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Conference Announcement "Human Rights and Democracy in a Globalized World: Moving Towards an International Consensus" Berlin International Human Rights Congress (BIHRC) Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) Berlin (Germany) 1-4 October 2010 __________________________________________________ The Berlin International Human Rights Congress (BIHRC) is an international congress, taking place on the 20th anniversary of German reunification that will offer an interdisciplinary analysis of the fields of human rights and democracy. The event will explore developments in these areas over the past two decades and will consider the key issue shaping discussions on the international level today. The program will consist of lectures, seminars, debates and panel discussions that will feature leading figures from international politics & diplomacy, academia, civil society, international development, and the private sector. Participants of the program will also have the unique opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of German reunification on the streets of Berlin. Politicians, academics, journalists, and other international stakeholders are in widespread agreement on the importance of human rights standards. Despite this agreement, however, there exist a wide range of perspectives on a number of key issues in the field. These issues include the derivation of human rights, their categorization, their universality, and who should be responsible for their enforcement? The issue of human rights therefore plays a key role in international diplomacy, with human rights records a key factor in determining membership of international organizations, in outlining foreign policy priorities, and in justifying the threat and use of economic sanctions or military action. The BIHRC will explore these debates from an interdisciplinary range of perspectives, using a diverse range of case studies and with a focus on the German approach. Closely related to the issue of human rights is our understanding of democracy and how democracy is put into practice in different contexts. As Germany looks back at two decades of a unified democratic state, there is considerable debate at the international level as to the definition of the term. In particular, there are diverse opinion on whether democracy refers only to a state that holds “free and fair elections”, or whether additional factors must also be taken into account, such as an independent judiciary and a free press. The Berlin International Human Rights Congress will consider the varying definitions of democracy and, through international case studies, explore the challenges and opportunities ahead. The overall aim of The Berlin International Human Rights Congress is to encourage inter-disciplinary, cross-cultural discussions on salient issues surrounding the field of Human Rights and to promote greater understanding across national borders. Conference website: http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/academy/index.php?en_conferences_bihrc __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
