UNESCO Chair in Human Rights

Bridging Academia and Policy since 2011

Professor Jean-Paul Lehners served as the inaugural chairholder from 2011 to 2019. He was succeeded in 2019 by Professor Robert Harmsen and current Dean for the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE).

Established in 2011, the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights addresses – following an interdisciplinary approach – key issues related to human rights, especially those that fall within UNESCO’s competence as well as the UNESCO Strategy on Human Rights.

The UNESCO Chair in Human Rights acts as a builder of bridges between research and policy-making, academia and civil society, local communities and the private sector.

The Chair acts as a think-tank on UNESCO’s priority themes, namely the South-South Cooperation and North-South-South Triangular Cooperation as well as equal opportunities. Moreover, the commitments of the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights correspond to the Mission Statement of the University of Luxembourg.

Activities are organised in three key areas:

Three people holding boxes with a pictogram of a graduate cap, a magnifier and hands

Teaching

Contribute to the establishment of an integrated system of teaching activities, information and documentation in the field of human rights.

Research

Act as a think tank on human rights and engage in key research areas, most importantly in the humanities and law.

Society

Increase public awareness of human rights issues and cultivate the relationship with civil society by acting as a think tank on the defence and promotion of human rights.