CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

HREA Distance Learning Course 4E:
HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING
23 September - 15 December 2002

Facilitators: Ben Majekodunmi and David Weissbrodt

This distance learning course provides participants practical guidance on
how to monitor human rights and is specifically a generic pre-deployment
course for human rights monitors. Participants will be introduced to the
doctrine and
methodology of human rights monitoring, primarily as developed through the
work of, and to be applied by United Nations (UN) human rights field
operations. The course addresses applicable international human rights and
humanitarian law; approaches to identifying human rights violations,
information-gathering, interviewing, visits to persons in detention,
visits to displaced persons in camps, monitoring the return of refugees
and internally displaced persons, trial observation, monitoring children's
rights, monitoring economic, social and cultural rights, preparation of
reports, interventions with local authorities and other follow-up.

The course involves 60 hours of reading, on-line working groups,
interaction with students and instructors/facilitators and assignments,
and is offered over a three-month period, beginning on 23 September 2002.
E-mail will be the main medium for the course, although participants will
need to have periodic access to the Web. The course is based on a
participatory, active learning approach, with an emphasis on peer-to-peer
learning. Participants will do the required reading, prepare interim and
final assignments and participate in group discussions. The main course
text will be the Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring (United
Nations, 2001) authored by the facilitators of the course. The maximum
number of participants is 25. Students who successfully complete the
course will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Introduction and Context
Week 2: Applicable International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Week 3: The Monitoring Function: Basic Principles of Monitoring
Week 4: Identification and Prioritization of Efforts Regarding Human Rights
Violations
Week 5: Information-Gathering
Week 6: Interviewing
Week 7: Visits to Persons in Detention
Week 8: Visits to Internally Displaced Persons and/or Refugees in Camps
Week 9: Trial Observation and Monitoring the Administration of Justice
Week 10: Monitoring Children's Rights
Week 11: Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Week 12: Following-Up and Reporting: Following-Up and Seeking Corrective
Action
Week 13-15: Final assignments

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS/FACILITATORS

Ben Majekodunmi grew up in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Nigeria,
completing his university education in law and politics in the UK,
Portugal and France. He joined the United Nations in 1994 with the High
Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva; worked with the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) field operation to Rwanda (1994 to
1996); with UNICEF's Country Office in Burundi (1997) and the UNICEF
International Child Development Center in Florence (1998). He re-joined
OHCHR in 1999 and is currently based in Geneva.

Professor David Weissbrodt has taught at the University of Minnesota Law
School since 1975 and is now the Fredrikson & Byron Professor of Law. He
regularly teaches International Human Rights Law and other subjects.
Weissbrodt has authored a dozen books and monographs as well as more than
120 articles principally about international human rights. He has also
written articles on fact-finding, trial observation, investigating torture,
etc.

Professor Weissbrodt has engaged in human rights monitoring/fact-finding
in Canada, Congo, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malaysia,
Qatar, the Philippines, Rwanda, and the United States. He has helped to
train UN human rights monitors in Croatia and Haiti. He has also helped
to establish and continues to work with several international human rights
organizations in Minnesota, including the Center for Victims of Torture,
the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, and the University of Minnesota
Human Rights Center. As a member of the UN Sub-Commission and its
Working Group on the Working Methods and Activities of Transnational
Corporations, Professor Weissbrodt was asked to prepare draft UN human
rights principles for companies. In August 2000 Professor Weissbrodt was
also named the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of non-citizens. In
2001 Weissbrodt was elected Chairperson of the UN Sub-Commission.

ABOUT HREA

Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international
non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the
training of activists and professionals; the development of educational
materials and programming; and community-building through on-line
technologies. HREA works in partnership with education agencies, NGOs,
governments and inter-governmental organisations to implement training
programmes for teachers, NGO staff, jurists and other professionals
involved in human rights work. Current and past partners include, inter
alia, Amnesty International, the Constitutional Legal Policy Institute
(COLPI), Council of Europe, Croatian Ministry of Education, HURIDOCS, the
Inter-American Institute for Human Rights, the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, University of Minnesota Human Rights Center
and UNESCO. HREA is registered as a non-profit organisation in the
Netherlands and the USA. More information on HREA can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org

WHO SHOULD APPLY

The course is particularly intended for those presently responsible for
human rights monitoring in UN field operations or who want to work in UN
human rights monitoring but may also be useful to other human rights
monitors. Candidates should have a good written command of English and have
high competence and comfort with computer and Internet use.

COSTS

The course tuition fee is US$ 485. Scholarships are available for
applicants from Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin
America/Carribean.

APPLICATIONS

Application forms (in Word) can be downloaded at:
http://www.hrea.org/courses/application4E.doc

Applications need to be submitted by 23 August 2002. Successful applicants
will be notified by 30 August 2002. Full tuition payment is due on 12
September 2002.

Inquiries about the course can be sent to .