Regional Conference: “A Human Rights Bedrock: Effective National Human Rights Institutions for the Western Balkans”

In 2019 and 2020 we at the European Policy Institute – Skopje worked with Civil Rights Defenders and experts from the Western Balkans region on developing and piloting a measuring tool – index – on effectiveness of national human rights institutions. The index was applied to all sixteen national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from the six countries in the region assessing the situation as it stood in the baseline year of 2018.

We have now completed the first measurement and are honoured to share and discuss the results with you in order to reach conclusions on enhancing the role and position of NHRIs in the region. We are therefore convening a regional conference “A Human Rights Bedrock: Effective  National Human Rights Institutions for the Western Balkans”. The event will take place online, on 31 March 2021, between the hours of 11.00h and 14.00h. Mixed panels of experts and representatives from the top-ranked national human rights institutions from each country will aim to arrive at valuable lessons and practices on how effectiveness of NHRIs at the national level can be improved and how can regional efforts be enhanced in order to boost the push towards effectiveness of NHRIs, thus solidifying the ground for human rights.

The agenda can be downloaded at the link below. Working languages for the conference are Albanian, Bosnian/Montenegrin/Serbian, English, and Macedonian. Translation will be provided. The event will not be streamed or recorded. To attend, please register by 29 March 2021 at the following link: https://form.jotform.com/210744508893361

For any questions regarding the event or the research and publication, please contact:

Dr. Biljana Kotevska, Research Coordinator, European Policy Institute – Skopje
+389 70 445 199 | biljana.kotevska@epi.org.mk

Damjan Zdravev, Programme Officer Europe Department, Civil Rights Defenders
+381 69 1981 151 | Damjan.Zdravev@civilrightsdefenders.org