Global Conference for Media Freedom

IntroductionIntroduction

Friday, 10 February 2023 at Swissôtel Tallinn (Tornimae Street, 3) in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Estonian Institute of Human Rights annual conference War, Dictatorship and Human Rights“.

The Institute considers promotion of research in human rights and raising awareness regarding human rights in Estonia and the world its mission. In relation to this, the Institute has aimed to uncover new facets of human rights at its annual conferences, where value systems are contrary, the cultural background different and the approach to the topic reflects societal developments.  Will a human rights debate in the contemporary format facilitate developments in democracy or has human rights rhetoric become the defence reaction of powers who deny it, a justification to limiting freedom of expression and domination of an aggressive minority over the silent majority?

 

We have to admit to ourselves that the human rights movement is standing at a significant crossroads. Abandonment of democracy is spreading across the globe. In recent years, we have noticed more and more that democracy is on the retreat in many regions of the world and authoritarianism is on the rise. In Western societies, both left- and right-wing populists have used methodical demagogy to incite acute backlash and create an increasingly antagonistic atmosphere.
Nowadays, some countries are employing human rights rhetoric extensively, using it as an aggressive tool to undermine other countries’ security and authority, and to provoke dissatisfaction in those countries. It is claimed that defenders of human rights excessively emphasize moral principles, avoiding actual outcomes. It is a fact that people’s support to democracy and rights depends equally on the ability to provide economic and social protection, but it is achieved only if state security is ensured.

Speakers Speakers

ALAR KARIS
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA
Estonia
URMAS REINSALU
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Estonia
Estonia
Amb FEDERICO VILLEGAS
Permanent Respresentative of Argentina in Geneva and was the President of the Human Rights Council in 2022
UN
DMITRY MURATOV
Journalist
Russia
JAMES A. GOLDSTON
Executive Director
The Open Society Justice Initiative
NINA KHRUSHCHEVA
Professor of International Affairs
The New School, NYC
MiKHAIL SAVVA
Professor, doctor of political sciences
Expert Council of the Center for Civil Liberties
MYROSLAVA KRASNOBOROVA
Liaison Prosecutor, Eurojust
Ukraine
ALENA LAPTSIONAK
Belarusian Human Rights Activist
VIASNA
ÜLLE MADISE
The Chancellor of Justice
Estonia
WAYNE JORDASH
Partner
Global Rights Compliance LLP
ANDRES PARMAS
Prosecutor General
Estonia
LYUBOV SOBOL
Lawyer
Anti-Corruption Foundation
MARKO MIHKELSON
Member of Estonian Parliament
Estonia
ARTEMY TROITSKY
Journalist
Estonia
NEEME RAUD
Journalist
ESTONIA
AET KUKK
CEO
Estonian Institute of Human Rights

ProgramProgram

2023
9 February, 2023
2023
10 February, 2023
18:00-21.00

Welcome reception and dinner (for panelists only)

Swissôtel Tallinn (8th Floor)
11.00-12.00

Registration


Coffe

12.00-12.15

Conference opening

Introduction and welcome
Speakers
ALAR KARIS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA
12:15 – 13:15

ROUNDTABLE: RUSSIA AFTER...

Speakers
NINA KHRUSHCHEVA, Professor of International Affairs
DMITRY MURATOV, Journalist
ÜLLE MADISE, The Chancellor of Justice
13:15 - 14:0

LUNCH


Ukrainian Borscht



Borscht and Ukraine are part and parcel. Now, the national soup of Ukrainians has been added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

There are many Borscht recipes: beef, pork, mutton and poultry Borscht; in Poltava, they add dumplings, Don Cossacks use mushrooms stock, Borscht in Odessa and Mykolaiv region always has beans, in Chernihiv, sour apple is added. Some Borscht are made with fresh cabbage, others with sauerkraut, in some places, they add bell pepper, and in other places, potato.
Despite all there differences, there is something you can never do without – shredded beetroot is boiled separately and added only at the end. The beetroot is boiled in stock or water with a good sprinkling of sugar. Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste also go into the beetroot liquid. At the very end, vinegar or lemon juice is added to the beetroot to give the soup its sweet and sour flavour.

Head Chef: Viktor Jelissejev; Chefs: Indrek Visnevski, Kaido Pihkva


Смачного! Слава Україні!


14:00 - 15:30

The fight for dignity and freedom in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia

After months of bringing troops to the Ukrainian border, the President of Russia launched large-scale invasion on the 24th of February. On the same day, he denied the existence of an independent Ukraine in a speech rife with conspiracy theories and claimed, without evidence, that the Russian minority is persecuted in Ukraine and Nazis are in power. 

