HRC Virtual Classroom

This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of 'forced migration', and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.

This six week specialized online course introduces participants to the gender dimensions of the interface between development and human rights. Social constructions shape our identity, and thus, have critical impact on our daily lives. Diverse gender identities and concepts are taught in formal and informal educational institutions and determine our past, present and future, and may lead to inequality. Gender inequality and inequity then, may lead to human (and women’s) rights violations. This course will give an introduction to the solutions suggested by Gender Mainstreaming to gender inequality in human rights and development work based on the analysis of social constructions and through gender sensitive educational tools. By means of e-conversations and dialogue, the training will combine academic theory with participants’ lived and work experiences. The course will provide participants with the skills to conduct gender analysis in order to ensure gender mainstreaming in human rights and development work. It will also explore mechanisms for human rights sensitive development intervention with a strong focus on gender equality. Finally, the course will explore the intersections between human rights and gender through an analysis of contemporary issues such as gender based violence, trafficking, sex work, contemporary slavery etc, which impede the quest for sustainable development.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since the 1990s, internal displacement has emerged as an issue of concern to the international community. While the primary responsibility to protect and assist IDPs rests with states, the international community has assumed a role in monitoring implementation of their obligations and assisting states and protecting IDPs to the extent that states are not willing or able to do so. In recent years, the focus of IDP protection has expanded beyond conflict-related displacement to also cover disaster- related and, still to a lesser extent, development-related displacement. 

This e-learning course is designed to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the legal and institutional framework to protect and assist IDPs. It will look at relevant national, regional and U.N. actors and key challenges such as the quest to provide IDPs with durable solutions and the impact of climate change on displacement.  The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, audiovisual materials, and interactive webinars given by UN officials who have worked on internal displacement.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international and regional systems for protection of refugees. Issues concerning international protection of refugees have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of this vulnerable group of persons was first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the challenges to durable solutions, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees is from the international and regional perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will provide participants with a comprehensive outlook on the interface between business, development, and human rights. Business corporations have always been, some may argue even before the advent of the nation-state system, important drivers of economic growth. At the same time, businesses have also often been accused of engaging in activities which may lead to violations of human rights of different stakeholders. This has enabled strong critiques of their role in the overall development process. This e-learning course will critically examine this business-development-human rights nexus with a particular focus on case studies from around the world. Several questions such as the human rights obligations of businesses, the manner in which human rights are affected by businesses including during armed conflicts, the specific linkages with the right to environment and labour rights and the ever elusive solution for accountability will be examined. We will also look at the idea of corporate social responsibility within the right to development debate. A major part of the course will be devoted to an analysis of the successes and challenges of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were endorsed by the Human Rights Council of UN in 2011. Participants will also learn the tools for conducting human rights and stakeholder identification and designing due diligence policies.

This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of 'forced migration', and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will introduce participants to the increasingly significant field of indigenous peoples’ rights and looks at the contemporary issues that have paradoxically led to a recognition of those rights on the one hand, while simultaneously challenging their implementation on the other. The course will address the broad spectrum of issues involved in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights, beginning with who qualifies to be “indigenous peoples”, the scope of their right to self-determination, the international and regional legal frameworks for the protection of their rights and the challenges associated therewith, and the debates surrounding the concept of indigenous governance. The course will also look closely into human security and human development issues relating to indigenous peoples, the role of investment, extractive industries and other business corporations in indigenous reservations/areas, and the effect of intellectual property rights on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Strong emphasis will be placed throughout the course on case studies from around the world. Participants will explore debates on mainstreaming versus autonomy, participatory governance, scope of ‘free and prior consent’ and the right to development, amongst others.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since the 1990s, internal displacement has emerged as an issue of concern to the international community. While the primary responsibility to protect and assist IDPs rests with states, the international community has assumed a role in monitoring implementation of their obligations and assisting states and protecting IDPs to the extent that states are not willing or able to do so. In recent years, the focus of IDP protection has expanded beyond conflict-related displacement to also cover disaster- related and, still to a lesser extent, development-related displacement. 

