Good morning, this is Paula. A recently inaugurated exhibit in Geneva shines a light on the impact of conflict on children, a century after the Geneva Declaration first defined their rights.

After stormy exits at Geneva’s annual human rights film festival earlier this year, two familiar faces are nominated to co-direct the event. And critics fume after Iran gets to host a UN human rights forum.

Paula Dupraz-Dobias

17.05.2023

On our radar

Photo article

Drawing entitled “What happened to the Tutsis in 1994” by a Tutsi child in Rwanda, 3 October 1997. Exhibited in the International Reform Museum in Geneva. (Geneva Solutions/Paula Dupraz-Dobias)

As Geneva Declaration nears centennial, children still exposed to war and conflict. A hundred years after the British founder of NGO Save the Children, Eglantyne Jebb, penned the Geneva Declaration on the rights of children – a novelty at the time – humanitarians say young civilians still lack protection, particularly during conflict. As an exhibit that showcases drawings by children in conflict opens in Geneva, we ask Save the Children’s Geneva director, Michel Anglade, what needs to be done to keep the youngest of victims out of harm’s way.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here’s what else is happening

😡 UN accused of ‘rewarding’ Iran as it gives ambassador leading human rights role. Sharp criticism is falling on the Human Rights Council for giving Iran a top role at a human rights forum, despite its crackdown on anti-regime protesters, including by hanging. The UN body replied that Iran was the only country to put forward a candidate.
The Telegraph (EN)
🇷🇺 WHO to shut noncommunicable disease office in Moscow over Ukraine war. The office will be relocated to Copenhagen after European countries rejected at a regional meeting Russia’s proposal to remain its host.
Devex (EN)
🎧Inside Geneva: Sudan’s tragedy. Geneva-based humanitarian groups discuss the consequences of the ongoing conflict in Sudan and the possibilities for action.
Swissinfo (EN)
🌎 UN chief in Jamaica urges international response to Haiti’s spiralling crisis. António Guterres urged the international community to join Jamaica in sending armed support to Haiti’s “tragic” surge in gang violence.
Associated Press (EN)
✈️The aviation industry wants to be net zero – but not soon. Countries doubling down on efforts to decarbonise their economies have one major issue: the aviation industry, a major emitter, has no plans of slowing down any time soon.
The Economist (EN)

International Geneva moves

Photo article

Laila Alonso Huarte et Laura Longobardi, nouvelles codirectrices des programmes. — © FIFDH

Geneva’s human rights film festival nominates two new directors. Laura Longobardi and Laila Alonso Huarte, two well-known figures of the Geneva culture scene, will take the helm of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, following a wave of departures that recently rocked the annual film fest. Longobardi and Alonso Huarte, both already working in the ranks of the festival, will take up their new positions on 1 June and will aim to reinfuse the festival, an unmissable rendez-vous for the humanitarian film community, with a healthy dose of “militantism”, according to Longobardi.

Le Temps (FR)

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