In this episode of the UN Human Rights Podcast, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk commemorates the International Day for People of African Descent in conversation with three former participants in UN Human Rights’ Fellowship for People of African Descent. They are:

• Mia McMorris, from Jamaica, who works for the Centre for Reparation Research at the University of the West Indies,
• Sefa Adzua from Austria, who develops projects and programmes to promote the empowerment of Black people in Austria;
• Dandara de Olivera from Brazil, an advocacy specialist at the Transformative Anti-racist Education System and is a youth and race specialist for ActionAid Brazil.

Ruth Dreifuss est une économiste, syndicaliste et femme politique suisse. Elle a été la première femme élue présidente de la Confédération suisse. Elle a consacré une grande partie de sa carrière à la lutte pour l’égalité des droits entre les femmes et les hommes, ainsi qu’à une plus grande justice sociale, tant au niveau national qu’international. Dans le premier épisode de notre série, Ruth parle de l’évolution des droits au fil des décennies et explique pourquoi les droits humains sont véritablement fondamentaux. Elle s'entretient avec Dima Yared du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme.

(Ruth Dreifuss is a Swiss economist, unionist and politician who was the first woman to be elected as President of the Swiss Confederation. She has spent much of her career fighting for equal rights for men and women and for greater social justice both nationally and internationally. In the first of our occasional series, Ruth talks about the change in rights over the decades and why human rights are truly important. She is in conversation with UN Human Rights' Dima Yared. This podcast is in French. )

In this special episode, we take a look at mindfulness and how it can be useful in the world of diplomacy and humanitarian work. During the International Mental Health Week, the UN Human Rights Office Wellbeing Unit’s Mindfulness Initiative hosted an insightful event on "Mindfulness in UN Work and Diplomacy." The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, discussed how mindfulness can enhance resilience, well-being, and effectiveness for UN staff and diplomats, benefiting both their work and the communities they serve.

In this episode of Humanity Unites, we commemorate PRIDE month with conversations about monitoring and protection of LGBTQ+ rights with UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity Graeme Reid. We also learn more about the fight for transgender rights and recognition before the law with activists Daniel Benitez Posada from Fundacion Grupo de Accion y Apoyo a Personas Trans (GAAT) in Colombia and Wannapong “Nhuum” Yodmuang from the Asia Pacific Transgender Network based in Thailand.

A free and independent media is vital for a healthy democracy and to build peaceful and prosperous societies. Yet media freedom today is in poor health, as conflict, a rise in authoritarianism, disinformation, and new digital technologies are posing threats to independent journalism and journalists. In our new episode of the UN Human Rights Podcast, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive officer of the Committee to Protect Journalists, talk about the state of media freedom and the safety of journalists around the world.

Across the world, women and girls are leading the fight for peace and equality. Yet despite their essential role in peacebuilding, women human rights defenders still face challenges when it comes to getting a seat at the tables of power. This episode of the UN Human Rights Podcast explores how women are trying to bring peace to conflicts around the world, with grassroots activist Riya William Yuyada, Laila Alodaat, Deputy Secretary General at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and Nicole Ameline, former chair of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.