At the SAS Festival 2026 last week, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Professor @AbbottKingsley spoke about the Institute's research, specifically about one of our four research clusters on environmental justice and climate breakdown, led by Professor @DamienShort. We were also delighted to have our colleagues from @EcocideLaw join us at our stand, showcasing the One Dress Project, a unique piece of textile art supporting their work. During his talk, Professor Abbott said "Looking at Ecocide is not simply a question of environmental science or criminal law. It also raises historical and cultural questions about how societies understand relationships between people, land and the natural world. These are precisely the kind of challenge where the humanities have something important to contribute, including whose voices are heard in these discussions." Read more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #Ecocide #Research #OneDressPlanet @SASNews @HRC_News

Join us today in Senate House where we’re displaying our research and related publications at the SAS Open Day! We’re here alongside @EcocideLaw so come by to learn more! #SASOpenDay #Research #HumanRights #Ecocide #DecriminalisatioofPoverty #Commonwealth @SASNews @LondonU @HRC_News

🌎 Study Human Rights from anywhere! 🌏 Applications are now open for the MA Human Rights by distance learning at the @LondonU! Apply by 13 January for a February 2027 start. Join this online, practice-focused human rights MA to learn from, and with, human rights activists from around the world. Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate also available. Study from anywhere and pay per module! Modules include: ➡️ Women's Human Rights ➡️ Business and Human Rights ➡️ Translating Human Rights into International Law ➡️ Genocide, gross human rights violations and reconciliation ➡️ Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice ➡️ Indigenous peoples, minorities and human rights london.ac.uk/study/courses/p… #HumanRights #EnvironmentalJustice #Genocide #WomensRights #GenderEquality #IndigenousPeoples #PostgraduateStudy #UniversityofLondon #DistanceLearning @UoLondon @SASNews @HRC_News

ICwS Senior Research Fellow Professor @HenningMelber shared his views on the challenges facing the United Nations on occasion of the high level general debate opening the 81st session of the General Assembly in New York in an interview with Monocle Radio’s The Briefing on 21 September 2026. Listen here: monocle.com/player/?uuid=e61… #UN #Debate #MonocleRadio #TheBriefing

Yesterday evening, the Institute was delighted to host an event with speaker, and Senior Research Fellow, Professor Luis Francesci. Guests gathered at a time when the global stage feels increasingly fragmented. Traditional frameworks of multilateralism are being deeply tested, and many were asking themselves a fundamental question: What can international law still realistically deliver? Professor Franceschi guided the audience in exploring an important topic on International Law and the Art of the Possible. In his lecture, he highlighted a few things of note for a different kind of international law. His lecture referenced international law-making moments based on years of practice and engagement in Commonwealth diplomacy and peacebuilding, not defined only by formalised rules and institutional bureaucracy, but driven by relationality, friendship and care when resolving international conflicts, the settlement of disputes and peacebuilding. Read more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #InternationalLaw #Diplomacy #Commonwealth #Peacebuilding @SASNews @LondonU @HRC_News

The Commonwealth and Geopolitics - 3rd Annual Conference on the Commonwealth of Nations, 27 November 2026 | St Mary’s University, Twickenham In an era of geopolitical uncertainty, what future does the Commonwealth have? Explore the challenges and opportunities facing one of the world’s most diverse international associations through debates on diplomacy, global governance, trade, technology, development and international security. Bringing together academics, diplomats, policymakers and practitioners. Learn more and register here: estore.stmarys.ac.uk/product… #Commonwealth #Diplomacy #GlobalGovernance #Trade #Technology #Development #InternationalSecurity @SASNews @LondonU

Forthcoming lecture from #ICwS PhD candidate in Human Rights, and 2026-2027 Robert J. Katz Research Fellow in Genocide Studies, Anna Gopsill: Masculinity and Vulnerability: Sexual Violence Against Men During Genocide and Conflict, 23 September 2026 at 12:00 PM Pacific Time, Taper Hall (THH) Room 309K - Join in person or on Zoom Sexual violence is often understood through a framework of male perpetrators and female victims, but what happens when men are the victims? Drawing on first-person testimony and judgements from the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, Anna Gopsill (PhD candidate in Human Rights) examines how men talk about sexual violence they have experienced and the space institutions give them to do so. She reflects on what survivor testimonies in the Visual History Archive reveal about this violence and asks how international institutions and humanitarian organizations can ensure that men and boys are not overlooked in efforts to address sexual violence in conflict. Learn more and register here: dornsife.usc.edu/cagr/2026/0… Organised by the @cagr_usc Co-sponsored by @hrc_sas #HumanRights #Rwanda #Yugoslavia #Violence #Genocide

FORTHCOMING EVENT IN 2 WEEKS👇 👇 👇 International Law and the Art of the Possible with Luis Franceschi, Special Envoy on Mediation at The Republic of Kenya 30 September 2026, 6pm-8pm, The Senate Room, First Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU In a moment when multilateralism is tested by conflict and fragmentation, this lecture asks what international law can still realistically deliver, and what the Commonwealth’s distinct model of “friendship with a purpose” offers that other multilateral frameworks do not. More than treaties signed overnight or the formal architecture of law, what helps is trust patiently built, relationships sustained across generations, and a habit of speaking honestly among friends, even about those uncomfortable truths diplomats usually shun. Drawing on years of practice in peacebuilding, Commonwealth diplomacy, and Constitutional Law, Prof. Franceschi will explore how this relational fabric opens space for legal and political possibilities that adversarial diplomacy forecloses. Grounded in real-life situations, the lecture will address the art of the possible: not the abandonment of principle, but its patient, relational pursuit. Register here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #InternationalLaw #Commonwealth #Diplomacy #Peacebuilding #Multilateralism @SASNews @LondonU @HRC_News

