The Estonian Institute of Human Rights will host its annual Human Rights Conference on December 10, 2018 in Tallinn,

(Swissotel, Tallinn)

This high-level human rights conference has become an annual tradition, bringing together experts from various fields with diverse backgrounds and differing views, who all share the goal of ensuring that human rights values will endure.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At our eighth annual conference we will look at small states as equal partners, at the Internet as a gateway to reliable information but also as a tool of manipulation, the future of human rights and as well as at the situation in countries to the east.

The conflict of values in today’s world manifests itself in many ways. First, the conflict of values between human rights and extremism: human rights get in the way of radical forces, as they hinder arbitrary behaviour and authoritarian rule. At the same time, the fight against terrorism can itself create a new conflict of values: to what extent can human rights be restricted in the interests of security?

Another conflict of values may arise in the intersection between freedom and equality. This also gives rise to a conflict within human rights themselves: where do we draw the line between individual and collective rights? If we are to overcome these conflicts of values, we have to continue to promote the protection of human rights as well as tolerance — and not selective tolerance, but rather tolerance towards everyone unless they oppose society by force.

Additional information: rsvp@eihr.ee