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Washington DC 2011
2011 Workshop Theme “Managing North American Security: Where do we go from Here?”
2011 Workshop
George Washington University hosted NACLE’s 2011 Workshop (Nov. 10 to 12, 2011) in Washington, D.C. The theme, “Managing North American Security” addressed human rights, migration, trade, organized crime and other issues. At the heart of its mission, NACLE aims to foster programs and collaboration among members of the Canadian, Mexican and American legal communities. NACLE’s annual workshop provides faculty and students an opportunity to dialogue, debate and provide policy recommendations for North America. Each workshop addresses a distinct theme reflecting the common interests and approaches to legal issues. It also serves as a forum for the annual student paper competition. This year, NACLE again invited competition winners to present their papers at the workshop and provided a grant to cover travel and hotel expenses.
Managing North American Security: Where do we go from here?
Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, North American security has become an overwhelming policy priority, driving many aspects of national and international policy in all three NAFTA partners. Concerns regarding terrorist and criminal activities dominate international trade and migration policies within the region. But security concerns also arise in relation to public health emergencies, food safety, natural disasters, environmental crises, and energy shortages. Cooperative continental strategies in areas like intelligence sharing, border management, and law enforcement are needed to ensure a coordinated and successful response to a wide range of security concerns. Such strategies sometimes confront conflicting priorities. Reducing the impact of disasters, terrorism and other security threats must be balanced against the need to ensure the efficient and expeditious movement of people across borders in order to maintain the health of the North American economy and the integrity of our North American community. Efforts to enhance security, including cybersecurity, must be consistent with the protection of human rights, political freedoms and personal privacy.
NACLE Workshops promote the active exchange of ideas among law professors and students from NACLE’s member law schools in Canada, Mexico and the United States. NACLE Workshops are open to the general public; at this Workshop, we particularly encourage the GWU Law School community to engage actively in our discussions. This year’s Workshop at The George Washington University Law School will focus on these and other pressing challenges for North American security policy. In addition to keynote speeches from leading members of the Washington community, concurrent Workshop sessions will address security issues related to cybersecurity and privacy, human rights and migration, international trade, energy and the environment. As well, this year’s NACLE Workshop features sessions on transnational pedagogy and curriculum development that include presentations on exciting work being done by NACLE colleagues in international trade and North American security, comparative family law, and in North American environmental law.