International human rights lawyer and activist Amal Clooney will receive an honorary doctorate at the University of Leuven (KULeuven) for her "commitment as a leading human rights activist, academic and lawyer."
On 23 March 2023, Clooney, who is married to actor George Clooney, will receive an honorary doctorate on the university's Kulak campus in Kortrijk, in the province of West Flanders.
"We want to honour Mrs Clooney for her work and commitment as an academic, advocate and leading human rights activist who champions humanitarian causes worldwide and fights some of the world's most troubling human rights violations," said Professor Gleider Hernández, promoter of the honorary doctorate.
As a lawyer, Clooney represents clients before international courts, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
"'She argued in just about every major court case ranging from the Lebanon Tribunal over the Yugoslavia Tribunal or the Armenian genocide to the recent Ukrainian conflict," said the University's Rector Luc Sels.
In 2016, she and her husband founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which works to expose human rights violations around the world. "Her commitment to protecting the rights of the most vulnerable serves as an inspiration to us all," noted Professor Ingrid Boone, Campus Dean of Law at Kortrijk.
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The Belgian university has a reputation for being actively committed to promoting and defending human rights. Three years ago, the university launched a human rights test applicable to all international agreements in the context of teaching, research and service, and also introduced a Human Rights Contact Point.
"Integrity, solidarity and consideration for the most vulnerable are core values of KU Leuven," Sels said. "This honorary doctorate ties in very nicely with that."
