Professor Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon's Activities in 2024

On February 19 and 20, 2024, Professor. Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon participated in the International Conference on Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction, that took place in Washington DC. The conference convened a distinguished group of experts, including members of the International Law Commission (ILC), scholars and other organizations to discuss the work of the ILC on this important subject matter. Prof. Rodriguez-Pinzon contributed to the discussion from his perspective of human rights law expert, and based on his practical experience as former member of the UN Committee against Torture. The agenda included analyzing State comments on the Draft adopted by the ILC, exploring new developments, and discussing various of its aspects. The conference was organized by Professor and Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman, who was appointed Special Rapporteur on Immunity of State Officials From Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction in the ILC.

On March 5, 2024, Professor Rodriguez-Pinzon moderated the panel "Protection of Human Rights in Virtual Environments." The panel included: Catalina Botero, Co-Chair of the Oversight Board of META (Facebook, Instagram and Threads), and adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law's Academy on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, as well as former dean of the Law School of Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia; Edison Lanza, former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at the Organization of American States; and Eduardo Bertoni, Director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at WCL and former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for the Inter-American Commission of the OAS.

On March 13 and 14, 2024, Professor Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon I was invited to deliver the course "The Inter-American Human Rights System and the rights of indigenous peoples" in the European Masters Program (EMA). The event took place in the law school of the University of Deusto, in Bilbao, Spain. The EMA is a consortium of more than 40 European universities that provide postgraduate education in human rights, that include, among others, thew Global Campus in Venice that coordinates the European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation, University of Leuven, University of Vienna, University of Helsinki, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Queen's University, University of Nottingham, Lund University, University of Coimbra, University of Hamburg, University of Strasbourg, University of Padua, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, University of Bologna, University of Sarajevo, University of Belgrade and the University of Lucerne.

On April 5, 2024, Professor Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón participated in the Symposium on Universal Jurisdiction and War Crimes Prosecution, organized by the American University International Law Review. Read more.

On May 14, 2024, Professor Rodriguez-Pinzon was a member of the Honor Panel of Judges of the final round of the Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition held in Washington DC. Other member of the Honor Panel were Catalina Botero Marino, Co-Chair of the Meta Oversight Board, and Former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR); Eduardo Bertoni, Executive Director of the WCL's Center for Human Rights and IACHR Former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression; and Pedro Vaca Villareal, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR.

On June 13, 2024, Professor Rodriguez-Pinzon participated as moderator in the panel "Current Challenges of the International Human Rights Machinery" that was held in WCL. Other panelists were Santiago Canton, Secretary General, International Commission of Jurists; Helen Duffy, Founder, Human Rights in Practice, The Hague, The Netherlands, and Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Leiden University; Flavia Piovesan, Former IACHR Commissioner and Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights; and Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organization Against Torture (OMCT). Read more.

From July 1st to July 12, 2024, Professor Rodriguez-Pinzon coordinated and taught the International Labor Organization (ILO) component of the course "Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: Practical Challenges" program, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The course has been delivered every Summer since 2011 but was suspended during the pandemic. The ILO component of the course had been suspended since 2020 and it was relaunched this year in collaboration with the ILO. The course was attended by WCL students and was co-taught with Prof. Claudia Martin.

On September 11, 2024, Professor Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon participated as a commenter in the conference "Conversación de la Gestión del Presidente de la Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP), Dr. Roberto Carlos Vidal Lopez," organized by the Peace Institute of the Universidad Externado de Colombia. The event was moderated by Prof. Andrés González, who is member of the leading team of the Institute and WCL international visiting scholar. Prof. Rodriguez-Pinzon currently serves as member of the International Advisory Board of the Institute.

On October 29, 2024, Professor Rodriguez-Pinzon was invited, as an international expert, to join the team of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Regional Office for South-East Asia, that is accompanying the delegation of the State of Thailand in view of that country's periodic review that the UN Committee Against Torture will carry out in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 5 and 6, 2024. Thailand is presenting its Second Periodic Report under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prof. Rodríguez-Pinzón served from 2018 to 2021 as a member and rapporteur of the UN Committee against Torture.

On November 4, 2024, Professor Rodriguez-Pinzon served as accompanying faculty of the WCL students that attended the 81st Session of the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) in Geneva, Switzerland. This onsite visit practicum is part of the course "Torture Prohibition in International Law" delivered by Prof. Claudio Grossman with the support of the Kovler Project Against Torture. The Kovler Practicum included working with UNCAT members, and attending a session of the UN Human Rights Committee under the ICCPR. Students also had the opportunity to interact with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), the Secretariat of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and the Convention Against Torture Initiative (CTI).