Dear Colleagues,

HREA is calling for applications for the distance learning course 
"Minority Rights, Indigenous Peoples and International Law", which will 
be offered from 26 April-11 July 2010).

Please note that the registration deadline for the course is 1 February. 
Further information about the course can be found below.

Best wishes,

Frank Elbers
Distance Learning Programme, HREA
http://www.hrea.org/courses/

--------------

HREA Distance Learning Course 12T10:
Minority Rights, Indigenous Peoples and International Law
26 April-11 July 2010
Instructor: Dr. Gerd Oberleitner

This course is an introduction to the protection of minority rights 
under international law and allows participants to explore and 
critically assess the norms and institutions for the protection of 
minorities and indigenous peoples which have been created over the past 
half century. The course provides an introduction to the history of 
minority protection before 1945 and traces the conceptual, political and 
legal questions associated with and arising from the protection of 
minorities, as well as the struggle over the definition of minorities. 
It discusses how the rights of national, ethnic, linguistic and 
religious minorities and of indigenous and tribal groups are protected 
and promoted under international legal regimes - in the United Nations 
and in Europe, Africa and the Americas. Participants will debate the 
challenges of protecting "new" minorities (such as migrants) as opposed 
to "old" (autochthonous) minorities and explore different conceptual 
approaches - human rights, group rights, peoples' rights, 
self-determination, autonomy and minority rights - as well as the link 
between non-discrimination and minority rights.

The course relies extensively on case studies from various regions of 
the world in order to explore selected topics (such as religious and 
linguistic rights, land rights of tribal communities, education and 
cultural rights, the effects of climate change, participation in public 
affairs, etc.). In doing so, the course analyses the contribution to the 
development of minority rights and the rights of indigenous peoples 
which have been made by a range of international organisations and 
bodies (the UN treaty bodies, the African Commission on Human and 
Peoples" Rights, the European and Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 
the European Union, the OSCE and the International Labour Organisation). 
The case studies will also allow course participants to develop skills 
in accessing and analysing "jurisprudence" on minority rights.

The course is aimed at practitioners and professionals who want to gain 
knowledge in the field of the minority rights and rights of indigenous 
peoples, university students of international law, international 
relations, politics and other areas and NGO staff members.

A more detailed course description, further logistical information, and 
online application form can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org/index.php?doc_id=973



---------
ABOUT HREA's DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMME

HREA's Distance Learning Programme (DLP) was initiated in 2000 in 
response to an unaddressed need for the continuing education of human 
rights professionals and practitioners. The programme builds on HREA's 
extensive experience in both the training of professionals (advocates, 
educators, development workers) and the use of the new information 
technologies to provide resources and to network human rights defenders 
and educators. By offering short, practical yet specialised courses via 
distance learning barriers that prevent many practitioners from 
participating in continuing education - such as a lack of time and/or 
lack of funds to participate in regional or national workshops/trainings 
-- can be overcome. HREA annually organises distance learning courses 
onhuman rights litigation; human rights monitoring; research & 
evaluation in the NGO sector; project development and management; child 
rights progamming; human rights-based programming; introductions to the 
European and United Nations human rights systems; and human rights 
advocacy. Courses are offered in English, Arabic, French, German, 
Russian and Spanish. For more information about the DLP, please visit:
http://www.hrea.org/DLP/


ABOUT HREA

Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international 
non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the 
training of activists and professionals; the development of educational 
materials and programming; and community-building through on-line 
technologies. HREA works in partnership with education agencies, NGOs, 
governments and inter-governmental organisations to implement training 
programmes for NGO staff, jurists, teachers, and other professionals 
involved in human rights work. Current and past partners include, inter 
alia, Amnesty International, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 
Council of Europe, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HURIDOCS, the 
Inter-American Institute for Human Rights (IIDH), the Office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Open Society Institute, 
Transparency International, UNESCO and the University for Peace. HREA is 
registered as a non-profit organisation in the Netherlands and the USA. 
More information on HREA can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org



-------------------------------------
Frank Elbers
Distance Learning Programme
Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) - Netherlands office
Postbus 59225
1040 KE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 524 1404 | Fax: +31 20 524 1498 | Skype ID: frank_elbers
Web: http://www.hrea.or

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