Conference: The Police and International Human Rights Law

On April 28-30, 2016, the Brandenburg University of Applied Police Sciences will host a conference on "The Police and International Human Rights Law." The program is here. Here's the idea:

The Brandenburg University of Applied Police Sciences is hosting an international conference on The Police and International Human Rights Law from 28 to 30 April 2016. This unique event will bring together a variety of participants including police officers, academics and human rights activists as well as officials from government authorities and international organisations.

Government authorities, including police forces, are created to protect the rights of their citizens. Police must often act quickly and decisively to ensure that individual rights and the rule of law are respected. At the same time, it may always happen that police powers are used excessively, and it is common ground that these powers must be accompanied by effective legal safeguards in order to prevent any abuse from happening, or to react to alleged instances of such abuse.

During the last decades, a body of human rights law has been developed by international organisations. In today’s world, international standards set limits to the action, and sometimes to the inaction, of police forces. By way of the ever-developing case-law of international courts and other bodies, the requirements of human rights law on policing have become more and more detailed and complex in recent years.

This conference will take stock and provide an updated picture of human rights law relating to the police as it stands today. International experts will present, and participants will discuss current issues such as the deadly use of force, the prevention of torture, racial profiling, the protection of personal data, and many others.