The Facts and Norms Institute is an independent academic institution based in the Global South. The Institute’s mission is straightforward: to promote education based on reason, justice, human rights and the pursuit of peace.

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Since its establishment, the Institute promoted various educational activities concerning international law, human rights, and legal and social research, including:

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• the internal training of researchers in human rights-based methods and techniques;

• onsite training on human rights and research methodologies, the UN Human Rights System, the Inter-American Human Rights System, and the impact of severe climate events on the human rights of vulnerable groups, through a partnership between the Institute’s Director and the Center for Human Rights of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia;

• onsite courses and events, such as the 1st Winter Course on International Law and Human Rights (in partnership with the Human Rights Centre of the University of Coimbra, Portugal) and the 2nd Winter Course on Legal Theory, International Law and Human Rights (in partnership with the IURIS Institute of the University of Lisbon, Portugal) (benefitting 40+ student academics, researchers, lecturers, professors, lawyers, and domestic and international civil servants, including judges and politicians);

• the publication of reports, press releases, books, and two periodicals reaching more than 7,000 readers: the semestral Rights of Indigenous Peoples Newsletter, in partnership with the American Society of International Law; and the monthly Facts and Norms Newsletter, a periodical bulletin with world news, new developments in international law and human rights, summaries of recent orders and rulings by international tribunals and mechanisms, and selected academic and professional opportunities.

 

The Institute also conducted social and legal research in collaboration with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the form of written Amici Curiae Memorials. The Institute’s record includes, v.g.,

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• an Amicus Curiae Memorial in the proceedings of the case Leite de Souza and Others vs. Brazil, also known as the Massacre of Acari case, with the presentation of a comprehensive argument regarding the systemic violence perpetrated by State agents in Brazil, particularly focusing on police violence, the limits of transitional justice, and the dehumanization of poor and Afro-descendant populations;

• an Amicus Curiae Memorial in the proceedings of the Advisory Jurisdiction of the Court regarding Human Rights and the Climate Emergency;

• an Amicus Curiae Memorial in the proceedings of the case Denise Peres Crispim, Eduardo Collen Leite, and Others Vs. Brazil, highlighting the transgenerational impact of state violence and the urgent need for transitional justice measures; and

• an Amicus Curiae Memorial in the proceedings of the case Ramos Durand and Others Vs. Peru assessing how forced sterilization is an unacceptable human rights violation.

 

Moreover, the Institute conducted research about varied human rights topics in collaboration with the United Nations, including:

human rights and infectious diseases;

torture and torture prevention;

the notion of short-term enforced disappearances;

religious intolerance, violence, and racism; social participation;

transitional justice and sustainable development;

poverty, post-growth and SDGs;

sustainable development and the human rights of persons with albinism;

the role of non-State actors (particularly businesses) in transitional justice;

memorialization and the Roma;

the protection of lawyers;

the human rights of indigenous and rural communities to water and sanitation;

militarization of indigenous and quilombola land;

human rights and internet shutdowns;

human rights and voluntourism;

sanctions and human rights;

violence against women and girls in sport;

the unlawful killings of LGBTQI+ persons;

contemporary forms of slavery and the informal economy;

technology and contemporary forms of slavery;

digital education and online protection of young people;

human rights and artificial intelligence in education;

the extractive sector, just transition, and human rights;

mercury, artisanal and small-scale gold-mining and human rights;

adequate housing and climate change;

access to information on climate change; and

climate justice, sustainability, and the right to development.

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