Non-Governmental Organisations

SPRING SESSION

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
CONF/HR(2009)OJ2

Strasbourg, le 7 April 2009

AGENDA
of the meeting on Tuesday 28 April
from 9 am to 12.30 pm
Room 2, Palais de l’Europe

1. Welcome

2. Agenda: for adoption

3. Synopsis of the meeting held on 26 January 2009 [CONF/HR(2009)SYN1]

      1st PART(9.15 – 10.45 am)


4. Religions and Human Rights (François Becker, REEL, Head of the Workig Group)

    As we agreed at out last meeting, a working group is getting down to work on this subject. This initial discussion should provide us all with the opportunity for a broad exchange of views on the different aspects and issues which we would like to include on its agenda:

      - Presentation of the context
      - Main questions raised
      - Terms of reference

      Documents to be consulted in preparing the discussion:
      - Memorandum by François Becker (in French only)
      - White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue , Chapter 3, § 5; Chapter 5, § 4
      - Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion or religious beliefs (Amsterdam Treaty Article 13)

Break

2nd part (11 am – 12.30 pm)

5. Information:

      - Echos of the Geneva Conference (Durban II) (information provided by members who will have attended the conference)
      - Report on the latest meeting of the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) (Marc Leyenberger, Caritas, representative of the Conference of INGOs on the CDDH).
      - Report on the event “Build a Human Rights House for me”, 28-30 March 2009 (Brigitte Kahn, B’nai B’rith International, Head of the Children and Human Rights Working Group).
      - Ministerial Conference on the Media: information on the INGOs’ preparatory meeting in Paris on Tuesday 5 May (Gabriel Nissim, SIGNIS, Representative of the Conference of INGOs on the Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services – CDMC)

6. Social Charter, Economic and Social Rights (Marie-José Schmitt, European Action of the Disabled, Head of the Working Group on the Social Charter)

Information on the activities of the Working Group.

7. Presentation and discussion of a draft Recommendation on the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Marie-José Schmitt, European Action of the Disabled)