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Welcome to AHRI's June newsletter. We hope that this month's newsletter finds you all well. There will not be another newsletter until September, 2023. We hope you find some time during the break to rest. Registration for the AHRI 2023 Conference is now open, find out how to register below, we hope to see you there!
- AHRI Secretariat |
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The Annual AHRI Network Conference for 2023 will be hosted by Pedro Aruppe Human Rights Institute, The University of Deusto.
The conference will take place September 7-9, 2023. The theme of the conference will be ” Human Rights Defenders Under Seige.”
Please make sure to register before July 7, 2023 using the link below.
A limited number of grants will be offered to human rights defenders from the Global South who may be interested in participating in the conference. These grants are intended to cover accommodation and registration fees at the AHRI Conference 2023.
If you are interested, please send an email requesting the grant to ahri2023@deusto.es by 20 June 2023. Please attach a brief CV to this email. Applications without this document will not be considered for a grant.
Following assessment of the submitted applications by the Scientific Committee, recipients will receive a confirmation email by 1 July 2023 with instructions on how to register for the AHRI Conference 2023 and further details relating to the grant. |
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Center for Human Rights , Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia |
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The Center for Human Rights - Addis Ababa University (CHR-AAU)was established on October 23, 2008 as an autonomous academic institution to serve as a graduate multidisciplinary center of excellence that addresses human rights issues in Ethiopia and Africa. It is one of the leading human rights academic institutions in Ethiopia engaged in the multidisciplinary human rights teaching, research, and community services. The Center has a mission of institutionalizing a culture of human rights through education and currently runs MA in Human Rights, MA in Children’s Rights Studies and PhD in Human Rights. The Center also has its accredited journal, Ethiopian Journal of Human Rights that publishes peer reviewed research annually.
Apart from its academic programs and multitude of researches it carries out, CHR-AAU also has implements projects in partnership with relevant stakeholders targeting capacity building of state agencies and civil society organizations in the promotion and protection of human rights with particular focus on the rights of women, children, workers, migrants/refugees and persons with disabilities.
The Center also has research exchange programs under its projects to enhance the experiences of its staff and students and collaborates with institutions committed to the human rights cause to this end.
For more information, follow the link below. |
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FRA ( European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights )
Recent publications
Selected upcoming publications:
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July: Visas for human rights defenders in EU Member States
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July: Fundamental rights of long-term residents in the EU
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July: Your rights matter: People with disabilities
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July: Ageing in digital societies: enablers and barriers to older persons
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October: Civic space in the EU 2022 - Update
Selected recent events:
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15 June: FRA opened its LGTIQ survey
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6 June: FRA Management Board appointed 11 new members to form the Agency's new Scientific Committee. The 11 independent members are highly qualified in fundamental rights and will guarantee the scientific quality of the Agency's work.
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On 19 May, FRA co-hosted an online seminar on the EU’s Fundamental Rights Charter for Committee of the Regions staff. It was held alongside the Committee’s Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs. It outlined the history and content of the Charter. It covered the Charter’s added value, particularly in relation to other international and national fundamental rights instruments. It showed how the Charter applies in the national and local contexts. It showcased FRA materials and resources, and gave examples from human rights cities such as Vienna and Barcelona on how they link their work to the Charter. FRA spoke of its new framework for Human Rights Cities in the EU.
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13 June: FRA gave an online presentation to the International Commission of Jurists on how to use the EU’s Fundamental Rights Charter in litigating judicial independence and related issues. This includes the use of FRA tools and materials. The workshop discussed the international legal framework related to the independence of the judiciary and autonomy of the prosecution, as well as particular challenges and obstacles to strategic litigation on these issues. The participants were human rights lawyers from Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Spain, Slovakia and the Czechia. Some already had experience with litigating cases related to judicial independence.
Selected upcoming events:
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21 June: EU CRPD Framework meeting. The EU Framework for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will hold its second annual meeting. The Framework will also meet the Council General Secretariat for the first time since its creation to particularly discuss how to mainstream disability rights into EU policy making.
