Since the end of the 20th century, human rights discourse has brought up a sizeable number of “new” human rights. There are several fundamental questions which the academia and international stakeholders have just recently started to explore regarding these “new” rights – the origins of such rights, the functions and the rhetoric of these rights and the role such “new” rights can play in the field of human rights law. The conference “New human rights of the 21st century” will focus on 21 human rights newly acknowledged or debated since the dawn of the 21st century. These will be divided into the following categories: rights related to identity and personality; rights to well-being; rights related to the exercise of public authority; rights related to new technologies. The conference will bring together leading researchers in these fields from all over the world. It is the first global conference ever devoted to the exploration of the new human rights in such magnitude.
Some of the main questions explored in the presentations will be: Which of the potential new rights are currently legally recognised, and on what basis? When should a right be considered “new” as compared to pre-existing law, and what consequences does this have? In which contexts does the rhetoric of new rights get used by the relevant actors, and why?
The conference will be conducted during three days. During each day 7 “new” rights will be explored – the main author will deliver a presentation, followed by reflections of a commentator. Then the floor is open for discussion with the involvement of other researchers presenting and the guests attending the conference. We will devote around 1 hour for each “new” human right. It will be a unique opportunity to listen to and participate in the state-of-the-art academic discussion.