Academic Freedom and Human Rights in Focus at Utrecht Summer School From 17–21 August 2026, @ICwS_SAS PhD researcher @JoeRuzvidzo attended the Utrecht Summer School course “Advocacy for Academic Freedom and Human Rights” at @UniUtrecht in the Netherlands. The intensive programme brought together Master’s and PhD researchers and higher education professionals to examine academic freedom, democracy and related human rights from an international perspective. Read more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #AcademicFreedon #Democracy #HumanRights #Advocacy #HigherEducation #Researchers @SASNews @LondonU @HRC_News

Forthcoming event 👇👇👇 International Law and the Art of the Possible with Professor Luis Franceschi, Special Envoy on Mediation at The Republic of Kenya 30 September 2026, 6pm-8pm, The Senate Room, First Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU In a moment when multilateralism is tested by conflict and fragmentation, this lecture asks what international law can still realistically deliver, and what the Commonwealth’s distinct model of “friendship with a purpose” offers that other multilateral frameworks do not. Read more and register here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #InternationalLaw #Commonwealth #Diplomacy #Peacebuilding #Multilateralism @SASNews @LondonU

On 31 July 2026, Professor @AbbottKingsley was delighted to represent the @ICwS_SAS at the international conference “Reparatory Justice in and Through Sport” in Glasgow in the margin of the 2026 Commonwealth Games @Glasgow_2026 Convened by the @SportandRights @thecgf and @UNHumanRights, the conference was said to be the first ever international meeting bringing together leading voices at the intersection of reparatory justice and sport. Read more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #OHCHR #UN #ReparatoryJustice #Sport #Colonialism #Africa #Truth #Justice #Reconciliation #Commonwealth #CommonwealthGames @HRC_News @SASNews @LondonU

Just ONE DAY LEFT to apply to our distance learning human rights programme - September 2026 start! 👇 👇 👇 london.ac.uk/study/courses/p…

🌎 Study Human Rights from anywhere! 🌏 Applications are still open for the MA Human Rights by distance learning at the University of London! DEADLINE NEXT WEEK! Apply by 5 August for a September 2026 start. Join this online, practice-focused human rights MA to learn from, and with, human rights activists from around the world. Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate also available. Study from anywhere and pay per module! Modules include: ➡️ Women's Human Rights ➡️ Business and Human Rights ➡️ Translating Human Rights into International Law ➡️ Genocide, gross human rights violations and reconciliation ➡️ Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice ➡️ Indigenous peoples, minorities and human rights london.ac.uk/study/courses/p… #HumanRights #EnvironmentalJustice #Genocide #WomensRights #GenderEquality #IndigenousPeoples #PostgraduateStudy #UniversityofLondon #DistanceLearning @LondonU @SASNews

Momentum Builds as CARICOM Reparations Commission Undertakes Second Official UK Visit Between 13 and 15 July, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) proudly hosted the second official visit of the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) to the United Kingdom, bringing together the CRC, civil society, policymakers, diplomats, researchers and faith leaders at a pivotal moment for the global reparatory justice movement. The visit reflected growing international momentum behind efforts to address the enduring legacies of the trafficking in enslaved Africans. It also provided an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration between Caribbean representatives and UK-based civil society, researchers and institutions committed to advancing research, dialogue and action on reparatory justice. Read more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #CARICOM #CARICOMReparationsCommission #ReparatoryJustice #CaribbeanHistory #Commonwealth @SASNews @LondonU

Alumni Spotlight 🎓 🔦 3️⃣ 0️⃣ As part of the 30th Anniversary of Human Rights Education at the #ICwS, we will be profiling alumni and currents students on our MA and PhD programmes to highlight their contributions to securing human rights. ⭐ This month's alum is Elenor Smith ⭐ Elenor is a Senior Advisor of Human Rights in Supply Chains at @SFAGlobal a social enterprise of @Hopeforjustice where she supports businesses to identify and address risks of modern slavery, labour exploitation and wider human rights harms. Her work includes advising on human rights due diligence, worker engagement, supply chain risk management, and responsible business practices. Read more here about her impressive accomplishments: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #HumanRights #Alumni #ModernSlavery #Justice #BusinessandHumanRights

Asia Launch of the Practitioner's Guide on the Decriminalisation of Poverty and Status 👇👇👇 The ICwS, in collaboration with the @ICJ_org and @commonwealthsec, launched the Practitioners’ Guide on A Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law, Including the Decriminalisation of Conduct Associated with Poverty and Status at the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies Conference in Singapore on 13 July 2026. This year’s CARLAs gathering took place under the theme ‘Law Reform in a Changing World,’ and it brought together leading statutory law reform commissioners, legal experts, and legislative drafts people. Read more here: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-… #LawReform #DecriminalisationPovertyStatus #CriminalLaw #CALRAs #Commonwealth