The three-day exhibition, organised by Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) from September 8 to September 10, coincided with the UN Human Rights Council’s session and aimed to confront the international community with what it called undeniable evidence of systematic persecution.
According to a press release by the GHRD, at the heart of the protest was a striking poster display that laid bare a series of human rights atrocities committed against religious minorities. The images were graphic and painful, showcasing the brutal murder of Hindus and Christians whose deaths remain erased from official statistics, deliberate terror attacks targeting Hindus in Kashmir, and the long and heartbreaking struggle of Baloch mothers searching for their disappeared sons.
The stories extended to Sindh, where young girls, some as young as six, have reportedly been abducted, forcibly converted, and married off. Sacred temples and religious sites have been destroyed, reducing centuries of cultural heritage to rubble.
Visitors to the exhibition stood in silence, visibly shaken, admitting that they had no idea about the scale of violence minorities in the region faced, the release stated. Others said they had looked away for too long.
Organisers said the exhibition was not simply an event; it was a moral indictment.
They accused the global community, including the United Nations, of complicity through silence and inaction. They stated that what is happening in South Asia is not only violence but a calculated campaign aimed at erasing entire communities, criminalising faith, and destroying cultural identities.
“What is happening in South Asia is nothing less than religious genocide, carried out with impunity under the eyes of the world. Entire communities are being erased, their identity destroyed, their faith criminalised,” the release read.
The protest was a stark condemnation of the international system’s failure to respond. Despite decades of reports, hearings, and resolutions, the organisers said justice had never been delivered. Victims lie in unmarked graves, while the perpetrators continue to operate with impunity.
The message from Geneva was clear: silence is no longer an option. The UN’s inaction, they argued, amounts to betrayal. The protest called upon the international community to recognise that the genocide of religious minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh is not alleged; it is visible, documented, and undeniable.
“At Broken Chair, our protest was not entertainment. It was not an ‘event’. It was a moral indictment. We placed before the UN, before diplomats, before passers-by, the reality they have chosen to ignore. – To the world: Silence is complicity. – To the UN: Your inaction is betrayal. – To the persecuted minorities: We will not be silent,” the release read.
“The genocide of religious minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh is not ‘alleged’–it is documented, visible, undeniable. Every destroyed temple, every abducted girl, every grieving mother is evidence,” it added.
GHRD urged the UN Human Rights Council to stop hiding behind diplomatic protocol and confront both governments with their responsibilities. They demanded that international aid and cooperation be conditioned on tangible accountability and protection for minority communities. Civil society was also called upon to break the wall of silence and raise its voices against the ongoing persecution.