. In addition to working at the U.S. Department of State in senior leadership positions such as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Page also served as a regional legal adviser and foreign service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), held high-level appointments with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), where she played an instrumental role in the peace negotiations and drafting of the peace agreement for Sudan that resulted in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan (CPA).

Steven Ratner
Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law
Director, University of Michigan Donia Human Rights Center

Steven R. Ratner is the Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. He teaches and writes in the field of public international law on a range of issues, including war and peace, human rights, foreign investment, the United Nations (UN), territorial and ethnic-based disputes, and business and human rights. He is also interested in the intersection of international law and political philosophy and other theoretical issues.

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.