Apply to the V Course on Business & Human Rights: Climate Emergency and Corporate Power

The climate crisis is not just an environmental problem — it is also a human rights crisis, a power struggle, and a context in which corporations have an outsized impact. To engage with these issues through a critical lens from the Global South, we are opening applications for the fifth edition of our Course on Business and Human Rights 2026: Climate Emergency, Corporate Power, and Human Rights in a Disputed Global Order.

Apply here

What the course is about

The course starts from a core premise: the climate crisis is a direct consequence of a development model driven largely by major polluters —particularly fossil fuel companies— that have played a decisive role in creating and deepening the problem.

This raises questions like: What responsibilities do these companies bear in the face of the crisis? How should they be held accountable for the harms they have caused? And what role do they play today in the transition away from fossil fuels?

Our course takes a clear position: “green business,” market-based climate solutions, and the energy transition can either ease the crisis or deepen it, depending on who sets the rules and on what terms.

Rather than offering fixed answers, this space is designed to open the debates that truly matter —normative, jurisprudential, and political— and to strengthen the capacity of both state institutions and civil society in their oversight role, so that corporations can be meaningfully held to genuine accountability processes.

The course will be held in person in Bogotá, July 13–17, 2026, and will be delivered in a bilingual format (English and Spanish).

Goals

• Understanding the rules of the game: Learning the laws, regulations, and court decisions that govern how companies must respect human rights and respond to the climate crisis, at both the international level and in the Global South.
• Questioning corporate power: Thinking critically about the role of corporations in the climate crisis — how real their commitments are, when “green business” is a false solution, and how large corporations shape public decision-making.
• Learning from concrete experience: Analyzing real cases of climate litigation, regulatory pressure, and mechanisms for demanding corporate accountability, particularly from Global South countries.
• Building practical skills: Strengthening concrete tools for action — how to use the law, how to influence public policy, and how to communicate effectively in contexts where corporate responsibility for the climate emergency is actively contested.
• Connecting and building the human rights movement: Developing networks and aligning existing initiatives to strengthen and advance a shared rights-protection agenda.

Teaching approach

The course integrates theory and practice through methodologies drawn from our experience in research, litigation, and advocacy, alongside tools from design thinking, creative problem-solving, and futures studies. Morning sessions will cover the conceptual and legal foundations of each topic, while afternoons will be devoted to practical application: case analysis, problem-solving exercises, and skills development for strategic litigation, communications, and policy advocacy.

The bilingual format is our way of broadening the conversation beyond Latin America and connecting perspectives from different regions of the Global South.

Dejusticia and its educational commitment

Dejusticia is a legal and social studies center based in Bogotá, committed to the rule of law and human rights in Colombia and the Global South. It combines rigorous research, public interest litigation, and policy advocacy to contribute to social change.

Its Human Rights Practice School (Escuela D) responds to the real demands of rights defense: a meeting space for people, ideas, and experiences, with strategic, multidisciplinary, and collaborative approaches, aimed at strengthening a more organized civil society.

Applications

Our Business and Human Rights course is designed for legal professionals, public officials, researchers, and people working with social organizations in litigation, advocacy, or public policy on business, human rights, and climate change. The program has an international profile, with particular attention to participants from the Global South. Enrollment is limited to 25–30 participants.

Tuition

The course fee is $600 USD per participant. Tuition covers all sessions, workshops, and lectures, as well as coffee breaks, lunches, materials, and a certificate of participation. Travel, accommodation, and local transportation are the responsibility of each participant.

Scholarships

We are offering both full and partial scholarships to cover tuition costs. Scholarships are aimed at people with experience in social activism or community work. Applicants wishing to be considered for a scholarship should indicate this in the application form.

Ready to apply?

Keep these key dates and details in mind and submit your application through this form.

• Course dates: July 13–17, 2026
• Location: Bogotá, Colombia
• Tuition: $600 USD per participant
• Contact: cursos@dejusticia.org
• Application deadline: April 30, 2026