Preliminary Conference Program

Activists under Attack. Defending the Right to be a Human Rights Defender

The Norwegian Human Rights House, Tordenskioldsgate 6b, Oslo, Norway

Wednesday, 13 October 2004

Part 1: Opening Session

09.00: Welcoming address, Ms Maria Dahle, Executive Director,
Human Rights House Foundation

09.10: Topic: Norwegian support to human rights defenders
Lecturer: Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Norwegian Parliament.

09.25: Topic: The importance of networks in strengthening the security of human rights defenders.
Suggested lecturer: Ms Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003, Iranian lawyer and human rights activist.

09.50: Topic: Contemporary attacks on the idea of human rights. Cases, arguments and counter-arguments.
Suggested lecturer: Mr Wole Soyinka, playwright, poet, and novelist, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature.

10.15:  Topic: Status report on the situation for human rights defenders worldwide. Analysis of trends. Recommendations and follow-up.
Suggested lecturer: Ms Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders

11.00: Coffee break

Part 2: Perspectives on civil society

11.15: Topic: The role of human rights defenders in the development of democracies.
Lecturer: Mr Bernt Hagtvet, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo.

Part 3: Mechanisms in the suppression and protection of civil society

12.15: Topic: Implications of counter-terrorism and security legislation for the work of human rights defenders. 
Lecturer: Mr Gara LaMarche, Vice President and Director of U.S. Programs, Open Society Institute.

12.45: Lunch
13.30: Artistic interlude 

13.45: Topic: Lobbying for the UN Resolution for human rights defenders.
Recommendations and implementation.
Lecturer: Mr Jan E. Helgesen, Assistant Professor, Norwegian Institute of Human Rights.

14.15: Topic: Mechanisms of suppression and methods of prevention. The psychology of
humiliation in armed conflicts.
Lecturer: Ms Evelin Lindner, Dr.Med and Dr.Psychol, University of Oslo.
14.45: Coffee break

15.00-16.00: Plenary Session


Thursday 14 October 2004

09.00: Introduction, Ms Mette Newth, Board Member, Human Rights House Foundation, Project Manager and Chair of International Steering Committee for an International bibliographic database on censorship and freedom of expression for the new library in Alexandria.

Part 1) European initiatives in supporting human rights defenders

09.15: Topic: Council of Europe (CoE) support to human rights defenders
Suggested lecturer: Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, CoE

09.45: Topic: Methods in the protection of human rights defenders. Intervention to prevent or find solutions in repressive situations.
Lecturer: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

10.15: Topic: The legal protection of human rights defenders. Ensuring and maintaining the “contextual space” in which defenders operate (the right to assembly and expression, the possibility to legally register and obtain funding).
Suggested lecturer: Ms Leanne M MacMillan, Executive Director, Interights

10.45: Coffee break

11.00: Title: Strengthening the capacity of human rights defenders: The Human Rights House initiative. Case: Sarajevo.
Suggested lecturer: Mr Srdjan Dizdarevic, Director, Human Rights House of Sarajevo.

Part 2) Testimonies from grass-root activists

11.15: Ms Özlem Dalkiran, Chair, Amnesty International Turkey

11.30: Mr Andrej Dynko, Vice President of the Belarusian Pen Center

11.45: Mr Martin Masiga, Office of the National Co-ordinator, Human Rights Network of Uganda

12.00: Lunch

12.45: Artistic interlude 

Part 3) Making human rights work: Recommendations and follow-up

13.00: Plenary Session

14.30-15.30: Statement