14 December 2020
In this interview, Tatjana Milovanović, currently enrolled in our MAS in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ), tells us about the programme.
I am an activist and human rights defender from Bosnia and Herzegovina and have been working for over 12 years in the fields of intercultural dialogue, reconciliation, and peacebuilding. I am currently the Programme Director of the Post-Conflict Research Center – a peacebuilding organization that works to cultivate an environment for sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the greater Balkans region. I am also an Associate Editor of Balkan Diskurs – an online platform for young activists and journalists that challenges stereotypes and shares diverse, independent views on society, culture, and politics. Finally, I hold an MA Degree in Democracy and Human Rights from the University of Sarajevo and University of Bologna, and a Law degree from the University of East Sarajevo.
Due to my legal background, the opportunity to further study international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and international humanitarian law has become one of the most useful tools offered by MTJ. After working as a practitioner for over 12 years, I have identified professionally the need to look at these areas theoretically to acquire a more solid framework to help me address these themes in the different projects and programmes I am currently involved in. Additionally, the MTJ is providing me with the necessary networking, knowledge transfer, and human rights advocacy skills to negate the inimical Balkan working environment.
I would consider the sheer amount of perspectives available to be the most important and enjoyable aspect of this programme. Opinions and creative and critical thinking by both my classmates and our professors and teaching assistants are a constant thought-provoking exercise that enables me to grow, learn and look at human rights and other topics offered by the programme in such different and exciting ways.
I would wholeheartedly recommend the programme to anyone interested in engaging with the topics of human rights, transitional justice and the rule of law. As much as the programme itself is demanding and can seem complex at the time, the MTJ is unique for its ability to connect you with experts from all around the world who are keen to share their experiences but also truly learn from yours.
My future professional goal is to establish myself as an expert in effectively resolving issues around human rights protection, fostering tolerance, and increasing mutual understanding in the world. The knowledge and skillset offered by MTJ have been crucial to increasing my impact on promoting human rights and advancing rule of law practices in my country, where I will return after this programme and continue my work in the civil society sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As a Human Rights Officer at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Ignacio Bollier works on cases related to crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations during transitional and post-transitional contexts. He tells in this interview about the programme, fond memories and what it brought to his career.
Geneva Academy
For the first time, two Geneva Academy teams will participate in the prestigious Jean-Pictet Competition: a Francophone team and an Anglophone one.
CIEL
Organized by the Geneva Human Rights Platform in co-operation with Center for International Environmental Law this event will explore the significance of this ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
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.
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 research will provide legal expertise to a variety of stakeholders on the implementation of the right to food, and on the right to food as a legal basis for just transformation toward sustainable food systems in Europe. It will also identify lessons learned from the 2023 recognition of the right to food in the Constitution of the Canton of Geneva.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy