16 January 2020
In this interview, Ramzi Kaiss, currently enrolled in our MAS in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ) tells us about the programme and life in Geneva.
My Name is Ramzi Kaiss and I come from Beirut, Lebanon. Before studying at the Geneva Academy, I completed a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and International Relations at Connecticut College in the United States (US). After graduating, I worked in the US at an educational non-profit organization that develops training workshops and produces educational curricula related to periods of genocide and mass atrocity. I then returned to Beirut where I worked at the Beit Touyour Ayloul Foundation as part of the team that was archiving the early works and articles of the late Lebanese author and women’s rights activist, Emily Nasrallah.
Lebanon has an interesting history of transition from war to peace in the absence of transitional justice mechanisms. As someone interested in the history and current political landscape of the country and the region, I knew I wanted to deepen my knowledge of transitional justice issues. I found that the Geneva Academy’s MTJ programme was an ideal option for someone interested in studying transitional justice and human rights from a theoretical, political, legal and practical approach.
The best thing about the programme has been the classes and the people, from the professors to my colleagues. There are so many different ways in which one can approach transitional justice, and it is quite rewarding when you are around people who have a great experience doing transitional justice and human rights work in different contexts and in different capacities, from the governmental to non-governmental, academic and legal.
For now, I am not certain, but I hope that the research internship during the second semester and the planning process for the MTJ paper will provide me with some space to reflect on whether I want to pursue my academic research or explore work opportunities related to transitional justice issues in Lebanon and the wider Arab region.
The photo was taken during a site visit to the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). My friend and classmate Kinda insisted that I take a photo to send back home. So here it is.
Sahar Ammar is a Project Associate in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) department of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in Geneva. In this interview, she tells about the programme and what it brought to her career.
In this interview, Tatjana Milovanović, currently enrolled in our MAS in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law, tells us about the programme.
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
This online event – co-organized with the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and the Embassy of Switzerland in Poland – will discuss the Council’s membership and internal dynamics, as well as selected mechanisms.
ICC-CPI
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, reviews the origins of international criminal law, its relationship with the international legal order including the UN Security Council and its coexistence with national justice institutions. The scope of international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression – is considered alongside initiatives to expand or add to these categories.
ICC-CPI
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, provides participants with a solid understanding of the existing pluralistic system of international accountability for international crimes and of its main challenges.
Olivier Chamard / Geneva Academy
The Treaty Body Members’ Platform connects experts in UN treaty bodies with each other as well as with Geneva-based practitioners, academics and diplomats to share expertise, exchange views on topical questions and develop synergies.
Geneva Academy