« 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
The defenders take the floor»
European Parliament, Brussels, 7-8 October, 2008
Sixty years ago on December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations solemnly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On October 7-8, 2008, in a major inter-institutional initiative the European Commission, the European Parliament and the United Nations will mark this anniversary by convening a high-level conference in Brussels.
This event will express not only their recognition that human rights norms reflect fundamental and universal values per say but also their conviction that the respect of human rights is a necessary condition to attain other of their key political objectives: build democracy, promote sustainable and human development and prevent armed conflicts.
The Brussels conference aims to reaffirm and illustrate the scope of the Universal Declaration through the work of human rights defenders across the globe. “The destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens and all our communities”, Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration, famously declared. It is particularly in the hands of human rights defenders, an extraordinary group of courageous people who by peaceful means advocate, mobilize and often put their life at risk to defend the most fundamental freedoms of their fellow citizens. These defenders are key agents of change in their own society and the best allies of the international community’s efforts to support democracy and human rights.
Human rights defenders and leading representatives of international human rights organisations have been invited to the conference. Many of them will come from countries that although they have subscribed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights consider the persons that fight for the respect of these core rights as detractors of the state. This event will provide an opportunity to explore and understand more of the reality on the ground for human rights defenders.
The Brussels conference will also be an occasion to review the support mechanisms that have been developed by the UN, the EU and the Council of Europe (CoE) in favour of human rights defenders.
- Ten years ago, on December 9, 1998, the General Assembly recognised the importance and the legitimacy of their role by adopting a “Declaration on human rights defenders”.
- In 2004, concerned by the increasing number of attacks against them, the EU adopted Guidelines on the protection of human rights defenders in third countries within the framework of its Common Foreign and Security Policy. The EU also provides concrete support, like legal aid or resettling in other countries, to human rights defenders through its Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
- In February 2008 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved a Declaration on human rights defenders, putting their protection at the core of the mandate of the CoE Commissioner for human rights.
High officials of these institutions will take part in the conference: Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, Navanethem Pillay, the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe.
After the official opening the conference will hold two panels.
- A first panel will focus on the mechanisms of protection, including in emergency situations, looking in particular into the implementation of the 1998 UN Declaration on human rights defenders, the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders and the CoE Declaration. It will also discuss ways of improving the coordination and cooperation among the different international institutions and civil society organisations active in the support to human rights defenders.
- A second panel will underline the importance of freedom of expression as a pillar of the human rights system and highlight the crucial contribution of journalists to the defence of human rights. It will also examine with representatives of international press freedom groups how to enhance the protection of journalists fighting for the defence of human rights.
The Brussels conference will be an opportunity to assess the situation of human rights defenders around the world and highlight the decisive role of civil society. It will also confirm the commitment of the European Union, the United Nations and the Council of Europe to better protect these key actors in the struggle to realise the vision that 60 years ago inspired the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.