When: Friday, 17. September 2010
To: Monday, 20. September 2010
Where: Vilnius, Latako 3
Host: Belarusian Human Rights House
Contact: Anna Gerasimova (belarus@humanrightshouse.org / +370 5 212 7703)

On Friday, 17 September, from 17:00 till 19:00, the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius will host an informal reception and presentation of the international conference "Human Rights: Between Moral and Law".

The official language of the conference and the reception is Russian.  

Please inform us about your attendance of the reception by 16 September either by e-mail at belarus@humanrightshouse.org, or by phone at +370 5 212 7703.

The informal reception prior to the upcoming international conference “Human Rights: Between Law and Moral” at the Belarusian Human Rights House gives an opportunity for the guests to learn about a unique project, Electronic Human Rights Education for Lawyers, and the whole program “International Law in Advocacy”, to meet the project experts from the French Republic, Ireland, Kingdom of Norway, and Republic of Belarus, project managers and participants from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Georgia, and the Russian Federation.  

The project “Electronic Human Rights Education for Lawyers“ is the first opportunity ever for practicing lawyers from four countries – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Russia – to obtain systematic knowledge on international human rights law by distance learning via Internet.  

The educational platform is provided to the project by the European Humanities University (Vilnius, Lithuania) at  http://moodle.ehu.lt.  

The first stage of distance learning completed in May 2010. Based on the academic results, the best students were selected and invited to the aforementioned international conference where international experts will share their knowledge on various topics, from human rights theory and philosophy to the practical use of the international experience in protecting human rights at home – implementation of international standards on the national level and their application in courts.  

The participants will also discuss opportunities provided by the international humanitarian law and constitutional mechanisms to defend citizens, as well as perspectives and difficulties of applying these mechanisms in countries like Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Russia.  

After the conference, the participants are going to enter the second stage of the project. It includes both theoretical and practical parts. The theoretical one is going to cover the following topics:

  • The United Nations system of human rights protection
  • The human rights protection system under the European Convention on Human Rights
  • Strategic litigation; compensation granted by the international quasi-judicial bodies to the victims of the violations
  • Prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment; right to liberty and security
  • Right to fair trial Freedom of expression, freedom of association, prohibition of discrimination, right to private property

Already during the learning process, the participants will have an opportunity to apply their new knowledge by composing complaints to the European Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee. 

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