War and Reconciliation

In his 15 October 2025 statement to the United Nations 3^rd Committee of the UN General Assembly, Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk noted that there were “multiple conflicts raging around the world”, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine, a non-exhaustive list. He further highlighted legacies of war and efforts at transitional justice in countries such as Haiti and Syria, as well as conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Honduras, Iraq, Somalia and South Sudan, in addition to the countries named above.

In 2022, then-Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes dedicated extensive attention to linkages between minority exclusion and conflict. Citing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, armed conflicts occurred in at least 39 States in 2020. This situation has, if anything, worsened in the intervening period.

Commenting on minority aspects of contemporary conflict, Special Rapporteur de Varennes observed as follows: (a) most conflicts today are intra-State rather than inter-State and involve an ethnic, linguistic or religious minority; (b) the majority of situations in 2018 involving instability, past genocides, potential crimes against humanity and similar threats were against groups that can be described as minorities; and (c) globally, today’s main drivers of instability leading to conflict are group-based grievances around exclusion and injustice.  He concluded by noting that there are now more violent conflicts globally than at any time in the past 30 years.[1]

The Fifth Edition of the International Contest for Minority Artists (2026) aims to provide a platform for art from around the world illustrating themes related to war and reconciliation.

Minority artists can play a key role in advancing peace, transitional justice, mutual understanding and reconciliation. Artists document war and conflict by preserving memories, humanizing victims, and challenging official narratives through mediums such as painting, photography, sculpture, installations, digital arts, and film, as well as even music and dance. Their work can evoke empathy, provoke thought, and serve as a powerful form of protest and a tool for healing and shaping public discourse at all stages of conflict, as well as long after the conflict has ended.

Applications are welcome, by not later than 1 March 2026, according to the criteria set out to the right (on this link).

International Contest for Minority Artists 2026

On 18 December 2025, the 33^rd Anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, UN Human Rights (OHCHR), the non-governmental organizations Minority Rights Group and Freemuse, and the City of Geneva launch the 2026 Edition of the International Contest for Minority Artists, with a focus on the theme of War and Reconciliation.

Artists who identify as belonging to a national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minority are invited to submit high-quality electronic images of five works of art related to the 2026 theme. The Judges Panel will select up to eight minority artists, groups of artists, or art projects to receive non-hierarchical awards, including awards for Minority Youth Artist (reserved for artists under the age of 35 and preferentially younger than 24 as of 1 March 2026), and for Minority Community Engagement (reserved for artists whose work actively involves or benefits the wider community, including by demonstrating a strong participatory and/or community mobilization dimension). A submission of fewer than 5 artworks has a high likelihood of being dismissed by the jury.  The final deadline for submission is 1 March 2026. The award-winners will be announced in November 2026.

Eligibility and Application to the Minority Artists Awards

Artists who self-identify as belonging to a national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minority are invited to apply to the 2026 Edition of the International Contest for Minority Artists. All artworks focusing on themes related to war and reconciliation are eligible, including but not limited to photography, painting, video, installation, drawing, sculpture, digital arts, dancing, music, etc. Due to practical reasons, it is required that a presentation of the artwork(s) be submitted in a digital format. There is no application fee for the contest.

UN Human Rights does not request the rights to the artwork(s). However, it will ask for (1) explicit affirmation from the artist that UN Human Rights and partners are enabled to profile the artists and use the virtual presentation of the artwork(s) in public specifically in connection with the contest and its promotion; and (2) that UN Human Rights and partners will not return copies of any works submitted in digital format.

When applying to the award, entrants will submit a short biography (including on their minority background), a paragraph describing their approach to the theme of the 2026 contest, and a selection of 5 pieces of their artwork that relate to such theme. A submission of fewer than 5 artworks has a high likelihood of being dismissed by the jury.

Up to eight awards will be offered by the Judging Panel. These awards are divided into the following categories (1) Main Awards; (2) Minority Youth Artist Award,  reserved for artists under the age of 35, and preferentially under the age of 24 as of 1 March 2026; and (3) Minority Community Engagement Award, reserved for artists whose work actively involves or benefits the wider community, including by demonstrating a strong participatory and/or community mobilization dimension. Artists whose practice involves community participation or collective action should describe this aspect of their work when submitting their application. All awards are non-hierarchical.

Women and LGBTQI+ artists belonging to minorities are particularly encouraged to apply.

Artists who have previously received an award or an honourable mention in past editions of the International Contest for Minority Artists are not eligible.

The partners regret that they are unable to contact all unsuccessful applicants to the contest.  The awards will be publicly announced in November 2026.

The application form is available here.

