Summary:

The aim of the course is to provide information on the UN human rights system by looking at the work and outcome of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

www.hrea.org/courses/10E.html

This will be the first-ever "real-time" distance learning course on the United Nations (UN) human rights system. The aim of the course is to provide information on the UN human rights system by looking at the work and outcome of the UN Commission on Human Rights. The course is scheduled parallel to the 61st session of the Commission in March-April 2005. By making extensive use of the Commission’s website -- which contains legal documents, press releases, and audio and video files on the session, and is updated daily -- course participants will be able to learn about the UN’s human rights activities as they present themselves to the world: in real-time, with immediate access to the original material, live and uncut, and with all the dramatic twists and turns a session of the Commission offers. The course will expose students to the real world of human rights in the making and offer them a glimpse into the world of human rights diplomacy on the highest possible level. An experienced course instructor will guide the participants through the Commission’s session so as to ensure a learning experience on a high academic level.

The course will provide a brief introduction to the UN human rights system, the core UN human rights standards and supervisory machineries, the charter- and treaty-based system of human rights protection, the role of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Subcommission on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, ECOSOC, General Assembly and Security Council. Special focus will be put on the history, mandate and composition of the Commission, its legal and political characteristics, and the role of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This will enable students to follow the deliberations of the Commission and understand the events as they unfold. Relevant on-line teaching material to this end will be provided.

During the six weeks of the Commission’s session, participants will be asked to follow the meetings of the Commission, focus on specific issues, read the relevant materials as they appear on the website and as recommended by the course facilitator (press releases, reports of Special Rapporteurs, resolutions, statements by dignitaries, etc.), analyse the performance of the actors and stakeholders in the session, evaluate the voting procedure, and form their own opinion on the work of the Commission. The course is intended to provide participants with the necessary skills to understand in-depth how multi-lateral human rights bodies function in their manifold capacity as law-making institutions, fora for discussions and reflection, and adjucators of states’ human rights performance. Participants will learn how law, policy and diplomacy come together and interact in the field of human rights.

Level: professional , post-graduate graduate

Location: Internet

Participants: university students of international law, international relations, politics and other areas, NGO staff members and other practitioners who want to improve their knowledge on the UN human rights system.

The deadline for applications is 15 December 2004.

Previous Course items

• 21/02/2005: Human Rights Advocacy - 2005
• 21/02/2005: Regional Programme on Human Rights - March and September 2005
• 21/02/2005: Quality Improvement of EVS projects
• 14/02/2005: Executive Master on Children's Rights 2005-2006
• 17/01/2005: NGO Leadership, Development and Social Change 2005 Gateway Course

Last updated 19/10/2004 06:35:53