Protection International and the Pedro Arrupe Human Rights Institute at University Deusto signed a collaboration agreement last Friday in Bilbao to enhance students’ practical and applied research projects in humanitarian action.

September 19th, 2014. Bilbao, Spain – For twenty years, the University of Deusto has offered study programs aimed at training experts in humanitarian aid. Among these is the Erasmus Mundus Master in Humanitarian Action (NOHA), an initiative developed by a network of European universities and the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO). Protection International meanwhile is reputed among human rights organizations for its special expertise in the security and protection of human rights defenders working in high-risk areas throughout the world.

Concretely, this newly founded collaboration with Pedro Apure Institute of Human Rights will allow students from the NOHA Master’s degree to carry out internships with Protection International in its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium or its offices in Latin America, Africa and Asia. In addition, Protection International staff will have preferential access to the NOHA Master’s degree provided they comply with admission requirements.

Moreover, the University of Deusto and Protection International have agreed to facilitate exchanges and develop new collaboration channels in applied research projects. This will allow university researchers to benefit from the variety of new concepts and tools for the protection of human rights defenders developed by Protection International together with local partners. Both parties will also work together to organize seminars, talks, workshops, and other forms of collaboration intending to promote scientific exchange. Future areas of educational collaboration could include offering a joint postgraduate distance degree on the “Complete protection of human rights defenders and social activists.”