Sharon Braekman, enrolled in our Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ), tells us about her background, the programme and what it will bring to her career.
Coming from Belgium, I have a Master of Law in Criminal Justice and Human Rights from Ghent University. My curiosity and interest in a broad range of fields are reflected in my volunteer work with victims of human trafficking in Belgium and in the choice, during my studies, of courses on philosophy, psychology and political science. Various internships at law offices and participation in a moot court gave me a glimpse of life as a lawyer, and I am now ready to explore other options.
During my Erasmus at the University of Neuchâtel, I attended a guest lecture on transitional justice and I knew that it was my thing right away.
Transitional justice is a very specific domain, yet it involves expertise from a wide variety of fields. The combination of the Geneva Academy solid academic reputation with the fact that it offers a master programme in this field made it a fairly evident choice to apply to the MTJ.
The MTJ courses offer exactly what I lacked in my law education: a holistic approach to conflicts.
For me, the strongest point of the programme is the diversity of students who give incredibly interesting insights from their home countries during classes.
I would recommend the MTJ to anyone who is looking for a holistic programme in the field of transitional justice and human rights.
After graduation, I plan to gain experience in the field for a couple of years, either with an NGO or with an international organization. The programme will help me to reach this objective by acquiring the tools and postgraduate degree to do so.
I chose a picture at Bains des Pâquis because this is the place that combines all the joys of Geneva. It’s close to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and gives a great overview of the lake with the old town and the mountains behind it. And, most importantly, people of all backgrounds gather here to have breakfast before work, go for a swim, walk, have a drink or read a book.
Domenico Zipoli
From 23 to 24 March 2022, the Geneva Human Rights Platform conducted in Grenada, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, its second pilot of a UN treaty bodies (TBs) focused review – designed to discuss how countries implement specific recommendations issued by UN TBs between sessions.
ICRC
In this new extracurricular activity, guest speakers involved in transitional justice (TJ) processes at the local level share with students their experiences in setting up, running, working, or resisting various TJ mechanisms and processes.
ICRC
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.
Francisco Proner / Farpa/ CIDH
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, aims at presenting the institutions and procedures in charge of the implementation of international human rights law.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.
Gorodenkoff/Adobe
This project will facilitate a multistakeholder consultative process to identify knowledge gaps, generate new evidence and co-design evidence-based tools to support regulatory and policy responses to human rights challenges linked to digital technologies.