Harari led a large BBI delegation to the U.N.'s 61st Annual DPI/NGO Conference on September 3-5, 2008.  The conference commemorated the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by United Nations member states.  It was convened in Paris, the city where the declaration was signed, and centered on the theme: "Reaffirming Human Rights for All, the Universal Declaration at 60."

Eleven members of the BBI delegation represented seven countries -- Panama, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Croatia. The members came from B'nai B'rith International, B'nai B'rith Europe, B'nai B'rith France, and the Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations.

The U.N. Department of Public Information (DPI) and NGOs work together to facilitate exchanges in the spirit of productive dialogue.  At a round-table session on human rights and human security, President of B'nai B'rith France Jacques Jacubert publicly questioned who is entitled to define "human security" and balance the rights of a group of people against the rights of the individual. His questions pointed to the broader concern of what and how states are responsible to protect individual citizens.

One workshop detracted from these accomplishments. "Human Rights Defenders and Armed Conflict: Learning from Practices and Principles," featured widely known anti-Israel activist, Prof. Ilan Pappe, and attorney for Saddam Hussein, Ramsey Clark. Because the panelists' names were not publicized in advance material or discussed during the original planning process, the event took many by surprise.  The choice of such one-sided panelists resulted in a divisive discussion.  "BBI pledges to discuss this event further with its partners in DPI and the NGO community," Harari concluded.