DIHR’s chief activity in Benin is supporting human rights within the university system. The Institute cooperates with the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights and Democracy at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Cotonou, in order to strengthen university co-operation on human rights in West Africa. The Chair was established in 1995 with the aim of being both multidisciplinary and regional. DIHR began its collaboration in 2000 and offers both capacity-building and technical support.
Activities
Since 2006, DIHR has been supporting the following activities:
- An annual human rights course held for professionals from academia, civil society, public institutions and international agencies. This short-term training course is attended by French-speaking participants from Benin to Rwanda.
- The Permanent Secretariat of the UNESCO Chairs Network in Francophone West Africa.
- An annual meeting for partners from academia in West Africa in order to debate human rights issues that are on the agenda of countries in the region, such the right to education in relation to development.
- In addition, the UNESCO Chair manages DEA and DESS courses for students from French language West Africa.