This e-learning course is designed to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the legal and institutional framework to protect and assist IDPs. It will look at relevant national, regional and U.N. actors and key challenges such as the quest to provide IDPs with durable solutions and the impact of climate change on displacement.  The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, audiovisual materials, and interactive webinars given by UN officials who have worked on internal displacement.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for protection of Stateless Persons, and the reduction and prevention of statelessness. Addressing Statelessness is an imperative in today’s world, given that there are more than 10 million persons who are Stateless. Yet, the global efforts to tackle the problem has not been enough due to various factors, which the course grapples with. The course begins with the conundrums of defining ‘stateless persons’ and debates surrounding the distinction between de jure and de facto stateless persons. Participants will then analyze the international legal framework for protection of Stateless persons as enshrined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, before moving on to the procedures for Statelessness Status Determination, the role of UNHCR, and the challenges thereto. The next segment of the course focuses on the limitations of a protection regime and the need for amplifying efforts to reduce and ultimately prevent Statelessness, as laid out in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The course specifically looks at issues related to acquisition of nationality by children, and then focuses on the contemporary challenges

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of stateless persons is, why does statelessness occur, what are the needs of stateless persons, what are the available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s stateless persons. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international and regional systems for protection of refugees. Issues concerning international protection of refugees have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of this vulnerable group of persons was first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the challenges to durable solutions, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees is from the international and regional perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a global human rights violation that constitutes a contemporary form of slavery.  It has acquired alarming proportions generating profits of billions of dollars annually, an organized trade in which women and girls are particularly vulnerable.  This course is designed to introduce participants to the different manifestations of trafficking, and to examine the broad spectrum of issues related to trafficking from an international and regional legal framework perspective. The course is oriented towards a human rights based approach to TIP and the recognition of the trafficked person as a ‘victim of crime’.  Special emphasis will be given to developing an understanding of the measures taken to protect human rights of the trafficked persons.

This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of 'forced migration', and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Centre of the University for Peace looks at the linkages between the environment, development, and human rights and examines how these linkages may assist efforts to protect both the environment and human rights. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on the educational, legal and social aspects of this relationship. The course will address climate change, environmental degradation, mitigation and adaptation, human mobility, human rights based approaches to the environment, loss and damage, and the environment and human rights in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. Under the umbrella of international law and environmental sciences, the course will pay special attention to hybrid legal approaches on the environment and human rights, including as a potential strengthening and dispersing method to address the nexus of environment, human rights and mobility.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for protection of Stateless Persons, and the reduction and prevention of statelessness. Addressing Statelessness is an imperative in today’s world, given that there are more than 10 million persons who are Stateless. Yet, the global efforts to tackle the problem has not been enough due to various factors, which the course grapples with. The course begins with the conundrums of defining ‘stateless persons’ and debates surrounding the distinction between de jure and de facto stateless persons. Participants will then analyze the international legal framework for protection of Stateless persons as enshrined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, before moving on to the procedures for Statelessness Status Determination, the role of UNHCR, and the challenges thereto. The next segment of the course focuses on the limitations of a protection regime and the need for amplifying efforts to reduce and ultimately prevent Statelessness, as laid out in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The course specifically looks at issues related to acquisition of nationality by children, and then focuses on the contemporary challenges

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of stateless persons is, why does statelessness occur, what are the needs of stateless persons, what are the available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s stateless persons. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course organised by the Human Rights Centre of the UN-mandated University for Peace introduces participants to Child Rights and Development. The first eighteen years of a child’s life encompass a wide range of capacities and vulnerabilities. ‘Children’ in any society, constitute the most vulnerable group who need a nurturing environment and protection for the full realization of their rights and capabilities. Children are critical agents of change and they are a responsibility of the family, society as much as that of the state. Comprehending the need for a consistent and harmonized approach, international agencies and national governments have developed and implemented a variety of child development and child protection measures.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) envisages a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity; a world which invests in its children and in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation; a world in which every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality and all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment have been removed. A just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which, the needs of the most vulnerable are met.


This e-learning course on child rights focuses on child protection issues, which will look closely at the entire gamut of international legal framework on the rights of children and protection of children with a particular focus on child rights violations and remedies globally. The course will explore legal, humanitarian, development and other strategies for understanding and advancing the human rights of children.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will provide participants with a comprehensive outlook on the interface between business, development, and human rights. Business corporations have always been, some may argue even before the advent of the nation-state system, important drivers of economic growth. At the same time, businesses have also often been accused of engaging in activities which may lead to violations of human rights of different stakeholders. This has enabled strong critiques of their role in the overall development process. This e-learning course will critically examine this business-development-human rights nexus with a particular focus on case studies from around the world. Several questions such as the human rights obligations of businesses, the manner in which human rights are affected by businesses including during armed conflicts, the specific linkages with the right to environment and labour rights and the ever elusive solution for accountability will be examined. We will also look at the idea of corporate social responsibility within the right to development debate. A major part of the course will be devoted to an analysis of the successes and challenges of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were endorsed by the Human Rights Council of UN in 2011. Participants will also learn the tools for conducting human rights and stakeholder identification and designing due diligence policies.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a global human rights violation that constitutes a contemporary form of slavery.  It has acquired alarming proportions generating profits of billions of dollars annually, an organized trade in which women and girls are particularly vulnerable.  This course is designed to introduce participants to the different manifestations of trafficking, and to examine the broad spectrum of issues related to trafficking from an international and regional legal framework perspective. The course is oriented towards a human rights based approach to TIP and the recognition of the trafficked person as a ‘victim of crime’.  Special emphasis will be given to developing an understanding of the measures taken to protect human rights of the trafficked persons.

