Founded in 1985, the Institute for Human Rights is situated within the Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics, and Law at Åbo Akademi University. The mission of the Institute is to conduct outstanding academic research of high societal relevance and to offer research-based education in cooperation with national and international partners.

The current main areas of research are: social justice and the protection of economic, social and cultural rights; the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, such as minorities, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants; and global development through human rights-based norms and strategies.

The Institute has a long-standing experience in arranging intensive courses in human rights law and related topics. Together with the Chair of Public International Law at Åbo Akademi University the Institute offers the Master’s Degree Programme in International Law and Human Rights.

The activities of the Institute are financed partly through the University’s budget and partly through project-based external funding. Under the directorship of Professor Elina Pirjatanniemi, the Institute operates with a number of in-house and visiting scholars specialising in the area of human rights.

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