A decisive year for the SCHR

2015 was a particularly important year for the SCHR, as it marked the end of the five-year pilot stage. The core question was the future of the SCHR. The decision of the Federal Council of 1 July 2015 concerning the extension of the current mandate was therefore an important milestone. The Annual Report 2015 summarises the steps taken along this path and looks at the stock taken of the pilot project by an external evaluation and by the SCHR Advisory Board. At the end of 2015, Prof.em. Walter Kälin furthermore handed over his office as Director to Prof. Jörg Künzli. At the same time, the two partner institutions humanrights.ch/MERS and the Centre of Human Rights Education (ZMRB) at the University of Teacher Education Lucerne withdrew from the network. In the foreword of the report, Walter Kälin bids SCHR farewell and takes the opportunity to thank all those involved for their support during the pilot stage. In its outlook the annual report provides information on the main research areas pursued as of 2016 under the new management.

The practical relevance of the projects

Last year, once again, SCHR was furthermore involved in many areas of practical relevance. This is illustrated by means of the study on the initial experiences in the implementation of the new child protection laws in the Cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Zurich. Moreover, the annual report offers once more a concise overview of the publications contributed and the events held as well as other activities carried out in 2015.