The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) is offering a free online training course for human rights defenders working on cases relating to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Taking place from 17-27 February 2025, the programme is divided into 16 sessions covering all the theoretical and practical knowledge required to promote and protect the fundamental right to FoRB.
The deadline for applications is Monday 10 February 2025.
Apply here: https://forms.gle/Pt5sgqdVAQ3NAv8E6
The programme will be delivered by leading experts in the field of human rights and/or FoRB, including Dr Nazila Ghanea, United Nations Special Rapporteur on FoRB ; Professor Fernand de Varennes, former UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues ; the Honourable Hina Jilani, IBAHRI Co-Chair, member of The Elders and advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan ; and Rangita de Silva de Alwis, IBAHRI Vice Chair and a member of the treaty body to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Sessions will take place online at 1100 GMT / 1300 GMT / 1400 GMT and will be recorded for participants to watch at their convenience. A brief overview of each session is below. For the full schedule with dates and times, click here .
- Session 1: Introduction to international legal standards and the right to FoRB.
- Sessions 2-5: FoRB and how it relates to freedom of expression; minority issues; women's rights and atrocity crimes.
- Sessions 6-7: FoRB country perspectives, covering China, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan.
- Session 8: Summary.
- Sessions 9-11: Existing mechanisms for documenting human rights violations, documenting international crimes for accountability purposes, international protocol and the Murad Code .
- Sessions 12-15: Engaging international mechanisms, such as the UN special mechanisms, the UN Human Rights Committee , the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights . Domestic options and the use of universal jurisdiction.
- Session 16: Summary.
The IBAHRI is delivering the training in collaboration with the Rule of Law Expertise UK (ROLE UK). ROLE UK is a programme of the Advocates for International Development (A4ID), funded by the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office . A4ID is a global charity working to strengthen the rule of law in developing countries by supporting partnerships to provide high-quality pro bono legal and judicial expertise.
