Strengthening Regional Human Rights Defenders Networks

On 21st and 22nd March executive director of WRC attended the Conference “Strengthening Regional Human Rights Defenders’ Networks in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey” held at the European Parliament premises in Brussels, Belgium.  The following were the objectives of the Conference: Present to HRDs the international and regional mechanisms and tools they have available in relation to their protection (including those provided by the EU and the OSCE);  –  Provide greater opportunities for networking and exchanging experiences on effective ways to address challenges faced by HRDs, locally and internationally; –  Improve HRDs interaction with European institutions’ and European Parliament’s activities in support of human rights;  –  Enable concerted advocacy efforts by HRDs to regional and international institutions, and two-way political dialogue between those institutions and HRDs; Strengthen visibility and voice of human rights defenders.