The Geneva Course is an interactive and intensive training. Since 20023, it is designed to empower our trainees and to support them in the use of UN and international human rights procedures.
They combine the theory, the exchanges on the experience of the participants (field situations) and the exposure to the multilateral reality (the HR-Council), which the trainees monitor.
The courses have been adapted and updated to address the emergent debates, topics and challenges as well as future threats to human rights, the rule of law and democracy for instance IA and NET[i], neuro-technologies[ii], human rights and outer space[iii], civic space and democracy, sexual orientation and gender identity, self-determination, women’s and child’s rights, ecocide, …
Responsive to the legacy of, past and present, colonial and oppression systems and policies as well as accounting for the centuries of systemic racialised and gendered violations and discriminations, our courses and trainings focus on the challenges and opportunities of the international human rights system and of our times.
The courses of gva4HR do also address the new trends and reforms within the United Nations ecosystem and in international relations. New topics, new mechanisms and new tools emerge along with new dynamics at play. The rise of new matters of concerns affecting or impacting human rights in national, regional and international settings leads to new initiatives and changes in policies (the Common Agenda[iv] and Summit of the Future[v], reform/strengthening of HR-Council, Special Procedures, UN HR Treaty Bodies,…) these are a matter of concern and study for gva4HR.
The Geneva Course, along with all our activities, programmes and projects aims at bringing awareness and clarity on the opportunities and risks while decolonising the theory and pedagogical practices of human rights.
With the wide training experience and expertise of its trainers in Geneva and abroad, gva4HR’s Geneva Courses are unique. The Circle of Trainers is composed of academics, practitioners and defenders with a broad and diverse knowledge and understanding of the human rights system, its dynamics, forces and stakeholders.
Participants in the Geneva Course
The Geneva Courses are part of a Programme of gva4HR promoting a full and effective participation of defenders from the regions in the work of the HR-Council. Such participation is essential for the quality of the Council’s debates.
Participants acquire basic knowledge in international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law; transitional justice; inter-governmental organisations (IGOs); the UN, its structure, its reforms and the role of its main organs; the trends in international relations; the functioning of the HR-Council and its mechanisms; the human rights standard setting process; and human rights treaty bodies.
Priority in the selection is given to defenders and NGOs from the regions. gva4HR also welcomes members of national and regional NGOs/CSOs coalitions working at the HR-Council in Geneva. We also open our courses to staff and members of human rights organisations having their seat or representation in Geneva, to young academics, interns and interested practitioners. Composed of its researchers and interns from different universities, gva4HR Programme of Human Rights Policy Studies (HPS) assists the trainees during UN human rights sessions.
As travels to Geneva are still difficult for defenders from certain countries because of visa restrictions, the Course will be conducted in a hybrid format, to allow those who cannot travel to attend. The programme and working methods will be adapted accordingly to enable trainees to benefit of a minimum of exposure to the ongoing debates.
[i] New emergent Technologies – https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/advisory-committee/digital-technologiesand-hr
[ii] https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/advisory-committee/neurotechnologies-and-human-rights
[iii] https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/index.html
[iv] https://www.un.org/en/common-agenda
[v] https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future