This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of 'forced migration', and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Centre of the University for Peace looks at the linkages between the environment, development, and human rights and examines how these linkages may assist efforts to protect both the environment and human rights. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on the educational, legal and social aspects of this relationship. The course will address climate change, environmental degradation, mitigation and adaptation, human mobility, human rights based approaches to the environment, loss and damage, and the environment and human rights in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. Under the umbrella of international law and environmental sciences, the course will pay special attention to hybrid legal approaches on the environment and human rights, including as a potential strengthening and dispersing method to address the nexus of environment, human rights and mobility.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for protection of Stateless Persons, and the reduction and prevention of statelessness. Addressing Statelessness is an imperative in today’s world, given that there are more than 10 million persons who are Stateless. Yet, the global efforts to tackle the problem has not been enough due to various factors, which the course grapples with. The course begins with the conundrums of defining ‘stateless persons’ and debates surrounding the distinction between de jure and de facto stateless persons. Participants will then analyze the international legal framework for protection of Stateless persons as enshrined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, before moving on to the procedures for Statelessness Status Determination, the role of UNHCR, and the challenges thereto. The next segment of the course focuses on the limitations of a protection regime and the need for amplifying efforts to reduce and ultimately prevent Statelessness, as laid out in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The course specifically looks at issues related to acquisition of nationality by children, and then focuses on the contemporary challenges

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of stateless persons is, why does statelessness occur, what are the needs of stateless persons, what are the available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s stateless persons. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international and regional systems for protection of refugees. Issues concerning international protection of refugees have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of this vulnerable group of persons was first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the challenges to durable solutions, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees is from the international and regional perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will provide participants with a comprehensive outlook on the interface between business, development, and human rights. Business corporations have always been, some may argue even before the advent of the nation-state system, important drivers of economic growth. At the same time, businesses have also often been accused of engaging in activities which may lead to violations of human rights of different stakeholders. This has enabled strong critiques of their role in the overall development process. This e-learning course will critically examine this business-development-human rights nexus with a particular focus on case studies from around the world. Several questions such as the human rights obligations of businesses, the manner in which human rights are affected by businesses including during armed conflicts, the specific linkages with the right to environment and labour rights and the ever elusive solution for accountability will be examined. We will also look at the idea of corporate social responsibility within the right to development debate. A major part of the course will be devoted to an analysis of the successes and challenges of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were endorsed by the Human Rights Council of UN in 2011. Participants will also learn the tools for conducting human rights and stakeholder identification and designing due diligence policies.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights and development. The course begins with an examination of the different conceptions of ‘development’, including its evolution in theory, policy and practice, and its linkages with human rights. Participants analyze the concept of human right to development, which treats development itself as a human right and not just a process which leads to improvement in human rights. The doctrinal and policy implications of adopting a ‘human rights based approach to development’, and the related ‘right to development approach’, are discussed along with what such approaches mean, and what are the tools to implement them in the field. Participants will also explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development linkages. These include a critical analysis of the successes and failures of the UN Millennium Development Goals from a human rights perspective, and the implications for the new post-2015 Sustainability Development Goals. The role of strategic litigation in achieving the right to development, whether using that terminology or not, is then looked at with the help of case studies from around the world. Impacts of big projects on indigenous communities is specifically inquired into. In the latter part of the course, selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective will be examined, including the role of trade, finance, investment, development aid, and aid for trade. 

