Global Campus Open Knowledge Repository
Our Open Knowledge Repository is a digital service that collects, preserves, and distributes all digital materials resulting from the rich and varied production of the Global Campus of Human Rights. It is an ever growing collection which aims to give visibility to our research outputs, educational content, and multimedia materials; sustain open access for knowledge transfer; and foster communication within and beyond academia.
Communities in DSpace
Select a community to browse its collections.
- The Global Campus Human Rights Journal is a peer-reviewed bi-annual publication that serves as a forum for rigorous scholarly analysis, critical commentaries, and reports on recent developments pertaining to human rights and democratisation globally.
- Publications series about various projects developed by Global Campus of Human Rights.
- A selection of the best master theses of each regional programme (annual award) as well as the full collection of all dissertations.
- This collection includes the Global Campus of Human Rights Annual Report and specific activities reporting.
- The Global Campus of Human Rights Magazine is a quarterly promotional publication on the network activities. It is published both in English and Italian.
Recent Submissions
Digital technology, the right to education and the issue of inclusivity in South Africa: lessons from COVID-19
(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2023-06-08) Fazili Mihigo, Christian
In South Africa, the shifting from physical to virtual education due to COVID-19 has created inequalities among learners from urban areas who could continue with online schooling and learners from rural areas and also learners
with disabilities who were deprived of their right to education.
The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children’s Right to Development under the Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Tajikistan Case Study
(2026) Shodibekova, Shamsiya
Domestic violence against women remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations worldwide, with consequences that extend beyond the immediate victim. Children who witness such violence often experience profound developmental harm; however, in Tajikistan and across Central Asia this form of indirect victimhood remains largely invisible in law, policy, and research. Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) guarantees every child’s right to holistic development, children exposed to domestic violence in Tajikistan are rarely treated as independent rights-holders, creating significant gaps in protection and early intervention.
The aim of this study is to assess how domestic violence against women affects children’s right to development in Tajikistan and to evaluate the adequacy of existing legal and institutional responses under the CRC. This thesis examines how professionals in Tajikistan respond to the developmental consequences of domestic violence on children. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed methods design, the study combines interviews with professionals and comparative legal and policy analysis. The CRC and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory provide the theoretical foundation, enabling analysis that bridges children’s rights law with developmental psychology. All interviews followed ethical research standards. By situating Tajikistan as the primary case study, the research explores four interrelated dimensions: (1) the psychological and social consequences of witnessing violence for children; (2) the adequacy of existing legal and institutional responses; and (3) the effectiveness of preventive measures, including family centered and school based interventions, public advocacy and independent fact-finding mechanisms; and (4) the extent to which children’s voices and best interests are meaningfully reflected in protection systems. Selected comparative references such as Spain’s recognition of “vicarious violence” and regional practices in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan contextualize the findings.
The research finds that children exposed to domestic violence face cumulative and multidimensional developmental risks, while protection mechanisms in Tajikistan remain fragmented, under resourced, and inconsistently implemented. Weak inter-institutional coordination, limited professional capacity, insufficient child referral pathways, and restricted access to international accountability procedures continue to undermine effective prevention and protection. Academically, it contributes to the limited literature on children’s indirect victimhood in post-Soviet contexts, through a rights-based and interdisciplinary approach. Practically, it evaluates alignment with CRC obligations, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4,5, and 16, and proposes pathways to strengthen child centered, trauma informed protection systems.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Implementing the Recommendations to Kyrgyzstan
(2026) Malik kyzy, Saikal
This Master’s thesis focuses on the extent to which the Kyrgyz Republic has implemented the recommendations issued by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) following the examination of its Fifth Periodic Report by the CEDAW Committee. Although the country ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1997 and made international commitments to ensure gender equality, there remains a significant gap between what is enshrined in law and what is implemented in practice.
The aim of the study is to assess the degree of implementation of the CEDAW Committee’s recommendations and to identify the key factors hindering the achievement of substantive equality between women and men in Kyrgyzstan. The research focuses on gender-based violence, harmful practices such as bride kidnapping (kyrg. ala-kachuu) and early marriage, discrimination against marginalized groups of women, women’s participation in political and public life, employment, and the impact of gender stereotypes on law enforcement practice.
