An IDSN delegation consisting of Bhakta Bishwakarma, Dalit NGO Federation/IDSN board member, and Judith Anne Laal, NDMJ- NCDHR, participated in the 20th EU-NGO Human Rights Forum in Brussels that took place November 20-22. The Forum, organized by the EEAS and the European Commission, together with the European Parliament for the first time, gathered more than 200 civil society representatives from all over the globe.The Forum was also organised in partnership with the NGO umbrella Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN), of which IDSN is a member.

The overarching theme for the 2018 Forum was “Defending universality – Making Human Rights Reality”. 2018 marked the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration, the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action as well as the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the Rome Statute.

In the margins of the Forum, the IDSN delegation also held side meetings with representations from EU institutions and Members of the European Parliament.