 |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
 |
USAID Information:
External Links:
|
|
|
|
|
Moot Court Helps Colombian Students Study Human Rights
FrontLines - February 2010
By Katerine Castro
|
Luisa María Alvarado and Lina Marcela Múnera, winners from
Universidad Libre of Pereira’s Law School, demonstrated
command of the judicial system as well as the Inter-American
system on human rights.
|
BOGOTÁ, Colombia—An
academic competition among
university students in Colombia
is promoting an understanding
of human rights and international
humanitarian law while
helping the students polish their
research and advocacy skills.
In 2003, USAID’s office in
Colombia funded research on
the quality of human rights education
provided by Colombian
universities. The research, carried
out in 23 national universities,
concluded that there was a
lack of awareness and academic
focus on human rights issues. In
response, USAID created the
National University Contest on
Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law.
The competition helps students
improve research skills as
well as oral and written argument
abilities. Using the “moot court”
role-play model, students representing
either the defense or prosecution
must argue a human
rights violation case, in which the
Colombian state is implicated, to
the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights. Each team, comprised
of two students from the
same university, must represent
either the state or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In 2009, 146 students in fields such as social sciences and law at 73 universities nationwide signed up for the competition—nearly twice as many as in 2008.
After seven years, the contest has had a significant impact on higher education programs in Colombia. Public and private universities have incorporated specific coursework on human rights and international humanitarian law into their curricula. Additionally, research groups have been established to discuss human rights issues among college students. The National Ombudsman’s Office now co-sponsors the moot court and has been promoting it since 2007.
After a five-day oral competition among dozens of universities, EAFIT University (Escuela de Administración, Finanzas e Instituto Tecnológico) of Medellin and the Universidad Libre of Pereira were selected as finalists; the latter was declared the winner on Sept. 18, 2009.
Students were awarded an internship in a regional ombudsman office, a complete book collection on human rights and international humanitarian law, and travel expenses for participation in the 2010 Annual Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition in Washington. This competition aims to strengthen understanding of human rights and humanitarian law around the world and has trained more than 1,700 students and faculty from roughly 160 universities in 35 countries on the Inter-American human rights legal system.
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
To have FrontLines delivered
to you via postal mail, please subscribe.
Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
To view PDF files, download
the Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Back to Top ^
|
