On 7-8 Oct the UN, the European Commission and the European Parliament will jointly host a conference, named "60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the defenders take the floor", to mark the 60^th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights activists from across the globe will attend the conference to share experience and discuss progress towards the goal of advancing human rights worldwide. 

Many prominent EU officials will be participating in the conference, including EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and EP President Hans-Gert Pottering.

According to the conference brochure, "After the official opening a first panel will focus on the mechanisms of protection, looking in particular into the implementation of the 1998 UN declaration on human rights defenders and of the EU guidelines on human rights defenders. A second panel will underline the importance of freedom of expression as a pillar of the human rights system and highlight the crucial contribution of journalists to the defence of human rights."

A press conference will be held at the close of the conference with Luisa Morgantini, EP Vice-President for Human Rights, and Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Source:

• http://www.defenderstakethefloor.org/pdf/Defenders_take_the_floor_presskit.pdf