Call for Papers: International Conference 'Human Rights Monitoring Reloaded' at University of Padova, Italy [19-20 October 2026; No Conference Fee]

2026 marks sixty years since the adoption (and fifty since the entry into force) of the two 1966 International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, twenty years since the adoption of the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and on Enforced Disappearances, and twenty years since the entry into force of the OPCAT and the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council. The organisers note that these anniversaries fall in a period of sustained attack on basic rights and on the institutions and norms of multilateralism, with growing state divestment in the UN human rights system and shrinking civic space.

Against that backdrop, this international research conference aims to take stock of the international human rights machinery's evolution and impact and to discuss its possible transformations ahead. It will examine the effectiveness of existing monitoring mechanisms, including the treaty bodies (in particular the ICCPR, ICESCR, CED and CRPD), the Human Rights Council's mechanisms and the International Criminal Court, and will explore how their contribution can be empowered and rationalised. The organisers describe the event as a strategic dialogue among scholars, independent experts, international officers, civil society representatives and students rather than a commemoration.

The Conference is organised by the Human Rights Centre "Antonio Papisca" and the UNESCO Chair "Human Rights, Democracy and Peace" with the support of the Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies of the University of Padova.

Event partners are:

• Human Rights Consortium, School of Advanced Study, University of London
• School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg
• Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York
• Law and Development Research Group, University of Antwerp
• Institute of International Studies, University of Wroclaw
• UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Human Security, University of Graz
• Global Campus of Human Rights

The call for papers is open to human rights scholars, researchers, Ph.D. students, and to human rights operators and professionals with research assignments. The organisers state that preference will be given to sound proposals which contribute to addressing the listed panel topics from different disciplinary perspectives, and several panels expressly welcome interdisciplinary work from law, political science, sociology, international relations and media studies, as well as contributions combining academic and practitioner viewpoints. Both theoretical and empirical papers, including case studies and comparative approaches, are invited.

Proposals must be submitted with reference to one of the following seven panels:

• UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies reform in the context of the UN80 process: liquidity or political crisis? (Rossella De Falco, University of Antwerp)
• New technologies and participation in human rights monitoring (Peter Johansson, University of Gothenburg, and Damien Short, University of London)
• The ICC: Double or Quits? (Paolo De Stefani, University of Padova)
• The Contribution of New Social Movements and Youth Activism to Human Rights Monitoring and the 2050 Agenda (Magdalena Ratajczak and Marta Ryniejska-Kieldanowicz, University of Wroclaw)
• Anti-gender movements at the institutional level and their implications for women's rights monitoring (Anh Nguyen, University of Padova)
• Monitoring human rights in difficult times: CSO and community perspectives on reporting human rights violations (Piergiuseppe Parisi, University of York, and Corinne Lennox, University of London)
• The Contribution of Public Bodies to the UN Human Rights System: National Human Rights Institutions and Local Governments (Gerd Oberleitner and Lisa Heschl, University of Graz)

Proposals are submitted only through the official online application form. Applicants are asked to provide:

• An abstract of maximum 300-500 words
• Title of the paper
• Information about the authors, with name, surname and affiliation or professional position (the form accepts up to three authors)
• The corresponding author's email
• Up to four key-words
• A reference to one of the Conference's panel topics

Applicants must also confirm that the authors commit to submitting a working paper to the Scientific Committee one week before the Conference takes place. The organisers state that for accepted abstracts the submission of a working paper before the Conference is strongly encouraged, as it also helps prepare the manuscript for the publication opportunity attached to the event.

Papers presented in the panels are encouraged to be submitted for the consideration of Peace Human Rights Governance (PHRG), the double-blind peer-reviewed journal of the University of Padova Human Rights Centre. PHRG is fully open access and six-monthly, with two issues per year; accepted papers are published immediately with a DOI in the journal's "online first" section and later collected into periodic issues.

The journal is indexed in Google Scholar, EBSCO Host, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and ERIH PLUS, and is included in the Italian Ministry's (ANVUR) list of scientific journals for Areas 12 and 14. Papers must be formatted following the guidelines for authors and the template on the PHRG manuscript submission page. The deadline to submit the final manuscript is 25 January 2027.

There is no Conference fee. The organisers state clearly that the University is unable to financially support selected panellists' travel and accommodation costs, so participants presenting a paper must arrange and fund their own travel and stay in Padova. Suggested hotels and housing facilities, along with information on reaching and discovering Padova, are listed on the Conference's information page.

The Conference is held in person at the University of Padova, Italy, across three venues:

• Opening Plenary Session: Archivio Antico, Palazzo Bo, the historic headquarters of the University of Padova, Via 8 Febbraio, Padova
• Panels: headquarters of the Human Rights Centre, Via Beato Pellegrino 28, Padova
• Closing Plenary Roundtable: Teatro Ruzante, Riviera Tito Livio 45, Padova