The course is designed both as a stand-alone specialized course on the linkages between Development and Human Rights, but also as a foundation course of the Diploma in Sustainable Development and Human Rights.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will introduce participants to the increasingly significant field of indigenous peoples’ rights and looks at the contemporary issues that have paradoxically led to a recognition of those rights on the one hand, while simultaneously challenging their implementation on the other. The course will address the broad spectrum of issues involved in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights, beginning with who qualifies to be “indigenous peoples”, the scope of their right to self-determination, the international and regional legal frameworks for the protection of their rights and the challenges associated therewith, and the debates surrounding the concept of indigenous governance. The course will also look closely into human security and human development issues relating to indigenous peoples, the role of investment, extractive industries and other business corporations in indigenous reservations/areas, and the effect of intellectual property rights on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Strong emphasis will be placed throughout the course on case studies from around the world. Participants will explore debates on mainstreaming versus autonomy, participatory governance, scope of ‘free and prior consent’ and the right to development, amongst others.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since the 1990s, internal displacement has emerged as an issue of concern to the international community. While the primary responsibility to protect and assist IDPs rests with states, the international community has assumed a role in monitoring implementation of their obligations and assisting states and protecting IDPs to the extent that states are not willing or able to do so. In recent years, the focus of IDP protection has expanded beyond conflict-related displacement to also cover disaster- related and, still to a lesser extent, development-related displacement. 

This e-learning course is designed to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the legal and institutional framework to protect and assist IDPs. It will look at relevant national, regional and U.N. actors and key challenges such as the quest to provide IDPs with durable solutions and the impact of climate change on displacement.  The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, audiovisual materials, and interactive webinars given by UN officials who have worked on internal displacement.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Centre of the University for Peace looks at the linkages between the environment, development, and human rights and examines how these linkages may assist efforts to protect both the environment and human rights. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on the educational, legal and social aspects of this relationship. The course will address climate change, environmental degradation, mitigation and adaptation, human mobility, human rights based approaches to the environment, loss and damage, and the environment and human rights in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. Under the umbrella of international law and environmental sciences, the course will pay special attention to hybrid legal approaches on the environment and human rights, including as a potential strengthening and dispersing method to address the nexus of environment, human rights and mobility.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international and regional systems for protection of refugees. Issues concerning international protection of refugees have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of this vulnerable group of persons was first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the challenges to durable solutions, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees is from the international and regional perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a global human rights violation that constitutes a contemporary form of slavery.  It has acquired alarming proportions generating profits of billions of dollars annually, an organized trade in which women and girls are particularly vulnerable.  This course is designed to introduce participants to the different manifestations of trafficking, and to examine the broad spectrum of issues related to trafficking from an international and regional legal framework perspective. The course is oriented towards a human rights based approach to TIP and the recognition of the trafficked person as a ‘victim of crime’.  Special emphasis will be given to developing an understanding of the measures taken to protect human rights of the trafficked persons.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights and development. The course begins with an examination of the different conceptions of ‘development’, including its evolution in theory, policy and practice, and its linkages with human rights. Participants analyze the concept of human right to development, which treats development itself as a human right and not just a process which leads to improvement in human rights. The doctrinal and policy implications of adopting a ‘human rights based approach to development’, and the related ‘right to development approach’, are discussed along with what such approaches mean, and what are the tools to implement them in the field. Participants will also explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development linkages. These include a critical analysis of the successes and failures of the UN Millennium Development Goals from a human rights perspective, and the implications for the new post-2015 Sustainability Development Goals. The role of strategic litigation in achieving the right to development, whether using that terminology or not, is then looked at with the help of case studies from around the world. Impacts of big projects on indigenous communities is specifically inquired into. In the latter part of the course, selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective will be examined, including the role of trade, finance, investment, development aid, and aid for trade. 

The course is designed both as a stand-alone specialized course on the linkages between Development and Human Rights, but also as a foundation course of the Diploma in Sustainable Development and Human Rights.

This short certificate course introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights, development and the international legal regulation of the two. The course examines the historical evolution of the links between human rights and development, the contested nature of their meanings, the classical doctrinal debates about the right to development and the consequences of such conceptions for international human rights law and policy debates. Participants will explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development nexus. The course also examines selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective, including the failures of the Millennium Development Goals, the prospects and challenges to the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals, development aid and cooperation as well as the political economy of conflicts and its relation with the development-human rights paradigm.

