The theme for the 2026 award is: “The right to protest under international human rights law: legal protection and challenges ahead”. The Academy selected this theme as the right to protest remains at the center of contemporary debates on democracy, accountability, and the protection of human rights. Although international human rights law recognizes the freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression, and association as fundamental pillars of democratic societies, recent global developments have exposed growing tensions between legal standards and state practice.

Across regions, concerns have arisen regarding excessive use of force, criminalization of protest, restrictions on public gatherings, and the impact of surveillance technologies on civic space. This theme invites critical reflection on the scope of legal protection afforded to peaceful protest and the challenges ahead in ensuring its effective guarantee under international human rights law.

We invite you to meet the distinguished members of our Honor Jury, renowned experts whose work continues to shape the evolving discourse on human rights:

• Annalisa Ciampi: Annalisa Ciampi is currently serving as a Legal expert in Human rights and Fundamental freedoms at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva. She is one of the women experts of international politics included in the 100esperte database and Ambassador for the European Network for Women Excellence (ENWE). She served in various international capacities in the Council of Europe and the UN, including as UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Assembly and Peaceful Assembly.
• Brenda Peace Amito: Brenda Peace Amito is a human rights lawyer specializing in accountability and reparations for human rights violations and historical injustices, with a particular focus on Africa. Her work emphasizes survivor-centered approaches to justice and redress.
• Clara Burbano: Dr. Clara Burbano Herrera is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the Faculty of Law and Criminology, Ghent University (Belgium), where she serves as Director of the Programme for Studies on Human Rights in Context and Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project IMPACTUM. Her research lies in the intersection between international law and human rights and relates to the role of international human rights organs in the prevention of violation of human rights, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups.
• Qerim Qerimi: Qerim Qerimi is a professor of international law and human rights at the University of Prishtina and a former rector (president) of the same university. He is a present member of the Council of Europe’s European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), chair of its scientific council, and former chair of the sub-commission on the protection of national minorities. He is also a guest professor and member of the Law and Development Research Group at the University of Antwerp and serves as Rapporteur for Oxford International Organizations (OXIO).
• Sergio Verdugo: Sergio Verdugo is an Associate Professor of Law at IE Law School, where he teaches Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Comparative Jurisprudence, and AI, Law and Society. He is also the co-president of the International Society of Public Law (ICON•S) and an Editor of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON). Before joining IE University, he served as the Director of the Center for Constitutional Justice at the Universidad del Desarrollo School of Law in Chile.
• Philip Leach: Philip Leach is Professor of Human Rights Law at Middlesex University and member of Matrix Chambers. Until March 2022 he was Director of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) also based at Middlesex University, which litigates human rights cases arising in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. He is Co-Supervisor of the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project and Vice-Chair of the European Implementation Network (EIN). Philip researches and publishes widely in the field of international human rights law and practice.
• Claudia Martin: Professor Claudia Martin is Professorial Lecturer in Residence and Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. In addition, she is the Co-Director of the LL.M. Program in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. She teaches and specializes in international law, international human rights law, and the Inter-American Human Rights System. She is also a founding member of GQUAL, a campaign to promote gender parity representation in international court and organs and serves as a member of the campaign’s Secretariat.

• Angelita Baeyens: Angelita Baeyens is the Vice President for Advocacy and International Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, where she leads high-impact cases before regional human rights mechanisms and the United Nations, including landmark cases involving civic space, discrimination, and gender-based violence. She has also led key efforts to advance accountability through targeted sanctions regimes, legal reforms, and advocacy before governments and international organizations regarding Africa, Latin America, and Asia. She is also the author of the hypothetical case for the 2026 Inter-American Moot Court Competition.
• David Cordero-Heredia: David Cordero Heredia is a professor of constitutional law and human rights, and a litigator specialized in strategic litigation before the Inter-American Human Rights System and the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Yale School of the Environment, where he collaborates on a joint project of the Yale Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Yale Center for Environmental Justice (YCEJ), focused on environmental justice, Indigenous peoples, and intercultural governance in the Amazon.
• Gina Romero: Gina Romero is the current UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, since May 2024. Since 2005, Ms. Romero has been engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, democratic governance, and civic and political participation, with particular attention to marginalized groups, gender equality, and youth inclusion. She co-founded and served as Executive Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy and as Secretariat of the Civil Society Pillar of the Community of Democracies.
• Daniel Vázquez: Daniel Vázquez is a full-time researcher at the Institute of Legal Research of UNAM. He is a Doctor in Social Sciences, holds a master’s degree in Political Sociology, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and in Law. Among his research topics are: the relationship of human rights with corruption, impunity, violence, and macro-criminal networks; public policy analysis from a human rights perspective; and the legal and political theory of human rights.

• Lucia Nader: Lucia Nader is a Brazilian activist, political scientist, researcher, and independent consultant with experience in the fields of democracy, social change, and human rights. She is currently president of the board of Article 19 Brazil and South America, a member of the board of Article 19 International, and serves on the advisory board of SUR – International Journal of Human Rights (Brazil). She is also an emeritus member of the board of the FGHR – Fund for Global Human Rights (U.S.).

• Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón: Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón is Professorial Lecturer in Residence and Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). He is also Co-Director of the LLM in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at WCL. He teaches courses in the fields of international law and human rights law. He served as a member of the United Nations Committee against Torture under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, from 2018 to 2021.

• María Luisa Aguilar Rodríguez: María Luisa Aguilar Rodríguez is the Director of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (Centro Prodh), a leading organization in Mexico dedicated since 1988 to the promotion and defense of human rights. She has more than fifteen years of experience in promoting accountability for serious human rights violations. She has worked at Centro Prodh since 2016, where she coordinated the international area for more than five years. In her role, Aguilar Rodríguez has led the design and implementation of national and international advocacy strategies, focusing mainly on cases of enforced disappearance, sexual torture, and other violations committed in the context of the militarization of public security in the country.