Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC)

Speakers at the HRLC online workshop: Forging a path for human rights law into the AI risks conversation: Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law

Yesterday, the HRLC hosted a workshop exploring the Framework Convention on AI & Human Rights, Democracy & the Rule of Law. Huge thanks to our speakers, Mario Hernandez Ramos, Amit Thapar & Lorna McGregor, & to our event chair, @rachovitsa.bsky.social.

For more events, please visit: bit.ly/3JBZY16

📢 There's still time to register for our upcoming workshop on AI and Human Rights!

Join us, online via MS Teams, on Wednesday, 29 October from 13:00-15:00 (GMT).

Register here: ai-risks-workshop.eventbrite.co.uk

On 4 Nov, HRLC Deputy Director @rachovitsa.bsky.social will present at a panel event on "Age Assurance: Addressing Non-compliance, Circumvention & Unintended Consequences" hosted by the Law & Technology Research Centre.

🕐 12:30-14:00 GMT
📌 Online & in-person
🔗 For more information: bit.ly/4qnQebg

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Pretrial Detention in Trinidad and Tobago It was a cold case. Fifty-four-year-old Esther Williams was found dead at her home on April 28, 2014, in Cumuto, Trinidad. Her common-law husband and daughter, Sewak Jagroo and Shastri Jagroo, told po...

In her recent piece for JURISTnews, HRLC Member Dr Alexus McNally argues that failures in Trinidad & Tobago’s justice system, alongside its withdrawal from international oversight, have created a situation in which the accused are held for years without trial.

Read the article here 🔽
bit.ly/4nRaoby

Event poster for 'Forging a path for human rights law into the AI risks conversation: Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law'. Online via MS Teams 29 October, 13:00-15:00 (GMT)

Register now for our upcoming workshop on 'Forging a Path for Human Rights Law into the AI Risks Conversation'.

We are delighted to be joined by expert speakers: Mario Hernandez Ramos, Amit Thapar & Lorna McGregor.

🗓️ 29 October, 13:00-15:00 (GMT)
📌 Online
🔗 ai-risks-workshop.eventbrite.co.uk

Wonderful to see the hard work of our @uon-hrlc.bsky.social interns Joline-Sophie Klein & Aline Fabiana Campos Pereira (supported by @olive-the-above.bsky.social Welch) reflected in Tomoya Obokata's final report to the #UNHRC on the worst forms of #childlabour.

In July, UNSR on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata presented his report to the HRC on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

Our 2025 HRLC interns, Joline-Sophie Klein & Aline Pereira, supported its preparation through research & a formal submission cited in the final text.

🔗 bit.ly/3VcBCxd

This was such fun to do (and an honour to be invited on!) I love the Law at the End of the World podcast series with the brilliant @cristyclark.bsky.social and @Elizabeth Macpherson. Thanks so much for having me.

@uon-hrlc.bsky.social
@uonlaw.bsky.social
@doughtystreet.bsky.social

This week, HRLC Director @aoifenolan.bsky.social joined the Law at the End of the World podcast to discuss childrens rights, the rights of future generations & socio-economic justice - as well as her approach to policy engagement & her advice to early career researchers.

Watch here ➡️ bit.ly/3VK8Yna

In December, HRLC Member, @victorkattan.bsky.social, appeared before the UK Foreign Affairs Committee to provide evidence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Committee has since quoted Dr Kattan in their recent & highly anticipated report on the conflict.

Read more below ⬇️

Amid the rise of anti-gender movements globally, lets remember "Trans Human Rights Advocacy: Strategies Around the World" which explored key challenges, opportunities & strategies for advancing trans and gender diverse rights.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/hrlc/events/...

Read the latest from HRLC Director, Prof Aoife Nolan (@aoifenolan.bsky.social) on the treatment of future generations in the recent Inter-American Court Advisory Opinion on the climate emergency & human rights ⬇️

🔗 bit.ly/3GYbNgN

2/ The Court directly engaged with Dr Miyandazi's interpretation of Article 24.4 on the relationship between Islamic law & constitutional equality protections. An excellent example of the ways in which legal scholarship can inform & shape transformative jurisprudence.

