Dispatches from Bolivia - Update from the Human Rights Legal Education Project
The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law’s Human Rights Legal Education Project, in cooperation with local Bolivian law schools, organized two training sessions that took place simultaneously on July 16-21 in the Bolivian cities of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Cochabamba. The goal of the training sessions was to develop the ability of professors located in these cities and surrounding areas to teach different areas of the law with a human rights perspective and to encourage them to offer a basic course on human rights law at their respective schools.
WCL’s Matias Hernandez, Researcher-in-Residence and Human Rights Legal Education Project Coordinator, taught the training sessions, along with staff attorneys at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and a constitutional law advisor at the Bolivian National Ombudsman’s Office.
The local professors attending the sessions usually teach subjects such as constitutional, international, criminal or procedural law. The sessions provided training on human rights issues such as freedom of expression, forced disappearances, the prohibition of torture, fair trial rights and access to justice, as well as procedure before the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. Over 50 Bolivian professors were in attendance, representing 13 Bolivian law schools. The project is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy.
During his time in Bolivia, Hernandez also delivered a presentation on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, as part of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ extraordinary sessions in La Paz, Bolivia.
The activities in Bolivia are part of the Human Rights Legal Education Project’s continuing efforts to improve human rights law Education throughout the world.
Human Rights Legal Education Partnership Project
The Human Rights Legal Education Project aims to develop the capacity of law schools, practitioners, and public officials throughout the Americas and other regions of the world in the area of international human rights law. During the 2008-2009 academic year the project continued the implementation of activities in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua with two grants provided by the National Endowment for Democracy, reaching out to 34 law schools and approximately 450 law professors and law students in the three countries. Additionally, the Project organized three national moot court competition, as well as 12 training sessions and two conferences that took place in different regions throughout Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua to increase the project’s breadth of influence.
