Events and Announcements: 5 November 2023

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Calls for Papers

Genocide and the Ocean: Conceptualising their Relationship: From the seemingly ceaseless drowning of refugees to mass deprivation caused by naval blockades to the devastation of coastal areas through climate change and its contribution to patterns of forced migration, questions on the relationship of Genocide & the Ocean are of the utmost concern to today’s international lawyers. Can the current legal definition of genocide be applied or extended to account for these instances of violence? Does the current discourse on genocide systematically marginalise these forms of harm? Are alternative concepts needed to understand the contribution of the ocean to mass human death? What are the fundamental presumptions that create difficulties when theorising the relationship between genocide and the ocean? Through this workshop, we shall explore these questions (and more) by focusing on the nexus between atrocity, international law, and ‘the maritime’ through a broad interdisciplinary lens. Towards this end, we encourage submissions by experts in anthropology, geography, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, and related fields, in addition to international law.

This workshop will take place on March 20^th, 2024 at the University of Kent, Canterbury with keynote addresses by Prof Itamar Mann (Haifa) and Prof Surabhi Ranganathan (Cambridge). A limited number of travel bursaries will be available for PhD students and Early Career Researchers. Selected papers will be submitted for potential publication in a special issue of the Journal of Genocide Research to be guest edited by Dr Vicky Kapogianni and Dr Eric Loefflad. Those interested in participating should send an abstract of 750 words maximum and a bio of 200 words maximum to Dr Eric Loefflad at e.d.loefflad@kent.ac.uk, and should specify if they wish to be considered for a bursary, by December 15^th, 2023. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by January 20^th, 2024.

Junior Scholars Conference – University of Michigan Law School: The University of Michigan Law School is pleased to invite junior scholars to attend the 10th Annual Junior Scholars Conference, which will take place in-person on April 12-13, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Conference provides junior scholars with a platform to present and discuss their work with peers and receive feedback from prominent members of the Michigan Law faculty. The Conference aims to promote fruitful collaboration between participants and to encourage their integration into a community of legal scholars. The Junior Scholars Conference invites papers in response to the 2024 theme or under the general call for papers in law and related disciplines. We welcome applications from graduate students, SJD/PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, lecturers, teaching fellows, and assistant professors (pre-tenure) who have not held an academic position for more than four years are welcome. We particularly invite submissions from scholars working on or located in the Global South and scholars from groups traditionally under-represented in academia.

Applications are due by January 5, 2024. For further details, see click here.

Events

Seminar – “Global Constitutionalism and Supranational Adjudicative Bodies: Global South Experiences vis-à-vis Hegemony”: 16 and 17 November 2023. Webinar convened by Dr. Natalia Torres-Zuniga (Peru/Norway), Researcher, Norwegian Center for Human Rights, University of Oslo; and Dr. Juan-Pablo Perez-Leon-Acevedo (Peru), DPhil in Law student (second doctoral course) at the University of Oxford, Affiliated researcher at the University of Oslo, and Lecturer at the Catholic University of Peru. Those interested please register using the form provided here. Upon registration, attendees will receive the webinar Zoom link.

Human Rights Careers, Skills & Values: A Seminar for Law Students and Early Career Practitioners: Human rights law is an essential tool for holding governments and powerful entities accountable for their actions. Many victims of human rights abuses lack access to legal representation or the resources to seek justice. Encouraging more law students and early career lawyers to specialise in human rights can help bridge this gap; as more law students and early career lawyers enter the field of human rights, they can influence the legal profession’s values and priorities, fostering a future culture of law that emphasises social justice and the protection of fundamental rights.

Legal education is a core area of BHRC’s advocacy and we are especially proud to be partnering with the HRLA Young Lawyers’ Committee on this event, which aims to:

• Explore human rights careers and encourage law students to pursue human rights specialisms
• Explore the positive impact of probono work
• Help law students and early career lawyers find out more about career opportunities in human rights legal practice and with international human rights NGOs

The seminar (hosted on Zoom on 28 November at 10am London Time) will be open to law students (including undergraduates and postgraduate researchers), as well as trainee solicitors, pupil barristers and early- to mid-career solicitors and barristers who are interested in moving into human rights practice. Registration is free and all attendees will receive a Certificate of Attendance from BHRC and the HRLA. To register, click here.