3-Day International Conference on Decolonising Human Rights: Towards Pluriversality by St. Xavier’s University: Submit by Sep 15

About St. Xavier’s University

St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata is a private Jesuit university located in New Town, Kolkata, West Bengal. Established in 2017 by the Jesuits, it offers various undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs in arts, commerce, management, law, and science.

About the Conference on Decolonising Human Rights: Towards Pluriversality

For decades, the international human rights regime has been built on a presumption of universality. The idea that a single, homogenous framework can and should be applied identically across the globe has been the norm. However, in the process of decolonisation, this ‘universalist’ approach is increasingly recognised as an imposition rather than a mere neutral baseline. The twenty-first-century discourses have exposed the profound contradictions at the core of the international legal order. While the literature on human rights suggests a concept of universal liberation, the structure of international law, deeply rooted in colonial history and Western jurisprudence, often serves to protect global capital and to establish systemic inequalities. The international legal order often enforces Western liberal priorities, such as ‘hyper-individualism’, absolute private property, anthropocentric capitalism, etc., while delimiting alternative ways of being.

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The concept of pluriversality is based on the three foundational pillars. Firstly, shifting from individualism to collectivism. In a pluriversal human rights framework, collective rights, which are frequently displaced by multinationals, such as the rights of indigenous communities, are elevated. Secondly, decentering humans and recognising the rights of Nature. In a pluriversal legal movement, ecosystems are recognised as right-bearing entities. Thirdly, developing epistemic disobedience in international law. In the context of human rights, pluriversality is not cultural relativism; rather, it is the recognition that there are multiple, equally valid ways to understand human dignity, justice, and our relationship with the world(s).

The three-day international conference aims to explore new directions in human rights scholarship by engaging with diverse intellectual frameworks, experiences, and priorities of (ex)colonial voices in the global south and other non-Western contexts. The conference critically examines the premise that decolonisation is not merely a historical event of statehood, but an ongoing, urgent requirement for the whole international legal order. As post-colonial states navigate the complex webs of widening global inequalities, geopolitical instabilities and ecological collapse, the traditional doctrines of international law are increasingly experiencing a legitimacy crisis. By bringing together perspectives from law, social sciences, and humanities, the conference aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue, explore synergies and divergences in the meaning and scope of decolonial research, and reimagine rights, self-determination, and political organisation by destabilising anthropocentric and humanist assumptions. The conference invites us to propose transformative alternatives to Eurocentric foundations of knowledge systems, human rights and justice within the pluriversal tapestry of entanglement and relational coexistence. We welcome original manuscripts on the following indicative subthemes:

Subthemes

1. Decolonial frameworks, methods, and vocabularies in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences
2. Corporate Accountability & Decolonial Commerce
3. Decolonising Education: Curriculum, Pedagogy and Praxis
4. Decolonising Crime, Policing, Prisons
5. Decolonising Health and Ethics of Care
6. Indigenous Rights and Cultural Heritage
7. Posthumanism and Literary Studies
8. Feminist perspectives from the Global South
9. Jurisprudential Foundations and Epistemic Justice: TWAIL and Decolonising Courts
10. Political Economy of International Law & Global Capital
11. Climate action in the Global South
12. Environmental Governance in More-than-Human Worlds
13. Trade Sovereignty & The Decolonisation of Investment
14. Technology and New Legal Subjectivities: Rights of the Future and Non-humans
15. Enforcement, Institutions, and Future of the Legal Order

Mode of Conference

Hybrid

Submission Guidelines

We encourage submissions from Law as well as from a diverse array of disciplines, including but not limited to Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, International Relations, Political Science, History, Literature and Cultural Studies. Submissions from scholars based in the Global South, specialising in human rights, are especially welcome.

Participants: Full papers shall be accepted from Academicians, Professionals, Research Scholars and Post-graduate Students. Postgraduate students will be eligible only for offline poster presentations. The other participants will be presenting their papers in offline or online mode.

