On 29 June 2026, the President of the Court, Mattias Guyomar, delivered a speech at the René Cassin Symposium, the theme of which was Universal human rights treaties at a crossroads: facing up to the challenges.

In his speech, the President emphasised that human rights had to be understood first and foremost as rights for all of humanity, universal in nature.

“They are fundamental rights, in that they are both rooted in the human person and are the foundation of humanity,” stated President Guyomar, adding that international and regional mechanisms for the protection of human rights shared a universal character.

“Our joint commitment will ensure that our shared ideals of peace and justice prevail,” the President said.

Following the President, Emmanuel Decaux, President of the René Cassin Foundation, Sébastien Touzé, Director of the René Cassin Foundation, and Linos Alexandre Sicilianos, professor at the University of Athens, former President of the European Court of Human Rights and member of ECRI, took the floor.

After the opening of the Symposium, a roundtable, chaired by Anja Seibert Fohr, judge elected in respect of Germany, was held on the universality of human rights treaties.

Vasilka Sancin, judge elected in respect of Slovenia, took part in a discussion on the nature of international human rights law, focusing on treaty bodies and the Court as they face emergencies and crises, including the return of war.

Ivana Jelić, Vice-President of the Court and judge elected in respect of Montenegro, presented the conclusions of the Symposium, an event organised in the context of the 50th anniversary of René Cassin’s death by the René Cassin Foundation, with the support of the National Institute of Public Service (Institut national du service public) and the European Court of Human Rights, and the “Strasbourg European Capital” triennial contract, under the academic supervision of Emmanuel Decaux and Sébastien Touzé.