The Columbia VP&S (Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons) Human Rights Initiative is an organization of students and faculty committed to developing a human rights-based approach to the practice of medicine. We see human rights as a continuously evolving set of shared principles that describe and protect our fundamental humanity in a rapidly globalizing world.
Promoting collaboration between students, faculty, and disciplines at the intersection of health and human rights at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
The Initiative specifically advocates for the use of medicine to identify, document, and alleviate human rights abuses. Given the multidimensional nature of human rights advocacy, the initiative examines the connections between medicine, economics, law, sociology, and humanitarianism. Through inter-campus events and the student-run Asylum Clinic, the organization raises awareness of and challenges the current dialogue around human rights.
Click the links below to learn more about us!
Columbia VP&S Human Rights Initiative & Asylum Clinic (CHRIA) 