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24 September 2020
Students of our Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ) – 2019-2020 academic year – successfully took up the challenge of addressing in around 20-pages contemporary transitional justice (TJ) issues and challenges.
‘The writing of a master’s paper forms an integral part of the programme. It allows students to further explore an issue of interest under the guidance of a Faculty member, develop their critical thinking concisely and convincingly, creatively apply the notions they have learned in class in relation to specific problems and cases, and to propose possible avenues for addressing gaps in theory or practice ’ explains Frank Haldemann, former Co-Director of the MTJ.
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Geneva Academy
While the writing of a master’s paper is in itself a lonely exercise, this was reinforced by the COVID–19 pandemic, as students could not meet in person with their peers and supervisors to exchange around their work.
‘Despite this additional layer of complexity, our students managed to submit highly innovative and original papers in time’ underlines Thomas Unger, former Co-Director of the programme.
MTJ students submitted their papers in August and are receiving their grades.
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Students’ papers address TJ issues in specific countries, as well as larger transitional justice questions and challenges.
‘The variety of country situations addressed by our students in their master’s papers – Armenia, Brazil, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, – shows that TJ processes or questions are at play in numerous countries and regions’ explains Thomas Unger.
Students also discussed contemporary issues and challenges like victims’ participation – including children – in TJ processes; reparative justice for violations of economic, social and cultural rights; gender-specific dimensions for TJ in post-conflict context; articulation and coherence between national TJ mechanisms and the International Criminal Court; TJ and collective memory; restitution of looted or stolen art and cultural assets during conflict or the colonial period; or TJ and missing persons.
‘These paper show that our students have a good grasp of theories and practices relevant to TJ and are now well equipped to take-up new responsibilities in the field’ underlines Frank Haldemann.
Enough Project
Awarded every year during the Graduation Ceremony, the Best MTJ Paper Prize is given to one student for a paper of exceptional academic quality.
Arthur Nguyen dao
Graduation hats in the air
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Our research brief 'Neurotechnology - Integrating Human Rights in Regulation' examines the human rights challenges posed by the rapid development of neurotechnology.
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Human Rights Platform has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking.
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This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.
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.
CCPR Centre
The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.
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This project addresses the human rights implications stemming from the development of neurotechnology for commercial, non-therapeutic ends, and is based on a partnership between the Geneva Academy, the Geneva University Neurocentre and the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee.