Public health and human rights: The work ahead of us

On December 5, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The New York Academy of Sciences will host a half-day symposium to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The event, "Public Health and Human Rights: The Work Ahead of Us," will evaluate progress in public health and human rights over the last 60 years.

Navanethem Pillay, SJD, LLM, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will be the keynote speaker.

Adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first international recognition that human rights are absolute and inclusive of all, and that they should concern the entire international community. This doctrine has served as the foundation of international human rights law, and it continues to inspire international human rights treaties and declarations, regional conventions, and national constitutions. Sadly, where human rights are ignored, health care tends to be unequal, inadequate or nonexistent.

The symposium will explore the roadblocks, contradictions and challenges to public health and human rights in the U.S. and abroad.

What: Public Health and Human Rights: The Work Ahead of Us

When: Friday, December 5, 2008 1-5 p.m.

Where: The New York Academy of Sciences Conference Center
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor
New York, New York 10007

To register, visit www.nyas.org/publichealth or call 800-334-6902.

Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The New York Academy of Sciences

1:00 pm—Registration

1:30 pm—Welcome and Introduction
Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH
Dean, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

1:45 pm—Keynote Address
Navanethem Pillay, SJD, LLM
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

2:15 pm—Public Health and Human Rights: Challenges around the World
Moderated by Laurie Garrett
Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations
Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Joseph Amon, PhD, MSPH
Director, Health and Human Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

Ellis Rubinstein
President and CEO, The New York Academy of Sciences

Ruth Wedgwood, JD
Director, International Law and Organizations Program, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

3:15 pm Break

3:30 pm—Public Health and Human Rights: Struggles at Home
Moderated by Patricia Gatling
Commissioner and Chair, New York City Commission on Human Rights

Gara LaMarche
President and CEO, The Atlantic Philanthropies

Robert S. Lawrence, MD
Professor and Director, Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Leonard Rubenstein, JD
President, Physicians for Human Rights

4:30 pm—Closing Remarks
Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH
Professor and Director, Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

5:00 pm—Reception