Vanderbilt students participating in a Maymester course taking place in Switzerland and Rome met with the United Nations high commissioner for human rights at the Palais Wilson building in Geneva.
The class, led by Professor Robert Barsky, is considering the connections between migration, international health, social justice and romantic poetry during the trip, which continues until June 1. Barsky is a professor of French and comparative literature, English, Jewish studies, European studies and law at Vanderbilt.
The surprise meeting with Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein happened during a visit to Palais Wilson for a meeting with another U.N. official, Lucinda O’Hanlon, adviser on women’s rights from the Women’s Rights and Gender Section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.