the conference "Present Human Rights Challenges - in Europe and Beyond" took place in Innsbruck. The annual human rights conference under the direction of Peter Hilpold (Department of Italian Law) has now become a tradition.
International experts discussed current challenges for the protection of human rights in Innsbruck. It became clear that despite many reform efforts, there are still major gaps in human rights protection. The conference focussed on the future of international human rights agreements, difficulties in monitoring, the impact of geopolitical developments on the enforcement of human rights as well as issues relating to the protection of minorities and migration policy. The contributions of the conference participants showed that many of the existing protection systems - from UN mechanisms and European asylum regulations to the monitoring of international conventions - are increasingly reaching their limits. There is a need for reform, but whether the necessary reforms will actually be implemented remains questionable.
Overview of the Conference Contributions
Sir Malcolm Evans of the University of Oxford discussed the enormous difficulties currently confronting the UN Human Rights Treaty System. Under-resourced and overburdened by a monitoring system that has steadily expanded over the past decades, the entire mechanism risks collapse - with UN Member States largely remaining passive. Although reform proposals aimed at streamlining the monitoring system have been presented, it is highly unlikely they will be implemented in the near future.
Gudmundur Alfredsson of the Stefansson Arctic Institute in Iceland addressed "The Rights of the Greenlandic People to Independence or Free Association, under Both International and Danish Law." He argued that the right to self-determination must be taken seriously, regardless of external threats.
A currently hotly debated topic in Europe was examined by Giuseppe Cataldi of the University of Napoli Orientale: "The Reform of the Common European Asylum System and the Externalisation of Migration Control." He expressed strong doubts as to whether external migration management complies with fundamental asylum law standards. Furthermore, he argued that such policies fail to provide a meaningful solution to the migration issue.
Athanasia Spiliopoulou Åkermark of Åbo Akademi University addressed "Human Rights Protection at Multiple Levels - Between Void and Pluralism", identifying several contemporary challenges for international human rights law. In this context, she also touched upon the migration issue, taking a clear stance against the " Letter of the 9 " dated 22 May 2025, in which leading European politicians questioned the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on migration matters.
Romedi Arquint, a representative of Convivenza, Switzerland, asked whether the traditional state order remains adequate to respond to contemporary human rights challenges, particularly with respect to the needs of minorities.
Focus on Minority Protection
The morning session was dedicated to the general topic: "30 Years of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) - Time for Reform?"
Rainer Hofmann of the University of Frankfurt opened this part with a detailed analysis of the achievements of the system and the open questions that remain.
Stefan Oeter of the University of Hamburg compared the FCNM with the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. He identified many similarities in their implementation but also highlighted significant difficulties in effectively enforcing the Charter's provisions, largely due to the unique structure of the Convention.
Celeste Pesce of the University of Bari presented an empirical study collecting the views of key stakeholders in this area. Based on a questionnaire, she gathered a series of reform proposals that attracted considerable interest from conference participants.
Harald Scheu of Charles University in Prague - currently on a research stay at the University of Innsbruck and co-organizer of the conference - provided a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the FCNM's monitoring process.
The final presentation of the morning session was delivered by Janos Fiala-Butora of the University of Galway. He described troubling developments in the monitoring process, highlighting serious shortcomings in the implementation of Convention obligations - many of which, as he noted, are simply ignored in final reports. His presentation once again underscored a recurring theme of the conference: Monitoring in the field of human rights is often ineffective. States are increasingly disillusioned with the process, and the general public largely disengaged from the issue. As a result, serious implementation gaps persist.
Conclusion: Human Rights Are Worth Fighting For
In the final discussion, students and other participants were invited to share their views. Laura Went asked the panel of experts what solutions they would propose to overcome the current challenges facing the international human rights system.
Numerous ideas and suggestions were offered. The general consensus was that human rights experts must take on the challenge of defending the system, while also recognizing the need to adapt and improve relevant international legal frameworks. Human rights may be, in the words of Samuel Moyn, the "last Utopia" - but one worth fighting for, even if the system will always remain imperfect and incomplete.
The proceedings of this conference will be published in the journal Europa Ethnica.
