Conference Publications and Training Materials
Each year the Human Rights Law Centre hosts or contributes to a range of courses, workshops, conferences and training events for professionals from around the world. The training materials and reports produced are listed below.
July 2009
This paper was prepared by Dr Alice Edwards on behalf of UNHCR for a seminar between UNHCR and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) held in New York in July 2009. The paper focuses on two main substantive issues: displacement and gender equality, and the right to a nationality, questions of statelessness and gender equality. It identifies a range of recommendations for further actions by UNHCR and CEDAW and collaboration between the two.
Venice
30-31 January, 2009
The workshop brought together diplomats, academics and practitioners to address bilateral and multilateral human rights diplomacy as practiced by States and NGOs. Delegates considered the development of human rights diplomacy since the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 and the advent of diplomatic office-holders tasked specifically with human rights responsibilities, in particular at the UN and regional bodies such as the OSCE. The Report of the High-Level Workshop on Human Rights Diplomacy captures the key issues identified and the range of views expressed during discussions, including on the following central themes:
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Characterisation of Human Rights Diplomacy
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The Practice of Bilateral Human Rights Diplomacy by States
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The Practice of Multilateral Human Rights Diplomacy by States
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The Practice of Multilateral Human Rights Diplomacy at the Regional Level
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The Practice of Human Rights Diplomacy by Inter-governmentally Appointed Office Holders
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Human Rights Diplomacy by Other Actors
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Future Challenges and Opportunities for Human Rights Diplomacy
11-12 February, 2006
Treaty Monitoring Body (TMB) experts, diplomats, civil society representatives, academics and OHCHR personnel came together for an international workshop to consider strategies for further TMB reform. This was carried out in the light of the 2005 Plan of Action of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and ahead of the OHCHR consultation meeting in May 2006. The workshop resulted in a comprehensive report that has been widely disseminated and is now commonly referred to as the Nottingham Report.
Other elements of the project are detailed in the project summary.
A related article was also co-authored in the Human Rights Law Review by HRLC Co-Chair Michael O’Flaherty:
M O’Flaherty and C O’Brien, ‘The Reform of the United Nations Treaty Bodies: A Critique of the High Commissioner’s Concept Paper’ (2007) 7 Human Rights Law Review 141
2003-2006
As part of a three-year training and capacity building programme (2003-2006) with the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) HRLC prepared and produced two sets of training manuals on human rights in English and Arabic:
HRLC also issued two Needs Assessment Reports on Human Rights Training Capacity of the MoHR. The reports assessed the overall human rights training needs of each of the key ministries within the Iraqi Government and the role of the MOHR in responding to those needs. They also made specific recommendations regarding human rights support to the MoHR, particularly regarding the establishment of a Human Rights Training Centre.
2003
As part of a three-year project (2000-2003) designed to improve the monitoring of, and reporting on, Russia’s compliance with human rights standards, the Human Rights Law Centre held a series of ten workshops across Russia handling monitoring skills, human rights standards and NGO capacity-building. These workshops led to the creation of a collection of human rights training materials entitled Human Rights Monitoring: Training Manual for Russia, launched at the project conclusion in Spring 2003.
2003
This three-year project was aimed at bringing the Ukrainian criminal justice system in line with European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) standards. The project resulted in a number of key publications:
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Fair Trial Training Manual: The European Convention on Human Rights in Ukraine – this resulted from a series of ECHR training workshops. As well as the jurisprudence of the ECHR, an essential feature of the manual is its focus on training methodology. The manual was launched in Kyiv May 2003 by NHRLC and the Supreme Court of Ukraine. 4000 copies of this manual have been disseminated widely to all levels of the judiciary, training institutions and lawyers and project human rights libraries etc. Available in English, Ukrainian and Russian.
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Monitoring the Right to a Fair Trial: Training Materials for Ukrainian NGOs – this complemented the Fair Trial Training Manual and was also produced in CD Rom format. 500 copies of this CD Rom have been distributed to NGOs concerned with criminal justice matters and project human rights libraries among others. The latter CD Rom contains a series of pre-existing trial monitoring manuals, training instructions, practical guidance on how to undertake trial monitoring as well as key jurisprudence and norms. Available in Ukrainian, Russian and English.
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A Concept Paper, developed in collaboration with Ukrainian partners, outlining the variety and benefits of non-custodial sentences
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Working with Offenders in the Community: An Introductory Training Manual – published in book and CD-Rom form and available in English, Ukrainian & Russian. 800 copies of the printed version and 400 copies of the CD were produced and featured instructions and training materials including sample supervision interviews. It has been disseminated widely to inspectors and institutions involved in training future inspectors.
2003
This nine-day training course for government and judicial officials, academics and other criminal justice experts aimed to give participants a comprehensive understanding of the ICC regime. It focused on issues of ratification of the ICC Statute and its implementation at the national level.
A database of ICC national implementing legislation was set up for the course, which went on to form the basis of a comprehensive National Implementing Legislation Database (NILD) created by HRLC for the International Criminal Court Legal Tools project.
An ICC reader prepared for the course by Rob Cryer and Olympia Bekou, The International Criminal Court, was also published in 2004 by Ashgate publishing.
1997
This work was edited by Stephen Livingstone and published by Nottingham University Press in 2002. It resulted from a workshop held in London in 1997 that was organised by the Human Rights Law Centre in cooperation with Amnesty International. The London Workshop brought together criminal justice experts from 18 jurisdictions, aimed at better informing the representatives participating in the drafting of the ICC Statute about the alternative proposals for the procedure to be followed in the ICC’s prosecution and trial of offenders.
The chapters in the book consist of the general reports of the Workshop Rapporteurs on particular aspects of criminal procedure in national jurisdictions around the world and extracts from the national and other reports upon which the rapporteurs’ reports are based. It also includes an introductory chapter that traces the history of the idea of an international criminal court and a chapter that analyses the elements of the right to a fair trial in international human rights law.