Human Rights Advocate to Speak Nov. 18 at Ohio Wesleyan University
Charlie Clements, M.D.
Ohio Wesleyan University will host Charlie Clements, M.D., executive director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and author of the autobiographical book, “Witness to War: An American Doctor in El Salvador.”
Clements will discuss “Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation: Doomed to Separate Paths?” at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Bayley Room on the second floor of Ohio Wesleyan’s L.A. Beeghly Library, 43 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The event is free and open to the public.
During his presentation, Clements will examine human-rights issues of recent decades in Latin America – the military coup and dictatorship in Chile, the so-called “dirty war” in Argentina, the genocide directed against Mayans in Guatemala, and the death squads in El Salvador. He also will explore the challenges of those who have worked to support human rights and reconciliation.
In addition to his role at Harvard, Clements is a founding board member of Physicians for Human Rights, which he represented at both the treaty signing and Nobel Prize ceremonies for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997. A film created from his book, “Witness to War,” received the 1985 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Clements earned his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy, his master’s degree in operations research from UCLA, and both his medical and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Washington School of Medicine and Public Health. His presentation is sponsored by the OWU Department of Philosophy; Andy Anderson Symposium Fund; Poverty, Equity, and Social Justice Course Connection; Department of Politics and Government; Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs; Department of Sociology/Anthropology; and Chaplain’s Office.
Learn more about Clements at www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/charlie-clements. Learn more about the OWU Department of Philosophy at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-philosophy/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.