Book Launch – ‘Faith in United Nations Human Rights Treaties’

Faith-based actors have helped to conceptualize key provisions in international conventions, and they also have an important role in supporting compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law. The recently published book ‘Faith in United Nations Human Rights Treaties’ (available in open access) provides legal and religious commentaries for peer-learning and research on how faith-based actors have been involved (or not) in drafting and implementing the respective conventions.

Our Geneva Human Rights Platform, a special project of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, is pleased to host this launch, that will see presentations from the co-editors of the book and contributors including former faculty and alumni.

The panelists will discuss selected book chapters on international humanitarian law and human rights. These will include, the chapter on the ‘dictates of the public conscience’ that follows-up on the Geneva Academy optional course on ‘Religions, Beliefs and Human Rights’ (taught by Prof. Ibrahim Salama and Dr. Michael Wiener in 2023-4), and the related LLM paper by alumna Ritika Sharma, for which she was awarded the Henry Dunant Prize in 2024.

The panel will be followed by an interactive session with questions and answers.

Introduction:

Prof. Cécile Aptel (Geneva Academy) and Prof. Ibrahim Salama (British University in Egypt)

Panel:

Influence of Islamic law principles on drafting the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions: Dr. Ahmed Al-Dawoody (ICRC) and Medha Damojipurapu (CILRAP Fellow)

‘Dictates of the public conscience’ in the Hague Conventions and Geneva Conventions: Ritika Sharma (LLM graduate 2023-2024 from Geneva Academy)

Absence of Dharmic thought in the travaux préparatoires of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Dr. Bhumika Modh (Association of People with Disability)

Commentary on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Şafak Pavey (UNHCR) and Dr. Michael Wiener (Kellogg College Visiting Fellow)

Interactive discussion:

Moderated by Prof. Cécile Aptel (Geneva Academy)

Concluding remarks:

H.E. Dr. David Fernández Puyana (University for Peace)