Category: Human Rights

The finding follows a complaint submitted to the UN body by the girl’s parents, who said they had exhausted all possible avenues for securing justice and accountability at home.  Case underscores impunity   “The gravity of this case has not faded with time even though 18 years have passed,” said Committee member Hélène Tigroudja.   “This is a particularly severe case in which a child was summarily executed. It also underscores the pattern of abuse and rape of girls during the civil war, the lack of investigation and de facto impunity,”…

A national database has listed all those who’ve been reported missing in the country since 1964, and the tally continues to climb, amid ongoing drug gang violence and a lack of effective investigations. To date, only 35 of the disappearances recorded since then have led to the conviction of the perpetrators, a “staggering rate of impunity”, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Justice for families In a statement, the UN human rights chief urged the authorities to continue to implement reforms and ensure justice for the victims and…

The Day celebrates diversity and raises awareness of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTIQ+) people. Violations continue In her statement, UN rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, reminded that despite the many recent positive changes around the world that resulted from the arduous work of LGBTIQ+ human rights defenders, “widespread violations continue: killings, torture, sexual violence, criminalization, and arbitrary detention”. According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), more than one-third of all countries still criminalize same-sex relationships. And LGBTQI people are denied legal protections, essential health care, civil and human rights, including a…

The strong call for urgent action at the conference taking place in Durban, aims to combat an uptick in the numbers of children being forced into work. Latest figures indicate that 160 million children  – almost one in ten worldwide – are still being affected. Furthermore, numbers are on the rise, with the pandemic threating to reverse years of progress, as child labour becomes a bigger scourge in particular among the vulnerable five to 11-year-old age group. Make a difference Speaking at the start of a week of hybrid format discussions, South…

“What makes people flee their homes? People flee from war, hunger, violence, extreme poverty, and even adventure or love. I left Lebanon. I was in real danger of being killed because I was born into the wrong body, and wanted to talk about it.   When I was nine, I looked at myself in the full-length mirror, and I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have a girl’s body. I identified with my five sisters. I thought I was one of them. I liked to play with them; I wore my mother’s clothes when I spent…

“What makes people flee their homes? People flee from war, hunger, violence, extreme poverty, and even adventure or love. I left Lebanon. I was in real danger of being killed because I was born into the wrong body, and wanted to talk about it.   When I was nine, I looked at myself in the full-length mirror, and I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have a girl’s body. I identified with my five sisters. I thought I was one of them. I liked to play with them; I wore my mother’s clothes when I spent…

The suspect, 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron, who is white, live-streamed the attack, which was carried out at a Tops supermarket in a predominantly black area of the city, located in the northeastern United States. Most of the victims were African American. Strong condemnation Mr. Guterres was appalled by this “vile act of racist violent extremism”, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement. “The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms racism in all its forms and discrimination based on race, religion, belief or national origin. We must all work…

Her appeal comes in the wake of the killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot on Wednesday while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin, West Bank. The veteran Palestinian-American journalist was buried in East Jerusalem on Friday and huge crowds turned out for her funeral. ‘Shocking’ use of force The High Commissioner issued a statement saying she was following “with deep distress” the events in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. “Footage of Israeli police attacking mourners at the funeral procession of journalist Shireen…

States that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for “the most serious crimes,” the group of eleven experts said in a joint statement, adding that under international law, “only crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing” should be considered “most serious”. “Drug offences clearly do not meet this threshold”, they argued. Rights violation The experts condemned Singapore’s execution of Malaysian nationals Abdul Kahar bin Othman and Nagaenthran Dharmalingam for drug-related offences in March and April, respectively. Mr. Dharmalingam was executed despite claims that he had…

Amid a mounting number of reports and testimonies pointing to possible war crimes in Ukraine particularly in areas controlled until recently by Russian forces, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that the pattern of abuses continued to be caused “by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas, such as shelling from heavy artillery, including multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes”. Russian forces were likely responsible for most casualties, but so too Ukrainian troops – albeit to a far lesser extent – the UN rights chief…