Spring 2024 Essay Contest Prompt: Human Rights in Practice

Submissions should be essays about a topic broadly connected to the practice of human rights advocacy. Successful submissions will introduce a novel approach or perspective to their topics, will center practice-based experiences, and will have a strong nexus to human rights law. Submissions may, for example, explore how to overcome contemporary challenges in human rights litigation, or how advocates can better represent the interests of communities at the grassroots level.

Submissions Window: January 17, 2024 – February 28, 2024. Submissions received outside this window will not be considered.

Winners will be announced in the Spring of 2024 and published in the Online Journal.

Submission Guidelines:

Qualifications: The essay contest is open to all current students at Harvard University, including undergraduate and graduate students.

Length Limitations: Submissions should be approximately 1,000–2,000 words, including footnotes.

Citation Format: All assertions should be cited. Please cite sources using footnotes rather than endnotes. Law students should ensure footnotes comply with The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. For other students, the use of a consistent citation system providing complete source information in the footnotes is sufficient.

Submission Instructions: Participants should send their submission, as an attachment in Microsoft Word format, from an official Harvard email address to the HHRJ Submissions Committee (submissions.hhrj@mail.law.harvard.edu), along with a copy of a recent CV. The subject line of the email should include “Essay Contest Submission” and the author’s last name.