The Protection Project is committed to working throughout the world with all who are willing to make a difference in fighting violations of human rights. Therefore, The Protection Project regularly conducts international workshops, conferences in cooperation with civil society leaders around the world and regional organizations, carries out capacity-building programs for non-governmental practitioners and government officials, and engages representatives of international organizations in bringing international mechanisms of human rights protection closer to those who need them most.
Over the last two years, The Protection Project has been engaged in promoting dialogue at the international level on comparative law and human rights. Comparative law is the theoretical study of legal systems by comparison with each other. In recent years, comparative law has gained in practical importance due to the increased globalization of world trade, involving the need to conduct business in unfamiliar legal systems and due to the move towards harmonization of laws, especially in countries of mixed jurisdictions like Louisiana, Quebec, Scotland, South Africa and Sri Lanka, where several legal traditions coexist. The Protection Project regularly holds training and capacity building programs on comparative law for international legal scholars. The most recent training was held in Istanbul on September 17-18, 2011 and focused on comparative divorce law.
This official meeting of the League of Arab States was organized by The Protection Project to explore the monitoring and reporting provisions under the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which came into force in March 2008. The workshop likewise covered in detail the civil and political rights, as well as the economic, social and cultural rights stipulated in the Arab Charter in relation to State reporting obligations. Participants included representatives of the 22 Arab countries who are members of the League of Arab States. The Protection Project had organized a similar official meeting of the League of Arab States in October 2007, on the Status of Anti-Trafficking Legislation in the Arab World.
This workshop was carried out by The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies and focused on exploring the concept of volunteerism as an effective means of advancing international development and enhancing access to justice. Particular attention was paid to the role of academic, professional, governmental, non-governmental, and private sector communities in volunteer work through such means as internships, externships, pro-bono legal work, and initiatives in the realm of corporate social responsibility. Participants from China, the United States, and other countries included representatives of youth groups, law schools, legal aid centers, as well as legal professionals, experts in pro-bono work, and leaders in building communities of volunteers.
This workshop was carried out by The Protection Project in cooperation with the Center for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR), based in Tunis, Tunisia and focused on a comprehensive analysis of Muslim countries’ reservations to CEDAW and recommendations, based in Islamic jurisprudence, for removal of such reservations. As such, the workshop explored Islamic figh in a comparative perspective with the provisions of CEDAW, and analyses of case studies from Muslim countries that have removed reservations. Presenters and participants included human rights scholars and advocates, experts in Islamic fiqh, and government officials from the Middle East and North Africa.
This workshop was carried out by The Protection Project in cooperation with the Legal Clinic staff of the Bilgi University in Istanbul, Turkey. The workshop focused on the concept of legal aid through legal clinics affiliated with universities, the necessary foundations for establishing legal clinics, expanding access to justice through legal clinics, clinical teaching methods, and cooperation with Bar associations to promote the delivery of pro bono legal assistance. Participants in the workshop included clinical experts from around the world, including the United States, South Africa, Poland, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and beyond.
Under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, this conference was carried out by The Protection Project in cooperation with the Fondation Esprit de Fès, to explore Morocco’s recent reforms of its Personal Status Law, the Mudawana, from the perspective of its harmonization with the international human rights of women and children. Discussion topics thus included international family law, Islamic family law, as well as an overview of the history, reform, and provisions of the reformed Moroccan Mudawana, and the activism and coalitions among women’s rights advocates and religious scholars that led to its reforms, under the leadership of the King. The conference likewise explored the reform agenda for the Muslim world and discussed the lessons that can be learned from the Mudawana reform process. Presenters included religious scholars and feminist leaders and advocates from the Middle East and North Africa, and attendees included government officials, scholars, advocates and students interested in the Mudawana reforms and women’s and children’s rights under family law.
This workshop, carried out by The Protection Project in cooperation with the Middle East Technical University (METU), addressed the legal premises for the protection of children from violence under international law, constitutional law, customary law, and regional human rights conventions. Special topics in violence against children were covered by various speakers, including the effects of domestic violence on children, children’s conflict with the law and juvenile justice, children working on the street, trafficking of children, the involvement of children in armed conflict, corporal punishment in schools, and the prevention of violence against children. Participants and speakers included human rights scholars and representatives of international organizations.
This training program, carried out by The Protection Project in cooperation with the University of Baghdad, focused on training civil society participants in advocating on behalf of their constituencies, and reaching out to women in anticipation of the Iraqi elections which took place in 2005 to educate them about their rights and role in the political process.
