Human Dignity Initiative: Follow-up to Punta del Este
SUBSEQUENT WORLDWIDE EVENTS throughout 2019 and years following are designed to help give visibility to the Punta del Este Declaration in academic circles and the broader public square. Depending upon the context, the events involve a core of distinguished expert speakers, who can in turn help to attract other suppporters. Among these are the following (in reverse chronological order):
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- CALL FOR PAPERS, due December 10, 2019. Human Dignity and Human Rights – Christian Perspectives and Practices: A Focus on Constitutional and International Law. An International Publishing Project, for a workshop to be held July 2020 in Oxford, UK.
- July 30-31, 2019. Oxford, UK. Human Dignity in Religious Traditions (HRDT). Launch of the HRDT Project by a group of 8 scholars from different religious traditions, meeting at Christ Church, Oxford University.
- July 24-25, 2019. Oxford. Human Dignity from Judges’ Perspective. Hosted by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Pembroke College, Oxford University and overseen by Dr. Dmytro Vovk of the Center for Rule of Law and Religion Studies at Yaroslav the Wise National University in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
- July 15, 2019. Washington, DC. “Exploring Declarations from around the World that Promote Human Dignity and Religious Freedom for All.” National Press Club, Washington, D.C. (A side event to the U.S. State Department’s Second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom)
- June 19-20, 2019. Provo, Utah, USA. Fifth Religious Freedom Annual Review: “Religious Freedom for a New Generation.”
- May 19-21, 2019. Gaborone, Botswana. Seventh Annual Conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religon Studies (ACLARS).
- May 17-18, 2019. Budapest. Annual Conference co-sponsored by ICLRS at Central European University.
- March 5-6, 2019. Geneva, Side Event at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Coordinated with the Annual Report of UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB.
- April 23-25, 2019. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Conference on Tolerance and Respect for the Dingity of Everyone Everywhere.
- February 4-7, 2019. Mumbai and Bangalore, India. University of Bombay. Third Annual Conference of the South Asia Consortium for Religion and Law Studies (SACRALS), “UDHR in Its 8th Decade : Fostering Dignity and Equality” .
- January 19-22, 2019. Rome. The conference “Religious Voices, Human Dignity, and the Making of Modern Human Rights”, hosted by the Pontifical University Antonianum (Franciscan). Co-sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) at Brigham Young University, the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion; the Religion, Law and International Relations Programme of the Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent’s Park College, Oxford; and the Oxford Society of Law and Religion.
We are grateful to legal researcher, human rights activist, and author Ewelina Ochab, who notes that as September 2019 marks 80 years since the beginning of World War II, this could be a time to recall how this global event of horrific proportions, in the depradations of war, brought denial of human dignity in mass atrocities, genocide, the Holocaust.
SUCH EVENTS AS THE FOLLOWING might be contemplated.
THE UNITED NATIONS IN GENEVA
• UN Human Rights Council: Members of the working group could organise a side event at the UN Human Rights Council, cosponsored by Permanent Missions or NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status. Members of the working group could also make oral submissions (where possible).
• UN Forum on Minority Issues: Member of the working group could propose for human dignity to be the topic for the forum in 2019. Member of the working group could also organise a side event at the forum and make oral submissions.
• Members of the working group are looking into the possibility of establishing the UN Forum on FoRB (or Human Dignity) that would mirror the UN Forum on Minority Issues but with specific FoRB focus.
• Members of the working group are considering options for turning the the Punta del Este Declaration into a UN Human Rights Council Resolution.
THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK
• Members of the working group could organize a side event on Human Dignity at the UN HQ.
• Members of the working group are considering options for turning the Punta del Este Declaration into a UN General Assembly Resolution.
THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
• Members of the working group could organize an event at the OAS.
• Members of the working group are looking into the option of turning the Punta del Este Declaration into a resolution or a motion at the OAS.
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
• Members of the working group could organize an event at the EP.
• Members of the working group are looking into the option of turning the Punta del Este Declaration into a resolution at the EP.
ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE
• Members of the working group could organise an event at the OSCE in Vienna and/or Warsaw.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
• Members of the working group could organize an event at the CoE (PACE).
• Members of the working group are looking into the option of establishing a new mandate of a Special Rapporteur to look into the issue of human dignity in CoE member states.
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
• Members of the working group could organize an event at the ECtHR.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
• Members of the working group could organize an event at the ICC focusing on human dignity and mass atrocities.
AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
• Members of the working group could organize an event at the African Court.
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
• UK Parliament
– Members of the working group could organise an event at the UK Parliament.
– Members of the working group are looking into options how else to engage the UK Parliament (e.g. Early Day Motion, Written Parliamentary Questions, Motion for Debate, Subcommittees)
Similar steps can be taken at other Parliaments, including but not limited to, the US, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, etc.
UNIVERSITIES
• Members of the working group could organise events at universities their members are associate with, or others that focus on the topics of Human Dignity, FoRB, etc.
• Members of the working group are considering various publications (books, articles, op-eds).
OTHER.
• Members of the working group will be reaching out to academic or political networks, for example, the International Catholic Legislators Network, All-Party Parliamentary Groups, Caucus on FoRB, etc.