Foreword by the Executive Director, Dr. Umesh Palwankar
The Geneva Centre has the privilege of presenting its Annual Report for 2024, a testament to another year filled with impactful and wide-ranging initiatives, appreciated by participants and stakeholders alike. This year, the Centre organized four high-level panel events on pressing human rights issues. These included a panel in Dubai on Right to Health, Armed Conflicts, and Peacebuilding: How Can Ensuring the Right to Health Contribute to Peace Processes?; a panel addressing Bridging the Divide: New Perspectives for an International Approach to Countering Religious Hatred and Promoting Fundamental Freedoms; the launch presentation of our research paper on the Human Rights Implications of the Israel-Gaza War; and a major international conference entitled Empowering Youth, Indigenous Peoples, and Small Island States in Promoting Environmental Rights and Climate Justice. Each of these events resulted in valuable insights and publications, all available on the Geneva Centre’s accessible website. The Scientific Café initiative fosters dialogue with experts and practitioners to promote universal understanding of complex and current human rights issues. The theme this year was “Migration and Businesses: Safeguarding Human Rights Amidst the Climate Crisis”. A series of engaging interviews on this theme were published on our website and shared across social media platforms. The Geneva Centre also intensified its real-time reporting on the sessions of the Human Rights Council, and successfully continued its internship program. Our collaboration with Webster Geneva Campus this year resulted in a two-week summer course on critical human rights topics. Additionally, several research papers addressing contemporary human rights issues were published and widely disseminated. For the first time, the Human Rights Recognition Awards were held during the Human Rights Awareness Week—an event organized in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to foster broader awareness of human rights. This year’s awards celebrated exceptional contributions to human rights, enhancing the impact of this prestigious recognition. The Geneva Centre extends its deepest gratitude for your continued interest and support. We look forward to another year of collaboration and wish you a fulfilling and prosperous New Year in your commendable efforts to promote and protect human rights.
Read the full Annual Report here: Annual Report 2024 – Geneva Centre