By Dipo Olowookere
The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other partners, is organizing the 9th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 18 to 21 July 2017.
The competition, which is held in English, is open to undergraduate and masters law students from universities around the world. Students are invited to argue a hypothetical human rights case before a panel of top international lawyers.
The competition is expected to bring together up to 75 participants from as many as 25 universities representing the five UN regional groups.
“We would like to encourage you to spread the word among academic institutions in your countries. The deadline for registration is 12 June 2017,” the organisers said on Monday.
The rules of procedure, the hypothetical case, and registration details are available at www.chr.up.ac.za/worldmoot.
As a new feature, the 2017 edition of the competition will include a one-day event designed to expose students to the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as the Human Rights Council. This will involve personal interaction with senior staff members of both institutions who are involved in key activities and processes.
The World Human Rights Moot Court Competition has been presented every year for the last eight years, and has become a leading human rights educational event. It is unique in bringing together some of the brightest law students from universities around the globe to debate contemporary human rights issues on the basis of a common UN human rights system, influenced by national and regional perspectives and experiences.
The executors of the estate of Nelson Mandela in 2014 agreed to have the competition renamed after him, and the competition will be promoted in the context of Nelson Mandela International Day, July 18.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Adedapo Adesanya