Association of Human Rights Institutes
February 2023

Welcome to AHRI's February newsletter. We hope that this month's newsletter finds you all well. We ask that member institutes update their contact information using the administrative email address if there have been any changes. 

- AHRI Secretariat 

AHRI News

The AHRI Secretariat will be changing hands in the summer of 2023. We are grateful to the Global Justice Academy and to the University of Strathclyde in Scotland for hosting these many years. The Secretariat will pass to the Center of Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Stay tuned for more news on the transition. 

Featured Organization
Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law, the University of Strathclyde, UK

The University of Strathclyde, UK

The Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law (CSHRL) has co-hosted the AHRI Secretariat since 2017. Since 2008, the CSHRL has been a cluster of academic staff with research, teaching, practice, and public engagement expertise in the area of human rights law, based within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. 

 

The Centre’s vision is to be a hub for exploring the role and impact of human rights law in specific areas of legal and public policy practice, nationally and internationally. In line with this, we draw upon, and contribute to, a broad range of areas, from migration law to biodiversity governance.

 

A key current focus is on incorporation of international human rights law in Scotland. In 2021, the Scottish Government published the report of the National Taskforce on Human Rights Leadership, co-chaired by CSHRL Professor Alan Miller, which led a pioneering process of developing recommendations for giving further effect to international human rights law and the SDGs in Scotland, which will place stronger duties on public bodies in respect of a range of new rights. 

 

Recent related research projects have included:  

CSHRL also recently collaborated on a joint research project with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford, and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law on a report related to domestic bills of rights processes, The Making of Bills of Rights: Relevant International Human Rights Law Obligations, published last month. 

Recent public engagement work has included:

Human rights researchers also contribute to the work of the large scale One Ocean Hub project led by Professor Elisa Morgera. Examples of recent One Ocean Hub work includes:

In forthcoming work, and following two webinars co-organised in February by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, One Ocean Hub and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, exploring how national human rights institutions and international human rights mechanisms are addressing human rights issues in fishing communities, there will be further collaboration with the Danish Institute and FAO during events to mark the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture. 

 

Students are also at the heart of the work of the Centre, undertaking collaborative research and other initiatives, and the Centre coordinates the award of an annual LLM Human Rights Law prize for the best postgraduate dissertation. The LLM in Human Rights Law, on which several CSHRL colleagues teach, celebrates in 20th anniversary in 2023. Also this year, the CSHRL looks forward to welcoming a new Professor of Human Rights Law as well as a new Visiting Professor. 

Use the link below to visit the CSHRL website.

Center for the Study of Human RIghts Law
AHRI Members' News

FRA ( European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights ) 

Recent publications:

Selected upcoming publications:

  • January and February: new 8 language versions of the Charter e-learning courses (for the Charter materials see here)

  • February: Report “Justice for All” printed.

Selected recent events:

  • On 6 February:  FRA Director met the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on 6 February in Geneva to discuss further cooperation

Selected upcoming events:

Other information of interest:

Nordic Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, Norway

News

The Nordic Journal for Human Rights new issue is pulished. 

The Nordic Journal of Human Rights has published a new issue 40(3) which includes articles concerning sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual and gender-based violence, asylum and migration, indigenous peoples rights and socio-economic rights among others. You can access the issue using the link below. 

Nordic Journal 40 ( 3)
AHRI Members' events and calls
  • Call: Haki Journal of Human Rights, Centre for Human Rights and Peace (CHRP), University of Nairobi, Kenya
  • Call: Workshop: Research Methods in Fundamental Rights, Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School, Germany
  • Call: International Humanitarian Law Summer School, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, Canada
  • Event: Critical Conversations Lecture Series: Borders and Human Rights, Centre for Human Rights Research, University of Manitoba, Canada 
  • Call: LLM in International Legal Studies, University of Deusto, Spain 
  • Call: Comparative Law Review, Human Rights Department, Faculty of Law, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland

Centre for Human Rights and Peace ( CHRP), University of Nairobi, Kenya

Call for Papers

Haki Journal of Human Rights

Deadline: 4 March, 2023

Haki Journal of Human Rights (Hakijhr) is an open access annual peer reviewed Journal dedicated to broadening the understanding and practice of human rights by fostering a critical re-examination of existing approaches to human rights from an Afrocentric perspective as well as to develop new perspectives on the universal theory and practice of human rights. The Editor invites analytically rigorous papers, comments on cases, legislation, policies and book reviews for the Vol. 2 2023. The submissions should revolve around themes related to the understanding of human rights in Africa. 

Key topics for this issue include but not limited to;
• Constitutionalism and human rights in Africa
• Minority & Vulnerable groups Rights in Africa Language and Human Rights
• Security and Human Rights

The preferred lengths for submissions are as follows:
a. Articles: 6000–8000 words including references, notes, tables and figures;
b. Notes/Comments: 3000–4000 words;
c. Book Reviews: 1500–2500 words;The articles should include an abstract that is citation free (250-300 words).  Manuscript to contain no more than 50 references (except in exceptional circumstances).

For more information and to submit your article follow the link below. 

