Geneva, Switzerland - December 10, 2020 The theme of this year’s Human Rights Day observance: Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights, is closely related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the greatest challenge of our times. It highlights the “need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts”. The Covid-19 crisis has unmasked the fact that human rights are far from being universal. In fact, we are confronted by deepening poverty, inequalities, injustice, discrimination, exclusion, destruction of the environment, and structural gaps in human rights protection. The...

Since 1994, World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5 October to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers (https://en.unesco.org/themes/teachers/ceart ), which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. In 2020, World Teachers’ Day will be dedicated to the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”, providing the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession and draw attention to the voices of teachers worldwide. This...

On September 8, we celebrate the International Literacy Day. Established in 1966 by UNESCO, it reminds the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies. Nowadays, the alarming data of 773 million adults and young people lacking basic literacy skills and 617 million children and adolescents not achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics show how literacy still remains a critical challenge. In particular, the International Literacy Day 2020 focuses on “Literacy teaching and learning in the...

Since 1999, the UN General Assembly has declared the 12th of August as the International Youth Day, an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young peoples’ voices, actions and initiatives, as well as their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement and participation in political, economic and social life and processes. This year, the International Youth Day will focus on “Youth Engagement for Global Action”, seeking to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well...

In the occasion of the 30th Convention on the Rights of the Child anniversary, ratified in 1989 by the highest number of Countries (196) and in the fastest way than the others, a three-day commemorative celebration was held in Palais des Nations on the 18th, 19th and 20th of November in Geneva. The event, that took place in the symbolic city of the Convention writing and negotiation, was the peak of a series of events organized throughout 2019. Moreover, the “30 Years of Children’s Rights” book has been published in...

The publication "Education as a Driver to Integral Growth and Peace" was presented by the Holy See together with the Caritas in Veritate Foundation during a side event held on November 19, 2019, in the Palais des Nations, Geneva on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child. Intended as an opportunity to reflect on quality education at the global level, the publication aims to share good practices in educational settings to face the challenges of the contemporary world, integrating an ethical perspective with...

The 2019 Social Forum took place on the 1stand on the 2ndOctober 2019 in room XX, at Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Social Forum is an annual meeting convened by the Human Rights Council to provide a unique space for an open and interactive dialogue between all stakeholders on a specific theme chosen each year. In accordance with the resolution 38/17 of the Human Right Council this year’s Social Forum focused on“the promotion and protection of the rights of children and youth through education”. Though all children and young people have...

From September 9th to 27th, 2019, the Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) Human Rights Office and VIDES International, participated in the 42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council delivering three oral statements on the following: Items 3 & 5 Clustered interactive dialogue on SR Report on indigenous peoples; Item 6 on the UPR outcomes of Costa rica and Nicaragua. IIMA and VIDES welcomed the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. However, the attainment of the full and equitable enjoyment of the human rights of all indigenous peoples...

On the occasion of the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council, IIMA and Vides International, together with the permanent Mission of the Philippines, organized the side  event: “Promoting a Safe and Empowering Environment for all Children and youth - best practices for child and youth protection and participation through human rights education” held at the Palace of the Nations on September 25, 2019. The event was co-sponsored by sixteen Permanent Missions: Egypt, El Salvador, Italy, Portugal, Ethiopia, Montenegro, Poland, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Thailand, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Spain, Holy See, Uruguay; and also...

 The 42ndSession of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations started in Geneva on the 9thof September, and will finish on September 27. During this period, there will be debates, several reports from the Special Procedure mandate-holders as well as side events on different human rights issues with special emphasis on indigenous people’s rights. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, identified several challenges confronting us today. In particular, she highlighted how climate change is becoming a global threat to human rights. In fact, according to the World...