Process and Assessment Criteria

Following technical assessment by the partners to determine eligibility, decisions on the awards is taken by an independent Judges Panel. The Judges Panel reviews eligible applications and decides on up to eight awards, including the Minority Youth Artist and Minority Community Engagement Awards.

When reviewing the entrant artists and their artwork, criteria to be discussed by the Judges Panel may include, but are not limited to:

• Artistic merit
• Elements in the artist’s work giving insights on minority issues, identity and/or experience
• Relevance of the artist’s views and work to the theme of the contest
• Creativity and innovation
• Effective reach and impact of more established works or perceived potential of increasing visibility of less known ones
• Bravery and/or originality in addressing difficult themes or issues
• Dedication

The above-mentioned criteria are not exhaustive, and award-winners may not meet all of these criteria. The decision of the Judges Panel will be taken on a consensual basis, it should be final and not subject to appeal. To the best extent possible, the award portfolio will reflect the broadest possible diversity of artists and art, as well as gender and geographic balance.

Background: Minorities, War and Reconciliation

The 15 October 2025 statement of Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk to the United Nations 3^rd Committee of the UN General Assembly makes sobering reading. He noted “multiple conflicts raging around the world”, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine. He further highlighted legacies of war and efforts at transitional justice in countries such as Haiti and Syria, as well as conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Honduras, Iraq, Somalia and South Sudan, in addition to the countries named above.

In 2022, then-Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes dedicated extensive attention to linkages between minority exclusion and conflict.  Citing data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, armed conflicts occurred in at least 39 States in 2020 (5 more than in 2019), with most being internal conflicts taking place within a single country between government forces and one or more non-State groups, usually a minority. Based on the data available, Special Rapporteur de Varennes observed as follows:

(a) Most conflicts today are intra-State rather than inter-State and involve an ethnic, linguistic or religious minority;

(b) The majority of situations in 2018 involving instability, past genocides, potential crimes against humanity and similar threats were against groups that can be described as minorities;

(c) Globally, today’s main drivers of instability leading to conflict are group-based grievances around exclusion and injustice;

Special Rapporteur de Varennes concluded, “There are now more violent conflicts globally than at any time in the past 30 years, and the world is also facing the largest forced displacement crisis ever recorded”.[2]

In order to bring end to conflicts, human rights must be central to a comprehensive peace and reconciliation, including to guarantee:

• Accountability and transitional justice: Without truth, justice and accountability, there can be no long-term reconciliation and healing. This includes truth-telling and acknowledgement of the atrocities committed. Human rights monitoring and reporting remain critical in supporting current and future accountability processes to address impunity and deter violations. Such processes need to be strengthened, without exposure to threats, intimidation and reprisals.
• Security and rule of law: The concept of security needs to be broad, encompassing all peoples in conflict, and recognizing that security is based on the rule of law and the respect for human rights. A central component for the recovery and rebuilding process is the need to ensure the proper administration of justice and law enforcement, in line with international human rights standards.
• State-building and governance: The full range of human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil and political – provides a comprehensive framework for the establishment of an accountable, democratic and inclusive system of governance.
• Inclusion and legitimacy: Key to state and institution building efforts is ensuring that all people – irrespective of gender, age, ability, religion or belief, ethnic background or minority or indigenous affiliation – can play a role in recovery and political decision-making processes that affect them, and in ensuring that state institutions and public administration remain accountable.
• Civil society: An empowered civil society is essential to make meaningful progress in the areas of sustainable recovery, accountable governance, inclusion and legitimacy.
• Access: Full and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid and workers, international journalists, protection workers and human rights monitors must be guaranteed. Journalists need to be able to carry out their work freely.
• Any international stabilization mission needs to include a human rights component: Human rights integration provides dedicated capacity for protection of civilians, capacity building on human rights for security forces and compliance monitoring, amongst other things.
• Human rights and peace education: It is essential to address discrimination and hate speech in breach of international human rights law. Human rights education fosters a culture of peace, counters extremism and radicalization, and promotes participation and dialogue with civil society.

In the context of war and reconciliation, the 1992 UN Minorities Declaration remains key for setting out guiding principles for the rights of minorities. In 2020, the first Independent Expert on Minority Issues Gay MacDougall emphasized that, in the context of conflict, among the essential elements of a strategy to prevent conflicts involving minorities are respect for minority rights, particularly with regard to equality in access to economic and social opportunities; effective participation of minorities in decision-making; dialogue between minorities and majorities within societies; and the constructive development of practices and institutional arrangements to accommodate diversity within society.[3]

Minority artists can play a key role in advancing peace, transitional justice, mutual understanding and reconciliation. Artists document war and conflict by preserving memories, humanizing victims, and challenging official narratives through mediums such as painting, photography, sculpture, installations, digital arts, and film, as well as even music and dance. Their work can evoke empathy, provoke thought, and serve as a powerful form of protest and a tool for healing and shaping public discourse at all stages of conflict, as well as long after the conflict has ended.

