Advancing Social Justice In Europe and Worldwide

With the adoption of the Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy in June 2012, the EU expressed its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights “in all areas of its external action without exception”. To enhance the effectiveness and visibility of the EU human rights approach, former Greek minister of foreign affairs, Stavros Lambrinidis, took office on 1 September as the first EU Special Representative for Human Rights.

SOLIDAR will be monitoring this encouraging commitment and expects, together with its members and partners, an ambitious EU agenda placing human rights at the center of all internal and external policies in a decisive and coherent way. Against this background, SOLIDAR will host on 17 October a Round Table in the European Parliament, where human rights defenders from Colombia, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe and Pakistan will share their stories and urge European policy makers to “walk the talk”.