International Conference in Nuremberg, Nov. 20.–22. 2008
Human rights as an answer to historical and current injustice
In November 2008, the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” and the Nuremberg Human Rights Center held an international conference on the theme of human rights. With this event, the organisers provided a forum to discuss human rights issues today in the light of the injustices that had led to the human rights declaration in 1948. They hope that this will spur on human rights education with a historical perspective.
The conference "Rights that make us human beings. Human rights as an answer to historical and current injustice" addressed experts from research and educational institutions and interested members of the public. Some conference events were held at historic locations, such as the former courtroom of the Nuremberg Trials and the Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds.
Even sixty years after the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these rights remain controversial. Countries attach different importance to individual universal rights and enforce these in different ways. Some rights, such as the right to physical integrity (ban on torture), are being called into question, and cartoons are taken as a reason to demand curbs on freedom of opinion and expression. The international conference aimed to reach consensus on which of the experiences and arguments that had shaped the development of human rights were especially relevant to the challenges that face us today.
The book "Human Rights and History - A Challenge for Education"
is now available on the topic of the conference,
with contributions from the meeting and further essays.
Download (PDF-file: 1,3 MB)