Full judgment: bit.ly/3GP5qMO

1/ Huge congratulations to HRLC member, Dr Victoria Miyandazi, who's book 'Equality in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution: Understanding the Competing and Interrelated Conceptions' (2021) was recently citied in a landmark judgment of the Kenyan Supreme Court (SC Petition No. E035 of 2023).

Trans communities face rising threats, from violence & criminalisation to discrimination in work, healthcare, education etc. To explore these issues we were joined by:

▶️ Levan Berianidze @gateorg.bsky.social
▶️ Mauro Cabral Grinspan
▶️ Donnchadh Greene @doughtystreet.bsky.social
▶️ & Best Nithiwana

In February 2025, the HRLC hosted an event on 'Trans Human Rights Advocacy: Strategies Around the World' which explored key challenges, opportunities & strategies for advancing trans rights, amid the rise of anti-gender movements globally.

🔗 View the event recording here: bit.ly/HRLCtrans

For anyone who missed this conference, Conor Gearty’s talk is worth checking out

🔗 Missed the event? You can watch all of the sessions here: www.nottingham.ac.uk/hrlc/events/...

Closing the event, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti delivered a powerful keynote address, based on her timely book 'Human Rights: The Case for the Defence'.

Baroness Chakrabarti outlined the urgent need to defend human rights amid increasing attempts to dismantle their associated enforcement mechanisms.

Our next panel, chaired by Dr Scarlett McArdle, explored urgent threats to human rights, from AI systems to climate injustice, with insights from:

▶️ Tessa Khan @tessakhan.bsky.social
▶️ Prof Aoife Nolan @aoifenolan.bsky.social
▶️ Dr Mando Rachovitsa
▶️ Dr Wanda Wyporska @safepassageintl.bsky.social

The event began with a keynote address on 'Subverting Human Rights: The Role of Anti-terrorism Law'.

Delivered by Prof Conor Gearty @conorgearty.bsky.social, this keynote unpacked how these laws, shaped by Empire, Cold War fears & 21st-century security discourse, have steadily eroded human rights.

In 2025, our Annual Human Rights Conference returned on the theme of 'Human Rights under Pressure'.

Amid growing global threats to human rights, this conference brought together leading experts to consider the prospects for pushback globally, regionally & nationally.

🔗 Watch here: bit.ly/4lwz9Jx

Image of attendees at the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference.

Image of the conference organisers with the wider conference team.

As the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference comes to a close, we want to extend our thanks to all of our speakers, chairs & attendees!

A huge thank you also to organisers @hemimistry.bsky.social, @natkhod.bsky.social & Olympia Bekou. Until next time! #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session eight of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Mark Chadwick, Alison Bisset, Luke Eda, and Selman Aksünger).

Chair: Mark Chadwick, Nottingham Trent University The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention: Transforming Prosecution of International Crimes? - Alison Bisset, University of Reading Hybrid Justice for Syria: New Opportunities for Accountability in the Post-Assad Era - Selman Aksünger, Maastricht University & Istanbul University The Emerging Regionalisation of International Criminal Law as a Consequence of the Crisis of Confidence in the International Criminal Justice System: The Case of the Resurgent African Union-ICC Jurisdictional Dispute Over Heads of States Immunity - Luke Eda, University of the West of England, Bristol

The final session of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference explored the challenges of intl criminal justice in domestic spheres. Chaired by Mark Chadwick (@letter-of-mark.bsky.social) w/ presentations from Alison Bisset, Selman Aksünger & Luke Eda. #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session seven of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Christy Shucksmith-Wesley, Benjamin Thorne, Marco Longobardo, and Natalie Hodgson).

