Realizing Rights: New Beginnings

From 2002 to 2010, Realizing Rights worked with a range of partners on diverse projects and initiatives. On 14 December 2010, over 300 invited guests gathered in The Times Center in New York City to celebrate the culmination of joint endeavors and look ahead to the opportunities for new beginnings.

On an evening filled with emotion, Lyse Doucet, Correspondent for BBC World Service, moderated an event that allowed the staff of Realizing Rights to express gratitude to partners and supporters worldwide for making our work possible and for being part of our efforts to make human rights a reality for people everywhere.

In highlighting differences between the human rights landscape at the founding of Realizing Rights and its planned end eight years later, Mary Robinson noted that "there is now a constituency for economic and social rights, a constituency for corporate responsibility. In comparison to eight years ago, it's now a completely different context. So it's not an end, it's a whole set of new beginnings."