Expert Workshop on United Nations Special Procedures System
Dates: 6-7 November 2014
Location: Nottingham
Unit: Economic and Social Rights Unit
Core staff: Professor Aoife Nolan, Professor Thérèse Murphy, Dr Rosa Freedman
From 6-7 November 2014, HRLC's Economic and Social Rights Unit hosted an Expert Workshop on the United Nations Special Procedures System at the University of Nottingham. The Workshop was convened by Professor Aoife Nolan, Professor Thérèse Murphy and Dr Rosa Freedman of the University of Birmingham. They were joined by 21 experts including former mandate-holders, representatives of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), members of the United Nations Treaty Monitoring Bodies, academics and members of civil society.
The Workshop aimed to encourage participants to explore some of the strengths and weaknesses in the Special Procedures system and to consider proposals for improvement of the system, which faces challenges both externally from States, and internally from within the UN.
The Workshop considered the development and structure of the Special Procedures system and array of topical issues. Sessions were held on: The development and structure of the Special Procedures system; Operationalisation of the Special Procedures and engagement with States; the 'politicisation' of mandate and; the impact of ideological tensions on the Special Procedures System.
Speakers
- Professor Aoife Nolan, Joint ESR Unit Head and Professor of International Human Rights Law, University of Nottingham
- Professor Thérèse Murphy, Joint ESR Unit Head and Professor of International Human Rights Law, University of Nottingham
- Dr Rosa Freedman, University of Birmingham
- Professor Malcolm Evans, University of Bristol
- Dr Jessie Hohmann, Queen Mary University of London - Dr Elvira Dominguez-Redondo, Middlesex University London
- Marc Limon, Universal Rights Group
- Professor Olivier De Schutter, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2008-2014)/Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Paul Bentall, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Jane Connors, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Professor Shaheen Ali, former Member of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2008 - 2014)
- Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation (2008-2014)
- Professor Surya Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights (since 2009)
- Felice Gaer, AJC Jacob Blaustein Institute/Member of the UN Committee Against Torture
- Dr Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (since 2011)
- Dr Najat M'jid, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and the Child Pornography (2008 - 2014)
- Dr Danielle Beswick, University of Birmingham
- Phil Lynch, International Service for Human Rights
Proceedings from the Workshop form the basis of a book published in September 2017, The United Nations Special Procedures System (Brill, 2017), and launched at the UN in Geneva.
Strategic Planning and Human Rights Training for Commissioners and Staff of Bahrain's National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR)
Dates: 23-25 February 2014
Location: Manama, Bahrain
Unit: Short Courses and Training
Core staff: Professor Dominic McGoldrick, Agnes Flues
Building upon a capacity-building training that took place in October 2013 in Nottingham, the main focus of the programme was to engage the NIHR Commissioners and the Commission staff in a dialogue and reflections about the NIHR's Strategic Plans.
This three-day tailored training programme comprised two principal components: strategic planning for Commissioners, and human rights training for Commission staff. The former was delivered by adopting a comparative approach to the experiences of other national commissions. The latter provided an overview of international human rights law. Participants included Commissioners and Commission staff. In addition, representatives from the Commission of the Rights of Detainees and Prisoners as well as NGOs took part in several meetings.
The training programme provided participants with an opportunity to engage in dialogue with expert practitioners with significant experience of strategic planning for other national commissions. By focusing on principles of best practice, by comparing the experience of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the participants reflected upon strategies for complaints procedures, working with civil society and NGOs, evaluating progress on economic and social rights and preparing for Bahrain's Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council.
In addition to this, HRLC provided members of the Commission and Commission staff with training on human rights, which focused upon the development of the international human rights treaty system and the United Nations human rights system.
The dialogue between course participants and the expert training team facilitated a critical review, analysis and assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by the Institution for consideration in future planning.
Training team: Professor Dominic McGoldrick, Co-Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham, John Kissane, International Consultant, Randa Siniora, Executive Director of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, Palestine.
Afghanistan: Prospects and Challenges
Dates: November 2021
Location: Nottingham
Core staff: Professor Nigel White
A group of 20 experts, led by the University of Nottingham, set out their recommendations for foreign policy around Afghanistan in the following policy brief: Afghanistan: Prospects and Challenges.
HRLC member, Professor Nigel White, alongside experts from across four of the University of Nottingham’s research centres (Centre for the Study of Subversion, Unconventional Interventions, and Terrorism; Human Rights Law Centre; Asia Research Institute; and The Rights Lab) provided a holistic overview of the situation in Afghanistan, as well as recommended interventions and actions.