Event information

1 November 2023, 17:00-18:30

A Rights-Based Approach to Conflict Prevention

Event

Two Commissioners of a three-member team from the UN Commission on Human Rights speak to Journalists at a press conference. Two Commissioners of a three-member team from the UN Commission on Human Rights speak to Journalists at a press conference.

unnamed

The war in Ukraine has highlighted the weakness of the multilateral system in responding to large-scale risks of violent conflict. However, over recent years, there has been a growing evidence base that human rights-driven approaches to conflict risks can be very effective, from the increasing role of the Human Rights Council on matters of peace and security to more field-driven human rights work in conflict settings.

Drawing on the past year of empirical research, this event at the 2023 Geneva Peace Week – co-organized with United Nations University Centre for Policy Research and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy – will showcase the promising possibilities of a rights-based approach to conflict prevention, including case study findings from South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Mali, and more. It will also draw on joint research into the prospects of more effectively using the human rights architecture for the UN's peacebuilding and peacekeeping work.

Panelists

  • Adam Day, Head of the Geneva Office, United Nations University
  • Charlie Hunt, Senior Fellow, United Nations University
  • Florence Foster, Representative for Peace and Disarmament, QUNO
  • Erica Harper, Head of Research and Policy Studies, Geneva Academy

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

GHRP Ai for Good Workshop News

Exploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Human Rights Monitoring: Key Takeaways from the AI for Good Workshop

22 July 2025

Our event brought together human rights practitioners, data scientists, and AI experts to explore how artificial intelligence can support efforts to monitor human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Read more

2024 Geneva Academy Annual Report News

Our 2024 Annual Report

28 July 2025

Our 2024 Annual Report highlights significant achievements in international humanitarian law education and research during a year marked by deepening global humanitarian crises.

Read more

Digital Globe Event

Information Management & Machine Learning for Human Rights: Digital Transformation in the Public Sector - Workshop at the 2025 LATSIS Symposium

12 September 2025, 13:30-15:30

This interactive, two-part workshop will explore how modern data-science tools – including machine learning and AI – can be leveraged to support the United Nations in promoting and protecting human rights.

Read more

Digital Globe Event

AI and Human RIghts: Risks and Promises - Panel at the 2025 LATSIS Symposium

10 September 2025, 16:30-17:45

This Human Rights Conversation will explore how AI is being used by human rights institutions to enhance the efficiency, scope, and impact of monitoring and implementation frameworks.

Read more

Training

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Screenshot of the RULAC webpage Project

Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts (RULAC)

Started in May 2007

The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts project (RULAC) is a unique online portal that identifies and classifies all situations of armed violence that amount to an armed conflict under international humanitarian law (IHL). It is primarily a legal reference source for a broad audience, including non-specialists, interested in issues surrounding the classification of armed conflicts under IHL.

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more