9 November 2018
On 17–18 October 2018, the two coordinators of the Geneva Human Rights Platform, Felix Kirchmeier and Kamelia Kemileva, participated in Oslo in a conference on the role that domestic human rights actors play towards the 2020 review of United Nations (UN) treaty bodies (TBs) by the UN General Assembly and how to build a more effective TB system for all stakeholders.
Co-organized by the Geneva Academy and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights of the University of Oslo, the conference brought together ministerial representatives, independent state institutions (National Human Rights Institutions and Ombudspersons), acting and former TBs members, and representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human (OHCHR) and civil society organizations.
The expert part of the conference focused on testing the proposals entailed in our publication ‘Optimizing the UN Treaty Bodies System’ against the backdrop of participants’ experience in working with TBs from a domestic point of view.
The public part of the conference, moderated by Orest Nowosad, Chief of Section at OHCHR and Felix Kirchmeier, discussed in the importance and impact of TBs at the national level.
‘This meeting forms part of the ongoing dissemination of the conclusions of the Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020, a three-year consultative process which aimed at providing academic inputs into the 2020 Review by the General Assembly’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier.
‘Participants reacted very positively to the proposals entailed in our report’ underlines Kamelia Kemileva. ‘As the recommendations imply a long reporting cycle, they suggested, a more structured and robust follow-up, which would ensure the necessary engagement of national stakeholders with the TB system’ she adds.
The Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020 forms part of the Geneva Human Rights Platform (HRP).
The HRP provides a neutral and dynamic forum of interaction in Geneva for all stakeholders in the field of human rights – experts, practitioners, diplomats and civil society – to discuss and debate topical issues and challenges. Relying on academic research and findings, it works to enable various actors to be better connected, break silos, and, hence, advance human rights.
Adobe
Our new Research Brief The Evolving Neurotechnology Landscape: Examining the Role and Importance of Human Rights in Regulation provides a comprehensive background analysis on the complexities of regulating neurotechnology and the role of human rights in this process and marks the inception of our research project on neurotechnology and human rights.
Geneva Academy
During a workshop on the application and potential misuse of new and emerging digital technologies, including in law enforcement and the management of peaceful assemblies, academics, law enforcement professionals, human rights lawyers and representatives from international organizations and civil society focused on how best human rights can be protected.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
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.
Adobe
Participants in this training course, made of two modules, will examine the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights and the environment, familiarizing themselves with the respective implementation and enforcement mechanisms.
Adobe
This initiative wishes to contribute to better and more coordinated implementation, reporting and follow-up of international human rights recommendations through a global study on digital human rights tracking tools and databases.
Adobe Stock
This project addresses the human rights implications stemming from the development of neurotechnology for commercial, non-therapeutic ends, and is based on a partnership between the Geneva Academy, the Geneva University Neurocentre and the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy