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1-8 September 2025
Application start 21 January 2025
Application end 27 August 2025
Fee: 650 Swiss Francs
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On 8 October 2021, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted a landmark resolution recognizing for the first time the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as an autonomous human right. This resolution paved the way for a second formal recognition by the UN General Assembly on 28 July 2022.
In parallel, UN human rights treaty bodies have increasingly recognized the impact of environmental degradation and climate change on fundamental human rights, urging states to adopt measures that protect the rights to life, health, and housing from environmental-related harms.
Such developments illustrate the growing understanding that environmental protection and human rights are deeply interconnected, and that their enforcement relies on the collaborative efforts of multiple actors, encompassing international organizations, national governments, and civil society.
Participants in this training course – co-organized with EarthJustice and the Center for International Environmental Law – will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms. They will also explore the key issues pertaining to human rights and the environment.
The course can be followed online.
Over approximately 12h of training (4 half days) the course will cover the following issues
Upon successful completion the training, participants will have the knowledge and skills to:
The training course will be interactive and participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences and perspectives on the issues covered. The training sessions will include lectures and discussions with a wide range of experts. Sessions will be designed to enhance substantive and practical knowledge exchange with peers and facilitators.
All participants in our training course have access – ahead, during and following their course – to a dedicated community platform (on Mighty Network). This community brings together all the participants to our courses who have unlimited access to the training materials and resources shared during their course and can exchange with all the alumni of the Geneva Human Rights Platform Training Hub.
This training course is designed for staff of NGOs, development and human rights institutions, UN bodies and other international organizations, business enterprises as well as representatives of governments and members of academia.
The language of instruction during the training is English. All candidates must possess a level of proficiency in English that enables them to actively participate in the training.
Participants who complete the training course receive a certificate of participation from the Geneva Academy.
The training fee is 650 Swiss Francs and includes tuition costs and course materials.
The fee is payable as soon as your place has been confirmed. As places on the training course are limited, participation can only be secured through the payment of the fee. In case of cancellation by the participant, CHF 200 won't be returned.
Applications must be submitted via this online application form.
Admission decisions for our training courses are made by our experienced lead trainers. They carefully evaluate each application and may offer acceptance, conditional acceptance, placement on a waiting list, or, in some cases, may need to decline the application.
If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us: traininghub[at]geneva-academy.ch
Joie Chowdhury is a Senior Attorney in the Climate & Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
Sébastien Duyck is a senior attorney for the Center for International Environmental Law's Climate & Energy Program, and is the campaign manager for the human rights & climate change portfolio.
Yves Lador works as an independent consultant, and has been mandated by Earthjustice for its representation to the UN in Geneva since 1991.
Francesca Mingrone is a Geneva-based Senior Attorney for the Climate & Energy Program for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
This course will be conducted online using the ZOOM platform.
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