Geneva – September 28, 2026 – Coinciding with the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, a public action and large-scale anti-execution photo exhibition was held at Place des Nations, directly in front of the United Nations European headquarters. The event drew attention to executions in Iran, political repression, and the situation of prisoners at risk of the death penalty.
The exhibition featured photographs of numerous victims, protesters who lost their lives, and political prisoners in Iran. Rows of portraits, large anti-execution banners, and symbolic installations transformed Place des Nations into a powerful memorial space. By placing the names and faces of victims at the center of the exhibition, organizers sought to ensure that individual human stories were not lost behind statistics, official reports, and diplomatic language.
The timing and location of the event gave the exhibition particular significance. It took place directly outside the United Nations in Geneva while diplomats, human rights experts, civil society representatives, and international organizations were meeting inside to discuss the human rights situation in Iran.
Public actions of this kind form part of the wider civil society presence surrounding major international meetings. By bringing photographs and personal stories into a highly visible public space, the exhibition helped keep concerns over the death penalty in Iran, human rights violations, and the fate of prisoners facing execution in view of diplomats, journalists, activists, and international institutions.
During this session of the UN Human Rights Council, the issue of executions in Iran received significant attention. Discussions concerning Iran included serious concerns about the use of the death penalty, including in cases involving protesters, as well as questions related to fair-trial guarantees, access to legal representation, and allegations of coerced confessions.
Several European countries, together with Nordic and Baltic states, also raised concerns over the increasing use of capital punishment in Iran and called for an end to executions. Later in the session, a joint statement supported by dozens of countries further underscored international concern over the use of the death penalty in Iran, particularly in cases connected to protests.
Against this backdrop, the September 28 exhibition at Place des Nations became part of a broader civil society effort to bring the voices and images of victims closer to the international institutions discussing their situation. The hundreds of photographs displayed outside the UN gave a human face to a subject that can otherwise be reduced to numbers, legal terminology, and diplomatic statements.
The simultaneous presence of the exhibition outside the UN and discussions on Iran’s human rights situation inside the Human Rights Council created a striking contrast between two complementary spaces. Inside the United Nations, governments and experts discussed reports, alleged violations, international obligations, and the use of executions in Iran. Outside, the photographs of victims and prisoners conveyed the human dimension of those same concerns in a direct and visual way.
The September 28 anti-execution action in Geneva was therefore more than a public protest. It served as a symbolic exhibition dedicated to preserving the memory of victims, drawing international attention to prisoners facing execution in Iran, and ensuring that the issue of the death penalty in Iran remained visible during an important session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The prominent attention given to executions during the session further demonstrated that the right to life, the use of capital punishment, and the situation of prisoners at risk of execution in Iran remain significant subjects of international human rights concern.
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