Years active 1987 - present Alma mater Columbia Law School Name Daniel Kovalik | Children Joseph and Martin Spouse(s) Christine Haas | |
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Born 1968 Louisville Residence Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
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Dan Kovalik is a human rights, labor rights lawyer and peace activist. He has contributed to articles CounterPunch, Huffington Post and TeleSUR. He currently teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
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Education
Kovalik attended Columbia Law School and graduated from the school in 1993.
Career work
Kovalik has been involved in international human rights and social justice, mainly in Latin America. He is also a critic of the United States foreign policy.
Colombia
The Christian Science Monitor named Kovalik "one of the most prominent defenders of Colombian workers in the United States". He worked on the Alien Tort Claims Act cases against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond Company and Occidental Petroleum over alleged human rights abuses in Colombia. Kovalik also accuses 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's Bolivarian Revolution. He has defended the Venezuelan government following both the 2014 Venezuelan protests 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 revolution in history". On 26 February 2014, he attended the "Chávez Was Here" gathering created by the Embassy of Venezuela, Washington, D.C. to commemorate the legacy 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.
United States
In the United States, Kovalik works as the Associate General Counsel of the United Steelworkers union. As a critic of the foreign policy of the United States, Kovalik describes every President of the United States that followed World War II as a "War Criminal" and believes that United States citizens accept poor actions by its leaders, stating that "it is this acceptance, especially by the Liberal establishment, which continues to allow the worst crimes to continue today in the name of democracy, freedom and human rights". He is also critical of the R2P doctrine, believing that it is "a tool of U.S. intervention".