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The Conference Themes:
POVERTY - Protection of the rights to an adequate standard of living, to social security and to work
The main issues on this topic are what these rights mean in practice, especially for developing countries, and to what extent the discretion of politicians has to be constrained in order to ensure protection of such rights. When can the right to work, for example, be limited, and what other rights should flow from that right? The work of the International Labour Organisation will be considered, as will the developments brought about as a result of Directives within the European Union.
HEALTH - Protection of the rights to housing, to health care and to a safe environment
Here the Conference delegates will turn their attention to how progress in the provision of housing, health care and a safe environment can best be measured, whether these rights are or should be justifiable in the courts, how else such rights can be "enforced", and what the relevance of the cost implications would be for this enforcement. Examples of best practice from around the world will be considered, as will the work of the United Nations' human rights agencies.
EDUCATION - Protection of the right to education
This part of the Conference will look at issues such as the extent to which the right to education is a child's right rather than a parent's right, what type of education should be guaranteed, whether states should fund church-based education, and what rights should be protected while people are within a learning setting. The opportunities presented by the UN Decade for Human Rights Education will also be discussed.
Participant profile
The conference is seeking to attract high-calibre delegates from many different countries. There will be lawyers, economists, policy-makers, advisers, campaigners, educationalists and journalists. All delegates will be expected to already have a good level of knowledge of existing national and/or international standards in the field of economic and social rights. They will be encouraged to contribute to the event not only by participating in the discussions during the Conference but also by posting on the Conference's website prior to the event details of how economic and social rights are currently protected in their own countries.
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