The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in cooperation with the League of Arab States organize the regional conference on the Role of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in the Arab Region, which will be held during the period from 13 to 14 January 2016 in Doha, Qatar.

The main aim of the Conference is to highlight appropriate and necessary approaches of the United Nations human rights system, particularly the role of OHCHR to promote and protect human rights in the current context of the Arab region; how to improve States’ engagement with United Nations treaty bodies’ mechanisms and to follow-up effectively on the Universal Periodic Review’s recommendations.

The Conference will serve as a forum for an interactive dialogue on roles, achievements, progress, best practices and expectation of the various stakeholders in promoting and protecting human rights in the Arab region. It also forms a significant opportunity to discuss the OHCHR’s plans in the region and move forward structural reforms within the OHCHR which have been announced by the UN high Commissioner for Human Rights in his first speech at the Human Rights Council in 2014, where there will be several working papers presented at all sessions and workshops. The Conference will be delivered in 2 languages (Arabic, and English) in which interpretation will also be provided.

The Conference will bring together representatives and experts from government institutions, human rights institutions, civil society, regional organizations from the MENA region and relevent experts Treaty Bodies members, Special Rapporteurs mandate holders, and all representatives of the OHCHR offices in the Arab region. The inauguration of the conference shall be held under the patronage of the UN. for more information please click here