Information

1-8 September 2025
Application start 21 January 2025
Application end 27 August 2025
Fee: 650 Swiss Francs

Downloads

Flyer >

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

EarthJustice   CIEL Logo 2017 STANDARD color stacked  

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.

Online

The course can be followed online.

Programme

Over approximately 12h of training (4 half days) the course will cover the following issues

  • Explore the major international (both universal and regional) instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as their implementation and enforcement mechanisms
  • Explore the major international environmental principles and multilateral environmental agreements, with the relevant compliance mechanisms
  • Identify particularly vulnerable categories of rights holders, such as indigenous people, women and migrants.

Objectives

Upon successful completion the training, participants will have the knowledge and skills to:

  • Grasp the key norms, principles and enforcement mechanisms of international human rights law and environmental law
  • Identify how basic international and regional human rights systems can be used to provide a measure of environmental protection

Methodology

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.

Access to a Dedicated Community Platform

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.

Audience

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.

Certification

Participants who complete the training course receive a certificate of participation from the Geneva Academy.

Fee

The training fee is 650 Swiss Francs and includes tuition costs and course materials.

Payment

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.

How to Apply

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

Professors and Lecturers

Portrait of Ludovica Chiussi Curzi

Ludovica Chiussi Curzi

Senior Assistant Professor in Public International Law at the University of Bologna, School of Law

Portrait of Joie Chowdhury

Joie Chowdhury

Senior Attorney, CIEL Climate & Energy Program

Joie Chowdhury is a Senior Attorney in the Climate & Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).

Picture of Yves Lador

Yves Lador

Independent Consultant and Permanent Representative of Earthjustice in Geneva

Yves Lador works as an independent consultant, and has been mandated by Earthjustice for its representation to the UN in Geneva since 1991.

Portrait of Francesca Mingrone

Francesca Mingrone

Senior Attorney for the Climate & Energy Program of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Francesca Mingrone is a Geneva-based Senior Attorney for the Climate & Energy Program for International Environmental Law (CIEL).

Access

This course will be conducted online using the ZOOM platform.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

 Yemen, Saada. A group of children play football against a backdrop of destroyed houses. News

New Offer: Online Short Courses in International Law in Armed Conflict

8 September 2020

For the upcoming 2020–2021 academic year, our 16 short courses in international law in armed conflict will also be offered online – in addition to taking place in Geneva.

Read more

View of the international seminar on national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up News

The Geneva Human Rights Platform Provides Input to Key Discussion on National Implementation of Human Rights

2 May 2023

The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributed to the proceedings of an international seminar on national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up (NMIRFs).

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Local Government Event

Enhancing National Reporting and Implementation of Human Rights through Coordinated Engagement at the Local and Regional Levels: The Role of NMIRFs

23 July 2025, 10:00-17:00

This seminar explores how national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up can better integrate the capacities, data, and experiences of local and regional governments in advancing human rights implementation and reporting.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

Séléka rebels patrol in the town of Bria, Central African Republic (CAR). Project

Human Rights Responsibilities and Armed Non-State Actors

Completed in June 2018

This research aims at building a common understanding and vision as to how states and the relevant parts of the UN system can provide a concrete and practical framework to address human rights responsibilities of armed non-state actors.

Read more

Session of a UN Treaty Body Project

Treaty Bodies Individual Communications Procedures

Started in January 2019

Read more

Videos

Human Rights Conversation : Universally Digital

Human Rights Conversation : Universally Digital

UN Human Rights Mechanisms and Mega Sporting Events: The road to FIFA World Cup 2022 and 2023

UN Human Rights Mechanisms and Mega Sporting Events: The road to FIFA World Cup 2022 and 2023

Russia and Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine