Call for Abstracts: International Memorial Symposium in Honour of Theo van Boven, Maastricht University [Maastricht, 7-8 June 2027; Abstracts by 31 October 2026]

On Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 June 2027, the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, will hold an international memorial symposium (7 June 2027, 09:00 to 8 June 2027, 14:00) in honour of the late Theo van Boven, titled Human Rights Strategies for the Future in an Age of Contestation: Revisiting Theo van Boven's Legacy.

Theo van Boven served as Director of the UN Human Rights Division, UN Special Rapporteur and member of UN human rights treaty bodies, and was a leading advocate for victims' rights and remedies. The symposium brings senior experts from the UN, legal practice and academia into discussion with young scholars on panels linked to his main areas of interest.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Philip Alston and Roger Cox. Panels will be moderated by leading experts including Bertrand Ramcharan and Michael O'Flaherty, and confirmed discussants include Manfred Nowak, Gay McDougall, Andrew Clapham and Dinah Shelton.

Abstracts should explore forward-looking, effective human rights strategies for today's contested human rights environment under one of four themes:

• From Exclusion to Inclusion: making human rights truly universal and inclusive, including for Indigenous Peoples, minorities such as the Roma and the Sinti, and other groups facing systemic marginalisation, and how international, regional and domestic legal (and non-legal) frameworks can respond to structural exclusion.
• From Racial to Intersectional Discrimination: contemporary developments in equality law, intersectionality and effective protection against discrimination in all its forms.
• Reparations and Redress: victims' rights, accountability, truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, and the continuing relevance of the Van Boven/Bassiouni Principles (UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation, 2005).
• The Role of the UN in the Face of Gross Violations of Human Rights: the UN's role in preventing, responding to and ensuring accountability for gross violations, past and present, and the effectiveness of UN human rights institutions and mechanisms.

• Abstracts must not exceed 300 words.
• Select one of the four themes on the submission form.
• Upload your abstract and your CV through the official form, along with your name, affiliation and email address.
• All submissions undergo peer review by the Symposium Programme Committee.
• Selected authors submit full papers by 1 May 2027.

Accepted and presented papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume. The volume will combine symposium papers with a selection of Theo van Boven's own writings on the symposium themes.

No submission fee is mentioned on the official page, and the abstract submission form does not ask for any payment. The symposium will be held in person at the Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Netherlands, from 09:00 on 7 June 2027 to 14:00 on 8 June 2027. The organisers state that details about registration and the programme will follow. No travel or accommodation funding is mentioned.

Submit your abstract and CV through the official online submission form by 31 October 2026. Outcomes will be communicated by 4 December 2026 at the latest. Queries about the submission process go to britt.vansoest@maastrichtuniversity.nl.