Current Issues in Human Rights Research Lecture Series

This series was created with the aim of fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas across various disciplines, providing a forum where cutting-edge research can be presented and discussed. By bringing together scholars from different fields, the series seeks to enrich the multidisciplinary landscape of human rights research and contribute to its ongoing development.

Over the course of this series, we have had the privilege of hosting distinguished scholars from renowned institutions, including King’s College London, Lund University, McGill University, University College London, Hertie School, and the University of Antwerp.

Previous lectures

• Andrea Sangiovanni. The Nature of Human Rights: How Human Rights Should Be Studied as Social Practices that Together Define a Set of Moral Standards.
• Daria Davitti. Sustainability Screening under the European Green Deal: An Examination of the Intersection of Human Rights and Environmental Law.
• Nandini Ramanujam. China’s Global Development Initiative and the Return of a Needs-Based Paradigm: Insights into Global Development Policies.
• Steven L.B. Jensen. Social and Economic Human Rights, The United Nations and the Intimacies of International Law: A History.
• Vladislava Stoyanova. Positive Obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights: Challenges States Face in Fulfilling their Obligations under the ECHR.
• Phillip Ayoub. The Double-Helix Entanglements of Transnational Advocacy: LGBTIQ Rights Revolutions and the Intricate Dynamics between LGBTIQ Advocacy and Conservative Resistance.
• Anita Gohdes. Repression in the Digital Age: The Role of Digital Technologies in State Repression.
• Gamze Erdem Türkelli. Governing Public Goods through Multistakeholder Partnerships: The Impact of Multistakeholder Governance on Human Rights.
• Nicole De Silva. Promoting State Commitments to International Courts: Evidence from the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights.
• Jeroen Temperman. Homophobic Speech under International Human Rights Law: What tools do states have to combat speech that undermines the rights and dignity of this community?
• Scott Cummings. When Lawyers Attack the Rule of Law.
• Aleydis Nissen. Global Value Chain Regulation in the Era of Geopolitics.
• Raluca Grosescu. Divisive Discourses on Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Violations. 
• Başak Çalı. The Making of Avant-Garde Interpretation: Institutional Design and Doctrinal Innovation in the Jurisprudence of the UN Treaty Bodies.

We are proud to host a lecture series that combines a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, law, political science, international relations, environmental studies, technology and security studies, development studies and more. This multidisciplinary approach allows the series to address the complexities of human rights issues from multiple angles, fostering a richer and more comprehensive understanding of the field.

By bringing together researchers, students, NGOs and our academic staff into our audience, the lecture series provides a place for engaging in dynamic, multi-perspective discussions, fostering the development of new discourses in human rights research.