Today, all of us go back and we are little kids again. On November 20th, the World celebrates the International Day of the Child. This day reminds us of the date when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. Dignity. That is the magic word. Dignity was born together with the human being, you can read it in his eyes. It is not transmitted through DNA. Dignity is something you take care of, with devotion. Dignity must be stated, not conquered as a war chest. It...

When two Nobel Prizes winners, Martti Ahtisaari and José Ramos-Horta, tell about their long-time experience and their passionate fight, our wish of Peace smells like hope, because we feel it’s not just about words. Which better location than Room XX, the room of “Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations", to host a dialogue of Peace? Held in Palais des Nations on Wednesday, November 13th, the Conference was entitled "Complexities of Peacemaking: the untold story”. In Geneva, which has been consecrated, once again, the capital of dialogue and mediation, the setting for negotiations and conciliation. The two leaders shared a very...

On 14th May 2012, Israel decided to suspend its relations with the Human Rights Council (HRC), becoming one of the most controversial countries at the United Nations in Geneva. Absent during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 29th January 2013, the meeting was postposed to 29th October 2013. Israel has been the first country to do this. As a result, the international community feared for the future and legitimacy of UPR process. Following negotiations with the President of the HRC and international pressure from Member States, two days before the agreed date, Israel government confirmed its participation and just a...

From October 7th to 16th, 2013, the IIMA Human Rights Office staff organized several seminars and workshops in Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to raise awareness on the importance of adopting a human-rights based prospective and bring local civil society’s concerns to the international level.  This visit to Central America aimed at enhancing local awareness and participation in the monitoring and advocacy process within the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the three countries. More than that, the visit specifically focused on the situation of youth in those countries: the participants included Salesian Sisters, young people and other educators working with...

On 22nd of October 2013, room XX of the United Nations office was filled with tension and excitement. Almost every State was ready to speak and contribute their opinion on the status of Human Rights in China over the four years since China’s first Universal Periodic Review (UPR). For China’s second UPR, Mr. Wu Hailong of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave an opening statement, which reviewed the progress that China recently made in human rights and quality of life. China is made of over 1.3 billion people and 56 ethnic groups, but the report was simple,...

"Empowering rural women is crucial for ending hunger and poverty. By denying women rights and opportunities, we deny their children and societies a better future. This is why the United Nations recently launched a programme to empower rural women and enhance food security."  UN Secretary General,  Ban Ki-Moon “We must enforce and protect the rights of rural women. When women have access to land, there are improvements in household welfare, agricultural productivity and gender equality.”  UN Women - Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. ...

 In 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. Girls face discrimination and violence every day across the world. The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. The theme for 2013 is:  “Innovating for Girls’ Education” “On this International Day of the Girl Child, let us work together to invest in education so...

On the 2nd of October, we celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence, held on the birthday of Gandhi, leader of the Indian Independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of Non-Violence.              "There are many causes that I am prepared to die for                     but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."                                              ...

The 24th Session of the Human Rights Council, which started 9th September in Geneva, reached its end. For the Council, whose mission is to promote the respect of the human rights and to monitor the violations in all the UN Member States, it’s time to review and evaluate the results that were reached in this session.                                  In this session, Syria sadly played the protagonist, with millions of civilians forced into mass displacement by gross violations of humanitarian law, at a time where international...