Beth Van Schaack is an American attorney and academic who serves as the
United States ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice
The United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice is the head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice in the United States Department of State. The ambassador-at-large advises the United States Secretary of State and the Under Se ...
.
Early life and education
Van Schaack obtained a
bachelor of arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, a
juris doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
, and a
PhD from
Leiden Law School at the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
.
Career
Van Schaack was a visiting professor in human rights at
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
, teaching in areas relating to international law and human rights. She has been the acting director of the human rights and conflict resolution clinic. She is a fellow with Stanford’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice. She was also a visiting professor at
Santa Clara University School of Law focusing on laws of war. As an attorney, she was an associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP, as well as working with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
.
US State Department
She served as deputy to the ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues in the Office of Global Criminal Justice at the
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
. She helped advise the
secretary of state and the
on the formation of U.S. policy aimed at curbing mass atrocities and genocide.
Ambassador at Large
On October 21, 2021, President
Joe Biden nominated Van Schaack to be the ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice. Hearings on her nomination were held before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...
on January 12, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor on March 8, 2022. Van Schaack was confirmed by the full Senate via
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
on March 15, 2022, and she was sworn in on March 17.
Publications
*''Imagining Justice for Syria''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Schaack, Beth
Living people
21st-century American diplomats
American lawyers
American academics
American writers
United States Department of State officials
Yale Law School alumni
Stanford University alumni
Leiden University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
People associated with Morrison & Foerster
American women lawyers
Biden administration personnel