The research methodology is based on a combination of doctrinal and legal analysis with a non-doctrinal socio-legal approach. The study analyzes international and national legal frameworks, the Concluding Observations and General Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), state reports, NGO shadow reports, materials from international organizations, and statistical data. Implementation of the CEDAW Committee's recommendations was assessed on a scale of implemented, partially implemented, or not implemented.
The results illustrate that the majority of the CEDAW Committee’s recommendations in Kyrgyzstan are still unimplemented or only partially implemented. Certain legislative reforms had been made in the aftermath of 2021 but these changes have not led to systematic increases in the protection of women's rights. The investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, bride kidnapping, sexual violence, and early and forced marriages are still very weak, along with ensuring the access to the justice for women belonging to marginalized groups, such as women with disabilities, women living with HIV, women who use drugs, and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women.
The dissertation argues that the limited implementation of CEDAW recommendations is due not only to legislative gaps but also to institutional weaknesses, insufficient resources, a narrowing of civic space, and the persistence of deeply entrenched gender stereotypes reinforced by neo-traditionalist discourse. Achieving genuine equality requires comprehensive legal reform, the strengthening of institutions, the protection of civil society, and ongoing efforts to transform discriminatory social norms.
Digital Honor Policing: Online Misogyny and Patriarchal Surveillance in Telegram Channel “B”
(2026) Saidibroimova, Safina
This research investigates the emergence and dynamics of Telegram Channel “B,” a digital manosphere targeting women in the Pamiri region and its diaspora. Making use of digital ethnography, linguistic analysis, and expert interviews, the study explores how this space functions as a mechanism for gender regulation during periods of socio-political crisis. The research was guided by the hypothesis that digital misogyny in this context is a reactionary response to heightened instability and the expansion of female autonomy. The findings confirm this hypothesis, demonstrating that the 2022 regional instability acted as a catalyst for "scapegoating" women to reclaim a sense of collective masculine identity. By defining "ideal" versus "deviant" femininity and using AI-generated images, male participants perform hegemonic masculinity to mitigate perceived threats to their traditional authority. The study reveals that women in international marriages are specifically targeted as symbolic betrayers of the nation. Ultimately, the research concludes that Channel “B” is not merely an online community but a tool of patriarchal control that silences women’s voices and undermines international human rights standards and sustainable development. This study contributes to feminist scholarship by illustrating how digital misogyny serves as a compensatory mechanism for men navigating a "crisis of hegemonic masculinity" in high-instability, non-Western contexts.
Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: The OSCE’s response to Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
(2026) Cantlow, Rachel
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda marks 25 years since the adoption of its first resolution, UNSCR 1325. During this time, the WPS agenda had been tested in conflicts across the world, which has led to a huge response in the feminist international relations field. One such conflict is the Russia-Ukraine war, soon entering its fifth year. As the gendered impacts of the conflict became increasingly pronounced, WPS scholarship called for greater attention to the situation in Ukraine and for a thorough analysis of the implementation efforts there. This research has primarily focused on the role of the OSCE, in a case study research design, by assessing its alignment with and contributions towards the WPS agenda through the following aims; (1) to understand the priorities, drivers and challenges faced by key OSCE programmes in Ukraine, (2) evaluate the impact of gender equality policies and the WPS agenda on the OSCE programme’s design and delivery in Ukraine, (3) to assess how the OSCE reflects and frames peace and security through its Ukrainian programmes, and (4) to consider the OSCE’s influence on advancing the WPS agenda in a conflict-affected setting. The research applied feminist institutionalism theory and involved a thematic analysis of data collected through semi-structured interviews with practitioners. The studies main findings indicate that the OSCE is a key actor and advocate for the WPS agenda in Ukraine, utilising its institutional norms on gender mainstreaming and its comprehensive security mandate to deliver impactful projects that provide support and resilience to state authorities and NGOs. The research also revealed nuances in these areas as well as some limitations to localisation based on political will, contextual constraints, and somewhat inconsistent, short-term support to civil society. Overall, the research has made valuable contributions towards addressing current gaps in WPS scholarship through its focus on the post-socialist space and the OSCE specifically, and hopes to inform future activities of the OSCE to ensure the full utilisation of the WPS agenda in Ukraine.