2026 Human Rights Essay Award Competition | Call for Papers Closes February 3, 2026
Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
American University Washington College of Law
United States
Call for Papers
Deadline: February 3rd, 2026
Submit your essay to the 2026 Human Rights Essay Award (HREA). The Human Rights Essay Award is an annual competition sponsored by the Academy, which seeks to stimulate the production of academic articles in the field of international human rights law. The topic of the 2026 Award is “The right to protest under international human rights law: legal protection and challenges ahead”. Participants have the flexibility to choose any subject related to this topic, however, the scope of the essay must directly relate to this year’s topic, or it will be disqualified. In addition, we would like to note we believe that international human rights law can be understood to include international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
We will award two winners—one for submissions in English and one for submissions in Spanish—with:
- A full tuition scholarship to the 2026 Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Lawfor either the Diploma or Certificate of Attendance options (travel, housing and per diem living expenses are not included) which will take place from May 25 to June 12, 2026.
- The best articles may also be published in the American University International Law Review, which contains relevant and diverse academic material. This prestigious journal receives approximately 1,500 submissions each year and publishes legal research from professors, judges, lawyers, and renowned scholars.
The deadline to enter your submission to the Human Rights Essay Award is February 3rd, 2026. Please note that this competition is open to all lawyers around the world but ONLY lawyers. In other words, only candidates who have already obtained their first law degree are eligible. No exceptions will be made as this is a legal essay award.
If you would like additional information or have any questions, we invite you to visit our website: https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/hracademy/award/ or contact us via email at humanrightsessay@wcl.american.edu.