14 December 2020
In this interview, Tatjana Milovanović, currently enrolled in our MAS in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ), tells us about the programme.
I am an activist and human rights defender from Bosnia and Herzegovina and have been working for over 12 years in the fields of intercultural dialogue, reconciliation, and peacebuilding. I am currently the Programme Director of the Post-Conflict Research Center – a peacebuilding organization that works to cultivate an environment for sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the greater Balkans region. I am also an Associate Editor of Balkan Diskurs – an online platform for young activists and journalists that challenges stereotypes and shares diverse, independent views on society, culture, and politics. Finally, I hold an MA Degree in Democracy and Human Rights from the University of Sarajevo and University of Bologna, and a Law degree from the University of East Sarajevo.
Due to my legal background, the opportunity to further study international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and international humanitarian law has become one of the most useful tools offered by MTJ. After working as a practitioner for over 12 years, I have identified professionally the need to look at these areas theoretically to acquire a more solid framework to help me address these themes in the different projects and programmes I am currently involved in. Additionally, the MTJ is providing me with the necessary networking, knowledge transfer, and human rights advocacy skills to negate the inimical Balkan working environment.
I would consider the sheer amount of perspectives available to be the most important and enjoyable aspect of this programme. Opinions and creative and critical thinking by both my classmates and our professors and teaching assistants are a constant thought-provoking exercise that enables me to grow, learn and look at human rights and other topics offered by the programme in such different and exciting ways.
I would wholeheartedly recommend the programme to anyone interested in engaging with the topics of human rights, transitional justice and the rule of law. As much as the programme itself is demanding and can seem complex at the time, the MTJ is unique for its ability to connect you with experts from all around the world who are keen to share their experiences but also truly learn from yours.
My future professional goal is to establish myself as an expert in effectively resolving issues around human rights protection, fostering tolerance, and increasing mutual understanding in the world. The knowledge and skillset offered by MTJ have been crucial to increasing my impact on promoting human rights and advancing rule of law practices in my country, where I will return after this programme and continue my work in the civil society sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
UNDP Ukraine
Applications for the upcoming academic year of our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict are open. They will run until 30 June 2022 – meaning that interested candidates have two months to apply – with courses starting at the end of September 2022.
ICRC
In this new extracurricular activity, guest speakers involved in transitional justice (TJ) processes at the local level share with students their experiences in setting up, running, working, or resisting various TJ mechanisms and processes.
ICC-CPI
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, reviews the origins of international criminal law, its relationship with the international legal order including the UN Security Council and its coexistence with national justice institutions. The scope of international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression – is considered alongside initiatives to expand or add to these categories.
Dustan Woodhouse, Unplash
This training course will explore the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as with their implementation and enforcement mechanisms; and provide practical insights into the different UN human rights mechanisms pertinent to advancing environmental issues and protecting environmental human rights defenders.
Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy
The GHRP Fridays provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss the results of the United Nations (UN) Treaty Body (TB) 2020 Review and practical ways to implement change.
Adam Cohn
This research project, aimed via the drafting of a practitioners’ guide on human rights and countering corruption, to clarify the conceptual relationship between human rights, good governance and anticorruption, demonstrate the negative impact of corruption on human rights and provide guidance and make practical recommendations for effectively using the UN human rights system in anti-corruption efforts.