Since its establishment in 1984, the Institute has been working actively with human rights in Europe. For more than 25 years, we have together with the Faculty of Law at Lund University offered the Master’s Programme in International Human Rights Law.
Since the end of the 1990s we have also been widely engaged in capacity development programmes supporting human rights change at institutions in Europe such as academic institutions, national human rights institutions (NHRIs), governmental and non-governmental institutions, as well as justice sector institutions. Regional training programmes on human rights and gender equality have been carried out for professionals from the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
Currently, the Institute is, for the fifth consecutive year, taking part in organising the Summer Academy for Young Professionals involving participants from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden. Another regional engagement concerns our ongoing collaboration with academic and civil society partners in the Nordic and Baltic States funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
In terms of bilateral cooperation, the Institute has previously been engaged with actors in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Uzbekistan (supporting the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office to develop a master’s degree programme in human rights and a training course on fair trial rights). We have also had partnerships with the NHRIs in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as with the Azerbaijan Young Lawyers’ Union.
Between 2010 and 2020, we cooperated with several academic institutions in Belarus through a comprehensive programme enhancing capacities to deliver high quality human rights education and research. Main results include the first Gender and Law courses run at universities in Belarus, and the establishment of a human rights centre producing multi-disciplinary research on topical human rights issues.
Since 1998, the Institute has cooperated with academic institutions in Turkey supporting human rights teaching and research capacity, and since 2018, with also municipalities to improve human rights work at local level by strengthening interaction between academic institutions, municipalities, and civil society organisations. As notable results, our seven partner municipalities have now passed City Council Decisions to become Human rights.
Sweden
Our office, and headquarters, in Lund, Sweden, was established in 1984. In 2016, we opened the Stockholm office, which aims to build our presence in the Swedish capital. Read more about our activities in Sweden
Turkey
Our cooperation in Turkey began in 1997. We support the development of human rights teaching and research capacity at legal education institutions and the sharing of this expertise with students and justice sector stakeholders. Read more
Armenia
In Armenia, we work with academic institutions, justice sector representatives, civil society, and other key actors with the aim of increasing their capacities to apply international human rights standards in support of ongoing reforms.
More information on our cooperation in Armenia is coming soon.
Belarus
We began cooperation in Belarus in 2008. Our cooperation, primarily with academic institutions, recently ended (December 2020). Read more