European Parliament to host #HumanRightsWeek

The European Parliament is hosting its first ever Human Rights Week from 19-22 November to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A high-level conference on 20 November will begin at 15h, with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. It will bring together MEPs, high-level guests, members of national parliaments, representatives of regional and international organisations, artists and representatives of civil society to reflect on the relevance and importance of the core principles of human rights and debate new challenges in a global and digital world.

Panel discussions will feature, among many speakers, UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, International Criminal Court General Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and EU Special Representative on Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis.

The conference also coincides with the start of this year’s 20th EU-NGO forum. Full conference programme.

Dedicated sessions by committees and delegations

The Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights will also address similar issues during an interparliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday morning, with the participation of Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei. See detailed programme.

As part of the Human Rights Week, other EP committees and delegations will hold dedicated sessions throughout the week on the role of governments, institutions and civil society in strengthening respect for fundamental rights, including children’s and women’s rights in the EU. Read more about the whole Human Rights Week and the full programme.

High-level conference

WHERE: EP hemicycle in the European Parliament’s Paul-Henri Spaak building in Brussels.

WHEN: Tuesday 20 November, 15-19h.

You can follow the conference live here.

Twitter: #Standup4HumanRights