The preliminary oral rounds of the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Competition will be held online from 19 to 23 September 2020. The World Moot is presented by the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in partnership with the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Washington College of Law, American University and the United Nations Human Rights Council Branch (HRCB) at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

2019 World Moot winners and runners-up:
Gayathree Devi KT (Oxford University), Nathan Ricardo (Macquarie University),
Ayushi Agarwal (Oxford University) and Nessa Salvador (Macquarie University)

With this in mind, the World Moot Organising Team has undertaken all possible efforts to ensure the best experience for the participants of the 12th edition of the World Moot. On 11 September 2020, the best teams from each of the five United Nations regions of the world were selected to participate in the preliminary oral rounds which will be held from 19 to 23 September 2020. Though originally held in-person and at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, this year, the preliminary rounds will take place online. 

Forty-four teams from across the globe will be taking part in the preliminary online rounds. The preliminary rounds will be judged by human rights experts composed from various backgrounds such as academia, non-governmental organisations and legal practitioners. They will assess the students' ability to argue complex legal questions with regards to the right to freedom of religion and the right to life, among others. During these rounds the best eight teams will be selected to attend the quarter-final rounds at the traditional World Moot location in Geneva, if COVID-19 health regulations allow. 

This first-time hybrid moot experience has already shown positive results highlighted through the diversity of our panel of judges. As organisers, we  look forward to providing both an enriching and memorable mooting experience for participants and welcome the opportunity to bring together bright and enthusiastic young minds from across the globe to discuss cross-cutting human rights issues.

- The World Moot Team