The ACHRS in the CONGO 23rd General Assembly
The ACHRS has attended the 23rd General Assembly of CONGO (Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with ECOSOC) in Geneva from the 5th to the 7th of December 2007. The Centre was represented by the International Relations staff, Miss Sadaf Hariri and Miss Gloria Doñate
The ACHRS has recently joined the old family of CONGO (which commemorated its 60th anniversary this year) and therefore, it was the first time it attended its General Assembly. The CONGO family we joined is anything but small: around 300 participants were attending this General Assembly from all regions and continents of the world, representing civil society from every corner of the world.
The overall theme for the debates during this assembly was focused around the concept of "Moving from Consultation to Partnership in Promoting Rights and Responsible Governance at all Levels". In other words, how can civil society organisations move from just having a merely advice-giving position in the international community to actually collaborating at an equal level with other international stakeholders such as governments or financial institutions in promoting and protecting international human rights standards.
The General Assembly reviewed and voted on the Treasurer report, the Auditor’s Report, the Amendments (which was suspended to the next General Assembly due to disagreements between the members) and the Report of the President. The new board and president were elected and the former president, Renate Bloem ended her seven year term surrounded by prolonged applause and general ovation.
CONGO also organized many appealing workshops during these two days but the ACHRS chose to participate in the ¨Dynamic Partnership for Human Rights Education and Learning" since the Center´s main activities are concentrated around the concept of human rights education. This workshop provided an opportunity for interactive discussion among the participants and the key note speakers (who included Therese Bjork from the Office of the High Commissioner, Felisa Tibbitts, from Human Rights Education Associates and Cynthia Gervais, from Rights and Democracy). The workshop assessed the challenges and shortcomings of the World Programme for Human Rights Education (WPHRE) and its plan of action (the provision of human rights education in primary and secondary school system). The importance of increasing awareness of human rights among the youth was emphasised as the key factor in preventing conflicts, increasing tolerance and ending discrimination. This is a view strongly shared by the ACHRS, which actively engages in training courses geared towards the youth in Jordan by organizing workshops on human rights issues in Jordanian schools and universities.
The ACHRS wishes to thank the staff of CONGO for their serious and well organised General Assembly and for the fascinating parallel events they sponsored. Moreover, the ACHRS wants to express its most sincere gratitude to the CONGO staff, specially the Secretariat Phillipe Dam for easing dialogue between us and other members, proving that CONGO is indeed a true and real facilitator between the UN system and non governmental organisations.
