Special Plenary Session On Fighting Human Trafficking The Honorable Judge Rupa Goswami visits AUW
Ugyen Samdrup Lhamo
On November 11th, the 20 G rooftop was overflowing with students, staffs and professors, all looking forward to attending the plenary session on Fighting Human Trafficking. The main reason for this excitement was because of the distinguished speakers, including The Honorable Judge Rupa Goswami, the first South Asian American woman to be appointed to a judgeship in California, along with special agents from the FBI and the US Department of Labor, as well as legal representatives from the US Embassy in Dhaka. The session was facilitated by AUW Vice Chancellor Nirmala Rao.
The speakers covered a variety of topics such as their experience of working in the field, their insights on the United States and its laws, including the initiatives taken by US such as the Legal and Judicial Capacity Building Project in Bangladesh.
The Honorable Judge Rupa Goswami gave a presentation on a sex trafficking case that she was involved in. She explained about international sex trafficking, and the importance of ensuring a recovery process for the victims.
After the end of the session, some students engaged in conversations with a few of the guests, while others were busy taking pictures with the rest.
The Echo dropped into some conversations to hear how students felt about the session. A few students expressed their disappointment about the how the Legal and Judicial Capacity Building Project in Bangladesh was presented. The disagreement was on how the US’s legal system was portrayed as flawless, and the emphasis was on how to improve the capacity of justice systems in other countries through this Project. AUW students are always encouraged to be analytical and to question power, so this was not a surprising statement to hear.
Overall the session was received with enthusiasm, and though many students were looking forward to the planned afternoon session on careers in law, it was cancelled as the guests had to depart to Dhaka on short notice.
No comments