Officials and participants during the competition.
DOHA: The first edition of the Arab Moot Court Competition for Human Rights concluded on October 9, 2025 at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI).
The competition was organised by the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for Southwest Asia and the Arab Region and hosted by the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the DI.
This pioneering event—the first of its kind in the Arab region—brought together more than fifty law students from Qatar, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Oman, Palestine, and Syria aiming to develop their legal advocacy and argumentation skills through realistic simulations of international and regional court proceedings, with a particular focus on human rights issues.
The closing session featured the announcement of the winning teams, attended by prominent academics and human rights experts, representatives from the UN Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre, and faculty and students from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
The competition was launched by the UN Centre in March of this year, and received 53 applications from universities across the Arab world.
The applicants then participated in several awareness and training sessions organised by the Centre’s Human Rights Education Unit.
Participating teams were required to submit written memorials addressing the case topic—both for the applicant and respondent sides. Based on the evaluation criteria for memorials, 11 teams were selected to take part in the oral rounds hosted at the DI, as part of the Institute’s ongoing efforts to foster academic dialogue and promote justice and human rights in the Arab region.
These efforts align with the goals of the Human Right Master’s Programme at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Following several competitive rounds, the first-place prize was awarded to Sultan Qaboos University, while the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies secured second place.
The third place was shared between An-Najah National University (Palestine) and Menoufia University (Egypt).
In their closing remarks, the organisers emphasised that this initiative represents a distinctive academic platform for developing students’ legal capacities and strengthening the integration between practical training and academic study in human rights while keeping pace with regional international developments in this vital field.
They further noted that the success of this competition underscores its importance as an interactive platform for Arab youth, enabling them to gain the practical skills and experience necessary to advocate for human rights in their professional careers.
