"Vienna+30"

To mark  the 30th anniversary of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, a high-level symposium entitled “Vienna World Conference 30 Years On: Our Rights – Our Future”  took place in Vienna on 6 June 2023. At this event, organised by the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs in cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), human rights stakeholders from diverse backgrounds discussed current and future challenges as well as best practices in the promotion and protection of human rights. 

In addition to the high-level symposium, the Foreign Ministry co-organised the Vienna Youth Human Rights Defenders Conference and cultural events with a human rights focus. For the general public, the Vienna-based International Organisations together with the Foreign Ministry presented their engagement in the field of human rights on 5 and 6 June in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier.

          SYMPOSIUM
          6 June, 14:00
          MuseumsQuartier and Livestream

          OPEN-AIR HUMAN RIGHTS FAIR
          5 & 6 June, from 12:00
          MuseumsQuartier

          ARTISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EXHIBITION
          6 June to 2 July
          Leopold Museum

          ARTISTIC INTERVENTION: HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH THE EYES OF DIVERSITY
          6 June, 21:45
          MuseumsQuartier

          YOUTH HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS CONFERENCE
          5 June
          United Nations at Vienna

Building on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, the World Conference in 1993 affirmed the universality and indivisibility of human rights. A pivotal moment, the conference‘s main outcome was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA), a common plan for the strengthening of human rights work, as well as the establishment of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

30 years after the adoption of the VDPA, our commitment to address human rights challenges is more important than ever. In spite of major achievements, multiple and interlocking crises keep the fulfilment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the horizon, with human rights often being deployed to justify divisions. In addition, new important aspects have emerged, such as globalization, digitization and climate change.
Yet, without realizing human rights for all, there can be no lasting peace and no lasting security. 

In order to address these concerns and to ensure that human rights are considered as part of the solution to the challenges we face, we need to restore faith and certainty in their relevance and necessity. We need to renew our understanding of the achievements of the VDPA, to revitalise a worldwide consensus on human rights and provide a platform for young people to exchange their ideas and plans on how to strengthen human rights in the future.