EWC Board of Governors members and Center President Suzanne Vares-Lum extended a warm welcome. “We are delighted that Dr. Lee has agreed to join us on the EWC Board of Governors,” said Board Chairman Dr. James K. Scott. “As a recognized authority on human rights, her perspectives from an important partner in our region will be invaluable in helping to guide our special institution.”
“It is a great honor and privilege for me to join this auspicious board,” Professor Lee said. “I look forward to meeting and working with all the eminent board members.”
About the EWC Board of Governors:
The East-West Center Board of Governors consists of 18 members. The Governor of Hawai‘i appoints five members, the US Secretary of State appoints five members, and these ten members in turn elect five members from Asia and the Pacific. There are also three ex-officio members: the Governor of Hawai‘i, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the President of the University of Hawai‘i.
About Yanghee Lee:
Professor Yanghee Lee is a national of the Republic of Korea and Professor Emeritus at Sungkyunkwan University, Department of Child Psychology and Education. She is highly recognized nationally, regionally, and internationally for her expertise in human rights, and is the founder and current President of the International Child Rights Center.
Professor Lee has more than 20 years of experience in human rights, including serving on the UN Committee for the Convention on the Rights of the Child for 10 years and as its chair for 2 terms (2007-2011). From 2014 until 2020, she served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar. Professor Lee has served as the Chair of Chairpersons of Treaty Bodies (2010 – 2011) as well as the Chair of the Coordinating Committee of Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council (2016-2017). She has been the guiding force in the drafting, negotiation, and adoption of the 3rd Optional Protocol to the CRC on a Communications Procedure. Within the Special Procedures Mechanism, Professor Lee has been instrumental in establishing the Fact- Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFMM) and the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar (IIMM). She is the recipient of many recognitions and awards, including the Order of Civil Merit, the highest recognition given to a civilian, for her work in human rights. Professor Lee founded the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) in 2021 with two former members of the Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar.
Professor Lee earned her undergraduate B.S. degree from Georgetown University and an M.ED. and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.