Human Rights Consortium

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Decriminalizing Conduct Associated with Poverty and Status The ICwS and partners presented at a recent side event at the 61st session of the Human Rights Council.

On 3 March 2026, the #Commonwealth Secretariat, #ICJ and #ICwS held a side event at the #UN #HumanRights Council to showcase their Practitioners’ Guide on a human rights-based approach to #criminallaw.

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#Poverty #Homelessness

@sas-news.bsky.social

Selective Justice is Not a Flaw of International Law. It’s the Feature. International law was built to constrain the weak more than the powerful, and today vulnerable states are using tools like ecocide law to push back against that imbalance.

'Selective Justice is Not a Flaw of International Law. It’s the Feature.'

Read this new piece by Prof Damien Short in International Policy Digest where he argues that #ecocidelaw is not a utopian plea for moral awakening.

intpolicydigest.org/selective-ju...

#InternationalLaw #Justice #Ecocide

Alumni Spotlight - Shahindha Ismail Shahindha Ismail has advocated for hundreds of protesters arbitrarily detained and tortured during the movement for democracy in the Maldives from 2004.

Alumni Spotlight 🎓 🔦 3️⃣ 0️⃣

As part of the 30th Anniversary of #HumanRights Education at the #ICwS, we will be profiling alumni from our MA/PhD programmes to highlight their contributions to securing human rights.

⭐ This month's alum is Shahindha Ismail ⭐

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

MA Human Rights Designed and run by activist scholars based at the Human Rights Consortium, this practice-based online Master's will develop you as a human rights practitioner.

Applications are now open for the MA Human Rights at the University of London!

Apply by 5 August for a September 2026 start: www.london.ac.uk/study/course...

Join this practice-focused human rights MA to learn from human rights activists from around the world.

#HumanRights #PostgraduateStudy

Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery - Miranda Kaufmann in conversation with Tony Warner

Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery - Miranda Kaufmann in conversation with Tony Warner

19 March 2026, 6pm-8:30pm, Woburn Suite, Senate House and ONLINE via Zoom

Register here:
commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#Slavery #Caribbean #Commonwealth

Commonwealth Scholarships Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships offer full fee waivers for residents of developing Commonwealth nations studying the MA Human Rights programme

Apply NOW for a full scholarship to the MA Human Rights by distance learning! Apply by 31 March for the September 2026 intake. PGCert and PGDip also available.

www.london.ac.uk/study/fees-f...

#Commonwealth #Scholarships #HumanRights #HumanRightsLaw #PostgraduateStudy

Commonwealth Law Ministers urged to disseminate Practitioners’ Guide on a Human Rights-based Approach to Criminal Law 👇 👇 👇

Read more here:

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#Commonwealth #CriminalLaw #DecriminalisationofPoverty #HumanRights

@sas-news.bsky.social

Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery - Miranda Kaufmann in conversation with Tony Warner

19 March 2026, 6pm-8:30pm, Woburn Suite, Senate House and ONLINE via Zoom

Register here:
commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#Slavery #Caribbean #Commonwealth

Scottish Parliament to advance the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill The Scottish Parliament will advance the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill, placing Scotland on track to become the first nation in the UK to criminalise severe environmental destruction.

🌍 Landmark vote on #ecocide in Scotland 🌍

The ICwS welcomes yesterday’s historic vote by the Scottish Parliament to advance the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill, placing Scotland on track to become the first UK nation to criminalise severe environmental destruction.

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

🎓 Congratulations to all of our students graduating today at Senate House! 🎓

@sas-news.bsky.social

#Graduation #HumanRights #SASGraduation

📣 We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for the 2026 Global Minority Rights Summer School! 📣 Deadline: 9 March 2026.

Jointly organised with the Tom Lantos Institute, the Ludovika University of Public Service, the Human Rights Consortium and the UNPO.

shorturl.at/Uudqi

We’re delighted to announce a new module on our MA Human Rights programme starting in spring 2026 entitled Women’s Human Rights. The module will be convened by Dr Noemi Perez Vasquez.

Learn more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/people/dr-no...

#WomensHumanRights #PostgraduateStudy

Read the latest #ICwS newsletter 👇 👇👇

mailchi.mp/sas/icws-new...

This edition includes Institute highlights, event recordings, Fellow updates, programme info, new scholarship student profiles and more!

