The Scholars Council will be composed of prominent scholars of foreign policy, international law, and/or other fields relevant to development of a principled U.S. policy towards the black world. It will serve in an advisory capacity to TransAfrica Forum and support its programs. Topics for study will include: economic development, debt relief, constitutionalism and democratization, health care, the drug trade, foreign aid, the environment, and the observance of international human rights standards with a special focus on immigration policy and the rights of women. The Council will meet biannually; one meeting will be during the annual TransAfrica Weekend in Washington, D.C. Council members...
The Scholars Council will be composed of prominent scholars of foreign policy, international law, and/or other fields relevant to development of a principled U.S. policy towards the black world. It will serve in an advisory capacity to TransAfrica Forum and support its programs. Topics for study will include: economic development, debt relief, constitutionalism and democratization, health care, the drug trade, foreign aid, the environment, and the observance of international human rights standards with a special focus on immigration policy and the rights of women. The Council will meet biannually; one meeting will be during the annual TransAfrica Weekend in Washington, D.C. Council members will be encouraged to contribute to an annual report on the State of U.S. Foreign Policy Toward The Black World and an agenda of Foreign Policy Priorities. The statement says individual members of the Council can be called upon to address current events in "op-ed" pieces or media interviews. In election years, the Council will be invited to participate in a Special Forum on U.S. policy toward the black world aimed at the presidential candidates. The role of the TransAfrica Forum is to help identify root causes of problems (including past and present U.S. participation in these root causes) and to recommend principled U.S. policies on these issues. Human rights scholars must examine root causes of the human rights violations that lead to refugee situations like that in Haiti and in many parts of Africa. The Scholars Council will develop proactive policy positions on longstanding problems rather than react only to crisis situations.
