‘The Unheard 12 Million’ Exhibition Opens at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
On 26 February 2026 at 13:15 CET, the exhibition The Unheard 12 Million will officially open at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, in the Hall close to the Salon des Délégués, during the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council and on the occasion of the 25th anniversary year of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
The opening ceremony will bring together senior international human rights leaders and diplomatic representatives, highlighting the political significance of Roma rights within the global anti-racism agenda. Executive Director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, will attend the opening in the presence of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, and the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations in Geneva, Marcos Gómez Martínez.
Their presence underscores the collaborative effort between the Council of Europe, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) to place the human rights of Roma and Travellers firmly on the international agenda. The exhibition at the Palais des Nations in Geneva is open from 23 February to 3 March.
Curated by ERIAC, the travelling exhibition The Unheard 12 Million represents an accompanying visual narrative of the Commissioner’s book, capturing his encounters with Roma and Traveller communities across Finland, Greece, Ireland, North Macedonia, and Slovakia. Through powerful narrative photography and direct testimonies, the exhibition documents both systemic discrimination and extraordinary resilience. Particular attention is given to the experiences of Roma and Traveller women and girls. While European in scope, it features stories from Finland, Greece, Ireland, North Macedonia and Slovakia, illustrating the diversity of Roma experiences alongside the persistence of antigypsyism across borders.
Alongside the exhibition, OHCHR presents the Romani Memory Map for the Americas on interactive screens, contributing a transatlantic dimension to the conversation on remembrance and justice. Developed in cooperation with academic institutions and Roma organisations across the Americas and Europe, the initiative documents sites of memory, persecution and resistance, reinforcing global efforts to address antigypsyism.
These events form part of joint initiatives undertaken by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and OHCHR, together with the Permanent Missions of Ireland and North Macedonia to the UN in Geneva, from 23 February to 3 March 2026. They take place within the broader commemorations of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the outcome commitments of the 2001 World Conference against Racism.