Looking forward to the 2006 Annual Meeting in Montréal …
Human Rights Is Focus of Welcoming Plenary
The American Sociological
Association has a history of speaking
in support of human rights globally,
especially in defense of
sociologists and other
scholars persecuted for
their beliefs or scholarly
activities. A year ago,
the Council voted in
favor of the American
Sociological Association
Statement on Human
Rights on the Occasion
of ASA’s Centenary. In
continuation of its human
rights support, the ASA
invited UNESCO’s Pierre
Sané, human rights
advocate, to speak at the
Welcoming Ceremony
of the Annual Meeting
on Thursday, August 10,
2006, in Montréal.
Sané, formerly the Secretary General
of Amnesty International, will discuss
his work developing new programs of
research-policy linkages in the study
and management of social transformation.
These include strengthening the
interactions among researchers, policymakers,
and international bodies such as
UNESCO toward advancing programs
in human rights and
development, gender and
women’s rights, racism
and discrimination, poverty,
and development of
civil society.
Sané is the Assistant-
Director General for
Social Sciences and
Human Sciences, Ethics
and Human Rights
at UNESCO in Paris.
As Assistant Director-
General he is responsible
for the development,
execution, and evaluation
of UNESCO’s Poverty and
Human Rights program.
International, he campaigned extensively
to raise human rights concerns
worldwide and to strengthen the
human rights movement. Before joining
Amnesty International, he worked for 15
years in international development.
Sané earned his doctoral degree in
political science at Carleton University
in Ottawa, Canada, and a Masters of
Science degree in public administration
and public policy from the London
School of Economics. He has published
extensively on issues of development
and human rights.
Sané joins other notable plenary
speakers, including Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, Justice, Supreme Court of the
United States, and Deborah Rhode,
law professor at Stanford University,
who will discuss the work of law,
lawyers, and the judiciary in changing
conceptual and legal boundaries
defining the rights of women, men, and
social groups. Also, Gloria Steinem,
feminist activist and author, and
Lawrence Bobo, sociology professor at
Stanford University, will discuss the
shifting nature of inequalities of race
and gender, which are deeply rooted in
public and private consciousness. See
"Exciting Plenaries and Sessions at the 101st ASA Annual Meeting" in the May/June Footnotes for
additional information on these plenary
sessions.