Subscribe here: shorturl.at/el2FJ

#Commonwealth #RuleofLaw #HumanRights #Ecocide

NEW EVENT RECORDING AVAILABLE 📹 👇 🌟

The recording of 'The Coming Enlightenment: Reparations Now for Tomorrow' event with Sir Hilary Beckles is now available on our website:

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#SirHilaryBeckles #Africa #Caribbean #ReparatoryJustice #CARICOM #Commonwealth

🌟 New Blog Post 🌟

In honour of #HumanRightsDay, we've published a new blog post entitled 'From human rights defenders in exile to human rights defenders everywhere - Voices in Exile: A Guide for Human Rights Defenders'.

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#HumanRightsDefenders #HumanRights

Today is UN Human Rights Day! It marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948.

“Our rights, our future, right now”

www.un.org/en/observanc...

#UN #HumanRightsDay

Alumni Spotlight - Deekshya Illangasinghe Deekshya Illangasinghe has over 15 years of experience working for human rights, peace and democracy at the national, regional and international level.

Alumni Spotlight 🔦 🎓 3️⃣ 0️⃣

As part of the 30th Anniversary of Human Rights Education at the #ICwS, we are profiling alumni on our MA and PhD programmes.

⭐ This month's alum is Deekshya Illangasinghe ⭐

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#AlumniSpotlight #HumanRights #UniversityofLondon

There is still time to register for our webinar TODAY at 1pm to learn about our Postgraduate Studies in Human Rights 👇 👇 👇

Register here: www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...

NEW EVENT RECORDING AVAILABLE 📹 👇 🌟
The recording of our fireside chat with anti-apartheid activist, writer, and former Constitutional Court judge of South Africa, Albie Sachs is now available online:

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#AntiApartheid #HumanRights #AlbieSachs #SouthAfrica

School of Advanced Study Uniting research institutes and centres at the University of London to form the UK's national centre for the support and promotion of academic research in the humanities.

👋 Hi Bluesky!

The School of Advanced Study, University of London champions the arts and humanities. Working through our renowned specialist institutes and centres of excellence, we offer a rich interdisciplinary environment for researchers to collaborate.

Let's connect: 🔗 sas.ac.uk/

There’s still time to register for the 2-day hybrid conference NEXT WEEK:

"Cultures of Democracy: Commonwealth leadership, grassroots actvism and people empowerment in times of crisis" 20-21 November 2025, Senate House and Online

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Forthcoming hybrid event: The Legal Obligation for Genocide Prevention, Tuesday 4 November, 4:30pm-6:00pm, Room 264, Senate House and ONLINE

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

#Genocide #MinorityRights #HumanRights

Professor Corinne Lennox will be panellist at a hybrid webinar NEXT WEEK: 'Global caste-scapes: inequality and belonging in the 21st century' 29 October, 17:00 – 19:00 (GMT), City St George’s and ONLINE: city-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/83108880169

shorturl.at/f6iGv

#Inequality #HumanRights #CasteInequality

What an inspiring and joyous evening celebrating 30 years of human rights education at the #ICwS!

Thank you to the current students, alumni, panellists and staff, old and new, for celebrating this momentous occasion with us.

Check our website soon for the event recording: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk

Register now for this forthcoming 2-day hybrid conference entitled: "Cultures of Democracy: Commonwealth leadership, grassroots actvism and people empowerment in times of crisis" 20-21 November 2025, Senate House & Online
shorturl.at/av3vh

#Democracy #Commonwealth #Leadership #Actvism #Empowerment

Calling all #graduates and #currentstudents of our post-graduate human rights programmes - join us this Thursday to celebrate our 30th anniversary of excellence in #HumanRights education! 🎉 🎉 🎉

16 October, Chancellors Hall, Senate House, 6pm-9pm

commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Applications are now open for the Human Rights programmes at the University of London!

Apply by 13 January for a February 2026 start:

www.london.ac.uk/study/course...

#HumanRights #EnvironmentalJustice #Genocide #WomensRights #GenderEquality #IndigenousPeoples #PostgraduateStudy #DistanceLearning

Don’t miss this exciting in-person chat with Albie Sachs on 1st October: www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/... 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Albie Sachs in Conversation, 1 October 2025, 4pm-5:30pm, Warburg Auditorium

Join us for a fireside chat with Albie Sachs—anti-apartheid activist, writer, and former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

#SouthAfrica #AntiApartheid #Activist #AlbieSachs

www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

The book Launch for 'Unbroken Chains: A 5,000 year history of African enslavement' written by ICwS Senior Research Fellow Martin Plaut took place on 28 August 2025. This is a new, full
history of slavery in Africa, from the Pharaohs to the present.

shorturl.at/xqcb2

#HumanRights #Africa #Slavery