Human rights take center stage at Hague youth summit

THE HAGUE – Major issues concerning human rights around the world will be tackled at this year’s One Young World summit attended by over 1,800 delegates this week.

Experts and officials from various international organizations are among those slated to address the participants on different issues, including climate change, sexual violence, health, education and poverty alleviation.

Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), will talk about the role of the youth in the pursuit for international criminal justice. Also speaking on the issue is Abdulqawi Yusuf, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Kumi Naidoo, secretarygeneral of Amnesty International, will be on a plenary that will discuss human rights and sustainable development goals.

Former Ireland president and climate change advocate Mary Robinson will talk about efforts to secure global justice for people vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Kate Robertson, founder of the annual summit, stressed the significance of tackling human rights in time with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“When human rights all over the world are tragically now under threat, we bring the young leaders of the world here to The Hague to understand the bodies that can defend those rights,” she said, referring to the ICC and the ICJ.

She highlighted the threat to human rights that is happening all over the world, saying it was something that they did not expect when they established One Young World summit in 2010.

“We’ve been using our platform to push out education around, just the 30 human rights that are in the universal declaration because most of us don’t know what those 30 human rights are,” Robinson said at a press conference. “It is a massive concern and we are trying to push that awareness.”