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21 June: FRA will welcome a delegation from the Serbian judiciary. It is part of a tour organised by the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade to international organisations in Vienna. The visit falls under a joint EU/ CoE project supporting the implementation of judicial reform in Serbia. The delegation will consist of 16 participants, which include the Minister of Justice of Serbia, jurists from the Supreme Court of Serbia, Serbian Judicial Council and staff from CoE. The delegation will hear about FRA’s work on justice and security, the situation of fundamental rights in the EU and the role of national judiciaries in bringing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to life
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22 June: FRA will participate Swedish Presidency conference to discuss way forward on the rule of law. Swedish Minister for EU Affairs, Jessika Roswall, EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova, Commissioner Didier Reynders and President of the Court of Justice Koen Lenaerts will speak. FRAs contribution will draw on the results of FRA’s civic space monitoring, which feeds into the Commission’s annual reports on the rule of law.
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23 June: FRA will host an online information session for national authorities. Robust fundamental rights data is a key resource for law- and policymakers. Drawing on such data enables them to make informed decisions when designing, implementing and evaluating legal and policy measures. FRA survey data is readily available on the Agency’s website, including through a dedicated Data Explorer Tool.
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28 June: FRA Director presents the 2023 Fundamental Rights Report to the European Parliament
Other information of interest:
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Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, Norway
World Heritage and Human Rights
News
The Nordic Journal of Human Rights has published a new issue 41(1), a special issue on World Heritage and Human Rights. It was co-guest-edited by Stener Ekern and Peter Bille Larsen.
The issue includes an editorial, 6 scientific articles and 3 book reviews covering a wide array of case studies and discusses the intersection between human rights-based approaches in world heritage and conservation.
Find the issue using the link below. |
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AHRI Members' events and calls |
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- Call: Padova Model UPR Secretariat team for 2023, Human Rights Centre "Antonio Papisca", University of Padova, Italy
- Call: Human Rights and Journalism Short Course, University of Essex, UK
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Human Rights Centre " Antonio Papisca", University of Padova, Italy
Call for Applications
Deadline: 15 September & 6 Octotober, 2023
Padova Model UPR Secretariat team for 2023
The Padova Model UPR is an academic simulation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) organised by an international team of students and former delegates, with the guidance of academics at the Human Rights Center “Antonio Papisca”, and the MA Degree Programme in Human Rights and Multi-level Governance (HRG) at the University of Padova. The Padova Model UPR offers participants an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms and dynamics of the UPR procedure held in Geneva. Through adopting the roles of State delegates, NGOs, and National Human Rights Institutions, participants will gain experience in the UPR procedure, which involves assessing States’ human rights records and addressing human rights violations. For more information on the Padova Model UPR, please see our video.
Eligibility requirements
The Padova Model UPR 2023 is open for applications from the following:
- All International (European and Non-European) students older than 18 years of age;
- Bachelor students who have completed at least two years of their degree; and
- Postgraduate students, including Ph.D. candidates, who are studying/researching in the fields of Political Sciences, Human Rights, International Relations, Social Sciences, or Legal Studies.
Application Process
To ensure a smooth and seamless application experience, we would like to provide you with an overview of the application design. The application form is thoughtfully structured to capture essential information about your qualifications, aspirations, and commitment.
Only Team Applications will be considered and each team should submit only one application. As such, we recommend forming a team before submitting an application. The person submitting the application will serve as the designated liaison between the Secretariat and their team. Upon being selected, participants will be allocated their representative roles.
The application form contains two sections–one for individual member qualifications and one for open questions to be answered by the whole team–and will take at least 30 minutes to complete. It will also require interested applicants to submit their CVs and English language certificates. These documents are to be submitted in pdf format.
We are accepting applications for this year’s Padova Model UPR from June 1, 2023 until September and October. The two deadlines for the application are as follows:
- September 15, 2023 for students attending NON-Italian universities;
- October 6, 2023 for students attending Italian universities
You may access the application form here.
