Birgit Van Hout, Regional Representative for Europe, UN Human Rights (OHCHR), will give a lecture on the role the EU can play both within its own region and globally to help better protect democracy, human rights, the rule of law and civic space. Civil society empowers all of us and helps protect our rights; human rights defenders are people who work in our communities to help others and to support society. The lecture will address a number of specific instances where there has been a clear rollback on rule of law and human rights. We live in an age characterized by a global crackdown on human rights, rising intolerance and unprecedented levels of human displacement. Civil society actors in the EU, including those who cooperate with the UN are facing a pushback. Globally we see the phenomenon of shrinking civic space. This lecture will look from a UN Human Rights perspective on what the EU can further do to help counter this trend and ensure a vibrant and enabling environment, rooted in the rule of law for civil society organizations (CSOs), independent media, as well as national human rights organizations, institutions, and equality bodies.

#euevents