The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, will mark the 25th anniversary of the Institution with a high-level event on 21 November at the Hemicycle of the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg.
This event is part of the activities of the Presidency of Luxembourg of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and will be graced by the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Henri and Maria Teresa, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
Other speakers will include Yuriko Backes, Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity, Minister of Defence, and Minister for Mobility and Public Works of Luxembourg, Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Pierre-Alain Fridez, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and Marko Bošnjak, President of the European Court of Human Rights.
The first high-level segment will highlight the impact of the Commissioner’s office over the past 25 years, with reflections from former Commissioners Álvaro Gil-Robles, Nils Muižnieks, and Dunja Mijatović, and a message from Thomas Hammarberg.
A second high-level segment will focus on the collaborative efforts of international organisations to address pressing human rights challenges. It will feature Olof Skoog, European Union (EU) Representative for Human Rights, Sirpa Rautio, Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Tea Jaliashvili, Director Alternate, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures, and Right to Development Division, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We are living in one of the most pivotal moments for human rights since World War II. Now is the time to rally around the progress achieved so far and confront the future with courage and confidence,” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.