Since the establishment of the programme, i.e. 1991, the Helsinki Foundation has organised assemblies, meaning annual meetings, for all of the School’s graduates. They serve as an opportunity to exchange experiences and establish principles for cooperation between the graduates. During the assemblies, the participants take part in lectures, panel discussions and meetings with outstanding experts on the issue of human rights.
This year the widely debated topics included, inter alia, the amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland suggested by the winning parties; the policy for fundamental rights protection, which is being implemented by the new Polish parliament; as well as the directions for reforming the United Nation’s human rights protection system and the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg.
A lecture by Prof. Wiktor Osiatyñski entitled “Human rights and the political process under democracy” was also held as part of the assembly. This was the second of a series of lectures dedicated to the memory of Marek Nowicki (1947-2003), the first President of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. Around 150 people participated in the meetings and lectures.
