AHRI/COST Konferenz EMPOWER HUMAN RIGHTS
Final Conference of the COST Action IS0702 “The Role of the EU in UN Human Rights Reform”, 13th AHRI (Association of Human Rights Institutes) Conference 10-12 September 2012, Vienna.
For many years the United Nations has been discussing the need of strengthening the protection and implementation of human rights by inter alia mainstreaming human rights in all policy areas, developing partnerships with business corporations, treaty body and Human Rights Council reform. Traditionally, the European Union has been one of the most outspoken advocates of a stronger role of human rights in the United Nations architecture. With the Arab Spring and other more recent reform movements the UN seems to be ready for stronger action to protect human rights.
The AHRI/COST Conference will provide a forum where human rights experts from the leading European academic networks (Association of Human Rights Institutes – AHRI, European Cooperation in Science and Technology – COST) will discuss their ideas with high-level representatives of the United Nations and the European Union.
Among other high-level members of the diplomatic and academic community and other stakeholders invited speakers include the new EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang, Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić and Austrian Federal Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Vice-Chancellor Michael Spindelegger.
For more details please refer to the attached concept note and the draft-programme of the Conference.