Customized training courses

Our Training Hub organizes customized training courses for international organizations, NGOs, governments or National Human Rights Institutions related to their engagement with the United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms or on specific human rights.

These courses are tailored to the needs of partners and audiences and combine the Geneva Academy’s human rights expertise with the network and outreach of the Geneva Human Rights Platform. Their design and content are elaborated in close coordination with the partners.

Located in the heart of International Geneva at our headquarters Villa Moynier, our customized training courses can run from one day to a full week. They can also take place online. Upon successful completion of the course, all participants receive a Certificate of Participation from the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

Should you be interested to organize such a customized training course, please do not hesitate to contact us at stefania.distefano@geneva-academy.ch

Geneva Academy Training for Diplomats January 2024

TRAINING BOOSTS GENEVA DIPLOMATS’ EXPERTISE IN UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

17-19 January 2024

The GHRP and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung held an executive course on the inner workings of the UN human rights mechanisms for diplomats based in Geneva, providing an opportunity to receive practical information about the functioning of UN human rights mechanisms.

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View of the training course and its participants

The United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

27–31 March 2023

The GHRP and the Norwegian Center for Human Rights held in Geneva a training course on the work of United Nations human rights mechanisms for academics and human rights defenders from eight Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.

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136 session of the UN Human Rights Committee

The United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

8–10 November 2022, Geneva

In partnership with the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, this annual customized training course allowed academic partners from various countries to develop a rare practitioner’s insight into the functioning of UN human rights institutions based in Geneva through a mixture of lectures delivered by experts and attendance of the Universal Periodic Review and treaty body sessions.

Negotiations Practices at the UN and Specific Human Rights Issues

31 August – 1 September 2022, Geneva

The GHRP delivered a training course for staff of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs focusing on negotiation practices at the multilateral level and at the United Nations, economic, social and cultural rights, the resolutions and outputs of UN Special Procedures, and the Universal Periodic Review.

Entry of the UN in Geneva

The United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

4–8 July 2022, Geneva

The GHRP – in collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights – delivered its annual training course on the UN human rights mechanisms to academic representatives from Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Providing practical insight into the work of Geneva-based human rights mechanisms, the course was designed to facilitate active participation and engagement in the work, implementation, and follow-up of recommendations emanating from the Universal Periodic Review and treaty bodies.

Freedom of Opinion and Expression / Freedom of Religion

23–24 June 2022

The GHRP delivered an intensive training to the Board of Trustees of the United Arab Emirates National Human Rights Institution on the legal principles of freedom of opinion and expression, the importance to enable a safe environment and to have a clear understanding of the limits of this right with the consideration of international standards, in particular as laid out in the Rabat Plan of Action

A session of the training course

The Universal Periodic Review: Towards Implementation of Recommendations

23 – 25 May 2022, Beirut

The GHRP – in collaboration with the Syria Offices of UNFPA, UNDP and OHCHR – organized a training course for UN staff in Syria on the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations on Syria that were issued in January 2022. 26 practitioners working in Syria for various UN entities – UNESCO, WHO, UNICEF, ILO, UNHCR, OHCHR, UNOCHA, UN Women, UN-HABITAT, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator for Syria, UNFPA and UNDP learned how to follow up in the implementation of UPR recommendations including via the conversion of UPR recommendations into SMART recommendations, the development of indicators to track implementation, as well as via the drafting of a human rights action plan in coordination with national partners.

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The UN in Geneva

The United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

1–5 November 2021, Geneva

The GHRP– in collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights – delivered its annual training course on the UN Human Rights Mechanisms to academic representatives from Malaysia, China and Vietnam. Providing practical insight into the work of UN human rights mechanisms, the course was designed to facilitate their active participation and engagement in the work, implementation, and follow-up of recommendations emanating from the Universal Periodic Review and Treaty Bodies.

Polluted beach with plastic

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

18–29 October 2021, Online

This online training course for Latin American NGOs representatives – conducted in Spanish and carried out in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – explored the different United Nations human rights mechanisms pertinent to advance environmental issues and protect environmental human rights defenders. The training course also addressed the synergies and tensions between international human rights law and international environmental law.

A woman working in agriculture

Promoting and Protecting Women’s Human Rights

13–17 September 2021, Online

This online customized training – carried out in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – provided professionals working on human rights issues in Asia with substantive and procedural knowledge of United Nations human rights mechanisms and their role in guaranteeing effective promotion and protection of women’s human rights, in particular their economic, social, and cultural rights.

A session of the UN Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

February 2021, Morocco

This customized training on United Nations human rights mechanisms was conducted for staff of the Moroccan National inter-ministerial delegation on human rights, in a collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

A session of the UN Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms

9–13 November 2020, Geneva

In partnership with the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, this annual one-week customized training course is an opportunity for academic partners from various countries to develop a rare practitioner’s insight into the functioning of UN human rights institutions based in Geneva through a mixture of lectures delivered by experts and attendance of the Universal Periodic Review and Treaty Body sessions.

The training course on UN human rights mechanisms provided us with a comprehensive understanding of the international legal frameworks, policies and procedures in place to protect and promote human rights at the national, regional and global levels.

Outeiba Merhebi

Co-Founder and Director of the Spotlight Center for Law and Human Rights in Lebanon