For Immediate Release:

Contact:
Jeanne Betsock Stillman
(914) 478-3450
jbs@stratdev.com 

WHITE PLAINS, New York, March 26, 2007  – On April 11, 2007, Professor Jose E. Alvarez, Hamilton Fish Professor of international Law and Diplomacy at Columbia University, will speak on “U.N. Treaties – A Threat to U.S. Sovereignty?  Professor Gayl S. Westerman, who teaches International Law at Pace Law School and is director of International Programs, will serve as moderator.  Dr. David Stillman, president of the United Nations Association of the USA Westchester Chapter (UNA Westchester), will chair the event.  The event is co-sponsored by Pace Law School and the United Nations Association Westchester Chapter.    The talk will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the New York Judicial Institute, 78 North Broadway, White Plains , NY .  For information call:  Jeanne Betsock Stillman, (914) 478-3450, email jbs@stratdev.com. Directions to the Judicial Institute can be found at:  http://www.law.pace.edu

Winning U.S. ratification of UN Treaties, and adherence to treaties, is a high priority for the United Nations Association –as well as for confirming the leadership of the U.S. in the world.  This will be a good time to learn and talk about the status of select treaties as well as the underlying issues.  The UNA-USA National Convention in March 2007 calls upon

“the President and the Senate to take all necessary actions for US accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Mine Ban Treaty), and participate in and support the ongoing negotiations leading to a global small arms treaty.”

It also calls upon “the President and the Senate to take all necessary actions for US ratification of international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to abide by, and to advocate universal good faith for international obligations.”

It also “urges the President to seek immediate ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and calls on the Senate to provide its advice and consent to ratification thereof; and urges the US government to join the "Meeting of the Parties" scheduled for December 2007 in an effort to achieve international consensus and US participation in a successor agreement by 2012 and to contribute to that international effort this country's vast intellectual resources in this field.

In addition to teaching at Columbia University , Professor Alvarez is president of the American Society of International Law. A frequent keynoter and commentator on a broad range of international legal topics, Prof. Alvarez=s published lectures since 1999 have addressed, among other things, why states comply (or not) with international rules, why international lawyers based in the United States and Europe often disagree, the impact of the UN=s counterterrorism efforts on human rights, the challenges faced by international criminal courts, and the operation of the North American Free Trade Agreement=s (NAFTA=s) investment chapter.  His book International Organizations as Law-Makers was published by Oxford University Press, 2005.  He is an Adviser at the American Law Institute, for the Project on Principles of Trade Law: The World Trade Organization (2002-present), and has been a member since 1999.  He is also a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

Professor Westerman teaches courses in International Law, Contracts, Commercial Law, and the Prosecution of War Crimes at Pace and is the director of International Programs. Her legal scholarship has focused primarily on the Law of the Sea.

Also at this meeting, UNA Westchester will award prizes to three High School Essay Contest winners, who wrote on the topic “"What can the United States do to help improve Maternal Health Around the World?" – MDG # 5.   The local winners are:  Tina Liu, daughter of Liming Liu and Sizhen Zhang, a senior at Ossining High School , 1st prize.  Kaitlyn Raymond, daughter of Paul and Kathryn Raymond, and a sophomore at Tuckahoe High School, 2^nd prize; and Frank J. Cirillo, son of Frank and Argie Cirillo, a senior at Rye High School, 3^rd prize.

Founded in 1976, Pace Law School is located a suburban campus in White Plains, N.Y., twenty miles north of New York City. Part of Pace University, the school offers the JD program for full-time and part-time day and evening students. Its postgraduate program includes the LLM and SJD degrees in Environmental Law and an LLM in Comparative Legal Studies. Pace is nationally ranked, offering clinics in domestic violence prosecution, environmental law, securities arbitration, criminal justice, and disability rights. www.law.pace.edu.

A private university in the New York Metropolitan area, Pace University is commemorating 100 years of providing opportunity, educating achievers in business, industry, healthcare, education, government, and law. Pace has a growing national reputation for teaching and learning based on research, fostering engagement with critical issues locally and globally, for international perspectives and measurable outcomes. It is one of ten founders of Project Pericles, developing education that encourages lifelong participation in democratic processes. Pace has seven campuses, including downtown and midtown New York City, Pleasantville, Briarcliff, and White Plains. Approximately 13,700 diverse students are enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, Lubin School of Business, Ivan G. Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Education, and School of Law.  www.pace.edu