On 7-8 October 2008, in a major inter-institutional initiative, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the United Nations marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by convening a high-level conference in Brussels, entitled "The Defenders take the floor". It was an occasion to review the international and regional support mechanisms that have been developed in favour of human rights defenders. Front Line Director, Mary Lawlor, gave a keynote speech, available here.

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Posted 10/10/2008. Mary Lawlor was invited as a keynote speaker at the first conference session devoted to the protection mechanisms for human rights defenders at risk, which took place in the European Parliament building in Brussels on 7 October 2008. She said: "In this the 60th Anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are, as always, stunned by the awesome courage of those we work for – the defenders of human rights who bring to life the aspirations of the Universal Declaration in their work to bring dignity and justice to all."

She offered 5 key recommendations for a better protection of HRDs: 1- Support the UN & regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights defenders 2- Train officials & diplomats at all levels on the protection of human rights defenders 3- Involve human rights defenders in the preparation, conduct, evaluation and follow-up of EU-third countries dialogues 4- Improve protection of human rights defenders fleeing extreme insecurity, for rest and respite 5- Develop a human rights defenders-based approach to development

Mary Lawlor concluded her speech by quoting Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian human rights defender and journalist who was murdered on 7 October 2006, just two years before, for her work exposing human rights violations in Chechnya. Anna Politkovskaya said: “So each time I go there, people tell me things. They do so in the sincere hope that, if I record what is actually happening, it will lead to change, to peace. Obviously, I am not to blame for what is going on, but the more I think about it, the more I would be betraying these people if I walked away. The only thing to do is to take this to the bitter end, so that no one can say that when things became difficult, I ran away.”