“Human rights are inescapable and powerful” and “cannot be confiscated by dictators or erased by poverty,” said the UN Secretary-General Guterres in a video address on February 28. 
Russian interpretation of the international order is indivisible from the state’s autocratic regime, which has successfully supported similar governments all over the world. Russia supports forces that undermine democracy in EU countries and is actively against democratisation movements in its own neighbourhood and elsewhere.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is resistance to democratic values, which jeopardizes the European security architecture. The West faces the challenge of fighting for democracy with conviction and maintaining the international legal order. But what kind of situation has emerged in Belarus and Russia in the context of the “military operation”? What will happen to these countries in the future?
Moderator
ARTEMY TROITSKY, Journalist
Speakers
ALENA LAPTSIONAK, Belarusian Human Rights Activist
MiKHAIL SAVVA, Professor, doctor of political sciences
LYUBOV SOBOL, Lawyer
MARKO MIHKELSON, Member of Estonian Parliament
15:30 - 15:45

Coffe break

15:45 - 16:00

Keynote speeches

Speakers
URMAS REINSALU, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Estonia
Amb FEDERICO VILLEGAS, Permanent Respresentative of Argentina in Geneva and was the President of the Human Rights Council in 2022
16:00- 17:30

RUSSIA’S LIABILITY FOR CRIMES IN UKRAINE

Human rights and security are closely interlinked. Some countries employ rhetoric promoting human rights as an aggressive tool to undermine and destabilise other countries.

The United Nations Charter Article 2 subsection 4 states that “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

A rule-based world order can only persist if the actions that grossly violate this order like war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide and aggression are followed by punishment. Currently, no international court or tribunal exists which could hold the Russian political and military leadership accountable for the crimes of aggression committed in Ukraine. A designated tribunal must be set up for the resolution of the situation. 
The International Criminal Court has initiated proceedings in its competence to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide crimes committed in Ukraine.
Moderator
NEEME RAUD, Journalist
Speakers
JAMES A. GOLDSTON, Executive Director
MYROSLAVA KRASNOBOROVA, Liaison Prosecutor, Eurojust
WAYNE JORDASH, Partner
ANDRES PARMAS, Prosecutor General
17:30 - 19:30

Closing Remarks and Reception

Networking


The organiser reserves the right to make changes in the schedule and the presenters.

By invitation.

There won't be live broadcasting.




Estonian Institute of Human Rights Conference team:


Aet Kukk: aet.kukk@eihr.ee

Estonian Institute of Human Rights, CEO

Terje Varem: terje.varem@eihr.ee
Estonian Institute of Human Rights,

Vootele Hansen: info@eihr.ee

Estonian Institute of Human Rights, Chairman of the board

Conference visuals come from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia

Volha Shukaila

She is an independent photojournalist, photo editor, and visual expert from Minsk, Belarus. She worked at TUT.BY Media, the largest independent online media in Belarus, on the 18th of May 2021, TUT.BY was blocked and destroyed by the authorities, and 15 people were arrested, Volha was forced to leave the country for reasons of security. Shukaila's pictures have been published in various Belarusian and foreign media, including TUT.BY, BelaPAN, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and others. Her photos of the Belarusian protests were exhibited at Fotografiska (Tallinn, Estonia), MO Museum (Vilnius, Lithuania), Pilecki Institute (Berlin, Germany), Maison des journalistes (Paris, France) and others.

Nadia Buzhan

Photojournalist from Minsk, Belarus. In her work Buzhan deals with the themes of freedom and religion. She is a recipient of World Press Photo 2021. Nadia is currently an independent photographer. During her coverage of the protests in Belarus, she worked for Nasha Niva, the oldest Belarusian newspaper. Her work has been exhibited at Lodz Photo Festival in 2021, Mystetskyi arsenal in Kiev in 2021, Oradea in Romania in 2021, MO Museum in Vilnius in 2021, Fotografiska Tallinn in 2020, Aff Galerie in Berlin in 2016, CECH in Minsk in 2014, Belarus Press Photo in 2015 and TUT.BY gallery in Minsk in 2019.

Kaupo Kikkas

He is an Estonian visual artist and photographer whose body of work often contains recurrent themes of nature and music. His portraiture is often described as capturing his subjects with the same melodic and sensitive perspective. His project "What Would You Take?" portrays Ukrainian people and is accompanied by the series of still lives. The exhibition will premier in London in May. Kaupo Kikkas photographs Ukrainians in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Great Britain.

Pussy Riot: Putin's Ashes


"Join our movement against the most dangerous living dictator on the planet."

Putin's Ashes was initiated in August 2022, when Pussy Riot burned a 10 x 10 foot portrait of the Russian president, performed rituals, and cast spells aimed to chase Putin away. Twelve women participated in the performance. In order to join, women were required to experience acute hatred and resentment toward the Russian president. Most of the participants were either Ukrainian, Belarusian, or Russian. Film directed, edited, styled and scored by Nadya Tolokonnikova.

Putin's Ashes!