2025 National Human Rights Institutions Academy: Protection of Human Rights Defenders

The National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) Academy is a flagship annual event organized by ODIHR and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI).

It brings together senior- and mid-level staff from 25 NHRIs across the OSCE region for tailored and practical week-long training on how to address particular challenges that NHRIs face in their work.

The 2025 NHRI Academy will focus on strengthening the capacity of NHRIs to address challenges related to human rights defenders, enabling NHRIs, through their mandate, to address issues that have a direct impact on the protection of human rights defenders.

The training will provide the selected NHRI staff with a unique opportunity for learning and sharing experiences during a series of lectures, interactive sessions and active exchanges.

This one-week course will provide participants with a toolkit to:

• Raise awareness on risks and challenges faced by HRDs, the international standards on the protection of HRDs and the roles of NHRIs
• Build capacity of NHRIs in effectively using their human rights mandates to address challenges of human rights defenders and to protect and monitor the situation of human rights defenders
• Facilitate discussions and peer exchanges of good practices, as well as lessons learned, on the monitoring and protection of human rights defenders in their respective national contexts
• Address particular challenges they face in their work, especially regarding the protection of human rights defenders
• Fulfill their institution’s mandate to promote and protect human rights more effectively

The long-term goals of this capacity-building event are to:

• Provide a long-standing resource for the continuing professional development of NHRI staff
• Support professional networking among NHRIs in the OSCE region, as well as between NHRIs, ODIHR, ENNHRI, and other stakeholders and organizations

Other topics to be addressed include the independence of NHRIs, the mainstreaming of the Principles Relating to the Status of National Human Rights Institutions (also known as the Paris Principles), and the role of gender in the work of NHRIs.

Registration

The training is open only to pre-selected participants.