Essex Human Rights Centre

06/02/2026

We’re hosting an important event on Thursday 12 March, 13.00–14.30, bringing together experts to discuss UN CESCR norm setting and country monitoring.

Hear from Joo‑Young Lee and Julieta Rossi, both members of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as they unpack:
✔ The role of civil society in UN human rights accountability
✔ How people with lived experience of poverty can be heard in global monitoring processes
✔ The future of the UN’s human rights work during challenging political and financial times

Join us on campus or online via Zoom.
All are welcome!

👉 Full details and sign‑up:

UN CESCR, norm setting and country monitoring: General Comment No. 27 and the UK review.

29/01/2026

We are glad to share two great new blog posts from the Essex Human Rights Centre

Legislating Emotion: The Crime and Policing Bill and the Right to Offend by Dr Rachel Bosler
https://hrcessex.wordpress.com/2026/01/18/legislating-emotion-the-crime-and-policing-bill-and-the-right-to-offend/

and

Local Human Rights Reporting and Review in Mongolia by Bolorsaikhan Badamsambuu https://hrcessex.wordpress.com/2026/01/18/local-human-rights-reporting-and-review-in-mongolia/

Please get in touch with us if you'd like to write for us! More details here: https://hrcessex.wordpress.com/about/

Essex Human Rights Centre The Human Rights Centre based at the University of Essex boasts a global reputation for excellence in the promotion of world-leading interdisciplinary human rights educati…

26/01/2026

Human Rights Leadership Lab
21, 22, 28 April and 5, 12, 19 May 2026
Early Bird Discount ending soon!

Led by Liz Griffin, Leadership Coach and Essex Human Rights Centre Fellow, this professional development course explores leadership through a human rights–centred lens, focusing on both organisational impact and personal sustainability.

Find out more and apply now: https://www.essex.ac.uk/short-courses/human-rights-leadership-lab

Don’t miss out on the early bird discount - book before 31 January 2026!

The Essex Human Rights Centre presents a live online course for Human Rights Leaders. This is a practical professional development course, comprising six four-hour modules.

23/01/2026

The Essex Human Rights Centre and Essex Law School are running the successful short course Law and Technology: Human Rights in the Digital Age for the second year.

Digital technology is a dynamic field which is a rapidly changing, and is increasingly prevalent in our lives. Its impact and regulation are critical issues for scholars, practitioners, policy makers, and students.
Led by Dr Giulia Gentile, Professor Audrey Guinchard, and Dr Matthew Gillett, the Law and Technology: ‘Human Rights in the Digital Age’ short course takes place in an online, live interactive format. The course will address new opportunities and challenges in relation to Digital Technology, AI, Law and Society. It will look at current and emerging challenges in digital regulation (social media platforms, AI regulation, data regulation) and will include the following topics:

🔹 Concepts: digital technology, AI, and human rights
🔹 Legal framework: human rights and digital technology (including the public/private dichotomy and fundamental rights)
🔹 AI, technology and online safety and freedom of expression
🔹 AI, technology and privacy
🔹 AI, technology and criminal justice rights
🔹 AI, technology and non-discrimination
🔹 AI, technology and the environment
🔹 AI, technology and the gig economy and labour rights
🔹 AI, technology and democratic participation

Please view our webpage for more information https://www.essex.ac.uk/short-courses/law-and-technology

Payments are available via our university webshop or by using your Proficio funds. Early Bird discount closes 14 February 2026.

22/01/2026

Come join us!! "Io Capitano" online event, 29 January 2026, 16-18 CET (15-17 UK; 10-12 EST). We will be featuring screenings from the film and have a great panel of experts to help us engage with the issues. More info here on the event and how to register: https://www.essex.ac.uk/events/2026/01/29/me-captain

To access the film:
▶️ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Io-Capitano-Matteo-Garrone/dp/B0D2K###XS
▶️ https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/io-capitano/umc.cmc.1ncniht0covjqjd8yva4lhptz?action=play
▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkytK2yEw0w

This is the 2nd event of the series: Human Rights Through Art, an independent initiative we are supporting with Cinephia. More info on the series here https://www.essex.ac.uk/centres-and-institutes/human-rights/events/human-rights-through-art

16/12/2025

✨ Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s Annual Human Rights Lecture!

