Defending Human Rights: What Works?

A conversation with John Dalhuisen

On 7th of January 2021, we held an online debate with John Dalhuisen , one of the most experienced human rights lawyers and activists in Europe today. He worked for the Commissioner on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, was for five years the Europe director of one of the biggest human rights NGOs in the world, Amnesty International, and has written and advocated on the future of European courts and the rule of law crisis in the EU for the European Stability Initiative.

The debate surrounded the following questions: How can NGOs defend human rights? What are the biggest threats to human rights in Europe today? Could it be that the era of human rights, based on conventions defended in international courts and backed by democratic governments, is coming to an end? We are looking forward to discussing all this and more with John Dalhuisen John Dalhuisen shared his personal experiences from two decades of work, and provided insights to understand the role of NGOs, their influence, challenges and successes. Moreover, we discussed the deep Rule of Law crisis within the EU today and what it takes to defend courts from being captured by governments.