Highlights:

• New Staff members Hansdeep Singh, Ilana Ofgang and Herpreet Kaur join the legal and communications teams to help with the multi-faceted work of the organization and assist in providing services to the community, both locally and internationally, with greater efficiency.
• UNITED SIKHS Protect Our Identity campaign is building momentum and gathering support in various states across the country.  Please join us and empower our community to stand defiant against discrimination and religious intolerance.

New York, NY: UNITED SIKHS enthusiastically welcomes three new staff members to its New York team to help take our vibrant organization to the next level. New additions have been made to the legal and communication teams to help with the multi-faceted work of the organization and assist in providing services to the community, both locally and internationally, with greater efficiency.

Hansdeep Singh, Ilana Ofgang, and Herpreet Kaur bring with them innovative ideas, fresh perspectives and solid experience to enhance our ongoing campaigns in civil and human rights advocacy, humanitarian aid, and education/healthcare projects. UNITED SIKHS continues to advocate on behalf of the rights of Sikh and other minority communities, and provide need-based services through various initiatives. Particularly, the Protect Our Identity campaign is gaining momentum and our new staff members bring diversity, expertise and strong skill sets to further the mission of the campaign as well as the organization.

We ask community members to help us in welcoming our new team members to UNITED SIKHS.

Hansdeep Singh who joined as the Senior Staff Attorney over the summer, oversees the International Civil & Human Rights Advocacy (ICHRA) program. He received his LL.M. in International Law and Justice magna cum laude at Fordham University School of Law and a Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law.  He comes to UNITED SIKHS with impressive legal experience from his work at Human Rights Watch and the Criminal Tribunals of Rwanda and Yugoslavia. Hansdeep is a forceful advocate in seeking accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Publications on International Criminal, Humanitarian, and Human Rights Law:

• • • Crimes Against Humanity Bill of 2009: The Domestic and International Implications of Addressing Impunity through National Legislation (forthcoming 2010).
    • The Efficacy of Indefinite Detention: Assessment of Immigration Case Law in Kiyemba (forthcoming 2010).
    • Critique of the Mrkšic Trial Chamber (ICTY) Judgment: A Re-Evaluation on Whether Soldiers Hors de Combat are Entitled to Recognition as Victims of Crimes Against Humanity, The Law & Prac. of Int’l Cts. & Tribunals, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 247-296 (2009)
    • Bringing Fairness to Extradition Hearings: Proposing a Revision of the Evidentiary Threshold for Political Dissidents, 38 Cal. W. Int’l L.J. 177 (2007).

Ilana Ofgang joins the UNITED SIKHS ICHRA team as a Legal Fellow and assists in on-going client-based advocacy and policy work that will address larger systemic problems such as hate crimes, discrimination and racial profiling. Ilana graduated cum laude from Fordham University Law School in May 2010. She has worked as a legal intern in both the Prison Legal Services and Immigration Legal Services clinics at the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School. Additionally, she has worked as a legal intern in the Criminal Defense Clinic at Lincoln Square Legal Services at Fordham.

Herpreet Kaur is the newest addition to the Media and Communications team, charged with coordinating and implementing the media and public relations strategy for UNITED SIKHS. She will also be using her extensive experience to enhance the online presence of the organization, particularly through the use of social media outlets. Herpreet is a Columbia University graduate and a journalist with 10 years experience. She has written and edited for UK papers The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Express, The Times of London and UK politics and social  policy magazine, Regeneration & Renewal.

Articles:

• • • A Duty To Care, Regeneration & Renewal, 13 October, 2006
  • • Mixed Messages, Regeneration & Renewal, 29 February, 2008
  • • Facebook is New Tool In Transplant Donors Appeal, The Guardian, 15 December, 2008

As we welcome new staff, we continue to look for community members interested in joining UNITED SIKHS projects. We are currently seeking enthusiastic volunteers who are willing to spread the message of the Protect Our Identity campaign within their own communities. To join or contribute to the campaign, volunteer or donate to UNITED SIKHS.

To view a previous press release on the Protect Our Identity campaign, please click here.

Issued By:
Rucha Kavathe
Media and Communications Coordinator
law-usa@unitedsikhs.org
1-888-243-1690