Master’s Programme for Human Rights Defenders
On July 8th a presentation of the Master's Programme in Public Policy and Political Analysis with specialization in Human Rights and Democratic Governance, which starts this year at the Faculty of Applied Political Science, was held.
According to Nina Belyaeva, the Programme Director and the Head of the HSE Public Policy Department, there have long been master's programmes training experts in human rights in other European countries. For example, there is a programme of the European consortium, which includes 41 universities, with its headquarters in Venice. There is also a programme on human rights based in Sarajevo. The "closest"to us master's programme training experts in human rights is in Tallinn.
But it is not enough for a Russian university just to participate in an international programme, said Nina Belyaeva. A special logic of masters'education is needed, based on the specifics of our country. In our situation human rights cannot be based on proven political mechanisms;we have another political culture, and it is useless to explore the Western experience without adapting it to Russian circumstances. "We are interested in the way it works, not the way it should work. It is possible to organize such training only when we are aware how the human rights defense really works in our country", - said Nina Belyaeva .
The Public Policy Department has experience of participation in human rights projects and conducting international academic programmes. For example, this year the department participated in a joint educational project with the George Mason University, the USA. The Department also represented the HSE at consultation meetings on the development of educational programmes on human rights at the Russian office of the UN. The students who have chosen this specialization in human rights will have the opportunity to undergo practical training in real human rights organizations:representatives of some of them took part in the presentation. The students should be ready to combine practical training with academic research (which, by the way, is typical for every HSE master's programme).
The Public Policy Department invites not only recent graduates, but also those who have some experience of the struggle for human rights, and participants of non-profit organizations. According to Nina Belyaeva, the programme is open not only to educated experts in political science (although it will, of course, be easier for them to study), but also for graduates of other specializations and departments, and this is in line with the spirit of the Bologna process. Today among the students of the Political Analysis and Public Policy programme there are philologists and physicists.
To apply for the programme it is necessary to pass exams in Political Science and English Language. The language is needed since training is in English. The programme is international and is targeted at Russian as well as international students, including those from the CIS and Baltic states. The students regularly participate in different international human rights projects:in particular, in summer schools.
The master's programme's teachers took part in the presentation:Shota Cacabadze, Deputy Head of the Public Policy Department, Alexey Titkov, the Department Associate Professor, Irina Khaliy, the Department Associate Professor, and others. There are graduates of the Public Policy Department among the teachers, and this is a common practice here.
Nina Belyaeva hopes that this specialization in human rights will be increasing popular, since those who defend human rights practically often feel the lack of legal knowledge and analytical skills and are not enough familiar with international experience in this area.
Detailed information on the course.
Marina Ivanova, HSE Web News Service
Photos by Ivan Moryakov