Haki Journal for Human Rights

Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School, Germany

Call for Applications

Workshop: Research Methods in Fundamental Rights

Deadline: 20 March, 2023

The Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School is pleased to announce its Fourth Annual Workshop on Research Methods in Fundamental Rights, taking place from 7-9 June 2023 at the Hertie School, Berlin, Germany and online. The workshop is hosted by the Hertie School as a member of CIVICA - The European University of Social Sciences.

The workshop aims to provide doctoral and early-career legal researchers with an opportunity to reflect on diverse research methods in human rights research. Over three days, successful candidates will attend master classes with renowned faculty, who will provide guidance and reflections on the methods they have applied in key pieces of their own research. Participants will have assigned readings that they prepare in advance and will receive video recorded presentations by the faculty for each class. In additional sessions, participants will submit reflections on their own research questions and methods, and will receive individual feedback on their projects from the faculty and fellow participants.  

We encourage applications from PhD and early-career legal researchers carrying out fundamental rights research employing any of the methodological approaches covered in the workshop. 

The workshop will take place from 7 - 9 June 2023 at the Hertie School and online.

Please submit your application by sending an email to fundamentalrights[at]hertie-school[dot]org with the subject line 'Research Methods in Fundamental Rights'.

Call for Abstracts

Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, Canada

Call for Applications

International Humanitarian Law Summer School

Deadline: 5 March, 2023

The Human Rights Research and Education Centre and the Canadian Red Cross are pleased to invite you to the 15th edition of the Summer School on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that will be held from May 28th to June 2nd, 2023.

The goal of this course is to offer students and professionals the fundamentals of IHL and the opportunity to apply this knowledge through realistic case studies and a full simulation day.

Applications from students, academics, government employees, NGO and IO staff, journalists and those with an interest in learning about IHL are welcome. Preference will be given to participants with exposure to the application or the theory of international humanitarian law, international human rights law or humanitarian work. internationally renowned academics from Canada and abroad as well as practitioners from the public service (Department of National Defence and Justice Canada).

Please note that the registration forms for the 15th edition of the Summer School on IHL will be available on March 1, 2023. If you have questions about the summer school, do not hesitate to contact us at dih-ihl@uOttawa.ca.

Read the full call using the link below. 

Summer School Call

Centre for Human Rights Research, University of Manitoba, Canada

Event

Critical Conversations Lecture Series: Borders and Human Rights

Dates: 17, 28 February & 31, March, 2023

The Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) is pleased to announce its annual Critical Conversations series, this year focusing on the Centre's latest research theme Borders and Human Rights.

Information on the three-part series, including our featured speakers and registration links is availabl on the website. 

All events are free and will take place online via Zoom.

Our first event on 'Borders, Colonialism, Resistance, and Human Rights' will take place on Friday, February 17th at 2pm CST, and feature Harsha Walia and Dr. Alex Wilson. You can register for the event and submit questions for the speakers using the link below. 

Event Registration

Pedro Arrupe Institute of Human Rights, University of Deusto, Spain 

Call for Applications

LLM in International Legal Studies 

Deusto Law School, founded in 1886, is a top-ranked Law School, offering a highly qualified faculty, a multicultural student body, a dynamic and innovative urban setting, opportunities to apply legal theory and practical skills, and a global alumni network.

Students will follow a number of courses that draw mainly from Deusto’s many areas of expertise, including European and International Law, Business Law, Human Rights Law and Refugee Law. While our main focus lies with traditional areas of Law, we also cover emerging and disruptive topics such as New Technologies and the Law, Climate Change, Biolaw or Data Analytics.

For more information you can dowload the prospectus usnig the first link below. Additionally, you can visit their website using the second link below. 

LLM Prosepctus
University of Deusto LLM

Human Rights Department, Faculty of Law, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland

Call for Papers

"Comparative Law Review" vol. 29 (2023) - CfP

Deadline: 1 April, 2023

"Comparative Law Review" is inviting submissions for its next volume (29), which will be published in December 2023. The deadline for submissions for CLR vol. 29 is 1st of April 2023.

CLR (ISSN 0866-9449, e-ISSN 2391-7644) is a gold open access, peer-reviewed and refereed international journal published by the Faculty of Law and Administration at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland). CLR is the fist Polish legal journals indexed Scopus. 

The scope of "CLR” includes both private and public law, with particular focus on comparative studies. The Editors encourage authors to submit articles and shorter notes that are interdisciplinary in nature and/or analyse a legal problem from a comparative perspective. We particularly welcome proposals elaborating on how the comparative method is applied in domestic and international law-making and jurisprudence. Consequently, we invite original contributions on public international law and EU law. We warmly welcome contributions form AHRI network affiliated researchers.

Read the full call using the link below. 

Call for Papers
Reminders: AHRI Members' Events and Calls
  • Call: Workshop on Universities as Sites of Activism and Protection & UNESCO Chair Launch, Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, UK.
  • Call: Heads and Tails:' Admissibility and Remedies at the European Court of Human Rights, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), University of Utrecht, Netherlands.
  • Call: Human Rights and Education: past, present and future, UCD Centre for Human Rights, University College, Dublin, Ireland

Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, UK.