This six week specialized online course introduces participants to the gender dimensions of the interface between development and human rights. Social constructions shape our identity, and thus, have critical impact on our daily lives. Diverse gender identities and concepts are taught in formal and informal educational institutions and determine our past, present and future, and may lead to inequality. Gender inequality and inequity then, may lead to human (and women’s) rights violations. This course will give an introduction to the solutions suggested by Gender Mainstreaming to gender inequality in human rights and development work based on the analysis of social constructions and through gender sensitive educational tools. By means of e-conversations and dialogue, the training will combine academic theory with participants’ lived and work experiences. The course will provide participants with the skills to conduct gender analysis in order to ensure gender mainstreaming in human rights and development work. It will also explore mechanisms for human rights sensitive development intervention with a strong focus on gender equality. Finally, the course will explore the intersections between human rights and gender through an analysis of contemporary issues such as gender based violence, trafficking, sex work, contemporary slavery etc, which impede the quest for sustainable development.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for protection of Stateless Persons, and the reduction and prevention of statelessness. Addressing Statelessness is an imperative in today’s world, given that there are more than 10 million persons who are Stateless. Yet, the global efforts to tackle the problem has not been enough due to various factors, which the course grapples with. The course begins with the conundrums of defining ‘stateless persons’ and debates surrounding the distinction between de jure and de facto stateless persons. Participants will then analyze the international legal framework for protection of Stateless persons as enshrined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, before moving on to the procedures for Statelessness Status Determination, the role of UNHCR, and the challenges thereto. The next segment of the course focuses on the limitations of a protection regime and the need for amplifying efforts to reduce and ultimately prevent Statelessness, as laid out in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The course specifically looks at issues related to acquisition of nationality by children, and then focuses on the contemporary challenges

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of stateless persons is, why does statelessness occur, what are the needs of stateless persons, what are the available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s stateless persons. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international and regional systems for protection of refugees. Issues concerning international protection of refugees have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of this vulnerable group of persons was first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the challenges to durable solutions, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees is from the international and regional perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will provide participants with a comprehensive outlook on the interface between business, development, and human rights. Business corporations have always been, some may argue even before the advent of the nation-state system, important drivers of economic growth. At the same time, businesses have also often been accused of engaging in activities which may lead to violations of human rights of different stakeholders. This has enabled strong critiques of their role in the overall development process. This e-learning course will critically examine this business-development-human rights nexus with a particular focus on case studies from around the world. Several questions such as the human rights obligations of businesses, the manner in which human rights are affected by businesses including during armed conflicts, the specific linkages with the right to environment and labour rights and the ever elusive solution for accountability will be examined. We will also look at the idea of corporate social responsibility within the right to development debate. A major part of the course will be devoted to an analysis of the successes and challenges of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were endorsed by the Human Rights Council of UN in 2011. Participants will also learn the tools for conducting human rights and stakeholder identification and designing due diligence policies.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda along with the Sustainable Development Goals provide an excellent platform for elevating the Right to Development (RtD) to a higher threshold in policy making and research, and thereby enhancing its impact in development practice. It also presents a significant impetus in terms of operationalizing this right in the implementation of the SDGs, with a view to realizing both the RtD and the SDGs in a mutually reinforcing manner. The RtD can be a guiding force to ensure that SDG implementation is carried out in accordance with human rights obligations, including the RtD. 

This 4-week interactive e-learning module is aimed specifically at understanding how the RtD can be operationalized in order to ensure a successful implementation of the SDGs. It is intended to contribute to implementing the SDGs, through specific application of the RtD, especially its international dimensions vis-à-vis SDG 17 and global partnership. The module will be based on, and rigorous in its application of, the text of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, and other international human rights instruments as well as on the text of the 2030 Agenda. 

The development of this module is a joint and collaborative project between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the United Nations University’s International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH), with contributions from senior academic experts from several regions across the world. The module is guided, coordinated and edited by Dr. Shyami Puvimanasinghe, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section at the OHCHR, Geneva; Dr. Mihir Kanade, Director, Human Rights Centre and Head, Department of International Law and Human Rights at UPEACE; and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Assistant Director at UNU-IIGH.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights and development. The course begins with an examination of the different conceptions of ‘development’, including its evolution in theory, policy and practice, and its linkages with human rights. Participants analyze the concept of human right to development, which treats development itself as a human right and not just a process which leads to improvement in human rights. The doctrinal and policy implications of adopting a ‘human rights based approach to development’, and the related ‘right to development approach’, are discussed along with what such approaches mean, and what are the tools to implement them in the field. Participants will also explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development linkages. These include a critical analysis of the successes and failures of the UN Millennium Development Goals from a human rights perspective, and the implications for the new post-2015 Sustainability Development Goals. The role of strategic litigation in achieving the right to development, whether using that terminology or not, is then looked at with the help of case studies from around the world. Impacts of big projects on indigenous communities is specifically inquired into. In the latter part of the course, selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective will be examined, including the role of trade, finance, investment, development aid, and aid for trade. 

