The Danish Foreign Policy Society and The University of Southern Denmark hereby have the pleasure to invite you to an international conference marking 75 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 75 years of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide:

What Do They Mean Today, and Where Do We Go Next?

The conference aims to examine the contemporary relevance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Genocide Convention through expert analysis and panel discussions.

In particular, we seek to explore pressing issues like the impact of a multipolar world order, climate change, and artificial intelligence on these key human rights instruments. We will do so by looking at ongoing international crises but also scrutinize the situation in Denmark and Denmark’s role internationally.

In 2025-2026, Denmark strives to be one of the fifteen members of the UN Security Council.
By engaging international experts and the Danish public, our goal is to promote awareness and action towards upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Genocide Convention.

We would like to thank The Lannung Foundation for their generous support for this conference.

Conference programme

9.00-9.15 Registration

9.15-9.20 Welcome and introduction

9.20-9.50 Keynote: More Relevant Than Ever Before? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN Genocide Convention at 75: The Case of Afghanistan

Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan

9.50-10.20 Questions and answers

10.20-10.45 Break

10.45-12.15 Panel 1: What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean today in Denmark and beyond?

Panelists:

Peter Vedel Kessing

Elise Margrethe Bangert

Linnéa Nordlander

Sue Anne Teo

Sofie Rose – Moderator

12.15-13.15 Lunch break

13.15-14.45 Panel 2: What does the UN Genocide Convention mean today in Denmark and beyond?

Panelists:

Marc Schack

Larissa van den Herik

Andreas Schüller

Gaiane Nuridzhanian

Martin Mennecke – Moderator

14.45-15.15 Break

15.15-15.50 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Genocide Convention in Practice: Do they Matter for Greenland?

Sara Olsvig, Inuit Circumpolar Council, in a talk with Charlotte Flindt Pedersen

15.50-16.25 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Genocide Convention in Practice: The Case of Ukraine

Nataliya Popovich, Ukraine House in Denmark, in a talk with Charlotte Flindt Pedersen

16.30 Concluding remarks

16.40 End of conference

Full Conference Programme

About the participants:

Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and visiting Professor at Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. As a Special Rapporteur, Bennett works as an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council by reporting on the human rights situation and development in Afghanistan. 

Bennett will provide the keynote lecture reflecting on his work on the human rights situation in Afghanistan at the conference.

Marc Schack, Lecturer at Faculty of Law at University of Copenhagen. Schack works with international law including the use of force, regulation of warfare, regulation of mass atrocity crimes, humanitarian interventions, and the Responsibility to Protect. Schack will be one of four in the panel discussing What does the UN Genocide Convention mean today in Denmark and beyond?

Sue Anne Teo, Postdoctoral Researcher at Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Teo’s research covers the impact of artificial intelligence on the foundations of human rights. Teo will be one of four experts in a panel discussing What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean today in Denmark and beyond? with a focus on the implications of artificial intelligence for human rights. 

Linnéa Nordlander, Assistant Professor at Centre for Climate Change Law and Governance at University of Copenhagen. Nordlander’s research focuses on the potential and limitations of international human rights law to push states to meet their international climate commitments on both international, regional, and domestic levels. Nordlander will be one of four experts in a panel discussing What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean today in Denmark and beyond? with a focus how climate change affects human rights. 

Andreas Schüller, Director of the International Crimes and Accountability program at European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights. Schüller works with international criminal law and the protection of human rights from a critical, civil-society perspective. Schüller has worked on a number of issues, including drone strikes, the US torture program, abuses committed by British soldiers in Iraq, as well as international crimes in Syria, Sri Lanka, Colombia and the Ukraine. Schüller will be one of four in the panel discussing What does the UN Genocide Convention mean today in Denmark and beyond?.

Sara Olsvig, Chairman of Inuit Circumpolar Council, and former Chairman of Inuit Ataqatigiit. Olsvig works to advocate for the peaceful use of indigenous lands and to foster collaboration between national governments and indigenous peoples in the development of democratic processes and partnerships that enhance opportunities for Inuit communities worldwide. Olsvig will cover human rights issues in Greenland in her talk on: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Genocide Convention in Practice: Do they Matter for Greenland?

Charlotte Flindt Pedersen, Director of The Danish Foreign Policy Society. Pedersen has for two decades worked as a researcher and later deputy director and international manager for the Danish Institute for Human Rights and is specialised in Eastern Europa and Russia. Since Pedersen in 2015 became director of The Danish Foreign Policy Society she has worked to enhance the debate on foreign policy and world events in Danish civil society..