Global Photography Exhibition Opens at UN Rights Council Meeting

Photographs Humanize Rule of Law and Access to Justice

Photographers: Kabir Dhanji, Lucas Lenci, Shehzad Noorani, Vicky Roy, Farzana Wahidy
Curator: Shahidul Alam
?In Focus: Justice and the Post-2015 Agenda,? a photo exhibition on the challenges of development and the rule of law by the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) and Majority World photo agency, launches on the 2nd March 2015?during the opening of the UN Human Rights Council Meeting in Geneva.
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?Justice and the Post-2015 Agenda,? illustrates these complex themes through 35 images – taken by photographers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, India and Kenya – ranging from the forests of Colniza, Brazil, where illegal logging is facilitated by an absence of land tenure, to the energy starved metropolis of Kibera, Africa?s largest slum.
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?As governments negotiate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this exhibition brings to life the most pressing issues related to development, human rights and the rule of law through the eyes of those at the center of the new development agenda. These images illustrate how the rule of law is not just a concept, but a crucial element of everyday life,? said IDLO Director-General, Irene Khan.
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The exhibit, and discussion series explores timely issues linked to the rule of law, human rights and development, including: women?s rights; Indigenous rights; the right to housing; ?energy poverty?; climate change and natural resources; and Land rights.
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?The reality is that you have to build energy infrastructure and you have to make it affordable,? said Kenyan photographer Kabir Dhanji regarding his work in Kibera. ?Nobody wants to stay where they are; everybody wants something better, if you give them the tools to do something for themselves, they?ll do it.?
The installation is on display 2-19 March at the Palais de Nations and will be complemented by informal discussions related to the Human Rights Council dialogue and including new thinking on the Post-2015 development agenda.
The exhibit and discussion series builds on IDLO?s recent report, ?Doing Justice to Sustainable Development: Integrating the Rule of Law into the Post-2015 Development Agenda? and will be featured throughout 2015 around key Rule of Law and Development fora.
Acting Director of the UN Office at Geneva Michael M?ller, and representatives from the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica, Italy, the Netherlands, and Paraguay ? co-sponsors of the event ? join Director-General Khan in presenting the exhibit. Majority World Chairman?Shahidul Alam will also speak at the exhibit launch.
About IDLO
IDLO, which was granted Observer Status by the United Nations General Assembly in 2001 is the only intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law.
IDLO?s mission is to enable governments and empower people to reform laws and strengthen institutions to promote peace, justice, sustainable development and economic opportunity.
About Majority World
Majority World works with talented photographers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East and specializes in sourcing high quality images providing unique insights into local cultures, environments and development issues.
Majority World is also a social enterprise with a mission to create equal opportunities for its pool of photographers while communicating authentic visual stories to the rest of the world.
 
 
Contact Info:
Jared Bloch, Tel: +41 (0)78 683 4407, Email: jbloch@idlo.int
Andre Vornic, Tel:?? Email: avornic@idlo.int
Federica Scala, IDLO Advisor, External Relations, Tel:+1 917 291 2976, Email: mailto:fscala@idlo.int
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Media Resources:

  • IDLO Director General, Irene Khan, is available for comment on the links between human rights, sustainable development and access to justice
  • Featured Majority World photo agency Director, Shahidul Alam for commentary on exhibit images
  • Access to art quality images and descriptions from the exhibit – upon request
  • Broadcast quality videos of exhibit photographers speaking on their work ? 5 min. segments and full video available upon request

Links:
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In Focus: Justice and the Post-2014 Agenda – http://www.idlo.int/justiceinfocus
IDLO Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IDLOnews
IDLO Twitter – https://twitter.com/IDLONews
IDLO Member Parties – http://www.idlo.int/about-idlo/governance/assembly-parties
Majority World – http://majorityworld.com/en/page/show_home_page.html
 
 

Author: Shahidul Alam

Time Magazine Person of the Year 2018. A photographer, writer, curator and activist, Shahidul Alam obtained a PhD in chemistry before switching to photography. His seminal work “The Struggle for Democracy” contributed to the removal of General Ershad. Former president of the Bangladesh Photographic Society, Alam set up the Drik agency, Chobi Mela festival and Pathshala, South Asian Media Institute, considered one of the finest schools of photography in the world. Shown in MOMA New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Royal Albert Hall and Tate Modern, Alam has been guest curator of Whitechapel Gallery, Winterthur Gallery and Musee de Quai Branly. His awards include Mother Jones, Shilpakala Award and Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dali International Festival of Photography. Speaker at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Oxford and Cambridge universities, TEDx, POPTech and National Geographic, Alam chaired the international jury of the prestigious World Press Photo contest. Honorary Fellow of Royal Photographic Society, Alam is visiting professor of Sunderland University in UK and advisory board member of National Geographic Society. John Morris, the former picture editor of Life Magazine describes his book “My journey as a witness”, (listed in “Best Photo Books of 2011” by American Photo), as “The most important book ever written by a photographer.”

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