Session Seven: Evidence, Investigations, and Prosecutorial Policy Chair: Christy Shucksmith-Wesley, University of Nottingham Pseudolaw, Misinformation, and Article 15 Communications to the ICC - Natalie Hodgson, University of Nottingham / UNSW Sydney Artificial Sanctions and the Non-Human: Implications of US Sanctions on the ICC’s use of Generative AI, Digital Evidence and Investigation Processes - Benjamin Thorne, University of Reading Sufficient Gravity in Two Recent OTP's Draft Policy Papers - Marco Longobardo, Westminster Law School

Session seven on the UoN International Criminal Justice Conference focussed on evidence, investigations & prosecutorial policy. Chaired by Christy Shucksmith-Wesley w/ insights from Natalie Hodgson (@natkhod.bsky.social), Benjamin Thorne (@benjaminthorne.bsky.social) & Marco Longobardo #UoN_ICL25

Image of session six of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Maria Crippa, Sara Ciucci, Elena Katselli, and Giovanna Frisso).

Session Six: Protecting Victims and the Vulnerable Chair: Sara Ciucci, University of Nottingham The environment as victim in the International Criminal Court - Giovanna Frisso, University of Lincoln International Criminal Law’s Blind Spots in relation to Violence against Women and Girls and the Way Froward - Elena Katselli, Newcastle University Italy’s Failure to Cooperate: Is There a Judge Beyond The Hague? - Maria Crippa, University of Milan

The sixth session of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference examined the experience & methods of protecting victims & the vulnerable. The panel was chaired by Sara Ciucci with presentations from Giovanna Frisso, Elena Katselli & Maria Crippa #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session five of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring three speakers (L:R Alex Batesmith, Mando Rachovitsa, and Ilaria Zavoli).

Session Five: Emotions and International Criminal Justice Chair: Mando Rachovitsa, University of Nottingham Narratives of the Self: Professional Identity in the Autobiographies of International Criminal Lawyers - Ilaria Zavoli, University of Leeds (UK) and Alex Batesmith, University of Leeds (UK) Invisible Labour, Visible Strain: The Unacknowledged Emotional Labour of International Criminal Lawyers - Alex Batesmith, University of Leeds (UK)

We begin the 2nd day of the UoN International Criminal Justice Conference by exploring the autobiographically constructed identities & emotional labour of intl criminal lawyers. Chaired by Mando Rachovitsa w/ presenters @ilariazavoli.bsky.social & @batesmith.bsky.social #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session four of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring three speakers (L:R Ezequiel Jimenez, Jennifer Giblin, and Kritika Sharma).

Session Four: Governance and Accountability at the ICC Chair: Jennifer Giblin, Edge Hill University Governing the International Criminal Court: Tracing the Practice of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute - Ezequiel Jimenez Martinez, Amnesty International & CILRAP Forgotten Spaces of International Criminal Justice: Dealing with Misconduct and Whistleblower Protection at International Criminal Courts and Tribunals - Kritika Sharma, Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity

The final session of the first day of the 2025 Nottingham Intl Criminal Justice Conference addressed accountability issues at the ICC. Chaired by Jennifer Giblin w/ presentations from Ezequiel Jimenez (@ezejim.bsky.social) & Kritika Sharma (@kritikasharma.bsky.social‬) #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session three of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Mary Waterman, Michelle Coleman, Rory Sugrue & Javier S. Eskauriatza).

Session Three: Legal Complexities in Issues of Perpetration Chair: Javier S. Eskauriatza, University of Nottingham (Im)Proving Defences at the International Criminal Court - Michelle Coleman, Swansea University Ongwen, The Adult Child Soldier: A Victim or A Villain? - Mary Waterman, Swansea University Rethinking the Exclusion-Prosecution Nexus: How to Bridge the Accountability Gap for Vulnerable and Periphery Actors in Armed Conflicts Who Seek Refuge Abroad - Rory Sugrue, Tilburg University

Our third session of the day examined the legal complexities in issues of perpetration, chaired by Dr Javier S. Eskauriatza (@jseskau.bsky.social) with presentations from Dr Michelle Coleman (@michellecoleman.bsky.social), Mary Waterman & Rory Sugrue #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Listening to great presentations at this conference just now. This is the second year @uniofnottingham.bsky.social organizes what promises to become a flagship yearly conference on international criminal justice