Human rights in Europe: from crisis to renewal?

Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, will speak about the evolution of the protection of human rights in Europe during the 6 years of his mandate and the future perspective. He recently stated: « Our generation has greatly benefited from the vision the founders of the international human rights system had during the dark days of WWII. If we care about our children’s future, we must leave to them well functioning institutions based on the full respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. We must prevent them from growing up disillusioned with the human rights promise of their grandparents’ generation, we must hear their concerns and help them see themselves as Europeans with a stake in the system, with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to breathe life into democratic systems we have for so long taken for granted, but that we are neglecting in so many places »