Promoting and Protecting Human Rights: a Global Overview (GCHumanRights)

Promoting and Protecting Human Rights: a Global Overview (GCHumanRights)

In times of violence and crisis, human rights are important safeguards. In times of peace, security and development, they are important pillars sustaining our common humanity. They are more than moral or legal concepts: they are the lymph of our lives. For them to run effectively, we need to relentlessly promote and protect them. This course provides you with a solid basis to understand, know and stand up for human rights.

The MOOC is articulated in 2 modules:
Module 1 (two classes) focuses on the international framework of human rights promotion and protection and is recommended for all participants.
Module 2 (five classes) is dedicated to regional perspectives on the standards, mechanisms, benefits and challenges in five regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, the Arab World, Asia Pacific, and Europe. This module is elective and can be composed of minimum 1 and maximum 5 classes.

Upon completion of this course participants will have gained:

  • Knowledge about key historical, philosophical and legal developments
  • Understanding of progress and obstacles (overtime and current)
  • Ability to identify multi-faceted aspects (pros and cons)
  • Understanding of international legal frameworks, mechanisms and challenges
  • Capacity to discuss specific areas and groups/cases of concern
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Children's Human Rights - An Interdisciplinary Introduction (Coursera) Coursera
University of Geneva

Children's Human Rights - An Interdisciplinary Introduction (Coursera)

Drawing on the contributions of several academic disciplines including law, psychology, sociology, history, educational and health sciences, economy and anthropology, an interdisciplinary approach guides the student into a selection of critical issues concerning children’s rights. Participants will gain insight relative to the development of this specific human rights category, as well as to the evolution of the challenges faced by children over time and society’s efforts to respond.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Privacy in the Western World (Coursera) Coursera
EIT Digital

Privacy in the Western World (Coursera)

Welcome to this course about privacy. We are thrilled to see that you are interested and will provide you with a comprehensive study of this intriguiging subject. We hope this course will enthuse you to look further into privacy and personal data regulation. Especially in the light of recent events it becomes more important to know about your (alleged!?) rights and freedoms.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Children Deprived of Liberty: Learning from the UN Global Study (GCHumanRights) Global Campus of Human Rights
Global Campus of Human Rights

Children Deprived of Liberty: Learning from the UN Global Study (GCHumanRights)

Despite the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms that, in principle, children should not be detained and deprivation of liberty should be a measure of last resort, millions of children in the world are locked away. To address this problem, the United Nations appointed Manfred Nowak as Independent Expert to lead the Global Study on children deprived of liberty. This unique MOOC stems from this study and provides insights, learning and recommendations in this important area at the crossroad of children, violence, and human rights studies.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Transitology – Pathways to and from Democracy (GCHumanRights) Global Campus of Human Rights
Global Campus of Human Rights

Transitology – Pathways to and from Democracy (GCHumanRights)

In this MOOC, academic lecturers in the field of Regime/System Transformation, Quality of Democracy, Elections, and Comparative Politics have been invited to teach, as well as practitioners, data analysts, and policymakers from countries that are currently struggling with the backsliding of democratic institutions and/or are in demanding political regime change in their countries. **Registration deadline: 12 March 2023**

Feb 20th 2023
5-12 Weeks
International Humanitarian Law (edX) EdX
LouvainX,Université Catholique de Louvain - UCL

International Humanitarian Law (edX)

Learn how international law regulates armed conflicts, protects individuals in wartime, and guarantees minimum compliance. Armed conflicts have always existed all over the world. This course will help you understand these complex legal issues by teaching you the norms governing armed conflicts, also known as ‘International Humanitarian Law’ (‘IHL’).

Self Paced
Self-Paced
International Human Rights Law (edX) EdX
LouvainX,Université Catholique de Louvain - UCL

International Human Rights Law (edX)

Learn how an individual’s human rights are protected from both public and private power by international laws. Human rights are developed through the constant dialogue between international human rights bodies and domestic courts, in a search that crosses geographical, cultural and legal boundaries. The result is a unique human rights grammar, which this course shall discuss and question, examining the sources of human rights, the rights of individuals, the duties of States, and the mechanisms of protection.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Cross-border road transport in EU law context (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Cross-border road transport in EU law context (Coursera)

Have you ever wondered which legal rules are applicable to cross-border EU road transport? Are you interested in the issues revolving around EU employment law in the international road transport sector? Then, on behalf of the University of Antwerp, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Gdańsk, University of Luxembourg and Tilburg University, we would like to welcome you to this MOOC on Cross-border Road Transport in EU law context. This MOOC is a part of the Erasmus + Project funded by the European Commission. In this MOOC, you will not only learn what the current legal framework is, but also, how it is applied in the road transport sector.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
International Law in Action: A Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University

International Law in Action: A Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague (Coursera)

International Law in Action explains the functions of each international court and tribunal present in The Hague, and it looks at how these institutions address contemporary problems. On the basis of selected cases, and through interviews with judges and lawyers, you will explore the role of these courts and tribunals and their potential to contribute to global justice. The first module of the course will investigate how judicial settlement is different from other more political forms of dispute settlement, such as negotiation and mediation. It offers a brief historical overview and introduces the judicial and arbitral bodies based in The Hague.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Violence Against Healthcare (Coursera) Coursera
University of Geneva

Violence Against Healthcare (Coursera)

At the global level, there are many countries marked by violence affecting health care. The 'Health care in danger' project aims to establish practical measures and recommendations that can be implemented on the ground by policy-makers, humanitarian organizations and health professionals. In view of the multiplicity of actors and latitudes concerned, it is essential to be able to make available the tools needed to make informed decisions, guide behaviour in high-risk areas and provide everyone the means to create and optimize the dialogue between humanitarian professionals and health on the one hand and relevant authorities or other armed actors.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Citizenship and the Rule of Law (Coursera) Coursera
University of London

Citizenship and the Rule of Law (Coursera)

"Be you so high, the law is above you." This principle, part of the Rule of Law, has come to represent the powerful idea that even politicians and monarchs are bound by the law. However in an age of powerful corporations, international cyber-crime and popular support for authoritarian leaders, the Rule of Law is under threat worldwide.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
International Water Law (Coursera) Coursera
University of Geneva

International Water Law (Coursera)

In recent decades, international law has undergone a series of major developments in order to accommodate the many new facets of freshwater management and protection. The adoption of universal, regional and basin instruments highlights how important it is to study the evolution of international water regulations and to be able to identify the main principles in this field. This course aims to provide the necessary background to understand and examine the regulation applicable to transboundary freshwaters especially to rivers, lakes and aquifers. It presents the principles and legal standards that govern the use, sharing, management and protection of these resources.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks