21 January 2020
Tania Bonilla Matiz is a Professional Advisor at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – a judicial institution created by Colombia’s Peace Agreement to investigate, prosecute and sanction crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict. She is currently supporting the Judicial Panel for Determination of Legal Situations, deciding upon the transitional benefits afforded to civilians, members of the security forces, and other public officials who were involved in the conflict.
Tania graduated from the Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ) in 2018.
The programme offers a variety of subjects that address the main challenges in countries that are facing political transitions. As such, it brings together students from all over the world and with a great diversity of backgrounds who can speak from their own experiences. For that reason, every discussion is an opportunity to escape from common transitional justice notions.
The teaching was great mainly because professors are leading experts in their areas. The debates always connected with what is happening in many contexts, so the majority of exercises had a clear purpose and were mirrored in reality.
My best memory of the programme was the study-trip to Nuremberg: I could share with my classmates the debates about human rights atrocities in a city that set a benchmark in the way to address these and provide justice to victims. It was also an opportunity to visit historical sites that seemed quite remote from the Latin American context.
I think that the MTJ degree allowed me to get my current position in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. The Geneva Academy and its academic programmes are recognized internationally as a guarantee of qualified knowledge in the area of human rights and transitional justice.
I use what I learned in class on a daily basis, especially when it comes to proposing creative alternatives – combining the paradigms of restorative and retributive justice – to deal with past human rights abuses in the Colombian context.
YES! I consider this master as one of the most accurate decisions I’ve ever made!
Geneva Academy
Benjamin Greenacre, Anamika Pillai and Rodanthi Violaki will represent the Geneva Academy at the 40th Edition of the Jean-Pictet Competition that will take place from 25 February to 4 March 2023 in Durrës, Albania.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributed to the proceedings of an international seminar on national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up (NMIRFs).
This event, co-organized with Amnesty International, will discuss the gains made since the UDHR adoption, challenges to the international normative framework on human rights and what the international community needs to do for a better future.
Geneva Cities Hub
This side event at the UN Habitat Assembly in Nairobi will discuss how local and regional governments localize the SDGs and fulfil human rights on the ground and their increased international visibility through the UPR.
Adobe
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.
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.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
A series of events aimed at discussing contemporary issues and challenges related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Geneva and beyond.
CCPR Centre
The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy