The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has reached its 60th anniversary since its inception in 1948 and still not all is right. This will be the theme of Bar Council’s inaugural human rights debate tournament starting Dec 9, in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day on Dec 10.

This debate, following the British Parliamentary Debating Format, is possibly the first in the world to be hosted by a statutory body of legal professionals. A public session of this nature is long overdue in KL. Nevertheless, it’s good that now there is a platform that not only promotes human rights awareness but is also open for the discussion of human rights norms, standards and issues. This is an important event that will help bridge ethnic, linguistic and cultural gaps by fostering respect and understanding on various rightsrelated issues.

300 debaters from around the world are expected to participate. A public speaking competition is also open to anyone who wants to speak on any topic of their choice – related to human rights of course.

Even though registration will be closed by the time you read this, you can still attend the preliminary debate and public speaking sessions at KDU college that are open to the public free of charge.