SIM Peter Baehr Lecture: From hostility to reconnection: How to make human rights relevant for all
| DOI | 10.1177/0924051919884768 |
| Author | Dunja Mijatović |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Subject Matter | SIM Peter Baehr Lecture |
Lecture
SIM Peter Baehr Lecture
From hostility to reconnection:
How to make human rights
relevant for all
Dunja Mijatovic
´
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Strasbourg, France
Annual SIM Peter Baehr Lecture, 20 September 2019
1
A big problem with human rights is that people often take them for granted. If you are wondering
how I know this, it is because I was one of those persons. I was born in Sarajevo, in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and until 1992 I barely understood the importance of human rights. Then the war
started. I learned what human rights really mean t when my life changed, when I lost family
members and friends, and when I became a refugee. And I also learned how important it is that
people do not only fight for their rights, but also for those of others.
I am therefore truly honoured for today’s opportunity to speak at the lecture named after
Professor Peter Baehr, someone who has spent a great amount of his life raising awareness about
human rights and empowering people to claim their own rights and to defend the rights of others.
His vision, commitment and dedication held true to the motto of this University; Utrecht Univer-
sity: May the Sun of Righteousness Enlighten Us.
As I walked here this morning, I thought that there is indeed a strong need for a sun of human
rights to shine in Europe again. And I thought that you have a role to play to let it shine brighter and
longer.
Unkept promises
With the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, governments around the
globe committed to making peace, de mocracy and justice a reality for all . Since then, much
progress has been achieved. Many more people have become free from oppression, free from
Corresponding author:
Dunja Mijatovic
´, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Strasbourg, France.
E-mail: commissioner@coe.int
1. The SIM Peter Baehr lecture is held every year at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, to celebrate the founding of the
Netherlands Institute of Human rights (SIM) in 1981 and to commemorate the late professor Peter Baehr, one of its
former directors.
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
2019, Vol. 37(4) 398–406
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0924051919884768
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