Call for Participation 

Workshop on Universities as Sites of Activism and Protection & UNESCO Chair Launch

13- 14 March, 2023

We are delighted to invite you to a workshop on University-Civil Society Collaboration to Protect Activists and Enhance Political Space, to be hosted by the Human Rights Defender Hub, Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR), University of York, on 13-14 March 2023.

Universities have much to contribute to activism and protection. They have legitimacy, status, access to knowledge and resources, and local and global networks. But universities are also elite and complex institutions, characterised by value clashes, contradictory pressures and hosting multiple actors (students, academics, management, admin staff). While not ignoring the challenges, this workshop will showcase the progressive potential of university-civil society collaborations: at the frontline of protests (Turkey, Iran); integrating activists into teaching and research to provide new forms of knowledge and support activism; and providing various forms of protection (of activists, values, and different forms of knowledge).

The event will include the launch of the UNESCO Chair in Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Expansion of Political Space, to be held at CAHR, which particularly focuses on the role of universities. A Working Paper titled Universities as Sites of Activism and Protection will be circulated in advance, and will provide a point of reference for discussions. The workshop will co-produce the first draft of an Action Plan for Universities as Sites of Protection, to outline the future work programme for the UNESCO Chair and its partners. 

You can reserve a place for the vent using the link below.

Event Registration

Netherlands Institute of Human Rights ( SIM ), University of  Utrecht, Netherlands

Call for Abstracts

Heads and Tails': Admissibility and Remedies at the European Court of Human Rights' 

Deadline: 15 February, 2023

In recent years, much attention has been given to the position and effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights. With the aim of helping the Court deal with its heavy case-load, the ‘Interlaken process’ and the entry into force of Protocol 15 ECHR have brought about important changes in the formal rules on access to the Court as well as the Court’s working processes. For example, Protocol 15 has tightened the timeframe within which applicants have to submit their applications and has eased the requirements for holding applications inadmissible because the applicant did not suffer any significant disadvantage. In addition, the Court itself has invested in streamlining and improving its working processes, for instance by changing the application form, amending its priority rules and offering (better) reasoning in Single Judge decisions. It also has resorted to a new system for negotiating friendly settlements and it has proved to be increasingly willing to accept unilateral declarations, all to the effect that there is no need to decide these cases on their merits.

This workshop brings together a number of expert researchers working on the ECHR system, from different perspectives, and using different methods. The invitation to them is to address particular developments and changes in the Court’s approach to admissibility, strike-off decisions and remedies and critically review them in the broader light of the objectives and nature of the ECHR system. The workshop is set up to foster dialogue and discussion and to allow for the various developments to be compared and contrasted, so as to allow for a bigger picture to arise.

We invite abstracts of maximum 350 words together with a cover letter by February 15, 2023, in one single PDF document. The cover letter should include a 1 paragraph CV (maximum 200 words) and explain in a few sentences the context of the paper: e.g. whether it is part of a PhD project, whether it is based on undertaken empirical research or part of ongoing research etc. Accepted contributors will be asked to provide a core draft paper with the main arguments, to be presented in the workshop. After the workshop we will invite a selected number of authors to finalise their paper with a view to compile a special issue of an international, peer-reviewed journal.

The workshop will be held at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. We are unfortunately not able to cover any costs of travel and accommodation, but we will offer an option for online presentations for those otherwise unable to attend. 

Please submit the pdf with your abstract, CV and context explanation in one unified document by sending an email with the header ‘ECHR Heads and Tails Workshop’ before 15 February 2023 to: montaignecentrum@uu.nl

To read the full call and see a full timeline, please use the link below.

Call for Abstracts

UCD Centre for Human Rights, University College, Dublin, Ireland

Call for Abstracts

Human Rights and Education: past, present and future.

Deadline: 13 March, 2023

The ICEDC annual conference is a meeting place for scholars, researchers, graduate students, education policymakers, and civil society activists from across Europe and internationally.  This year’s annual conference is being organised by the UCD Centre for Human Rights in Dublin, Ireland in association with the journal  Human Rights Education Review (HRER).  The conference will be a unique opportunity to present and discuss current research and policy relating to education for human rights and democratic citizenship. We welcome research papers and poster presentations addressing education for human rights and democratic citizenship from sociology, education, law, history, politics, geography and other relevant disciplines, as well as analyses of policy and case studies of campaigns and curriculum development. 

Abstracts of no more than 300 words including name, institutional affiliation and contact  email should be sent, no later than Monday 13 March 2023 to: Dr. Suzanne Egan, suzanne.egan@ucd.ie. All abstracts will be peer reviewed by members of the ICEDC steering  group (Professor Audrey Osler, Professor Hugh Starkey and Dr. Suzanne Egan). Please indicate whether you would prefer to give an oral or a poster presentation.  Applicants will be informed of the outcome of the review by Tuesday 21 March 2023.  

Registration will open 1 March 2023 (with fees held constant since 2016). 

For the full call, follow the link below. 

Call for Abstracts
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