Daniel Kovalik (born 1968) is an American

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, labor rights lawyer and

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pea ...

.Archived.
/ref>Archived.
/ref> He has contributed articles to ''

CounterPunch ''CounterPunch'' is a left-wing online magazine. Content includes a free section published five days a week as well as a subscriber-only area called CounterPunch+, where original articles are published weekly. ''CounterPunch'' is based in the Unit ...

'' and ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. He teaches International Human Rights at the

University of Pittsburgh School of Law The University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law) was founded in 1895. It became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1900. Its primary home facility is the Barco Law Building. The school offers four degrees: Master ...

Education

Kovalik graduated from the

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1993.

Career work

Kovalik has been involved in international human rights and social justice, mainly in Latin America. Kovalik's first book, ''The Plot to Scapegoat Russia'', was published in 2017 by

Skyhorse Publishing Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an American independent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City, with a satellite office in Brattleboro, Vermont. History The current president and publisher is founder Tony Ly ...

. He was co-author of the book ''No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests'', which was published by Skyhorse Publishing in 2020.

Colombia

He worked on the

Alien Tort Claims Act The Alien Tort Statute ( codified in 1948 as ; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in viol ...

cases against

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...

Drummond Company Drummond Company, Inc. is a privately owned company based in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, involved in the mining and processing of coal and coal products as well as oil and real estate. History The company was founded in Jasper, Alabama in ...

and Occidental Petroleum over alleged human rights abuses in Colombia. Kovalik accused the United States of intervention in Colombia saying it has threatened peaceful actors there so it may "make Colombian land secure for massive appropriation and exploitation". He also accused the Colombian and United States governments of overseeing mass killings in Colombia between 2002 and 2009.

Venezuela

Kovalik is a supporter of the Venezuelan government. He has defended the

Venezuelan government Venezuela is a federal presidential republic. The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Asse ...

following both the

2014 Venezuelan protests In 2014, a series of protests, political demonstrations, and civil insurrection began in Venezuela due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies such as strict ...

and the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 law enacted by the United States allowing the sanctioning of individuals who allegedly violated the human rights of Venezuelans. In a radio interview with Matt Dwyer about Venezuela's 2013 elections, Kovalik called the Bolivarian Revolution "the most

benevolent Benevolence or Benevolent may refer to: * Benevolent (band) * Benevolence (phrenology), a faculty in the discredited theory of phrenology * "Benevolent" (song), a song by Tory Lanez * Benevolence (tax), a forced loan imposed by English kings from ...

revolution in history". On 26 February 2014, he attended the "Chávez Was Here" gathering created by the

Embassy of Venezuela, Washington, D.C. The Embassy of Venezuela in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United States. The embassy is located at 1099 30th Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. in the Georgetown neighborhood. The em ...

to commemorate the presidency of Hugo Chávez and to show support for the Bolivarian Revolution. At the gathering, Kovalik spoke beside the Venezuelan ambassador Julio Escalona and economist

Mark Weisbrot Mark Alan Weisbrot is an American economist and columnist. He is co-director with Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, D.C. Weisbrot is President of Just Foreign Policy, a non-governmental organization ...

United States

Kovalik is the Associate General Counsel of the

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

union.

Recognition

*3rd Most Significant Censored Story Award by

Project Censored Project Censored is an American nonprofit media watchdog organization. The group's stated mission is to "educate students and the public about the importance of a truly free press for democratic self-government." Project Censored produces an ann ...

(2001) *David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship by Stanford University School of Law (2002)

References

External links

Official Website

The Coca-Cola Case Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalik, Dan American political activists American human rights activists American workers' rights activists Free speech activists American political writers American foreign policy writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American lawyers Columbia Law School alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Writers from Pittsburgh 1968 births Living people Writers from Louisville, Kentucky