The course is designed both as a stand-alone specialized course on the linkages between Development and Human Rights, but also as a foundation course of the Diploma in Sustainable Development and Human Rights.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will introduce participants to the increasingly significant field of indigenous peoples’ rights and looks at the contemporary issues that have paradoxically led to a recognition of those rights on the one hand, while simultaneously challenging their implementation on the other. The course will address the broad spectrum of issues involved in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights, beginning with who qualifies to be “indigenous peoples”, the scope of their right to self-determination, the international and regional legal frameworks for the protection of their rights and the challenges associated therewith, and the debates surrounding the concept of indigenous governance. The course will also look closely into human security and human development issues relating to indigenous peoples, the role of investment, extractive industries and other business corporations in indigenous reservations/areas, and the effect of intellectual property rights on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Strong emphasis will be placed throughout the course on case studies from around the world. Participants will explore debates on mainstreaming versus autonomy, participatory governance, scope of ‘free and prior consent’ and the right to development, amongst others.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since the 1990s, internal displacement has emerged as an issue of concern to the international community. While the primary responsibility to protect and assist IDPs rests with states, the international community has assumed a role in monitoring implementation of their obligations and assisting states and protecting IDPs to the extent that states are not willing or able to do so. In recent years, the focus of IDP protection has expanded beyond conflict-related displacement to also cover disaster- related and, still to a lesser extent, development-related displacement. 

This e-learning course is designed to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the legal and institutional framework to protect and assist IDPs. It will look at relevant national, regional and U.N. actors and key challenges such as the quest to provide IDPs with durable solutions and the impact of climate change on displacement.  The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, audiovisual materials, and interactive webinars given by UN officials who have worked on internal displacement.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace and United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security looks at the linkages between the environment, development, and human rights and examines how these linkages may assist efforts to protect both the environment and human rights. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on the educational, legal and social aspects of this relationship. The course will address climate change, environmental degradation, mitigation and adaptation, human mobility, human rights based approaches to the environment, loss and damage, and the environment and human rights in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. Under the umbrella of international law and environmental sciences, the course will pay special attention to hybrid legal approaches on the environment and human rights, including as a potential strengthening and dispersing method to address the nexus of environment, human rights and mobility.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international and regional systems for protection of refugees. Issues concerning international protection of refugees have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of this vulnerable group of persons was first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the challenges to durable solutions, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees is from the international and regional perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace will provide participants with a comprehensive outlook on the interface between business, development, and human rights. Business corporations have always been, some may argue even before the advent of the nation-state system, important drivers of economic growth. At the same time, businesses have also often been accused of engaging in activities which may lead to violations of human rights of different stakeholders. This has enabled strong critiques of their role in the overall development process. This e-learning course will critically examine this business-development-human rights nexus with a particular focus on case studies from around the world. Several questions such as the human rights obligations of businesses, the manner in which human rights are affected by businesses including during armed conflicts, the specific linkages with the right to environment and labour rights and the ever elusive solution for accountability will be examined. We will also look at the idea of corporate social responsibility within the right to development debate. A major part of the course will be devoted to an analysis of the successes and challenges of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were endorsed by the Human Rights Council of UN in 2011. Participants will also learn the tools for conducting human rights and stakeholder identification and designing due diligence policies.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a global human rights violation that constitutes a contemporary form of slavery.  It has acquired alarming proportions generating profits of billions of dollars annually, an organized trade in which women and girls are particularly vulnerable.  This course is designed to introduce participants to the different manifestations of trafficking, and to examine the broad spectrum of issues related to trafficking from an international and regional legal framework perspective. The course is oriented towards a human rights based approach to TIP and the recognition of the trafficked person as a ‘victim of crime’.  Special emphasis will be given to developing an understanding of the measures taken to protect human rights of the trafficked persons.

This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of 'forced migration', and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.

This six week specialized online course introduces participants to the gender dimensions of the interface between development and human rights. Social constructions shape our identity, and thus, have critical impact on our daily lives. Diverse gender identities and concepts are taught in formal and informal educational institutions and determine our past, present and future, and may lead to inequality. Gender inequality and inequity then, may lead to human (and women’s) rights violations. This course will give an introduction to the solutions suggested by Gender Mainstreaming to gender inequality in human rights and development work based on the analysis of social constructions and through gender sensitive educational tools. By means of e-conversations and dialogue, the training will combine academic theory with participants’ lived and work experiences. The course will provide participants with the skills to conduct gender analysis in order to ensure gender mainstreaming in human rights and development work. It will also explore mechanisms for human rights sensitive development intervention with a strong focus on gender equality. Finally, the course will explore the intersections between human rights and gender through an analysis of contemporary issues such as gender based violence, trafficking, sex work, contemporary slavery etc, which impede the quest for sustainable development.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course offered by the Human Rights Center of the University for Peace and United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security looks at the linkages between the environment, development, and human rights and examines how these linkages may assist efforts to protect both the environment and human rights. The course uses an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on the educational, legal and social aspects of this relationship. The course will address climate change, environmental degradation, mitigation and adaptation, human mobility, human rights based approaches to the environment, loss and damage, and the environment and human rights in the light of the post-2015 development agenda. Under the umbrella of international law and environmental sciences, the course will pay special attention to hybrid legal approaches on the environment and human rights, including as a potential strengthening and dispersing method to address the nexus of environment, human rights and mobility.

