The panelists were:

1.     Ms. Maarit Kohonen, Deputy Head of the NY office of the OHCHR (speaking on behalf of Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović),

2.     Mr. Magdy Soliman-Martinez, Director a.i. of the UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy,

3.     Mr. Thomas Mayr-Harting, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the UN in NY,

4.     Ms. Sarah Johnson, Assistant-Director of the Carter Centre’s Democracy Program, and

5.     Mr. Pavel Fischer, Ambassador and former advisor to president Vaclav Havel.

The Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, Ms. Edita Hrdá, moderated the discussion.

The discussion followed up on a Czech initiative at the UN Human Rights Council in September 2013, which had been consensually adopted with cross-regional support as resolution 24/8. All panelists appreciated the long-term commitment of the Czech Republic to human rights and the particular focus on electoral processes, political participation and non-discrimination, which this initiative brings back under focus.

There were over 80 guests in the audience, both from diplomatic missions, UN agencies and civil society, and actively participated in the discussion.