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The 2nd Annual Larry Lewis Healthcare Symposium Focuses 

on Firearm Injury Prevention  

On August 7, 2018, the Division of Emergency Medicine 
and the Center for Community Health Partnership 
and Research at Washington University, and the 
Gun Violence Initiative at the Institute for Public 
Health held the 2nd Annual Larry Lewis Healthcare 
Symposium: Firearm Injury Prevention. Harris 
Institute Director Leila Sadat delivered a lecture on 
Gun Violence and Human Rights:  The Government's 
Responsibility to Protect at this multi-disciplinary 
symposium held at Washington University School of 
Medicine. Other speakers included Victoria Anwuri, 
Dr. Robert Kennedy, Dr. Kristen Mueller, and Dr. 
Megan Ranney.

Harris Institute Submits Comments to the U.N. Human Rights 

Committee on the Human Rights Consequences of U.S. Gun 

Violence

The Harris Institute submitted comments to the U.N. Human Rights 
Committee in January 2019 for consideration at the Committee's periodic 
review of the United States. Every four years, the Committee assesses the U.S. 
government's record on the rights contained in the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).  The ICCPR is part of an international 
bill of rights and imposes obligations on the U.S. government to protect the 
human rights of its population. These rights include the right to life, the right 
to security of person, the freedoms of religion, opinion, and association, and 
the right to be free from discrimination based on race or sex. Other human 
rights impacted by U.S. gun violence include the right to an education, 
the right to health, and the right to participate in the cultural life of the 
community.

When the Committee began its review in March 2019, it requested information 
from the U.S. government on issues highlighted by the Harris Institute's 
submission.  Topics included gun violence in the context of  domestic 
violence, "efforts made [...] to restrict access to firearms for those most at 
risk of abusing them," and accountability of law enforcement officials for 
the excessive use of force.  At the conclusion of its review, the Committee 
can urge the United States to implement the Institute's recommendations. 

“Our takeaway is that the failure 

of the U.S. government to address 

the U.S. gun violence crisis violates 

international law. It is therefore 

the legal responsibility of the U.S. 

government to take measures 

to bring itself into compliance, 

including enacting common 

sense gun control laws to protect 

Americans from harm. The 

government cannot hide behind the 

Second Amendment as an excuse 

for its inaction, because the Second 

Amendment does not prevent the 

adoption of these common sense 

measures.”  

– Prof. Leila Nadya Sadat, Harris 

Institute Director

From left: Prof. Leila Nadya Sadat, Ms. Victoria Anwuri, Dr. 

Kristen Mueller, Dr. Larry Lewis, Dr. Robert Kennedy, Dr. Megan 

Ranney, Dr. Sonya Naganathan, and Dr. William Powderly