We warmly invite you to share this information to your colleagues and students. For more detailed information on the application process and requirements please visit the website using the link below. |
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University of Essex, United Kingdom
Call for Applications
Deadline: 25 August, 2023
Human Rights and Journalism Short Course
The Human Rights and Journalism Short Cours will run in four 4.5 -hour modules on 4, 5, 11 and 12 September 2023. Taught by Steve Crawshaw, an experienced former foreign correspondent, author and senior human rights advocate, this online course seeks to explore the intersection of journalism and human rights. It will provide participants with an introduction to ways of addressing the ethical and practical challenges of working in an increasingly complex world, in a context where disinformation and accusations of “fake news” are increasingly common. The teaching programme will cover the following themes:
• In Journalism, why do Human Rights matter?
• Truth to power: when things go wrong
• Covering conflict. Human rights abuses, war crimes, humanitarian disasters, international humanitarian law
• New ways of reporting information
For further information, including how to make an application, please visit our website using the first link below.
Registrations close on 25/08/2023 and early bird discounts are available until 30/06/2023.
Please contact: summerschoolsandshortcourses@essex.ac.uk for any queries.
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Reminders: AHRI Members' Events and Calls |
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- Call: Workshop: Frames of European Human Rights - How are climate change, migration, and authoritarianism framed within the Council of Europe?, The Hertie School, Germany
- Event: Conflict and International Law: A Field- Based Training Course, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, UK
- Event: The Geneva Human Rights Platform ( GHRP) Training Hub, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, University of Geneva, Switzerland
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The Hertie School Centre for Fundamental Rights, Berlin, Germany
Call for Applications
Deadline: 23 June, 2023
Workshop: Frames of European Human Rights - How are climate change, migration, and authoritarianism framed within the Council of Europe?
The workshop is hosted by the Centre for Fundamental Rights with the support of the Volkswagen Foundation and in collaboration with Helmut Schmidt University.
We invite contributions to critically analyse the emergence or shifts over time of the frames with regard to climate change, migration, and authoritarianism. What are the assumptions and terminology underpinning discussions of authoritarianism in Europe? What understandings of nature and its relation to the economy and human beings accompany discussions of climate change in the Council of Europe context?
Read the full call using the link below. |
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Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, UK
Event
31 July - 4 August 2023
Conflict and International Law: A Field-Based Training Course
The Essex Human Rights Centre presents a week-long practical development course, covering a range of topics related to the field of humanitarian aid, UN and diplomatic work. Taught by Human Rights Centre Fellow and leading practitioner in the field, Dr Conor Foley, the programme runs over five days and consists of a mixture of lectures, interactive exercises, skills and scenario-based activities, equipping participants with a realistic grounding in the challenges they are likely to face in the field.
31 July to 4 August : Colchester Campus
Use the link below to find out more and to register. |
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Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Univeristy of Geneva, Switzerland
Events
The Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) Training Hub
The Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) Training Hub, a project of the Geneva Academy, organizes training courses – in Geneva and online – on the work of United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms and on specific human rights issues like the protection of human rights and the environment or human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. It also provides customized training courses for international organizations, NGOs, governments, or National Human Rights Institutions.
Relying on our wide network of international experts and practitioners, both formulas provide participants with practical knowledge and insight into the functioning of UN human rights mechanisms.
Upcoming training courses:
The International Human Rights Standards and System: Monitoring and Implementation Strategies at the National Level – 3-7 July 2023
This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.
Business and Human Rights – 4-8 September 2023
This training course will examine how the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights have been utilized to advance the concept of business respect for human rights throughout the UN system, the impact of the Guiding Principles on other international organizations, as well as the impact of standards and guidance developed by these different bodies.
Protecting Human Rights and the Environment – 18-22 September 2023
This training course will explore the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as with their implementation and enforcement mechanisms; and provide practical insights into the different UN human rights mechanisms pertinent to advancing environmental issues and protecting environmental human rights defenders.
The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability – 13-17 November 2023
This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.
Find ou tmore using the link below.
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