Practical information
This seminar will be held in a hybrid format, in person and on Zoom.
Please register to the seminar using the link below. Deadline for registration: 15 September 2023, at 12:00 CET.
Context
The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights have been working on human rights issues for decades. A recurring debate that has accompanied international human rights law and mechanisms is whether they have any impact. The joint Utforsk project provides a venue for discussing the issue of impact of UN human rights treaties and mechanisms at the domestic level.
The Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria) has been running the Pretoria United Nations human rights treaty system impact study, led by the late Professor Christoph Heyns, Professor Frans Viljoen (Director of the Centre), and Professor Rachel Murray. This is a large-scale, long term project aimed at facilitating a better understanding of the dynamics involved in the processes through which the UN human rights treaty system (the treaties themselves and the treaty monitoring bodies based in Geneva) makes a difference on the domestic level, or fails to do so. Without understanding to what extent what happens in Geneva actually helps to bring about change where it matters - to the people on the ground, worldwide - it is impossible to learn the lessons needed to ensure that the system will meet the challenges of the 21st century and thrives, or even merely survives. There was a 2002 and 2023 book whose results are reflected also in this seminar.
‘Impact’, of course, has many dimensions, and can be approached from a variety of angles. The goal here is not to comprehensively cover this broad discussion, and to provide final answers on where human rights have an impact and where not, but rather to make it possible for researchers who look at impact from any angle to have easy access to some of the core sources they should take into consideration: the documents available in the UN system, or on the domestic level, demonstrating pathways of material impact of the system in the countries in question.
Program
First part (13.00-14.15)
General perspectives on the domestic impact of human rights, including UN human rights treaties and mechanisms - Moderated by Gentian Zyberi
13.00-13.05 Gentian Zyberi, Welcoming remarks
13.05-13.25 Peris Jones, Human rights impact
13.25-13.40 Q&A
13.40-14.00 Bård Anders Andreassen, Human rights indicators
14.00-14.15 Q&A
Short coffee break (15 minutes)
Second part (14.30-16.00)
Impact of human rights work at the domestic level - Moderated by Frans Viljoen
14.30-14.45 Foluso Adegalu, Update on the database and some findings on impact in South Africa (CHR)
14.45-15.00 Q&A
15.0-15.15 Sena Bârân Kaya, The Impact of the UN Convention Against Torture in Türkiye (UiO)
15.15-15.25 Q&A
15.25-15.40 Ntokozo Sibanyoni, The domestic impact of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in South Africa (CHR)
15.40-15.55 Q&A
15.55-16.00 Gentian Zyberi, Concluding remarks