Policy and Research | Policy and Research Historic | Conference December '08

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION AND THE ARAB CHARTER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE BOLOGNA, 2-3 DECEMBER 2008 Jointly organized by The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University SAIS, Washington, DC, The Johns Hopkins SAIS, Bologna Center and CCSDD-Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development
The recognition by States of the fundamental principles of international human rights and States' commitment to the protection of these rights remain some of the most pressing concerns for the international community. While great strides have been made since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60 years ago, throughout the world, States have often been slow to take on their international human rights responsibilities. On the positive side, nearly all regions of the world now have their own regional human rights instruments, including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the American Convention on Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. The international conference entitled "Regional Human Rights Mechanisms: The European Convention and the Arab Charter" was convened following the entry into force of the Arab Charter on Human Rights in March 2008 - an important step in signaling an official commitment to international human rights by Arab countries and in the Muslim world more generally. As the Charter enters into force, binding State Parties to uphold their corresponding commitments, a comparative analysis of respective provisions, as well as the sharing of experiences in the implementation of regional human rights documents is important. The European experience offers valuable insight, given the rich jurisprudence developed under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Scholars of Arab law and Islamic law have expressed a keen interest in exploring the European experience, especially in comparison with, and in light of, the entry into force of the Arab Charter on Human Rights. As such, the conference engaged expert participants from Europe, the Arab world, the Muslim world, and beyond to open a dialogue on the implementation of these important human rights documents, while placing them within a broader exploration of the evolution of thinking about and understanding international human rights, especially as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turned 60.
TUESDAY, 2 DECEMBER, 2008
9:00	WELCOME FROM THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
9:10	INTRODUCING THE CONFERENCE THEME Mohamed Y. Mattar, Executive Director, The Protection Project, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
9:30	ARE HUMAN RIGHTS UNIVERSAL? THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION AND THE ARAB CHARTER HUMAN RIGHTS: UNIVERSALISM V RELATIVISM: Michel Rosenfeld, Justice Sydney L. Robins Professor of Human Rights and Director, Security, Democracy, and the Rule of Law Cardozo Law School, Yeshiva University, New York City REFLECTIONS ON THE ARAB CHARTER IN HUMAN RIGHTS IN LIGHT OF ISLAMIC TEACHINGS Saeid Rahaei, Professor of Law, Mofid University, Qom, Iran AN OVERVIEW OF THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS AN ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISM: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Maureen Maloney, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution, University of Victoria, BC, Canada
11:30	MONITORING VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS THE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Martin Scheinin,Professor of Public International Law, European University Institute, Florence UN Special Rapporteur THE ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS OF THE ARAB CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE NEED FOR AN ARAB COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS Mohammed Amin Al-Midani, President of Arab Centre for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Education, Strasbourg, France, and Lecture Fellow, University Robert Schuman, Strasbourg, France CHALLENGES TOWARD THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR) 60 YEARS FOLLOWING ITS ADOPTION Bradford Glick, Candidate, JD, MA, and Robert W. Woodruff Fellow, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
15:00	REGIONAL CHARTERS: RECONCILING UNITY AND DIVERSITY THE EVOLUTION OF THE COURT'S JURISPRUDENCE: THE DOCTRINE OF THE MARGIN OF APPRECIATION Eva Brems, Professor of Human Rights Law, Ghend University, Belgium AN OVERVIEW OF THE DRAFTING OF THE ARAB CHARTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS: INSIGHTS IN THE WORK OF THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES ON HUMAN RIGHTS Wael Ahmed Allam,Visiting Professor of Law, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and Professor of Public International Law, Benha University, Benha, Egypt
WEDNESDAY, 3 DECEMBER, 2008
9:30	IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS: NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONS AND THE ROLE OF NGOS AND CIVIL SOCIETY THE CASE OF LINGUISTIC MINORITIES Susanna Mancini, Professor of Public Comparative Law, Bologna Law School, Adjunct Professor of International Law, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Bologna Center HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION UNDER THE IRAQI CONSTITUTION Dr. Salah Hadi Saleh, Professor of Law and Associate Dean, Baghdad University, Baghdad, Iraq
11:00	GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS PROTECTION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS: SOME LESSONS FROM THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Maleiha Malik, Professor of Law, Kings College, London THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN ARAB STATES Wael Ahmed Allam, Visiting Professor of Law, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Professor of Public International Law, Benha University, Benha, Egypt
14:30	RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RELIGIOUS FREEDOM UNDER THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION Renata Uitz, Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE ARAB WORLD: THE ARAB CHARTER, THE CONSTITUTION OF QATAR, AND OTHER ARAB CONSTITUTIONS Hassan Abdulrahim Y. H. Al-Sayed, Professor of Constitutional Law, and Dean, Faculty of Law, Qatar University RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND MINORITY RIGHTS IN THE ARAB WORLD IN LIGHT OF THE ARAB CHARTER Renaud Detalle, Human Rights Officer, Middle East and North Africa Unit, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland
16:30	SUMMARY - CLOSING SESSION