Round table on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Mr Carlos Villa (President of the AEDIDH) was invited by Amnesty International of Italy and the International Film Festival on Environment of Turin to attend in a roundtable on the occasion of 60th anniversary of the UDHR on 18 October 2008. He shared table with victims of human rights in Tibet and Sudan (a former child soldier). The other speakers were the Amnesty International expert on Darfur (London) and a Japanese film director of the Festival. The Chairman of Amnesty International of Italy, Mr Paolo Pobbiati moderated the round table. Mrs Paola Ramell (Amnesty International of Italy) was the principal organizer.

In his speech Mr Villán Carlos insisted on an actual reading of the UDHR that should include the emerging rights, in particular the human right to peace. In addition, he briefly described the contents of the Global Campaign that the AEDIDH leads on the codification of the human right to peace and the essential contents of the Luarca Declaration.

In a second intervention, Mr. Carlos Villán responded to the questions raised by the large audience who attended to the Round Table (200 persons). Mr. Villán spoke about deficiencies of the UN Security Council to respond effectively to the current crises and armed conflicts. He focused on two aspects: the undemocratic composition of the Security Council (it no longer represents the 192 UN member states) and the paralysis caused by the veto of the five permanent members.