United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) organized the screening of Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s Oscar-winning documentary ‘A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness’ at The Millennium University College, Islamabad.

The screening was part of UNIC’s efforts to create a debate on human rights through cinematography and was followed by a panel discussion with Sangeeta Thapa, Deputy Country Representative UN Women, Anne Marchal, Deputy Head of Delegation of the EU to Pakistan, Tahira Abdullah, human rights activist and Vittorio Cammarota, Director UN Information Centre. Continue reading →

An exhibition highlighting the work of young artists from five arts schools of Pakistan opened at Nishtar hall in Peshawar. The exhibition comprise pieces that had qualified in “We the Peoples, We the Arts” competition, an initiative aimed at promoting the cause of zero hunger through visual arts.

The event was organized by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Embassy of Switzerland in partnership with the United Nations Information Centre and the Department of Tourism and Culture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to mark the 50th year of SDC’s cooperation with Pakistan. Continue reading →

‘Human Rights Through Cinematography’ film festival concluded with the screening of ‘A girl in the River: the Price of Forgiveness’ at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in Islamabad. The last film screening of the festival coincided with the Human Rights Day, celebrated every year on 10 December.

Members of the diplomatic community, parliamentarians, civil society activists and students attended the screening of the documentary which was followed by a penal discussion. The panelists included Kamran Michael, Federal Minister for Human Rights, Isabelle Gattiker, Director of International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, Neil Buhne, United Nation’s Resident Coordinator in Pakistan and Anne Marchal, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the EU to Pakistan.
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United Nations Information Centre and the Embassy of Switzerland co-hosted the screening of the documentary ‘Sonita’ at the Embassy of Switzerland in Islamabad.

It is a film about a 17 year old Afghan refugee girl living in Iran who dreams of becoming a rapper. But the Iranian government doesn’t let girls sing solo.  Tradition bears down on Sonita Alizadeh as her Afghan family is keen to marry her off to receive dowry. Armed with nothing but passion and persistence, she must turn every obstacle into opportunity. Continue reading →

To mark the Human Rights Day, Vittorio Cammarota, Director United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Isabelle Gattiker, Director of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, and Eiza Abid, winner of the international ‘Celebrating Freedom’ poster competition participated in the PTV World morning programme “World This Morning.” Isabelle Gattiker discussed the ‘Human Rights Through Cinematography’ initiative, a film festival on human rights organized by UNIC in collaboration with partners. Eiza Abid said that freedom of thought was a basic human right and everyone deserves to have it. She also described how she, as a young Pakistani, understands human rights. Explaining the theme of Human Rights Day 2016 – stand up for someone’s rights today – Vittorio Cammarota urged everyone to step forward and defend the rights of women, children and minorities.

On the eve of Human Rights Day 2016, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) and the High Commission of Canada recognized Eiza Abid, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl from Lahore, who won the international “Celebrating Freedom” poster competition.

In 2015, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva launched a competition in several countries to encourage school-age children to create posters on the theme of freedom. Primary (ages 5-11) and secondary (ages 12-18) students from across Pakistan submitted more than 60 entries. These posters were exhibited at the High Commission of Canada and the UNIC office in Islamabad. Continue reading →

For the first time in Pakistan, the rights of transgender people were raised from the platform of United Nations on the eve of Human Rights Day. The day-long event, jointly organized by the UN Information Centre and the High Commission of Canada, brought together transgender activists, government representatives, parliamentarians, diplomats and UN experts.

The event featured two panel discussions. The first panel focused on education and economic empowerment for the transgender community. Speaking in the panel, trans community representative Maya Zaman said, “Education is the only way forward to enhance the potential of the community and have their valuable contribution to the economy.” Continue reading →

‘Pakistan: No Place Like Home’ is a passionate documentary that tells the story of a young man who leaves his village hoping to make a better living abroad.

In the remote Pakistani village of Hakimwala, farmers battle a deadly pest that is ruining their cotton crops. Many are unable to buy the pesticide and face mounting debts. The elders of the village encourage the young men to travel abroad to earn a better pay and help lift the village out of poverty. Continue reading →

Since 2011, thousands of people have been seeking refuge in Europe by crossing the Mediterranean. The governments have responded by criminalizing the refugee influx. Walls are being built, crossings are made illegal and people are forced to put their lives in danger again. In the context of general indifference, individuals try to bring a little humanity into this unprecedented crisis by helping the refugees in different ways. Some charter boats to save the shipwrecked. Others host them on land, and yet others file criminal complaints against States for having failed to provide assistance to people in danger.

The documentary titled ‘Non Assistance’ screened at the United Nations Information Centre on 8 December shows that not only is it possible to save migrants at sea, but it is also necessary today to address migrations differently.