As part of the UTFORSK project “Fostering research-based education through academic mobility and measuring the domestic impact of core human rights treaties”, the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, and the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, are organizing a closing international conference to be held in Oslo, Norway, on 14 and 15 April 2025.
The organizers invite scholars, legal practitioners, policymakers, and students to submit their abstracts for our international conference on the topic “The Domestic Impact of Global and Regional Human Rights Law.” The conference aims to explore the multifaceted ways in which international human rights norms, at the global and regional level, are integrated, enforced, and reshaped within domestic legal systems across the globe.
Scope and Themes
Do United Nations (UN) and regional human rights treaties and related mechanisms make a difference at the domestic level and if so, to what extent? This issue has been addressed in various scholarly works, including recently in a 2024 edited volume on “The Impact of the United Nations Human Rights Treaties on the Domestic Level: Twenty Years On” (open access).
This scholarly rk aims at facilitating a better understanding of the dynamics involved in the processes through which the UN human rights treaties and the treaty monitoring bodies, as well as the regional human rights systems, make a difference on the domestic level, or fail to do so. Without understanding to what extent what happens in Geneva (Switzerland), Strasbourg (France), Arusha (Tanzania) or Banjul (The Gambia), San Jose (Costa Rica) or Washington D.C. (United States of America), assists in bringing about change where it matters - to the people on the ground, worldwide - it is impossible to learn the lessons needed to ensure that the human rights protection system will meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The human rights instruments of interest for this conference fall under three broad categories:
- The nine core UN human rights treaties, with a preference for those treaties that have received less attention like the International Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;
- the three established regional human rights treaties; and,
- important human rights soft-law instruments/ declarations, especially the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP).
The concept of ‘impact’ has many dimensions and can be approached from a variety of angles. The goal of the conference is not to comprehensively cover this broad discussion from a theoretical angle, or to provide final answers on whether and to what extent global or regional human rights instruments and mechanisms have a domestic impact or not. Rather, the aim is to ensure a better understanding of the processes at play and some of the core primary and secondary sources to be considered, including the documents available in the UN and regional systems, or at the domestic level, demonstrating pathways of material impact at the domestic level. Answers to the question of domestic impact have come through comparative case studies and analyses and in the form of detailed examinations of specific countries or regions that provide insights into the domestic impact of global or regional human rights law. Such cross-country or cross-regional comparisons also highlight different approaches to integrating global and regional human rights into domestic legal frameworks. Although submissions on related topics will also be considered, we welcome submissions that innovatively and critically engage with the following themes:
- Domestic transposition and transformation and judicial applications
How global and regional human rights law is incorporated into national legislation and its consequent transformation within domestic contexts. Analyzing domestic court decisions that reference and apply international human rights treaties and principles. - Enforcement and implementation
Challenges and best practices in enforcing global and regional human rights norms, recommendations, and decisions of human rights mechanisms at the national level, including institutional mechanisms and grassroots activism. Due attention can be paid also to national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up. - Social and cultural dimensions and policy implications
The role of societal attitudes, cultural contexts, and public opinion in shaping the domestic impact of international or regional human rights norms. Evaluating the influence of global or regional human rights law on national policy-making and governance. - Contribution of main domestic actors
Contributions of national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society, and other non-state actors, in promoting the domestic application of global or regional human rights law. - Resistance and Backlash and Future Directions
Exploring instances of resistance to global or regional human rights norms within domestic settings and the factors driving such opposition. Emerging trends and future challenges in the relationship between international human rights law and domestic legal systems.
Submission Guidelines
Abstract
A concise abstract of between 300-400 words, setting out the anticipated innovative findings, conclusions or insights, must accompany each submission.
Cover Letter
Submissions should include a cover letter providing the author’s full name, affiliation, contact details, and a brief biographical note (2 pages maximum).
Originality
Submissions must be original, previously unpublished work and not under consideration by any journal or other publication outlets.
Submission Process
Please submit your manuscripts through our online Submission Portal by the 15 December 2024 deadline. The conference organizers will assess the submissions, based on their quality and originality and the need to ensure a coherent conference and related publication. Important dates for the conference and the related publication are indicated below.
Manuscript length and format
The final papers should be between 8,000 and 10,000 words, including footnotes. The style of citations will be decided later, depending on the publisher, with a preference for the OSCOLA citation system. This conference will lead to a peer-reviewed publication, either as an edited volume, or as a special issue in a journal.
Important Dates
Submission deadline: 15 December 2024. Please indicate in the cover letter whether you require support for travel and accommodation and from where you would be travelling. Some limited financial support is available, especially for early career researchers.
Notification of acceptance: 31 January 2025.
Sending of draft papers: 31 March 2025 (between 2,500-3,000 words).
Presentation at the conference: 14 and 15 April 2025.
Publication date: Final papers are expected in late November 2025 and the publication is expected in late 2026. More information will be shared during the conference.
For more information please conctact:
Professor Gentian Zyberi
Head of the Utforsk project