Daria Nikityuk, Alexander Samosadko and Andrei Lunev are members of the team of Yekaterinburg universities that won the Model European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) competition. The competition was held as part of the Human Rights Summer School 2019, the largest human rights education event held annually with the support of the UN Human Rights Office in Russia.  

This year, the event was organized by the Perm State University, one of the nine members of the Consortium of Russian Universities that offer master's degree programmes in international human rights protection. The Seventh Summer School focused on the role of a human rights approach in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The sustainable development agenda adopted by all UN Member States is designed to eradicate poverty and build a world in which no one is forgotten by 2030.

The School was opened by Georgette Gagnon, Head of the Field Missions and Technical Cooperation Department of the United Nations Office for Human Rights. "The 2030 Agenda provides a fairer, more sustainable, people-centred and human rights-based development model and sets out specific goals, targets and indicators to ensure the realization of a human rights framework of freedom from fear and want," she said.

"Sustainable development goals inevitably affect critical areas of human life that are inextricably linked to human rights," added Samosadko. "The right to work and sustainable production and consumption, the right to self-expression and the achievement of gender equality cannot exist in isolation.

The School's programme included three clusters that addressed human rights and SDGs in the context of business, digitalization and child rights.

Students talked about what they do in their daily lives to achieve sustainable development goals. They gave examples of goals such as Goal 13 on combating climate change, Goal 14 on conserving marine ecosystems, Goal 15 on conserving terrestrial ecosystems. Each student tries to consume responsibly: they sort waste, try not to use plastic products, save paper and water, and draw attention on social media to the need to respect nature.

The Summer School participants were most interested in practically oriented classes. For example, a visit to the non-governmental organization "Grani" Center became one of the most memorable events. Students took part in the development of the draft National Action Plan for Human Rights and, divided into groups, suggested ways of achieving a particular goal in the field of sustainable development.

Students also participated in the ECtHR Model ECtHR competition and studied the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

"The main difference between the Summer School and regular university studies is that the format of education is more like a dialogue between a teacher and students," said Andrey Lunev.

The students stressed that the future of young people depends directly on the achievement of sustainable development goals, and expressed the hope that upon completion of their studies they will be able to apply their knowledge in the field of SDGs more widely.

"I want to educate in this area so that everyone in my country knows what the SDGs are and how we can contribute to their achievement. And then to find like-minded people with whom we would work on projects to protect human rights for the benefit of society," said Daria.