In a "wounded, magically diverse" city, the High Commissioner hails the power of stories

29th Sarajevo Film Festival

Human Rights Day Screening and Panel Discussion

Opening remarks by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Dear colleagues and friends,

The Sarajevo Film Festival is no ordinary event. For 28 years, this beautiful, wounded, magically diverse and resilient city has chosen to make a place for cinema – and become, for this brief moment, a world capital of empathy and connection.

For what is cinema, if not the shaping and projection of stories, real or invented, so that they touch the viewer, deeply.

It is an honour and a pleasure for me to connect live to the Sarajevo Film Festival on the occasion of its Human Rights Day. I wish I could have joined you in person to mark this vibrant moment in a fascinating city.

I moved to Sarajevo shortly after the conflict, while working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I was then – and still am – mesmerized by the plurality of sources of its cultures and peoples, as well as by the indomitable spirit of this city.

Remarkably, despite the trauma of its past, this city continues to look outwards and embrace outsiders. This Festival itself bears witness to that. The first Sarajevo Film Festival, in 1995 – organized in the midst of the siege – testifies to the degree of interest of the people of this city in the stories of others, despite their own pain.

I very much appreciate the Festival's inclusion of a human rights programme. Cinema has a powerful capacity to deliver human rights messages simply by showing us the realities and inner lives of people who we can identify with. By stirring our empathy, cinema contributes to raising our awareness and increasing our understanding of other people's needs and human rights.

This year we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, and this has a very particular resonance given the history and spirit of Sarajevo.

All of us are born equal in dignity and rights – no matter our origins or situation.

No-one can erase our fundamental rights as human beings.

Much has been achieved since the adoption of the Declaration 75 years ago. It helped to empower many powerful human rights movements that advanced the rights of many people – women, through the feminist movement; people of African descent, through the anti-racism movement; ethnic minorities; LGBTIQ+ people; and more recently, through the environment and climate action movement, the recognition by the General Assembly of our universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The struggle to advance human rights is arduous, and there are many setbacks along the way. The people of Sarajevo know this well. We know how much remains to be done to uphold people's rights to freedom, equality, justice and decent living conditions, and to overcome the human rights impacts of our triple planetary crisis.

This summer, we have seen across Europe the nightmarish effects of the climate crisis, and I am glad to see that the organisers of the Sarajevo Film Festival have committed to becoming a carbon neutral event. I was in Basra, in the south of Iraq, last week, where the average temperature is 50 degrees Celsius. It gives a vivid impression of what the era of global boiling means for the people who are directly affected by it.

It is clear that to resolve our global challenges, we need to advance human rights, good governance and a culture of respect.

Events such as the Sarajevo Film Festival can be important influences – as a new window of light, a space of enjoyment, a bridge to other realities, and a locus of sharing and reflection. As today is dedicated to human rights, my thoughts go to Nizama and her family. Nizama is yet another victim of femicide and the fact that the perpetrator streamed his egregious act is shocking. It is critical that authorities take all measures to prevent and punish gender-based violence.

Dear colleagues, dear friends,

Human rights stories must be told. They are essential to the work of building – and rebuilding – connections and solidarity across both societies and regions, particularly when they have suffered painful divisions. I believe the Sarajevo Film Festival has done this and will continue to do so.

Young people, who are so involved in the Festival, are particularly helpful in this work of connection and healing.

The documentary you just saw is about hope and mutual understanding. It shows that human rights are not abstract legal concepts, but realities we live and breathe. It tells us that human rights are universal, at the core of our love for each other and our shared humanity

Thank you for this opportunity to be part of this very special Festival, and to be linked again to Sarajevo for a brief moment. Sarajevo is very close to my heart.

I wish you a fruitful discussion. Thank you.