The Lake Room Initiative
The Lake Room Initiative
Founded and convened by Eric Tistounet in February 2024, the Lake Room Initiative was established against the background of an increasingly politicized and polarized multilateral environment. It enables Ambassadors to meet outside the United Nations, in a neutral space, free from the constraints inherent to the public nature of formal UN meetings.
The Lake Room meetings are designed to provide a safe setting for discussing substantive issues of a non consensual nature. They bring together Ambassadors from different regional and political backgrounds who are in a position to hear other viewpoints and, conversely, to share their own in a constructive and respectful manner. The discussions take place in a spirit of openness and mutual understanding, allowing participants to engage openly on sensitive matters.
Purpose
The Initiative aims to strengthen trust and confidence among Ambassadors, including on delicate issues, and to facilitate dialogue across regional and political divides. By creating the conditions for open exchanges, it helps identify possible areas of convergence between States from different groups while also clarifying respective red lines and exploring where compromise may be possible. In doing so, it contributes to addressing some of the challenges faced within the Human Rights Council and supports multilateral engagement in the field of human rights.
Format
Meetings are convened monthly by Eric Tistounet within the framework of the Geneva Human Rights Hub and gather between 15 and 25 Ambassadors selected on a rotational basis to ensure diversity of representation. Discussions address issues related to the Human Rights Council, including both structural questions concerning its functioning and broader thematic human rights matters. Since its establishment, Ambassadors from 105 countries have participated in at least one Lake Room meeting.
Outlook
The experience to date confirms the need for informal spaces that allow for trust based exchanges outside formal negotiating rooms. By fostering dialogue in this setting, the Lake Room Initiative serves as a practical tool to uphold multilateralism in the human rights sphere and to support Geneva’s international role.
