The Brussels-based Fondation Perelman met in EIUC premises

The Fondation Perelman of the Université Libre de Bruxelles organised a seminar titled "La politique des identités et les droits de l'homme" that took place from 14 till 17 March 2012 at the EIUC premises in the monastery of San Nicolò in Venice Lido.

Prof. Guy Haarscher, National Director of the European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation and President of the Perelman Foundation, led the seminar that saw the participation of 27 persons occupying a leading position in their respective professional activities.

The aim of the seminar consisted in allowing these leaders to discuss the philosophical, legal and sociological implications of the problem of identity in the framework of human rights.

As indicated in its website, the Perelman Foundation « is a non-profit organization incorporated under Belgian law as a fondation de droit privé. It is dedicated to promoting the study and development of the thought and works of Professor Chaïm Perelman. In this spirit, it offers help to young researchers and professors, especially in the areas of argumentation, legal philosophy and logic. In this framework, it regularly awards the "Perelman Prize" to a young researcher in recognition of a publication that constitutes an original elaboration of the themes developed by Chaïm Perelman. The Perelman Foundation also supports the organization of conferences, colloquys and exchanges of foreign professors and researchers in the context of teaching programmes or university research projects. Finally, it may grant support for any publication connected with the various domains of Chaïm Perelman’s thought. »

Prof. Guy Haarscher, National Director of the European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation and President of the Perelman Foundation, led the seminar that saw the participation of 27 persons occupying a leading position in their respective professional activities.
The aim of the seminar consisted in allowing these leaders to discuss the philosophical, legal and sociological implications of the problem of identity in the framework of human rights.

The programme of activities notably included:

• An approach of the various contemporary aspects of the question of identity. Several carefully selected examples were discussed concerning religious, racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and national identities – the list being non-exhaustive.
• A reflection on the minority question since 1919 and the creation of the League of Nations.
• An approach of the very trendy – and problematic - concept of “identity politics”.
• The specific question of Muslim minorities in Western Europe
• The question of “civilizations”: a critical discussion of Samuel Huntington’s theses.
• Linguistic and cultural identities: which rights for which minorities?