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


![]()



![]()

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
Carina Svenfelt works for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Tbilisi, Georgia, as a Programme Coordinator dealing with missing persons and their families.
News
Geneva Academy
The report of the first focused review pilot conducted in Sierra Leone shows the benefits that such a mechanism could bring to the work of UN treaty bodies and the implementation of their recommendations.
Short Course
ICRC
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.
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.
Project
Gorodenkoff/Adobe
This project will facilitate a multistakeholder consultative process to identify knowledge gaps, generate new evidence and co-design evidence-based tools to support regulatory and policy responses to human rights challenges linked to digital technologies.
Project
kris krüg
We are a partner of the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project, housed at the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre, which aims to map and analyse the human rights challenges and opportunities presented by the use of big data and associated technologies. It notably examines whether fundamental human rights concepts and approaches need to be updated and adapted to meet the new realities of the digital age.
Publication