EIUC Diplomatic Conference "Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees: Challenges for EU External Action"

The European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) will host at its premises, the Monastery of San Nicolò - Venice Lido, on 2 July, the 2016 edition of the EIUC Diplomatic Conference, dedicated to Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees: Challenges for EU External Action. The Conference will be opened by Prof. Manfred Nowak, EIUC Secretary-General, Zdzislaw Kedzia, EIUC President, and Ciara O'Brian, Chair of the European Union’s Working Party on Human Rights (COHOM).

Participating in the Conference will be the representatives from the EIUC universities, the representatives of the EU member states who compose the COHOM, UN delegates, as well as representatives of other international organisations involved in human rights action at the EU or global level.

The object "Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees: Challenges for EU External Action" is reinforced, for the 2016 edition, by the fact the conference is organised in cooperation with FRAME, the four-year FP7 research project on Fostering Human Rights Among European (External and Internal) Policies.

Among the speakers, there will be:

• Carol Batchelor (UNHCR Director of Division of International Protection)
• Wolfgang Benedek (University of Graz)
• Michel Forst (UN Special Representative on the situation of Human Rights Defenders)
• Leonello Gabricci (EEAS Head of Division for Global Issues)
• Lisa Heschl (University of Graz)
• Kilian Kleinschmidt (Special Advisor on Migration and Refugees Issues to the German Minister for Development Cooperation)
• Craig Mokhiber (OHCHR - Chief Development & Economic & Social Issues Branch, Research and Right to Development Division)
• Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (Chairperson of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria)
• Elina Pirjatanniemi (Abo Akademi University Turku)
• Jan Wouters (University of Leuven, Chair of the FRAME project)

The programme shall be uploaded as soon as confirmed