The workshop aims at providing a crosscutting discussion on the individual/collective dichotomy in human rights research. During the workshop sessions, PhD students from different European universities will introduce in short discussion papers how the notion of collective rights plays a role in their own field of research. Sessions will thus focus on different themes such as minorities and refugees’ rights, indigenous rights, gender and family rights, procedural rights.

“Introductions to human rights often emphasize the importance of the individual and define human rights as inherently individual. However, many of these rights only make sense in a collective context, for instance in relation to family rights or cultural rights. This acknowledgement leads to many practical and theoretical questions”, tells researcher Sébastien Duyck from the Arctic Centre.

In addition, public sessions will be organized at the University of Lapland in order to offer an opportunity for faculty members and students of the University of Lapland to benefit from these discussions. Scholars from the Universities of Helsinki, Turku and Lapland as well as from the Åbo Akademi will deliver public lectures open for anyone interested. The workshop will also include a roundtable during which Sami experts and scholars will discuss the notion of group rights in the Sami culture, for instance in relation to land rights and cultural rights.

The main sessions of the workshop will take place both at the Arctic Centre in the Arktikum House and at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland. The workshop is funded by the Academy of Finland through the Finnish Graduate School for Human Rights Research.

Contacts and application:
PhD students are invited to submit their application until February 17.
For further information regarding the workshop and the application process, please visit: arcticcentre.org/CollectiveRights

More information:
Researcher Sébastien Duyck, sebastien.duyck (at) ulapland.fi