The latest collection of Global Campus Awarded Theses offers a range of answers to these questions, showcasing research conducted across the Global Campus regional master’s programmes and highlighting issues that are reshaping human rights debates around the world.
The selected master’s theses examine challenges faced by groups who are frequently overlooked, underrepresented, or insufficiently protected by existing legal and policy systems. Through empirical research, comparative analysis, and innovative approaches, the authors explore the experiences of children with intellectual disabilities in Ghana, non-Syrian refugees in Jordan, Russian migrants who left their country after 2022, indigenous women and girls affected by trafficking in Latin America, transgender women experiencing intimate partner violence in Sri Lanka, and victims of image-based sexual abuse in Kosovo.
These studies also address the growing influence of technology on democratic processes and human rights. Research on electoral deepfakes analyses how artificial intelligence can become a tool for political disinformation, while other works examine the implementation of international women’s rights standards, the human rights implications of overfishing in West Africa, and the continuing challenge of translating legal commitments into effective protection and accountability mechanisms.
Together, these master’s theses demonstrate the importance of locally grounded research in understanding global human rights issues and contribute valuable insights for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners working to advance inclusion, equality, and justice.
The Global Campus Awarded Theses of the academic year 2024/2025 are:
- Promoting Inclusivity through Legal Frameworks: An analysis of Ghana’s Disability Policies and their Effectiveness in Supporting Children with Intellectual Disabilities written by Peter Arkorful-Ewool and supervised by Elvis Fokala, Center for Human Rights – University of Pretoria. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in the Caucasus (CES – GC Caucasus), coordinated by Yerevan State University (Armenia).
- The Risk of Statelessness and Humanitarian Exclusion: Legal and Structural Barriers for Non-Syrian Refugees in Jordan written by Isabella Eda Baker and supervised by Ibrahim Al-Jazy, University of Jordan (Jordan). Arab Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights (ArMA – GC Arab World), coordinated by Saint Joseph University of Beirut (Lebanon).
- Deepfakecracia: Electoral Deepfakes as Disinformation Tools in the 2023–2024 Presidential Elections written by Agostina Dasso Boonman and supervised by Ivan Schuliaquer, National University of San Martín (Argentina). Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LATMA – GC Latin America & Caribbean), coordinated by the National University of San Martín (Argentina).
- Status of Post-February 2022 Russian Migrants: A Comparative Study written by Ilya Lomakin and supervised by Lucia Leontiev, European University Institute (Italy). Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Sustainability in Central Asia (MAHRS – GC Central Asia) (AA 2023-25), coordinated by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).
- Intimate Partner Violence: Case Studies of Transgender Women in Sri Lanka as Victims and Perpetrators written by Isurinie Anuradha Mallawaarachchi and supervised Kalana Senaratne, University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) and Naparat Kranrattensuit, Mahidol University (Thailand). Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Asia Pacific (APMA – GC Asia-Pacific), coordinated by Mahidol University (Thailand).
- Exposing Shadows: Exploring the Intersection of Image-Based Sexual Abuse in Kosovo written by Entenela Ndrevataj and supervised by Zilka Spahic Siljak, University of Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – Feminism and Religion (FER) School. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in South East Europe (ERMA – GC South East Europe), coordinated by the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the University of Bologna (Italy).
- Missing from the Data, Missing from the Law: Indigenous Women and Girls and the Failures of Anti-Trafficking Frameworks in Latin America written by Kate Orr and supervised by Davinia Gómez Sánchez, University of Deusto (Spain). European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA – GC Europe), coordinated by the Global Campus of Human Rights Headquarters (Italy).
- Assessing the Extent of Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: Concluding Observations on Kazakhstan written by Darya Vasilenko and supervised by Aigerim Kussaiynkyzy, Maqsut Narikbayev University (Kazakhstan). Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Sustainability in Central Asia (MAHRS – GC Central Asia) (AA 2024-26), coordinated by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).
- A Human Rights-Based Approach to Overfishing in West Africa: Comparative Study of Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia written by Josephine Boye Yisa and supervised by Magnus Killander, University of Pretoria (South Africa), and Emmanuel Kasimbazi, Makerere University (Uganda). Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA – GC Africa), coordinated by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria (South Africa).