Home

Geneva Group of Friends (GGF) is an informal, voluntary and open-ended association of like-minded Member States created to assist to the relevant international organizations and their bodies located in Geneva to effectively implement within their respective mandates the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (A/RES/64/293) and, in a more general sense, to reinforce and consolidate their counter- trafficking activities.

Since the late 1980s, with the disintegration of the USSR, Armenia has pursued an open aggressive policy against Azerbaijan and consequently, the Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan were occupied. (...) In justification of their territorial claims against Azerbaijan, back in 1988 radical-minded Armenian forces initiated a provocation in the city of Sumgait, the main initiator and organizer of which, according to A/HRC/43/G/8 3 GE.20-01138 the materials of the USSR Prosecutor General’s Office, was an ethnic Armenian Eduard Grigoryan, and he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Unfortunately, continuous efforts on behalf of Israel to open the labour market to Palestinian day labourers have produced only acts of terror. 17. (...) It appears that on such issues, like many others, Israel once again has been made to pay a price in international fora for its candid, open, and democratic debate over sensitive issues that were also presented to the Special Rapporteur in the various meetings he conducted with senior Israeli officials. (...) In overview, Israel is left with the distinct impression that its sincere attempts to engage in a constructive and open dialogue with the Special Rapporteur were not met with an open-minded readiness on his part to genuinely consider Israel's point of view.

Cognizant of the fact that this straitjacket is not leading us to the desired outcome, the UN Secretaries-General have long been encouraging the two sides to be open-minded and creative in their search for a settlement in Cyprus. (...) Unlike our efforts to preserve and promote religious freedom, there are only 8 mosques that are open for prayer in South Cyprus, some of which lack basic facilities, as opposed to the 78 churches open for individual or collective worship in North Cyprus.

Against the backdrop of demands of some Western countries and like-minded States for the resignation of the legitimately elected president of Syria, Bashar al - Assad, there has been a constant flow of bogus stories about alleged incidents involving chemical weapons or toxic substances in the territories controlled by anti - government forces. (...) Notable among this entities are the following: Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria (CVDCS); Human Rights Watch; Open Society Justice Initiative; Peace SOS; Syria Civil Defence (SCD); Syria Justice and Accountability Centre; Syrian Archive; Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR); Syrian NGO Alliance. (...) Furthermore, there is no mention of the open availability of videos in the Internet (one of the sources of information recognized by the FFM and the former Joint Investigative Mechanism) showing fighters pointing out unearthed unexploded “chemical” M4000 bombs equipped with conventional explosives.

While much attention has been devoted to proposed revisions of article 9 concerning‬ Japan’s‬ military‬ posture,‬ a‬ draft proposal of amendments from 2012 aims‬ to‬ revise‬ article‬ 21‬ so‬ that‬ “engaging‬ in‬ activities‬ with‬ the‬ purpose‬ of‬ damaging the public interest or public order, or associating with others for such purposes,‬ shall‬ not‬ be‬ recognized.” 2 This broadly worded provision would open the door to limitations on expression that could be inconsistent with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (...) In particular, the Special Rapporteur found widespread concern about the independence of the media, especially its role as a public watchdog committed to investigative journalism; the manipulation of media outlets through an opaque and clique-plagued system of press clubs and incentives to practice “access‬ journalism”;‬ and‬ a‬ consolidation‬ of‬ secrecy‬ laws‬ and‬ penalties‬ for‬ violations that may deter tough-minded journalism in areas such as nuclear safety and national security. (...) The Special Rapporteur received reports of foreign journalists who abandoned potentially tough-minded investigative stories to avoid being excluded from kisha groups.

The Special Rapporteur recommends that regulations be developed that will help to ensure that government spending on advertising is allocated in a transparent, equitable manner so that it cannot be used by any given department or official to favour like-minded journalists or to punish those who are critical of the Government. (...) The Internet should be freely available to the whole of the population as a medium of communication that serves as an open forum for dialogue and interaction with the entire A/HRC/23/40/Add.1 15 GE.13-12537 world.

Besides the closed meetings reserved for formal members, some meetings are open for broader participation by non- A/HRC/28/66/Add.1 5 GE.14-24937 members as well. (...) In discussions on secularism, the Special Rapporteur argued for a less restrictive understanding and a more accommodating practice whereby State institutions would provide an open, inclusive space for the unfolding of diversity of religion and belief also in the public sphere. 12. (...) Although reportedly the Mosque is still A/HRC/28/66/Add.1 GE.14-24937 10 open for prayers, the community has been legally dissolved and a new imam is to be appointed by the SAMK.