On November 11, 2015 the office assisted to the panel discussion “The Rome Statute, Accountability and the Protection of Human Rights”, co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Denmark and Cyprus to the UN, at Palais des Nations.The panelists were Judge Silvia Alejandra Fernandez de Gurmendi, ICC President, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Claudio Grossman, Chairperson of the Committee against Torture, Dr. David Donat Cattin, Secretary General - Parliamentarians for Global Action, Ambassador Christopher Onyanga Aparr, Permanent Representative of Uganda to the UN in Geneva and...

Myanmar, former Burma, has a long history of occupation and struggle for independence, democracy and self-determination. In the 19thand 20th century, the British and the Japanese occupied its territory. Finally, in 1962, the country reached independence but this step wasn´t as positive as awaited: with a coup d’état the military took control over the country and under the slogan “the Burmese Way to Socialism” transformed Myanmar in a single party state where freedom of expression and association were strongly restricted and human rights were constantly violated. During these decades of...

On the 4th of November, 2015 the human rights office has hosted an encounter with Maria Francisca Ize-Charrin, former Director, Research and Right to Development Division Director a.i., Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and in the afternoon to Dr. Elias Khouri, Representative of the Union of Arab Jurists at the United Nations at Geneva.In the morning Mrs. Ize-Charrin talked about the path of human rights, what had happened in the world before they were recognized as rights,...

On October 28, 2015 the office assisted to the speech of Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine, at Palais de Nations during a special session of the Human Rights Council. The speech was carried out two weeks after the Palestinian flag was raised at the United Nations in Geneva.Mr. Abbas took the opportunity to thank the members of the Council for all their efforts to defend Palestine’s human rights and for the adoption of important resolutions that unveil the systematic violations of human rights in the occupied territories, the longest occupation...

The 24th of October 2015 the world will be hit by a blue wave reaching all main monuments,churches, archeological sites of almost 200 countries: blue, the official color of the United Nations that day celebrate its 70th birth anniversary.The statue of the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Pisa Tower, the Pyramids in Egypt, the Empire State Building in New York, the Hermitage Museum in Russia, all these monuments will remind us that 70 years ago, on that date, the Charter of the...

This Saturday we had the pleasure to assist to the VIDES European seminar “Volunteering changes the reality or the reality changes volunteering? An open horizon.” together with several Salesian representatives from all over the world and VIDES ex-volunteers.The speakers were Guido Barbera, president of VIDES International, Eugenio Melandri, Italian activist and politician, European parliamentarian, Co-founder of different associations and director of the magazine ”Solidarietá Internazionale”, Fabio Attard, Salesian’s international responsible of Youth Ministry, Sr. MariaGrazia Caputo, founder of VIDES and main representative to the UN at the IIMA Human Rigths...

On Tuesday, September 29, 2015 the office assisted to the “Cultural Rights and Vulnerable Groups” side event held by the UNESCO Basque Country Centre, UNESCO Etxea, and the International Catholic Centre of Geneva (CCIG). The panel consisted of Mylène Bidault. Human Rights Officer at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Gemma Carbó, Director of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policies and Cooperation at the University of Girona and Beatriz Barreiro, Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the Rey Juan Carlos University.The panelists discussed how cultural...

On the occasion of the 30th Session of Human Rights Council, IIMA addressed once again the topic of Youth Empowerment, by delivering an oral statement co-sponsored by VIDES.The human rights office of IIMA and VIDES urged the  Council to address major challenges youth are facing in regards to the full enjoyment of their rights. The statement highlighted the importance of  young people as an instrument in fostering constructive dialog for the well being of present and future generations. Accordingly, IIMA called on all Member States to take concrete actions at local and...

 “Show me who makes a profit from war and I’ll show you how to stop the war.”                                         Henry FordOn Thursday, September 17, the office attended in conjunction with the 30th session of the Human Rights Council the side-event “Where is the Political Will to Stop the Wars in Syria and Iraq?” organized by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See along with Caritas International, Dominicans for Justice and Peace,...