The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

This certificate course organised by the Human Rights Centre of the UN-mandated University for Peace introduces participants to Child Rights and Development. The first eighteen years of a child’s life encompass a wide range of capacities and vulnerabilities. ‘Children’ in any society, constitute the most vulnerable group who need a nurturing environment and protection for the full realization of their rights and capabilities. Children are critical agents of change and they are a responsibility of the family, society as much as that of the state. Comprehending the need for a consistent and harmonized approach, international agencies and national governments have developed and implemented a variety of child development and child protection measures.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) envisages a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity; a world which invests in its children and in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation; a world in which every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality and all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment have been removed. A just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which, the needs of the most vulnerable are met.


This e-learning course on child rights focuses on child protection issues, which will look closely at the entire gamut of international legal framework on the rights of children and protection of children with a particular focus on child rights violations and remedies globally. The course will explore legal, humanitarian, development and other strategies for understanding and advancing the human rights of children.

This short certificate course introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights, development and the international legal regulation of the two. The course examines the historical evolution of the links between human rights and development, the contested nature of their meanings, the classical doctrinal debates about the right to development and the consequences of such conceptions for international human rights law and policy debates. Participants will explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development nexus. The course also examines selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective, including the Millennium Development Goals, intellectual property rights, development aid and cooperation as well as the political economy of conflicts and its relation with the development-human rights paradigm. 

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a global human rights violation that constitutes a contemporary form of slavery.  It has acquired alarming proportions generating profits of billions of dollars annually, an organized trade in which women and girls are particularly vulnerable.  This course is designed to introduce participants to the different manifestations of trafficking, and to examine the broad spectrum of issues related to trafficking from an international and regional legal framework perspective. The course is oriented towards a human rights based approach to TIP and the recognition of the trafficked person as a ‘victim of crime’.  Special emphasis will be given to developing an understanding of the measures taken to protect human rights of the trafficked persons.

This course introduces participants to the diverse, yet interlinked, issues related to the trans-boundary movement of people and how this affects human rights. It starts off by exploring the notion of 'forced migration', and distinguishing it from various other notions that are used to refer to the phenomenon of trans-boundary movement of people. In particular, it looks at how different people have different access to other states. Is there a right to be allowed into an other state? If so, under what conditions? The course then moves on to look at the specific regimes protecting, in varying degrees, different groups of vulnerable people. First, it gives an overview of the international law of refugee protection. Second, it looks at how human rights apply, or not, in the case of undocumented migrants. Third, it covers the protection of victims of human trafficking and the policies in place against the smuggling of people. Fourth, it considers whether migrants in general are entitled to enjoy specific social rights. Finally, it takes a closer look at the human rights dimension of border control, in particular in cases where people die in their attempts to reach the countries of their destination.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for protection of Stateless Persons, and the reduction and prevention of statelessness. Addressing Statelessness is an imperative in today’s world, given that there are more than 10 million persons who are Stateless. Yet, the global efforts to tackle the problem has not been enough due to various factors, which the course grapples with. The course begins with the conundrums of defining ‘stateless persons’ and debates surrounding the distinction between de jure and de facto stateless persons. Participants will then analyze the international legal framework for protection of Stateless persons as enshrined in the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, before moving on to the procedures for Statelessness Status Determination, the role of UNHCR, and the challenges thereto. The next segment of the course focuses on the limitations of a protection regime and the need for amplifying efforts to reduce and ultimately prevent Statelessness, as laid out in the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The course specifically looks at issues related to acquisition of nationality by children, and then focuses on the contemporary challenges

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of stateless persons is, why does statelessness occur, what are the needs of stateless persons, what are the available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s stateless persons. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor.

