Our Teaching Assistant Joshua Niyo Receives the Best Paper Prize at the 2019 AHRI Conference

Joshua Niyo holding his paper in front of the Geneva Academy Joshua Niyo holding his paper in front of the Geneva Academy

17 September 2019

Joshua Niyo, Teaching Assistant at the Geneva Academy and PhD Candidate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies received the best paper prize at the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) 2019 Conference for his paper ‘Legal Obligations for Armed Non-State Actors: Can IHL and IHRL Learn from Each Other?’.

The 2019 AHRI Conference, which took place at the University of Potsdam and brought together academics working on international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights, focused on the challenges ahead for human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) 70 years after the adoption of the Geneva Conventions.

Joshua Niyo is the first recipient of this new prize, which follows a call for paper launched back in January 2019.

The paper explores the principal areas of concern regarding the practical outworking of an IHL /international human rights law mutually enforcing paradigm with regard to the protection of life and personal liberty. Specifically, it addresses targeting and the requirement to investigate the loss of life and the legality of detention in non-international armed conflicts with regard to organized armed non-state actors.

Joshua Niyo presented the paper during a panel on the doctrine of IHL and international humanitarian law.

‘It was a great opportunity to engage on the legacy of the 1949 Geneva Conventions now at 70. The scope of the papers presented was both broad and in-depth, with the phenomenon of armed non-state actors taking some prominence. I thank God for this achievement and the organizers for selecting me and I hope my paper and this prize contributes to the general discourse on the need to engage with these actors in the context of international law’ underlines Joshua Niyo.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

neurotech image News

Research Brief Evaluates the Human Rights Implications of Neurotechnology in Therapeutic and Commercial Applications

27 March 2025

Our research brief, Neurotechnology and Human Rights: An Audit of Risks, Regulatory Challenges, and Opportunities, examines the human rights implications of neurotechnology in both therapeutic and commercial applications.

Read more

Geneva Academy at the EU DElegation in Geneva News

Spotlight on IHL: Geneva Academy Briefs EU Delegation on Alarming Conflict Trends

10 April 2025

Alarming conflict trends from the IHL in Focus report were presented to members of the UN at the EU Delegation in Geneva by members of the Geneva Academy.

Read more

Warzone Event

Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

25-29 August 2025, 09:00-17:30

Co-hosted with the ICRC, this event aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research international humanitarian law, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates.

Read more

Event

Strengths and Challenges of Inter-State Applications Before the European Court of Human Rights

22 May 2025, 18:30-20:00

In this Geneva Academy Talk Judge Lətif Hüseynov will discuss the challenges of inter-State cases under the ECHR, especially amid rising conflict-related applications.

Read more

Training

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

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course 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.

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.

Read more

Sign: National Human Rights Commission of Nepal Project

Local Implementation of Global Human Rights

Started in May 2020

The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.

Read more

Iraq, Mosul. View of the west bank after the war. Project

IHL in Focus

Started in January 2024

As a yearly publication, it keeps decision-makers, practitioners and scholars up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges in IHL implementation in over 100 armed conflicts worldwide – both international and non-international.

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

War on Minorities’ Under the Guise of Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism

published on December 2024

Beatrice Meretti

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Navigating Pathways Toward Transitional Justice in Ukraine

published on October 2024

Robin van der Lugt, Chhime Namdol Sherpa

Read more