In 2013, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the World Conference on Human Rights. That conference took place from 14 to 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria, assembling more than 10 000 representatives of States, the United Nations and the global civil society. It made crucial contributions to a new global human rights regime, especially the creation of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna was a landmark in the history of the United Nations. The adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action advanced our efforts to uphold the principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
To mark the anniversary, a High Level Expert Conference on 27/28 June 2013 is organized in Vienna by the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs in cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as well as the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights (BIM) and the European Training and Research Centre for Democracy and Human Rights of the University of Graz (UNI-ETC).
"As we continue to strive towards a world that acknowledges the rights of all human beings, the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action, adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, still sets the agenda for much of our work. The Declaration, which led to historic advances in the promotion and protection of human rights, is the most significant overarching human rights document produced in the past 40 years," said UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay.
The Conference will be opened by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, and Austrian Vice-Chancellor Michael Spindelegger. Over 100 experts will come together to build on the achievements of the World Conference and examine how the international human rights system can be strengthened further. Discussions will take place in the framework of three Working Groups dedicated to the rule of law, women in public and political life, development and human rights.
Participants of the conference will include representatives of UN organizations; regional and national human rights institutions; human rights defenders; independent human rights experts from civil society and academia; and government representatives.
While all plenary events of the Conference are open to the public, attendance of the Working Groups is upon invitation only.
Preceding the conference, civil society organizations from around the world will hold an NGO Forum in Vienna from 25 to 26 June 2013 - more information on this event.