The first eighteen years of a child’s life encompass a wide range of capacities and vulnerabilities. ‘Children’ in any society, constitute the most vulnerable group who need ‘protection’, and they are a responsibility of the state as well as the members of the society. Sexual exploitation of children is a serious violation of the rights of children, and an intensely complex issue. Comprehending the need for a consistent and harmonized approach, international agencies and national governments have developed and implemented a variety of child protection measures. There is therefore, recognition of the need for a ‘child rights’ based approach to child sexual exploitation, as not just a criminal activity, but one that has profound human rights implications; both for victims and for the governments and civil society that must deal with them.

This short certificate course introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights, development and the international legal regulation of the two. The course examines the historical evolution of the links between human rights and development, the contested nature of their meanings, the classical doctrinal debates about the right to development and the consequences of such conceptions for international human rights law and policy debates. Participants will explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development nexus. The course also examines selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective, including the Millennium Development Goals, intellectual property rights, development aid and cooperation as well as the political economy of conflicts and its relation with the development-human rights paradigm. 

The 21st century is described as the age of globalization, a phenomenon which is increasingly affecting human beings in every aspect of their lives. While globalization has undoubtedly resulted in significant economic and social integration at the global level, the pace and breadth at which it is occurring has also brought with it several unintended consequences at other levels for the global development project, and for the respect and promotion of human rights. The principal institutions facilitating this phenomenon such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, have often been accused of trampling upon development and human rights priorities, including livelihoods and cultures of people around the world. At the same time, these are the very same institutions that States have tasked, with the job of global governance at different levels. This paradox has led to very rapid emergence and growth of governance gaps. The critical challenge, therefore, facing the present world order lies in ensuring that the vehicles of globalization are oriented towards development and promotion of human rights.

The 21st century is described as the age of globalization, a phenomenon which is increasingly affecting human beings in every aspect of their lives. While globalization has undoubtedly resulted in significant economic and social integration at the global level, the pace and breadth at which it is occurring has also brought with it several unintended consequences at other levels for the global development project, and for the respect and promotion of human rights. The principal institutions facilitating this phenomenon such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, have often been accused of trampling upon development and human rights priorities, including livelihoods and cultures of people around the world. At the same time, these are the very same institutions that States have tasked, with the job of global governance at different levels. This paradox has led to very rapid emergence and growth of governance gaps. The critical challenge, therefore, facing the present world order lies in ensuring that the vehicles of globalization are oriented towards development and promotion of human rights.

This course is designed for working professional in NGOs, government, international organizations, businesses, or community leaders interested in addressing human rights violations through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tools. We will discuss the challenges and opportunities in using ADR tools to address various types of human rights violations from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Practitioners and scholars alike have started to develop an increased interest in the linkages between human rights and alternative dispute resolution. NGOs and international organizations are currently advocating integrated 3rd party interventions in violent conflicts that have both human rights and conflict resolution units closely working together. Throughout this course we will explore the role played by human rights violations at different conflict stages. We will also go beyond political rights, and also analyze the effectiveness of ADR tools in addressing violations of indigenous rights, civil rights in regard to racial, gender, and religious discrimination, business-related human rights, sexual harassment, and child labor. The basics of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) will be introduced and we will discuss about its potential role in addressing human rights violations.

This certificate course introduces learners to the international system for protection of refugees and stateless persons. Issues concerning international protection of refugees and stateless persons have undergone a sea change from the 1950s when the international instruments for protection of both these vulnerable groups of persons were first adopted. The contemporary world order poses serious challenges to their protection, beginning with identifying refugees and stateless persons within mixed migratory flows, inadequate national policies by states to protect them, their incompatibilities with international law, the role of international organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issues of xenophobia and security in host countries amongst various other issues.

This e-learning course is designed to provide a comprehensive picture to participants on what the international system for the protection of refugees and stateless persons is from the international perspective, what are their needs and available legal protections, which are the relevant actors involved in their protection and what are the challenges facing today’s refugees, stateless persons and host countries. The course also analyses the regional systems protection with the help of selected case studies. The course is based on a dynamic pedagogy including reading materials, video clips, case studies, and interactive webinars with the instructor as well as officials of UNHCR.

This short certificate course introduces participants to the major themes and debates concerning the relationship between human rights, development and the international legal regulation of the two. The course examines the historical evolution of the links between human rights and development, the contested nature of their meanings, the classical doctrinal debates about the right to development and the consequences of such conceptions for international human rights law and policy debates. Participants will explore the new streams of critique that have enabled a confluence as well as a questioning of the human rights-development nexus. The course also examines selected current issues in the human rights-development interface that are salient from a policy perspective, including the Millennium Development Goals, intellectual property rights, development aid and cooperation as well as the political economy of conflicts and its relation with the development-human rights paradigm.