There is a long and rich history of artists – including minority artists – engaged in illuminating the terrible cost of war, as well as using their craft to openly object to it.  To name only a few examples, in the period between 1810-1820, the Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya made a series of 82 prints, collectively known as “The Disasters of War”, widely viewed as a visual protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising and the subsequent Peninsula War of 1808–1814.  Although in his early life, the German-Jewish painter Max Liebermann had volunteered to serve in the Franco-Prussian war, following World War I, his art shifted markedly toward pacifism. In particular, Liebermann’s War on Earth shows a chaotic, horrifying scene of death and suffering, while his other works focus on the aftermath of war, capturing the despair of wounded soldiers and a barren landscape.

The growth of monuments established to commemorate the traumatic events of the past have also increasingly given space to artists’ visions of memory. The recently opened monument at the concentration camp Rivesaltes has for example created space for artists such as the Catalan artist Josep Bartoli, whose life’s work in exile in Mexico portrayed critical depictions of violence and militarism.[4] Community artists working outside the frame of the prestige of the art world have played crucial roles in bringing to light “the small places” in Eleanor Roosevelt’s resonant phrase, and imbuing them universal significance. As always, in so many ways, the voices from the margin often offer the most insightful, novel, or challenging visions to disrupt patterns of complacency or oppression.

Partnership

The UN Human Rights Office (www.ohchr.org) is the leading UN entity on human rights. We represent the world’s commitment to the promotion and protection of the full range of human rights and freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Freemuse (www.freemuse.org) is an independent international non-governmental organisation advocating for freedom of artistic expression and cultural diversity. Freemuse has United Nations Special Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) and Consultative Status with UNESCO. Freemuse operates within an international human rights and legal framework which upholds the principles of accountability, participation, equality, non-discrimination and cultural diversity.

Minority Rights Group (https://minorityrights.org/) campaigns worldwide with around 150 partners in over 50 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples, often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices heard. Through its programmes, publications, advocacy, legal cases, consultancies, training and education, and our action in the media, we support minorities and indigenous peoples as they strive to defend their rights – to the lands they live on, to the languages they speak, to the beliefs they practise, to the cultures they enjoy, to equal opportunities in education and employment, and to full participation in public life.

In 2024, following several years of financial and technical support, the City of Geneva joined the initiative in partnership.  During 2024 and 2025, the partners also worked closely with the support of other partners, including the Centre des Arts of the International School of Geneva (Ecolint), the Loterie Romande, the Department of Public Education, Training and Youth of the Republic and Canton of Geneva; as well as other donors who requested not to be named.

Previous Editions of the International Contest for Minority Artists

The International Contest for Minority Artists began in 2022, following a series of webinars supporting minority artists, convened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past editions of the International Contest for Minority Artists covered the four themes of Statelessness (2022), done jointly with UNHCR; Intersectionality (2023); Memory in the Present (2024); and Belonging, Place and Loss (2025).

Objectives of the 2026 Edition of the International Contest for Minority Artists

The International Contest for Minority Artists is part of the Minority Artists for Human Rights Initiative (2024-2028), a global initiative that aims to build a collective and platform for continuous learning, bringing together present and future generations of minority artists that provide a voice to the voiceless, and driving positive change. The initiative encapsulates a comprehensive program of support for minority artists as human rights defenders, involving four pillars: strengthened protection of minority artists as human rights defenders; extended outreach and awareness-raising to reach diverse audiences and excluded groups; development of a network of named cities including Geneva as hubs for minority art and culture, through the Global Network of Cities Standing for Minority Rights; a deepening of the inter-connectivity between minority artists and the United Nations system of human rights protection. The action is envisioned as an expanding partnership between UN Human Rights and a range of institutions, partners, communities and constituencies.

Comms

Hashtags for the contest are:

#MinorityArtists4HumanRights

Following the launch of the contest on 18 December 2025 and before the 1 March 2026 deadline for contest submissions, the partners will issue follow-up communications profiling the Judges Panel members.

Planning

Resources

• UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues : https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-minority-issues/about-mandate
• UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/CulturalRights/Pages/SRCulturalRightsIndex.aspx
• UN Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/Pages/
  UNNetworkRacialDiscriminationProtectionMinorities.aspx
• OHCHR Page on Minority Artists, Voice and Dissidence: https://www.ohchr.org/en/minorities/minority-artists-voice-and-dissidence

[1] A/HRC/49/46, paras.25-27.

[2] A/HRC/49/46, paras.25-27.

[3] https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/16/45

[4] https://www.memorialcamprivesaltes.eu/expositions/objets-de-memoires