Türk to visit Brussels 19-20 July

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk to visit Brussels

19-20 July 2023

GENEVA ( 17 July 2023) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will visit Brussels 19-20 July for a series of meetings with senior Belgian Government officials, senior EU officials and representative of EU institutions to discuss human rights challenges and opportunities within and beyond the borders of the European Union.

Among those the High Commissioner is due to meet are Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Eamonn Gilmore, EU Special Representative for Human Rights; Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement; and Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

Türk will also meet civil society representatives and human rights defenders. The meeting, on 20 July, will bring together representatives from some 20 NGOs to discuss a range of topics, including rule of law, migration, people on the move, the right to a clean and healthy environment, and digital issues.

On 20 July at 11:00, the High Commissioner will address EU parliamentarians during a meeting convened by the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights (DROI), the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), and the Committee on Development (DEVE). The meeting will focus on the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other key topics, among them artificial Intelligence, migration, and climate.   

The High Commissioner will meet Caroline Gennez, Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation, and Hadja Lahbib, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to discuss areas of common interest on 19 and 20 July respectively.

ENDS