– On November 18, 2008, the XX HUMAN RIGHTS Room was inaugurated in the presence of two UN Secretaries General: Ban Ki-moon (who was in office) (2007-2016) and Kofi Annan (who authorized it) (1997 – 2006) and the attendance of the highest representatives of the Spanish State and the President of the Swiss Confederation.
– The dome painted by the Spanish artist Miquel Barceló is the ONLY major work of art produced inside the UN since its creation in 1945. States have donated works of art (paintings, sculptures, tapestries, murals) but this is the only one produced entirely inside. It represents the grand entrance of Contemporary Art into the UN.
– The UN HUMAN RIGHTS Room is the ONLY one with its own name at the Geneva headquarters. Since 2008, it has been the seat of the Human Rights Council (created in 2006)
– Since its inauguration 16 years ago, 55 meetings of the Human Rights Council have been held and more than TWO MILLION people have passed through the HUMAN RIGHTS Room.
– The ONUART Foundation was created as a public-private cooperation and is also financed with public and private funds. In the 16 years since its creation, the ONUART Foundation has been financed 58% with private funds and 42% with public funds.
⋅ The artistic work of Miquel Barceló in the HUMAN RIGHTS Room is part of Spain’s cultural heritage in the universal context. This example of cultural diplomacy is one of the founding objectives of the ONUART Foundation. It is from this perspective that the work of Miquel Barceló is visible in what is considered the largest political organization in the world; the United Nations. As the debates of the Human Rights Council are held in this room, these debates are recorded and viewed by millions of people around the world. We could say that it is, perhaps, the most viewed work of art worldwide.
⋅ Spain is the country with the greatest artistic imprint in the history of the great world political organisations. The Council Chamber of the League of Nations contains the frescoes of Josep María Sert (1930). Room XX of the UN, today the Council Chamber of Human Rights and the Alliance of Civilisations, the great dome by Miquel Barceló. Both works are an example of the value of Spain’s cultural and artistic heritage in the global context.
⋅ The ONUART Foundation works to disseminate Spanish cultural heritage in the universal context and to promote understanding between cultures through the value of art and its potential to exalt human dignity. In this line, the Foundation is an important exponent of the value of cooperation and the power of joining forces: both between the promoters (public and private sectors) and between countries (peace concerts held in Egypt and Tunisia)
Concerts and Conferences
2014: Concert Culture for Peace & Human Rights. 10th December 2014.
Juan Diego Florez, Fatma Said, Pretty Yende, Sergei Artamonov. The Harmonia Symphony Orchestra, Pablo Mielgo.
2015: Concert for Understanding Across Civilizations & Respect for Human Rights. 31st October 2015.
Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
2016: The Mediterranean Concert. 9th July 2016.
Maria del Mar Bonet, Ara Malikian, Maria Farantouri, Tania Kassis, Hani Mitwasi, Sapho, Silvia Pérez Cruiz, Aicha Redouane, Le trio Jourban, Hassan Ramzy, Francesca Schiavo, Renzo Spiteri, Vakia Stavrou, Yosra Zekri, Jovan Milosevski. Morocco´s Royal Symphony Orchestra, Toni Cuenca.
2016: Concert for Human Rights. 10th December 2016.
Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
2017: The Silk Road Concert. 14th October 2017.
Fatma Said, Warren Mok, Vladimir Gazouline, Huiling Zhu, Yuan Gao, Bing Bing Wang. Symphony Orchestra of Balearic Islands, Pablo Mielgo.
2017: Concert for Human Rights. 9th December 2017.
Erin Wall, Huiling Zhu. Grand Theater Liceu, Symphony Orchestra, Josep Pons.
2018: Concert for Human Rights. 8th December 2018.
Leo Nucci, Fatma Said, Huiling Zhu, Symphony Orchestra of Balearic Islands, Pablo Mielgo.
2019: The Human Rights Concert. 14th December 2019.
Grigory Sokolov
2020: The World Human Rights Concert. 12th December 2020.
Grigory Sokolov
2021. The One Humanity Concert. 8th November 2021.
Jonas Kaufmann
2021: The World Human Rights Concert. 11th December 2021.
Grigory Sokolov
2022: First Global Debate. 10th and 11th October 2022.
2022: Forum for New Humanism. 10th December 2022.
2022: The World Human Rights Concert. 10th December 2022.
Grigory Sokolov
2023: Second Global Debate. 20th October 2023.
2023: The World Human Rights Concert. 9th December 2023.
Pretty Yende, Nadine Sierra, The Human Rights Camerata, Pablo Mielgo
