Professor Aoife Nolan to deliver keynote speech at High-Level Conference on the European Social CharterUntitled2

Professor Aoife Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of our Human Rights Law Center, will attend the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter to be held on 4 July in Vilnius, under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. She is President of the Council of Europe's European Committee of Social Rights, which she joined in 2017, having served as Vice-President from 2021-22. Professor Nolan will deliver the keynote speech in the session on 'Contemporary social rights-related challenges', exploring the importance of social rights (and hence the Charter) through the lens of contemporary societal challenges, such as rising inequality, the future of work and industrial relations, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, among others. In addition to her contributions to the High-Level Conference, she will speak at a number of side events, including delivering a welcoming address at an event on ‘Social Rights in Times of War in Ukraine’ hosted by the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine. She will also deliver a keynote address on ‘A Crisis for the Social Rights of Young People? Exploring the Cost-of-Living Crisis’ at the 14th Meeting of the COE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on Social and Economic Rights, which was focused on ‘Young people’s access to social and economic rights: Addressing the impact of the cost-of-living crisis’.

The High-Level Conference is organised as part of the follow-up to the 4^th Summit of the Council of Europe, as a step for the member States to take further commitments under the Charter, as stated in the Reykjavik Declaration by the Heads of State and Government: “Social justice is crucial for democratic stability and security and in this regard [reaffirmed their] full commitment to the protection and implementation of social rights as guaranteed by the European Social Charter system.” The High-Level Conference will bring together Ministers and high-level officials competent in the field of social rights and social policy, representatives of Council of Europe entities, including the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the Commissioner for Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. Other expected participants include representatives from the European Union, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, ILO, UN, etc., as well as civil society, social partners, academia, and National Human Rights Institutions and Equality Bodies or their pan-European networks.  

Professor Olympia Bekou, Head of School, said: 'We are delighted that the School of Law is represented at the highest level of European discussion and policy-making on social rights. Professor Nolan is an eminent expert and scholar of international human rights law and constitutional law. Her work is a flagship for the School's commitment to academic research excellence and focus on impact, bringing positive change to public policy and society beyond academia'. 

Follow this link for more information and to livestream the conference.