Today Geneva starts hosting the 11th International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH). On the first day of the event, participants will discuss the human rights situation in Uzbekistan.

FIFDH starts on March 1 and will last for ten days. According to organizers, on the first day of the event participants will discuss the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. Also, on this day, participants will have chance to see a documentary “Massacre in Uzbekistan”, created by Danish journalist Michael Andersen.

After the opening ceremony of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights there will be thematic sessions. Several noted speakers will have a floor on the session dedicated for the human rights situation in Uzbekistan, such as Mutabar Tadjibayeva, head of the International Human Rights Organization “Fiery Hearts Club”, Michael Andersen, Danish journalist with vast experience of working in Central Asia, Craig Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, and Catherine Pujol, a professor and an expert on Central Asia at INALCO – French National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations.

Mutabar Tadjibayeva, head of the International Human Rights Organization “Fiery Hearts Club”, believes that introduction of the human rights situation in Uzbekistan to the agenda of the film festival is a joyous occasion.

“Another thing that also makes us happy is that the film festival is taking place right on the eve of the annual session of the UN Council on Human Rights. Today, we also intend to distribute our petition for the release of political prisoners in Uzbekistan among the participants of the event. We hope that people will not be indifferent to the fate of Uzbek political prisoners and that we will be able to collect enough signatures,” says Mutabar Tadjibayeva.

International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights was established in 2003. Its initiators were human rights activists, filmmakers, media representatives and the University of Geneva. Currently, the event is a kind of free platform to discuss a variety of topics related to human rights.

The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights was inaugurated in 2003. The inspiration and impetus behind the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights came from human rights defenders active in NGO’s, filmmakers, media representatives and the University of Geneva.

Each year the event is visited by over 21 thousand people. The FIFDH coincides with the UN Human Rights Council’s main session. This simultaneous event makes the Festival a Free Platform for discussion and debates on a wide variety of topics concerning human rights.