Belgian comics star Spirou fronts UN human rights exhibition

The UN High Commission has a new spokesperson on human rights - the Belgian cartoon star Spirou.

Last year was the 70th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights and the 80th anniversary for the adventure-prone comic book character.

The UN decided to use Spirou to mark the anniversary of the declaration and reach young people who might not be aware of it.

The Spirou4Rights exhibition features each of the 30 articles of the declaration illustrated by a comic book panel featuring different characters such as Lucky Luke, Blake & Mortimer, the Marsupilami and even Geluck’s Le Chat among others.

Spirou was chosen because in his adventures he has steadfastly defended those in distress and helped them prevail. The panels use humour, adventure and drawing prowess to bring immediacy to the subject of each article.

The show opened in Geneva at the United Nations' Palais des Nations last autumn and after stops in Yerevan and Bamako is now in Brussels.

The Atomium was the obvious choice as the Brussels venue for the exhibition as it has been a symbol for 60 years of peace through democracy and belief in the beneficial effects of technical and scientific progress, the main themes of the 1958 World's Fair. Both the Atomium’s architecture and the classic Spirou strip’s style are based on an optimistic modernism.

Spirou4Rights can be seen at the Atomium until 4 November.