12 October 2021, 09:00-18:00
GHRP Annual Conference
Geneva Academy
The 2021 Annual Conference panels are organized in partnership with:


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After exploring the connectivity between the different mechanisms of the United Nations (UN) human rights system (2019 Annual Conference), and between regional and UN human rights mechanisms (2020 Annual Conference), the 2021 Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform will discuss the connectivity between national human rights actors and Geneva-based international mechanisms.
To explore these issues, the programme will highlight different aspects of connectivity between national human rights actors and Geneva-based international mechanisms
Sima Samar, Member of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and former Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) will deliver the keynote speech.
The conference is organized around two plenary panels in the morning – on coordination among national and international actors and on the digital shift – and four parallel thematic sessions in the afternoon. The four thematic sessions will address the connectivity between national human rights actors and Geneva-based international mechanisms in relation to systemic racism, the protection of the environment, the role of cities, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities.
The concluding plenary will discuss the importance of international roles in raising the profile and showing the situation of small states interacting with the UN human rights system.
The 2021 Annual Conference will take place both in Geneva and online via Zoom.
Registration for the Annual Conference is closed. However, you can follow online the welcome, keynote, morning plenary sessions and concluding plenary via this link: https://geneva-academy-ch.zoom.us/j/86858824906.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) provides a neutral and dynamic forum of interaction in Geneva for all stakeholders in the field of human rights to debate topical issues and challenges related to the functioning of the Geneva-based human rights system. Relying on academic research and findings, it works to enable various actors to be better connected, break silos, and, hence, advance human rights.
As a ‘Mechanisms Lab’, the GHRP supports the international community to engineer solutions to ensure the sustainable functioning of the Geneva-based human rights mechanisms and bodies, allowing them to address human rights challenges effectively.
Opening of the Annual Conferenc and welcome messages from
Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Graduate Institute
Ambassador Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva
Gloria Gaggioli, Director of the Geneva Academy
Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Rights Platform
Sima Samar, Member of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and former Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) delivered the keynote speech at the Geneva Human Rights Platform Annual Conference 2021.
This plenary 2 of the Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform discussed possible convergences, complementarities, and best practices concerning available human rights tracking databases and the value of digitalization for a more systemic approach to human rights monitoring and implementation that is also well positioned to contribute to sustainable development.
Feedback session on the four thematic sessionswhich addressed the connectivity between national human rights actors and Geneva-based international mechanisms in relation to systemic racism, the protection of the environment, the role of cities, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities.
News
Domenico Zipoli
The report of the second focused review pilot – conducted in St. George’s, Grenada, by our Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) with the Commonwealth Secretariat – shows the benefits that this exercise brings to both the work of UN treaty bodies and the implementation of human rights in countries.
News
Domenico Zipoli
From 23 to 24 March 2022, the Geneva Human Rights Platform conducted in Grenada, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, its second pilot of a UN treaty bodies (TBs) focused review – designed to discuss how countries implement specific recommendations issued by UN TBs between sessions.
Short Course
Francisco Proner / Farpa/ CIDH
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, aims at presenting the institutions and procedures in charge of the implementation of international human rights law.
Short Course
ICRC
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, will provide participants with an introduction to substantive human rights law. It will start with an introduction to the nature and sources of international human rights law and its place in the international legal system. The course will then provide a presentation of the main principles applicable to substantive rights (jurisdiction, obligation and limitations).
Project
ICRC
After having provided academic support to the negotiation of the UN Declaration for ten years, this research project focuses on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
Project
NYU Stern BH
This project aims at supporting the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights' project for the 10th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Publication