Child Soldiers: Who is Fighting Our Wars?

by Jennifer Presthodt, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and

Hoa Pham, American Refugee Committee 

Monday, March 26, 2007

12:00 - 1:00 P.M.

Faegre & Benson LLP

The Century Room

2200 Wells Fargo Center ■ 90 South Seventh Street ■ Minneapolis, MN 55402

This presentation will provide an overview of the use of child soldiers during different war conflicts.  The presenters will describe issues relating to the child soldiers. 

Biographic Information

Jennifer Prestholdt is the Deputy Director of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. Ms. Prestholdt has a B.A. in political science from Yale and a M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she studied international human rights law and international refugee policy. She graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1996. Ms. Prestholdt has worked on refugee and asylum issues for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. She has also interned for the Reebok Human Rights Program and the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination Against and Protection of Minorities. Prior to becoming Deputy Director of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, Ms. Prestholdt practiced asylum law for five years as the Director of the Refugee and Immigrant Program. As Minnesota Advocates’ Deputy Director, she assists in fundraising for and directing organizational operations. Ms. Prestholdt also supervises the development and administration of special projects dealing with emerging human rights issues, including the International Human Rights Monitoring Project. Ms. Prestholdt is an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where she teaches International Human Rights Law.

Huy Pham is the director of International Operations at American Refugee Committee (ARC) International.  Pham also served as the Africa regional manager for ARC programs in Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.  Pham has worked on public health and social development issues since 1986.  Pham was the director of the Children’s Rights Program at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.  He oversaw two projects on global child survival in Uganda, Mexico and the US, and child labor in Nepal.  Pham is the co-editor of the report, Global Child Survival:  A Human Rights Priority (Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, 1998).  In Viet Nam, Pham worked with The Save the Children Fund/UK as a technical consultant for the Fund’s HIV/AIDS Management and Prevention Programme.  In the mid-1980s, he was a Peace Corps worker in Liberia, West Africa and returned there in 1997 to serve as an International Elections Observer with The Friends of Liberia and International Foundation for Election Systems.  Pham received his Masters in Public Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.  He completed his undergraduate work in Chemistry and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin.

Please RSVP to Julia Kashaeva at Minnesota Advocates by noon on Thursday, March 22.
(612) 341-3302 ext. 127 or jkashaeva@mnadvocates.org.
Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP. Application will be made for one CLE credit.

The bi-monthly Children's Human Rights Speaker Series will be held throughout 2007.