Karen Parker

Karen Parker (born August 12, 1949) is an attorney based in San Francisco specializing in human rights and humanitarian law. Since the early 1980s, she has contributed to the evolution of international legal norms in the fields of economic sanctions, use of weaponry, environment as a human right, sexual slavery, and the rights of disabled persons.

Education and affiliations Parker is the daughter of noted trumpeter Sidney Mear and a native of Rochester, New York. She is currently a member of the Committee of 100 for Tibet.

Notable activities In 1985, Parker intervened on behalf of Salvadoran rebel commander Nidia Diaz, captured after being shot by government forces during the civil war in that country. Diaz' imprisonment and subsequently arranged surgery were widely publicized when actor Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H* fame assisted a neurosurgeon during the operation. Throughout the war, Ms. Parker participated in investigative delegations and testified in numerous forums about humanitarian law violations, as well as the principle of non-refoulement. She later participated in an international advocacy campaign to outlaw the use of this material, including a lawsuit filed at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

In 2007, Parker worked as a consulting attorney in the civil case of Xiaoning v. Yahoo! Inc. Filed in the U.S. District Court in Northern California, the lawsuit resulted in a settlement, with an undisclosed sum paid to the plaintiffs.

Publications "Geneva Convention Protections for Salvadoran Refugees", Immigration Newsletter Vol. 13 #3, National Lawyers Guild (May 1984). "Human Rights and Humanitarian Law", 7 Whittier L. Rev. 675 (1985). "Jus Cogens: Compelling the Law of Human Rights", 12 HASTINGS INT’L & COMP. L. REV. 12 #2, 411-463 (Winter 1989), Fumigation programs in Guatemala: preliminary report, Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, 1989 "Compensation for Japan’s World War II War-Rape Victims", with Jennifer F. Chew, HASTINGS INT’L COMP. L. REW. 17 #3, 497-549. (Spring 1994). "Beyond the blame game: finding common grounds for peace & justice in Kashmir," with Ghulam Nabi Fai, Kashmiri American Council (2004), "War Crimes Committed by the United States in Iraq and Mechanisms for Accountability", Consumers for Peace, (10/10/2006)