United Nations Radio

The 61st annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organization Conference, dedicated to the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, closed its three-day session (3-5 September) this afternoon at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

"Over the past three days, some 1,200 participants from civil society organizations had engaged in five round table discussions, as well as midday workshops and subsidiary sessions, sharing their experiences on the ground and presenting best practices in different areas of human rights protection. The discussions had covered a diverse number of topics, including traditional human rights subjects such as extreme poverty and the rights of the disabled, the mentally ill, minorities, and homosexuals, as well as more contemporary human rights questions, such as the growing challenge to human rights in the context of national efforts to address terrorism. It also heard a round table discussion with eminent human rights activists, lead by François Zimeray, French Ambassador for Human Rights, before hearing closing remarks from Kiyo Akasaka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Public Information, as well as French Ambassador Stéphane Hessel, and Conference Chair, Shamina de Gonzaga, and a message via live video link from, Ingrid Betancourt recently liberated after having been held by the FARC rebel group since 2002. The Conference activities had reaffirmed that the Universal Declaration was alive and as relevant today as it was 60 years ago when it had been adopted.

In Paris, Jerome Longue for UN Radio."

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