Summer School on Human Rights ends in Moscow

Seventy five Masters Students, senior undergraduates and post-graduates were selected throughout the Russian Federation to attend the second instalment of the week-long Summer School on Human Rights of the Consortium of Russian Universities.

The Summer School programme is an intensive interdisciplinary training aimed at expanding participants' practical knowledge of international human rights norms and mechanisms, including the human rights-based approach; universal and regional human rights protection mechanisms, including the European Court of Human Rights; and the application of international human rights standards to Russia’s agenda.

The programme also features a Moot Court competition based on the model of the European Court of Human Rights. Teams from the Consortium of Russian Universities competed in two optional clusters: "Human rights and Threats and Challenges of the XXI Century" or "Human rights agenda for Russia". Students also participated in a roundtable at the Sakharov Center.

The Summer School brought together experts from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the federal and regional representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consortium’s university professors, representatives of the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization, and prominent Russian human rights activists and NGO representatives.

The second Summer School on Human Rights was held in the framework of the Inter-University Master degree programme titled “International Protection of Human Rights”. The Masters is implemented by the Consortium of Universities of Russia with the support of the UN Human Rights Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, as envisaged under the OHCHR Framework for Cooperation with the Russian Federation.

“The Human Rights Master Programme is a unique and innovative inter-university programme for human rights education in Russia.  It focuses on international standards of human rights protection while giving a multidisciplinary perspective on the human rights theory and practice,” said Ryszard Komenda, OHCHR Senior Human Rights Adviser based in the UN Country Team in the Russian Federation.

The support of OHCHR is designed to integrate high-level human rights education in the formal education sector that will contribute to strengthening a culture of respect for human rights, the rule of law and non-discrimination.

More than 60 alumni of the Human Rights Master Programme of the Consortium are employed in government ministries, as well as national and international governmental and non-governmental bodies dealing with human rights. Their capacities acquired through the programme will help ensure that the human rights-based approach is implemented by the Government’s institutions to improve the protection and promotion of human rights in Russia.

“The successful implementation of this important programme is contributing to the realization of the thematic priorities outlined in OHCHR’s Management Plan for 2014-2017, notably through the establishment and strengthening of effective human rights education programmes for youth in the Russian Federation,” Komenda highlighted.
 
The Consortium of Russian Universities is comprised of the following higher learning institutions: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Kazan Federal University, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Perm State University, and the Russian State University for the Humanities.

 27 June 2014