The Human Rights and Rule of Law Summit

ADVOCATING HUMAN RIGHTS AS LAW
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
9:00 am - 5:30 pm

A dynamic gathering of government officials and UN, NGO, business, philanthropy, and media representatives addressing human rights and rule of law advocacy from multiple perspectives, with a view to increasing its emphasis among governments at the annual UN General Assembly and beyond.  The topics selected reflect the UN’s founding principles and purposes while implicating many other, related objectives.  Emphasis will be on frank, informal dialogue involving all in attendance, framed by each panel, to begin crafting a common advocacy agenda for advancing human rights and a just rule of law within and among our respective spheres of activity and influence.

Program

• 9:00 am - 10:30 am - Opening Keynote and Dialogue: The Rule of Law Today
• 10:45 am - 12:15 pm - Plenary Panel I: Defending Human Rights Defenders
• 12:45 pm - 2:00 pm - Luncheon Panel: International Criminal Justice (ICJ)
• 2:15 pm - 3:45 pm - Plenary Panel II: Business, Civic Freedoms, and Human Rights Defenders
• 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Plenary Panel III: ESG and the SDGs — Securing Human Dignity
• 5:30 pm - 5:40 pm - Closing Remarks
• 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm - Reception: The Eleanor Roosevelt Prizes for Global Human Rights Advancement

To view more about the program, please click here.

Related Resources

Opening Keynote and Dialogue: The Rule of Law Today

• WJP, New Challenges Threaten U.S. Rule of Law Recovery 
• WJP, Rule of Law Index 2022
• ABA, Task Force for American Democracy 
• UNSG, New Vision for the Rule of Law 
• NYCBA, New York City Bar Association Task Force on the Rule of Law

Plenary Panel I: Defending Human Rights Defenders

• ABA CHR, Justice Defenders Program / TrialWatch Project (CFJ)

Luncheon Panel: International Criminal Justice

• Scheffer, The United States should ratify the Rome Statute 

Plenary Panel II: Business, Civic Freedoms, and Human Rights Defenders

• Freeman, Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders

Plenary Panel III: ESG and the SDGs — Securing Human Dignity

• ABA CHR, The Dignity Rights Initiative 
• ABA ROLI, Enhancing Protection of Environmental Defenders in Africa

With the blessing of the Roosevelt family, CHR in 2018 established the annual Eleanor Roosevelt Prize for Global Human Rights Advancement to recognize persons and organizations having a positive, enduring, and global impact in advancing the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Eleanor Roosevelt championed. 

Watch the 2023 Ceremony above and read more about the awardees here. 

Read the Outcome Document