Abstracts: Please submit an extended abstract of no more than 500 words, along with a brief biography (maximum 150 words) and your institutional/organisational affiliation.

First Draft: Notified authors shall submit a first draft (working paper). The first draft shall reflect work in progress and be aligned with the research problem, objective(s), research question(s), methodology, findings significance, etc.

Format

• Submissions should clearly reflect (but may not be subtitled as) research question(s), methodology, and the specific subtheme it addresses.
• The document should be submitted as an MS Word file.
• All texts in the submission, including headings, sub-headings and footnotes, should be in Font Type- Times New Roman. The Title should be Bold with font size 14 and Centre Alignment; the full text should be font size 12. The footnotes should be Font Size- 10. The Line Spacing of the main text and footnotes should be 1.5 and 1, respectively. Headings: Justified Alignment, Bold, and Font Size-12; Subheadings: Justified Alignment, Italic, Bold, and Font Size-12.
• Tables and Figures (if any) should be clearly labelled and numbered sequentially and placed within the text of the manuscript. The names of the tables and figures should be on the top and bottom of the tables and figures, respectively.
• Supplementary material (if any) can be submitted as a separate file.
• All citations and references must strictly adhere to the OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) 4th Edition. Please ensure all references are carefully checked for completeness, accuracy, and consistency.

Poster Presentation Guidelines for PG Students

• Poster Size and Layout:
  • Poster size should be 4 feet in length and 3 feet in width.
  • Include clear visuals, figures, charts, and graphics to maintain a visual flow of ideas and results.
  • Use large fonts (minimum 24 pt for text) and consistent formatting
  • Use concise explanations and bullet points.
  • Recommended sections: Introduction / Objectives – Methods – Results – Discussion
• Poster Content: Each poster must include the following items clearly displayed:
  • Track Name and Number
  • Title, authors, and affiliations displayed in the top section
  • Logo(s) of Affiliated Institution(s)
  • Poster Title
  • Author Name(s) and Affiliation(s)
  • Logo of SXUK and conference name at the bottom of the poster

• Procedure of Presentation: Presenters are to remain in the venue with their poster during the assigned session to answer questions and be evaluated by judges.

Please submit your abstracts via email directly to [email protected] with the subject line.

Registration Fees

• For Academicians and Professionals:
  • Offline Paper Presentation:
    • Single Authored: Rs. 2500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 2000)
    • Co-Authored: Rs. 3500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 3000)
  • Online Paper Presentation:
    • Single Authored: Rs. 1500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 1000)
    • Co-Authored: Rs. 2500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 2000)
• For Research Scholars:
  • Offline/Online Paper Presentation:
    • Single Authored: Rs. 1500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 1000)
    • Co-Authored: Rs. 2500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 2000)
• For PG Students (Poster Presentation):
  • Single Authored Submission: Rs. 1500 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 1000)
  • Co-Authored Submission: Rs. 2000 (Early Bird Registration: Rs. 2000)
• Foreign Scholars (including SAARC nations): USD 60

Registration includes a Conference kit, Morning Tea/Coffee, Lunch, Evening Tea/Coffee, and access to all conference sessions for three days. Accommodation costs are not included. A limited number of subsidised accommodation options will be available to interested attendees. Please note that the full registration fee will apply to co-authored registrations by PG students and academicians/professionals.

Important Dates

• Deadline for Abstract Submission: 15^th September 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 20^th September 2026
• Submission of First Draft: 31^st October 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: 10^th November 2026
• Conference Registration
  • Early Bird: 12^th November 2026 – 30^th November 2026
  • Standard: 1^st December 2026 – 10^th January 2027
• Last date of Registration: 10^th January 2027
• Deadline for Full Paper Submission (5,000 – 8,000 words): 15^th January 2027

The best selected papers will be published as an edited book by a reputable publisher (to be notified shortly), with an ISBN, and some papers will be published in a special issue of Xavier Law Review volume III(2).