The mission of the TINKER INSTITUTE ON INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ORGANIZATIONS is research, teaching and training about international law, biodiversity and climate change law and policy, sustainable development, and the United Nations System, offering assistance in compliance with international environmental law and global environmental policy.
The TINKER INSTITUTE is available for consultations on implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for civil society organizations, governments, lawyers and law firms, particularly on Goals 6 and 14 on fresh water and oceans; and on Goal 16’s targets on good governance, rule of law and transparency. As decision-makers worldwide use the SDG targets & indicators to formulate new regulations, laws and policies to meet states’ pledges to achieve the 17 goals in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, the work of the TINKER INSTITUTE explains the history and contributes to the future of this process.
The TINKER INSTITUTE participates in global conferences and official sessions at the United Nations and meets with other non-governmental organizations, states and UN Secretariat staff to help conceptualize and develop new “soft law” and to monitor the implementation of international legal obligations under customary law and treaties. The TINKER INSTITUTE brings this experience to lawyers, judges, and policy makers for all stakeholders.
The TINKER INSTITUTE offers training through lectures, workshops, policy analysis and guidance based on its specialized expertise. TIILO serves as an incubator of ideas through a network of faculty, students, professionals and others who focus on topics on the agenda of the UN General Assembly, ECOSOC, the International Law Commission, and international courts and tribunals. The TINKER INSTITUTE reaches the public through social media and our website, and offers university short courses and panel discussions tailored to groups’ needs and interests.
The TINKER INSTITUTE measures the impact of its work by the involvement of its fellows, interns and partners in the work of the UN & by the application of principles of international law and cooperation, international environmental law and sustainable development, and concepts of social and environmental responsibility, with participation, transparency, access to information, and good governance, for all stakeholder groups.
The TINKER INSTITUTE was created in 1992 and is fully accredited to the United Nations as a non-governmental organization through ECOSOC (roster status/CSD NGO) since 1996.
TINKER INSTITUTE representatives have been participating in UN conferences and meetings such as the following since its founding in 1992:
- Rio Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
- Conferences of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)
- Beijing Women’s Conference
- Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD annual meetings)
- Rio + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development
- Open Ended Working Group on Ageing
- Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Migration Summit 2016
- Oceans Conference 2017
- Preparatory Meetings from 2012-2015 to create the Sustainable Development Goals
- High Level Political Forum 2016-present to monitor the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Preparatory Meetings, Intersessional Meetings, and Inter-Governmental Negotiating Sessions on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) under the UN Law of the Sea Convention
- Summit on Biodiversity, UN General Assembly 2020
- Preparatory Meetings (virtual) for rescheduled Conferences of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
The TINKER INSTITUTE welcomes your interest and ideas for programs, projects and partnerships.
The Tinker Institute on International Law and Organizations 