UN human rights marks World day of social justice

By Anjali Sharma

UNITED NATIONS – UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday got a generational make-over when it turned the venue over to young artists and change makers to celebrate the social justice.

Trading suits, ties and debates for DJ turntables, bright traditional Indigenous garb and ancient instruments, three performers – an anthropologist, an R&B singer and a genre-defying artist showcased their music and messages at the Stand Up for Social Justice event to celebrate the World Day of Social Justice, marked annually on 20 February.

It took place in front of hundreds of people in the emblematic Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, where high-stakes diplomacy happens throughout the year.

Brisa Flow, a Chilean-born Mapuche artist got her first break in rap battles in Brazil, after her intense musical performance that the world needs more diverse platforms like the UN “so that transculturality can exist”.

“We need more empathy and to listen more to Indigenous Peoples in order to better understand how to take care of our territories that need care, not just in terms of water, food and land, but also our children and our elders,” said the São Paulo-based singer, rocking a green marble-printed manicure.

“We need to be in spaces where everything we speak about is not just a utopia, where hope, which exists, can be heard and considered.”

Ms. Flow joined French-speaking Geneva-born R&B revelation Ocevne and anthropologist-cum-poet Idjahure Terena who delivered powerful music and personal messages inspired by social justice while helping to link local realities to issues of a global scale.

The Day’s 2025 theme Strengthening a Just Transition for a Sustainable Future, echoed the event was co-organized by UNRISD, an independent UN research institute focusing on development issues, and Antigel, a Geneva-based music festival designed to make culture more accessible.

The messages from the young people on stage did just that, with electrifying performances and calls for change around the world.

Ocevne, 28, the message was about equality.

“The simplest way I could define it is simply the right to equal opportunities,” she said. “No matter your background, where you come from, who you are, your gender, everything, we all have the right to that opportunity.”

Climate justice was another recurring theme throughout the event, an issue highlighted by Mr. Terena, a doctoral student in social anthropology at the University of São Paulo and poet who spends much of his time defending the rights of his community and others.

“There is no climate justice without social justice,” he told the audience. “We know that standing forests are the simplest and most efficient solution for fighting global warming.”

The young researcher slammed the impact of mining companies and agribusinesses on his ancestral land that belongs to the Terena people of Brazil in the Pantanal region of Mato Grosso do Sul.

“This is not just a territorial issue, but a matter of physical and cultural survival for our peoples and for humanity as indigenous lands represent the most important areas of biodiversity,” he said, inviting the audience to fight for a “common, diverse living world”.

The future is going to be very hot,” said Ms. Flow.

She added that “it is already very hot in Brazil, and this is urgent for us because without water, we cannot live, and without food, [we cannot] either.”

Advocating for issues affecting indigenous communities, including the burning impacts of climate change on the natural resources of her home country, collectively not enough is getting done, she said.

“We need more communication and more exchanges. By exchanges, I mean listening, speaking, listening, speaking and thinking about new ways of living well so that we can keep heading into the future.”

UNRISD communications chief Karima Cherif, who wanted to bridge art and research through the initiative.

She said her institute works with scholars from the global South to ensure that the voices and expertise of minorities are heard.

“We’re giving voices to the marginalized and the youth,” explained Ms. Cherif, who sees art as a way to “translate what we do in a language that can touch hearts”.

Thuy-San Dinh, who heads Antigel, echoed her vision and encouraged the young audience to pursue their goals, recalling when she co-created the annual event 15 years ago.

“You have to believe in your ideas and never give up,” Ms. Dinh said.

Melanie Rouquier, who created SHAP SHAP, a non-profit that fights global inequality and discrimination through cultural projects, told several activists in the room that each of their actions showed citizen engagement was not a lost cause.

“To resist, we have to get together,” she said.

Aryan Yasin, a designer from Geneva who founded a cultural non-profit supporting disadvantaged youth, the show was an opportunity for cross-pollination and broadening his network by connecting with UN staff.

The exceptional venue “is not a place where you would necessarily see young people”, he said. “But, that actually allows us to create an intergenerational connection, with people who are more experienced, more established,” he added.

The management student Ludivine said she was mesmerized by the experience. Putting on a concert with one of her favourite artists there to denounce inequalities “makes sense.because at the UN, people get together to talk about inequalities around the world.”

The doctoral students Beatrice and Thomas shared what the concept of social justice, which can seem quite abstract, meant to them.

“It’s about recognizing and taking differences into account while ensuring that everyone has the same access” to the same opportunities, said Beatrice, from Italy, who studies at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

“That may mean that some people will need more support, while others may not need as much, but have different needs.”

Thomas offered a more societal vision of the idea.

“For me, it’s something that is both individual and collective – something that must be built as a society. It is entirely dependent on the structures we have put in place, but it also relies on everything that is local.”

Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva set the tone in her opening remarks in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room.

“This room sees a lot of very important and challenging negotiations,” she told the audience. “But, today we open this room to everyone.”

Geneva Mayor Christina Kitsos, term is guided by the motto “what connects us”, reminded the youthful audience of the UN fundamental role despite the worrying rise of “desire to undermine all the work [that has been done] around humanitarian aid and human rights”.

“We need to be united, strong and truly hopeful and courageous to ensure that we stay the course, that we remain a beacon in this world in turmoil,” she said.