About the Research Group on Global Challenges to Human Rights
The research group constitutes a platform for multidisciplinary research on global human rights issues. Its members combine legal scholarship, social sciences, philosophy, and other approaches. Through contributions from multiple disciplines, the group creates a space for discussion and research that addresses ongoing pressures and violations affecting human rights, as well as new changes emerging in the human rights field.
About the Event
In 2024, the president of the International Olympic Committee echoed a renewed call “for the cessation of violence worldwide during the weeks of the Olympic Games.” Diplomats were very supportive of the resolution at the United Nations.
This project examines the concept of the “Olympic Truce” and asks whether the occurrence of the Olympic Games and related resolutions have any impact on levels of global violence and human rights. In other words, does the Olympic Truce contribute to an Olympic Peace?
This study quantitatively analyzes 1990-2024, which includes 16 Olympic Games since the 1994 modern call for the Olympic Truce. I find strong support for the role of the Olympic Truce in reducing international and civil conflicts, but mixed findings about the relationship between the Olympic Games and human rights.
This study contributes to our understanding of
- the role of sports in diplomacy, conflict, and human rights and
- the potential of non-binding resolutions on conflict and rights.
About the Speaker
Audrey Comstock is an associate professor of political science in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU), where she teaches in the political science and human rights programs.
She has a PhD in Government from Cornell University. From 2023-2026 she was the Director of ASU’s Global Human Rights Hub, and from 2022-2023 was a Carr Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights and Policy at Harvard University. Her book Committed to Rights: UN Human Rights Treaties and Legal Paths for Commitment and Compliance was published with CUP, and she has also published on UN Peacekeeping, human rights treaties, international human rights law, and COVID-19.
Her research centers on international law, international organizations, and human rights, with a more specific focus on UN treaty law, peacekeeping, women's, children's, and LGBTQ rights.
Practical Information
The lecture will be in English. Due to limited space, participants must register before the event. The draft paper will be shared with those who have registered prior to the event. We kindly ask that participants register in advance. The event is held on the 8th floor of Domus Juridica. If you do not have an access card, please reach out to fernannr@nchr.uio.no when outside.