Geneva Institute for Human Rights

On Tuesday, January 17, the Geneva Institute for Human Rights participated in "Violence and Non-Violence in the Arab spring," a seminar organized by Foundation for the Future in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

The seminar pulled together representatives from human rights organizations in Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, and Palestine to establish a consensus about non-violence in the Arab region and to facilitate networking and communication among civil society organizations, especially among the young people working in them.

The seminar coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, a powerful symbol of the power of peaceful struggle for democracy and human rights.

Presenters during the symposium included prominent representatives from non-violence movements in Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Yemen, and Iraq. They shared their lived experiences regarding non-violence activism, stressing that the only way to bring about lasting societal change is through peaceful means, not by engaging in armed confrontations and bloodshed.