Annual Human Rights Conference 2021

Durham University Justice Society's 2nd Annual Human Rights Conference was a roaring success despite the wider pandemic situation, demonstrating the society's continued commitment to raising awareness regarding human rights legal issues.

The society held its 2nd annual Human Rights Conference in February 2021. Adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the conference was held over Zoom and consisted of 3 panel events and 1 workshop. The panel discussions focused on modern slavery, violence against women, and the impact of COVID-19 on family law and human rights. The workshop, which was a collaboration with UN Women, engaged participants in a lively discussion on the importance of having more women in politics.

The conference was lucky to host prominent speakers for the Conference, experts in their respective field who were able to offer incredible insights into their specific areas of work. They included Professor Parosha Chandran (Barrister and Professor of Modern Slavery at KCL), Dr Judith Spicksley (Lecture in Economic History at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emanicipation at the University of Hull), Sarah Hill (CEO of Independent Domestic Abuse Services) and Michael Horowitz QC (Chair of the Centre for Child and Family Law Reform).

The Human Rights Conference attracted more than 250 participants in total. The Conference was nominated for the Best Student Law Society Event of the Year Award for 2020/21.