Olivier Chamard / Geneva Academy
Our Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020 organizes two briefings – one for states on 14 December and one for NGOs on 7 December – to discuss proposals that are emerging from the seven regional consultations that took place in 2016-2017, informal thematic and global conferences, continued engagement with members of treaty bodies and an open call for papers.
‘These two briefings will allow us to update the diplomatic and NGO community on the development of the project and to receive feedback on emerging reform proposals that will be presented in the final report of the project in spring 2018’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier, Manager of Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy.
The United Nations (UN) human rights (HR) treaty bodies are a central pillar of the international HR protection system. They prevent HR violations by warning states about areas of concern, by advising them on durable solutions that address root causes and by adjudicating individual complaints.
Since the establishment of the first UN treaty body in 1970, both treaty ratifications and the treaty body system have expanded significantly. While this has enhanced HR protection worldwide, it has also created complex challenges that affect the system and those who interact with it: states, national HR institutions, UN entities, civil society organizations, individual complainants and rights-holders at large.
On 9 April 2014, the UN General Assembly (GA) adopted a landmark resolution (A/RES/68/268) on strengthening the treaty body system, which envisages a review of the measures taken at GA level in 2020. This review represents an opportunity to further reflect on the treaty body system’s future and develop innovative proposals and solutions without weakening the HR protection that the system currently affords.
The Geneva Academy is coordinating the academic input to this 2020 review via the creation of an academic network of independent researchers, a call for papers, a series of regional workshops, annual conferences in Geneva, as well as ongoing interactions with key stakeholders (i.e. states, UN treaty bodies, national HR institutions, civil society, UN entities and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights).
News
U.S. Mission Photo / Eric Bridiers
The Geneva Academy informed, via an official submission, the chairpersons of all UN human rights treaty bodies about the latest developments of the Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020.
News
Geneva Academy
Our new publication Defending the Boundary analyses the constraints and requirements on the use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS), also called ‘killer robots’, under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Event
Le film de Roman Polanski, La jeune fille et la mort sera suivi d'un débat modéré par le Professeur Riccardo Bocco, en présence de Sévane Garibian et Valeria Wagner.
Training
Nicolas Axelrod / Ruom
Cette formation en ligne permet d’acquérir une connaissance approfondie des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels (DESC), des obligations des états et des mécanismes chargés de les protéger et de surveiller leur mise en œuvre.
Training
ICRC
This training course provides participants with a deep understanding of the international legal framework for the protection of human rights (HR) and the environment as well as in-depth knowledge of how to promote environmental protection through existing HR mechanisms.
Project
Olivier Chamard / Geneva Academy
The Treaty Body Members’ Platform connects experts in UN treaty bodies with each other as well as with Geneva-based practitioners, academics and diplomats to share expertise, exchange views on topical questions and develop synergies.
Project
ICRC
This initiative aims at creating a platform allowing leading academics, experts and practitioners who work on right to life issues. It also develops research identifying and discussing some of the cutting-edge development as far as this seminal right is concerned, in the human rights, humanitarian law and the violence reduction contexts.
