On June 24, 2020, IIMA members from East Asia met online to discuss the topic on how to “guarantee the right to education in the time of the pandemic”. The meeting was moderated by Sarah Garcia, IIMA Main Representative at the UN and Director of IIMA Human Rights Office in Geneva. IIMA members and educators from Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam attended the meeting.  “One of the biggest challenges of the current situation is ensuring education for all. This meeting is a...

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Augusta Ngombu – Gboli. Augusta leaves a legacy of hope, resiliency, and transformation. Orphaned as a child and living on the streets in Sierra Leone, Agusta was forced into prostitution in order to survive.  However, with the help of the Salesian mission of Don Bosco Fambul, Augusta turned her life around. Augusta went back to school, where she discovered her talents and potential. She finished her studies in the culinary arts and opened her own restaurant.  She also became an instructor at...

On Friday 5th June 2020, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, presented to the NGO representatives the UN Human Rights Report, which is the annual report on the human rights’ work realized by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) around the world for 2019. In her introduction, Mrs. Bachelet underlined that the 2019 report demonstrates how the Office supports States to uphold human rights in the context of eroding multilateralism, in spite of the new threats to civic space and ever more complex climate for...

The 35th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held from the 20th to the 31st of January at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Universal Periodic Review is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council. Its primary function is to review all UN Member States, every 4 ½ years, to improve the human rights conditions of each State. During the UPR, States comment on the actions they’ve taken to implement previous UPR recommendations and highlight the current challenges they are facing. The UPR Working Group then derives...

On 28 January 2020, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims joined Christians to pray and reflect on Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Peace 2020 entitled “Peace as a Journey of Hope: Dialogue, Reconciliation and Ecological Conversion” at an interreligious service held at Saint Nicolas de Flüe Church in Geneva. Present also in the said event were dignitaries of Permanent Missions, UN personnel, and the faithful. The Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Msgr. Ivan Jurkovič opened the ceremony and welcomed all the representatives...

On January 27, 2020 IIMA joined The 2020 International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Palais de Nations, titled: “75 years after Auschwitz – Holocaust Education and Remembrance for Global Justice.” The ceremony began with a video message by Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, where he reminded us of our duty to “never forget” of the tragedies that occured and “vow to tell their stories and honor them” by continuing to defend the dignity and life of  individuals to create a...

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 19th  November 2019, among the numerous events that marked the 30th  anniversary ceremony of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See organized the side event “The Right to Education - Towards a Renewed Commitment to Education” which was held in Room XXIV of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The event was co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of the Philippines, Zambia, Poland, Lebanon and the Sovereign Order of Malta as well as by the associations: Caritas in Veritate Foundation, OIDEL, OIEC,...

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...