UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna 1993 – Strengthening Imperatives 30 Years After

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the UN World Conference on Human Rights, which took place in Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action on Human Rights adopted at the World Conference was a milestone for the protection and promotion of human rights: among other things, it reaffirmed the universality of human rights, confirmed the realisation of human rights as a primary goal of the United Nations and a legitimate concern of the international community, emphasised the importance of women’s human rights and created in the light of these goals the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Since 1993, considerable progress has been made in implementing the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. However, despite some achievements, international human rights protection remains challenging: global developments such as climate change, digitalisation, demographic changes, growing mistrust of state and international institutions and, last but not least, continued attacks on the universality of human rights require a critical reflection thirty years after the Vienna Conference on Human Rights as well as a scientific outlook into the future.

Therefore, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights and the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law at the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria will host the ‘UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna 1993 – Strengthening Imperatives 30 Years After’ from Wednesday 27 September to Friday 29 September 2023.

The international expert conference is dedicated to the developments since the World Conference on Human Rights. The conference will focus on the interdisciplinary discussion of the achievements since the World Conference, current challenges, and the future of international human rights protection. The discussions are particularly relevant to experts, professionals, and students interested in human rights as it will tackle corresponding current topics from an academic as well as from a practitioners’ perspective. 

Please find more information here.