Conference on the topic "60 Years of Human Rights - has anything changed?" from November 14 to 16, 2008

From the Declaration of Human Rights to the International Human Rights Order

Topic of the 2008 Conference:

"60 Years of Human Rights – Has anything changed? - From the Declaration of Human Rights to the International Human Rights Order"

This year's ELSA-Passau e.V. conference will be held at the University of Passau from November 14 to 16, 2008, in collaboration with the United Nations and the Chair of Prof. Dr. Müller-Terpitz.

The conference is held under the patronage of Federal Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, and also under the patronage of Günter Nooke, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights.

Exactly 60 years have passed since the universal human rights were proclaimed by the United Nations. Today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights serves as a guiding principle for nearly 200 states. It has been translated into over 300 languages. However, are these statistically impressive figures sufficient to celebrate the "60th anniversary" of this Declaration on December 10, 2008?

Certainly, the non-binding Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an unparalleled success story. Proclaimed amidst the ruins of a world order shattered by World War II, it has significantly contributed to the development and establishment of a universal and binding human rights regime. Thus, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights served as a model not only for the effective European Convention on Human Rights but also for the two major universal human rights codifications: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has therefore played a crucial role in ensuring that, alongside states and international organizations, individuals are also recognized as subjects of international law.

Nevertheless, the universal dissemination of human rights unfortunately does not imply that they are always and everywhere respected. While human rights provide individuals with subjective protections and entitlements against states, obliging the latter to observe and implement these rights, it is widely known that respect for human rights is far from universal in many countries around the world. Torture, arbitrary killing and detention, suppression of freedom of speech and the press, oppression of women, forced and child labor, inadequate medical care, or lack of access to clean drinking water – all these are just some of the human rights violations that are a sad reality in many parts of the world. And even the so-called highly developed industrial nations of the Northern Hemisphere cannot claim to always and everywhere respect human rights.

Therefore, we wish to use the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an opportunity to highlight not only the successes of the "struggle for human rights" but also its failures. As aspiring legal professionals, it is the duty of the members of ELSA-Passau e.V. to inform about these topics, to critically examine them, and to discuss them.

Possible Lectures and Workshops:

Following an opening lecture, the conference will commence with a panel discussion featuring representatives from politics, business, media, academia, and culture.

The discussion will explore the question of whether effective human rights policy is only possible at the expense of efficient economic policy.

Since the topic of human rights in conjunction with international law is a very broad field, we have selected several key areas that we wish to particularly focus on.

Key Focus Areas of the Seminar

• Two Years of the UN Human Rights Council – An Analysis
• Comparison of International Human Rights Courts: Power or Puppet?
• Human Rights Situation in Africa: South Africa vs. Kenya
• Human Rights Violations in Germany - A Look at Home!
• Challenge: Universality of Human Rights in Islam
• Human Rights and Terrorism - The Role of the USA
• The Responsibility of Business: Role Models and Negative Developments
• Practitioners Report on Specific Projects

Panel Discussion on "Islam and Human Rights - An Unresolvable Conflict?"

as the opening event of the 2008 conference: "60 Years of Human Rights – Has anything changed? - From the Declaration of Human Rights to the International Human Rights Order"

by ELSA-Passau e.V. of the University of Passau

on Friday, November 14, 2008, at 6:00 PM in Lecture Hall 10 AUDIMAX

at the University of Passau

Invited participants who have already confirmed:

• Prof. Dr. Maliha Zulfacar, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Discussant)
• Prof. Dr. Mark Villiger, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (Discussant)
• Prof. Dr. Martina Haedrich, Universities of Jena and Vienna (Discussant)
• Dr. Herbert Müller, Senior Government Official for Islamism/Islamist Terrorism at the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution Baden-Württemberg (Discussant)
• Attorney Cüneyt Gençer, Gençer & Coll. Attorneys at Law (Discussant)
• Christian Sievers, ZDF Presenter (Moderator)