‘International Conference on Eastern Human Rights’ to be Held in Iran

The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO), in collaboration with Baqir al-Olum University, will host the First International Conference on “Human Rights in the Eastern Perspective” from April 27 to 29, 2025, across Tehran, Qom, and Isfahan.

According to the Public Relations office of the ICRO, the forum is aimed at reevaluating contemporary human rights discourse by drawing from the philosophical, cultural, and civilizational traditions of the East.

With participation of 40 international scholars representing 22 countries, the event seeks to foster critical dialogue and scholarly exchange on how non-Western civilizations and religious traditions can contribute to redefining the foundations of human rights. Organizers hope to establish a network of Eastern scholars and practitioners, laying the groundwork for drafting a human rights framework rooted in cultural diversity, spiritual traditions, and collective identity.

Among the key conceptual pillars of the conference is a critique of the dominant Western-centric model of human rights.

The Eastern perspective emphasizes a communitarian view of human dignity, cultural rights, social responsibility, and moral agency.

Topics of discussion will include solidarity rights, the need to de-centralize human rights institutions from the Global North, and redefining the role of civil society actors beyond state-centric models. Organizers stress that a genuine and pluralistic discourse on human rights must recognize the legitimacy of different moral and epistemological systems and resist efforts to universalize Western liberal norms.

The conference is positioned as part of a broader initiative to establish a sustainable intellectual framework that integrates religious, cultural, and philosophical insights from the East into the global human rights conversation.