International Human Rights Law and Practice LLM

Consider the law in its socio-political context. In response to today's polycrises, human rights practice is changing. Effective human rights defence requires us to think politically and reflexively. This course aims to familiarise you with three sides of human rights practice: law, institutions and advocacy. You'll develop a strong understanding of how to effectively promote human rights and protect human rights defenders. In turn, you'll gain substantive human rights knowledge, versatile socio-legal skills, and valuable networks.

Engage with the knowledge and experience of human rights practitioners. You'll benefit from the interdisciplinary expertise of our academic-practitioner staff. This includes the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, whose work informs their teaching. You'll interact with human rights and humanitarian law researchers, whose research is shaping local and international policy. There's also the chance to learn from human rights defenders at risk. These defenders find respite and train at the Centre for Applied Human Rights.

Develop a practical skill set through fieldwork, clinic and lab opportunities. You'll have the chance to work on meaningful human rights projects in partnership with local and international non-governmental organisations, UN mechanisms or governmental bodies. This includes a human rights placement in Cape Town, York or online. This opportunity will allow you to develop your socio-legal research and data collection skills in the field. There is also the option to participate in either clinical legal education or a human rights lab. You'll learn to communicate research in different formats to peers, scholars, working lawyers or clients across a range of professional settings.

Craft an interdisciplinary learning experience. This course offers a wide range of option modules. This includes many modules taught by other academic departments across the University. By specialising your study across subject areas, you can tailor your degree to the areas of human rights you're most passionate about.