We’re especially grateful to Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, an internationally renowned human rights lawyer, for making the trip to Colchester and delivering such an inspiring and thought-provoking talk.

We loved seeing so many of you join us for this special event. Stay tuned for what’s next!

10/12/2025

In a world facing new challenges to equality and justice, our annual tradition of chalking the UNDHR is more than symbolic; it’s a call to action. Every article we chalked today reminds us that these rights are universal, indivisible, and worth defending every single day.

Special thanks to all who took part today. It was great to see so many members of the Essex Human Rights Community get involved!

04/12/2025

🌍 Tomorrow at the University of Essex: Human Rights Reparations

📅 Friday 5 December 2025 🕐 1:00 – 3:00 PM (GMT) 📍 Colchester Campus, LTB05

We’re honoured to host Dr Damián Gonzalez‑Salzberg, who will explore how regional human rights courts approach compensation for violations of the right to life. His insights draw on extensive work with the Inter‑American Court of Human Rights.

Part of the Human Rights Centre Speaker Series, chaired by Dr Patricia Palacios Zuloaga with discussion led by Dr Ebba Lekvall.

✨ Open to all students, researchers, and practitioners interested in international law and justice.

🔗 Details:

Reparation under the International Law of Human Rights

03/12/2025

🌍 Next week, we’ll celebrate International Human Rights Day by chalking the steps of campus with the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This is a hands‑on tradition where everyone can join in — come along, grab some chalk.

🎥In a video from last year, Essex Human Rights Centre Director Carla Ferstman shares why upholding human rights matters now more than ever.

👉 We’d love to see you there! Find out how you can take part: https://www.essex.ac.uk/events/2025/12/10/chalking-of-the-steps

27/11/2025

✨ Today at the University of Essex, we explored one of the most pressing issues of our time: Artificial Intelligence in Counter-Terrorism – Human Rights Challenges and Institutional Implications. As part of the Human Rights Centre Speaker Series, this thought-provoking session brought together leading experts to discuss how AI intersects with security, law, and fundamental rights.

Professor Arianna Vedaschi & Dr Chiara Graziani (Bocconi University) – presenting their book Artificial Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism and the Rule of Law
Dr Giulia Gentile, Essex Law School
Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou, Sociology and Criminology at the University of Essex, University of Essex
Professor Wayne Martin
Chair: Dr Elif Mendos Kuşkonmaz

A huge thank you to our speakers and everyone who joined the conversation

20/11/2025

Yesterday we hosted an inspiring discussion at the University of Essex: Surveillance, Solidarity and the Law – The Future of Humanitarian Space.
This event, part of the Human Rights Centre Speaker Series, brought together experts to explore how surveillance and legal frameworks shape humanitarian work in migration contexts.

Huge thanks to our speakers Vanessa Topp, Tatjana Grote, and Professor Geoff Gilbert, and to Dr Elif Mendos Kuşkonmaz for chairing the session.

20/11/2025

Please join us for the Ninth Annual Human Rights Lecture at the University of Essex

📅 Thursday 11 December 2025 | 🕓 16:30 – 18:00 | 📍 Colchester Campus (STEM 3.1)

“When the Journalist Becomes the Story: Trends and Developments in the Targeting of Journalists” will be delivered by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, an internationally renowned human rights lawyer who has defended journalists and activists across the globe.

The lecture will be introduced by Professor Carla Ferstman, Director of the Essex Human Rights Centre/ Essex Law School, University of Essex.

Free and open to all – students, staff, and the public.
Discover more and book your place - https://www.essex.ac.uk/events/2025/12/11/annual-human-rights-lecture-2025