Notre Dame Law School’s Global Human Rights Clinic, in collaboration with the UN-accredited international NGO OIDEL and the University of Geneva, held its 2024 Summer University on Human Rights, Education, and Sustainability in Geneva, Switzerland, in June. A delegation from the Global Human Rights Clinic participated in the program, including Clinic legal fellow Josemaría Rodríguez Conca, J.S.D. candidate Nicolás E. Buitrago Rey, and undergraduate student David Rae. Among the attendees at the Summer University were several NGOs and students from different countries who specialize in different areas of education and human rights.

Rodríguez gave a presentation on behalf of Professor Diane Desierto, director of the Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic. Rodríguez spoke about Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its relationship to Article 13.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Goal 4, Quality Education, aims to promote inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

While in Geneva, the Clinic delegation also attended two meetings with the Human Rights Council, which offered a valuable learning experience for the students, and held meetings with different international organizations based in Geneva, such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Permanent Mission of the Holy See, among other key international institutions. These meetings were fruitful in contributing key learning points to the development of future projects, as well as current cases taken on by the Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic. The meetings also strengthened the collaboration between these various institutions and the Clinic.

"The experience in Geneva truly shows the global outreach of the GHRC, allowing staff and students to participate in international seminars, attend the Human Rights Council, and interact with some of the most relevant stakeholders and institutions at an international level," said Rodríguez.

In the students’ meetings with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Permanent Mission of the Holy See, they discussed developments in the case of two Ukrainian priests who were detained by Russian occupation forces in Ukraine. The Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic helped secure the release of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priests, Fr. Bohdan Geleta and Fr. Ivan Levytskyi, from Russian captivity on June 28.

The Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic provides law students with real-world lawyering experience representing organizations and groups combating human rights violations worldwide; providing much-needed human rights training and education with international and local community partners; and assisting with advocacy for legislative implementation of human rights and human rights driven-legal reform.

Learn more about the Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic at https://ndlsglobalhumanrights.nd.edu/.

Originally published by Arienne Calingo at ndlsglobalhumanrights.nd.edu on August 15, 2024.