The World Human Rights Cities Forum 2015 Slated for May

The 2015 World Human Rights Cities Forum will be held next month at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju from May 15 -18. The annual event will be hosted by the Gwangju Metropolitan City Government and is organized by the Gwangju International Center.

As an annual international event with human rights activists and stakeholders in attendance, the forum will carry out the city’s vision as stated in the Gwangju Declaration on Human Rights City, which was adopted at the World Human Rights Cities Forum 2011.

The forum will be held under the theme “Towards a Global Alliance of Human Rights Cities for All, Part 2.” Over 500 are expected to attend from Korea and abroad, including representatives of world human rights cities, United Nations human rights experts, members of the UCLG-CISDP and UCLG-ASPAC, human rights NGOs, grassroots community-based organizations, local parliamentarians and academics.

The forum will consist of several types of sessions and activities. Following the opening ceremony will be keynote speeches and roundtable discussions among the speakers. There will be three special sessions, including human rights cities policy sessions, expert workshops on local government and human rights, and an international conference on state violence and trauma. Eight thematic sessions include discussing how human rights can be advocated in various areas:  state violence and human rights, the elderly and human rights, city and child/youth, city and gender, city and disability, social economy and human rights, migrants’ human rights protection policy and environment and human rights.

A general discussion session will follow the thematic workshops providing participants an opportunity to summarize their thoughts. The experts’ workshop will be help to make a final report on the “Local Government and Human Rights,” which was adopted at the UN Human Rights Council in 2013. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English and Korean at the forum.

A poster session exhibiting activities of collaborative organizations and a discussion group will be held during the forum to help attendees understand the goal of a human rights city, as well as how it is implemented now and in the future. All are welcome to participate in the forum.