An Unfinished Dialogue between Osvaldo Paya and Vaclav Havel - Cuba in 2016

Martin Palouš He belonged to the original signatories of Charter 77, served as its spokesperson in 1986 and participated at the creation of Civic Forum during the Velvet Revolution (November 1989). After the fall of Communism he was a member of Parlament, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations. During his stay in Argentina he was declared Honor Guest of the City of Buenos Aires.

The Václav Havel Institute of CADAL organized a conference in its headquarters by Martin Palouš, important Czech activist and diplomat who leads the International Platform for Human Rights in Cuba. The activity was moderated by Hernán Alberro, Programs Director of CADAL.

Minutes before the conference, Palouš visited the gallery "El ciudadano Havel" that is permantently exhibited at CADAL’s entrance. This gallery was curated by Gabriel Palumbo.

During his stay at the Capital of Argentina, Martin Palouš was declared Honor Guest by the Legislature of City of Buenos Aires.

H.E. Petr Kopriva, ambassador of the Czechh Republic in Argentina; Martin Palouš; and legislators of the City of Buenos Aires, Cecilia de la Torre and Francisco Quintana.

Martin Palouš studied Natural Science, Philosophy and International Law. In 1974 he received Doctorate of Natural Sciences (RNDr). In 2001 he earned Higher Doctorate in Political Science/Philosophy (Associate Professorship at Charles University. In 2007 he got PhD in Public International Law at Masaryk University in Brno after the succesful defence of his doctoral thesis Freedom  of Expression in the European Court of Human Rights. All academic degrees of Martin Palous received in the Czech Republic have been scrutinized and approved by a specialized independent agency in Florida, hired for this purpose by the FIU in the fall of 2010.

Since January of 2011, Martin Palous is Senior Fellow and Director of Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy at School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University. He is also President of  Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and President of International Platform for Human Rights in Cuba. He belonged to the original signatories of Charter 77, served as its spokesperson in 1986 and participated at the creation of Civic Forum during the Velvet Revolution (November 1989). After the fall of Communism he was a member of Parlament (1990), Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs (1990-1992, 1998-2001), Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States (2001-2005) and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations (2006-2011). Martin Palous has rich academic praxis for more than 25 years. He has lectured at many universities both in the Czech Republic and in the world (particularly in the United States) and is author of numerous publications in the area of political philosophy, contemporary history, international relations and international law. (for instance: the chapter on the Czech Republic in the European Commission publication Democratization in Central and Eastern Europe (1998); Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism, in the Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict (1999, 2^nd ed. 2008); Between Idealism and Realism: Reflections on the Political Landscape of Postcommunism, in Between Past and Future; The Revolutions of 1989 and their Aftermath (2000), What Kind of God Does Human Rights Require? in Does Human Rights Need God? (2005); Common Sense and the Rule of Law, in Philosophy, Literature and Politics (2005); Jan Patočka’s Socratic Message for the 21^st Century, in: eds. Ivan Chvatik and Erica Abrams, Jan Patočka and the Heritage of Phenomenology (2011); Revolutions and Revolutionaries, Lessons of the Years of Crises, in: ed. Vladimir Tismaneanu, Promises of 1968. Crisis, Illusion, Utopia,(2011).