Human Rights 

Rights experts urge Iran to end ‘systematic persecution’ of religious minorities

The experts said they are deeply concerned at the increasing arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances of members of the Baha’i faith, as well as the destruction or confiscation of their properties, “in what bears all the signs of a policy of systematic persecution”.  These acts were not isolated, they added, but formed part of a broader policy to target any… Read More
Human Rights 

Saudi Arabia: UN calls for release of woman sentenced to 34 years in prison for tweeting

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, expressed outrage on Friday over a prison sentence spanning more than three decades handed down to a Saudi woman charged with following and retweeting so-called dissidents and activists. Doctoral student Salma Al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in jail, followed by a 34-year travel ban in connection with a series of tweets and retweets… Read More
Human Rights 

Israel urged to allow humanitarians to continue working in Palestine

On Thursday morning, Israeli Forces broke into, searched and sealed the offices of seven Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organizations³ in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Their property was confiscated and destroyed and military orders closing the offices were left at the premises. The attempted closures of the 7 NGO offices this morning affect all institutions working to promote… Read More
Human Rights 

First Person: ‘We are the hope, we are the power keeping Afghanistan together’

“The first nights and days were especially horrible. Afghanistan was turning into chaos—people were running everywhere; offices were closing. It was all happening in front of my eyes. In 24 hours a democracy we worked for over a 20-year period crumbled. The first thought I had in mind was what is going to happen to the women of Afghanistan? What… Read More
Human Rights 

UN HIV/AIDS advocate and ‘proud champion’ of women dies at 92

“She consistently called attention to the importance of addressing the needs of women, and of involving women directly in making and carrying out development policy, which she believed was particularly important for population policies and programmes,” UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on behalf of the UN chief. A native of Pakistan, she served as the Executive Director of the… Read More
Human Rights 

Mali: Security situation deteriorates, human rights concerns rise

The soldiers, who were described by the Government of Mali as “mercenaries,” were part of logistical support operations for the nearly 12,000-strong mission, according to Abidjan. Malian justice authorities officially confirmed that after an incident, which occurred on on 10 July, the soldiers had been imprisoned under the charge of “attempting an attack on State security”. The arrests highlight the… Read More
Human Rights 

Bangladesh and Cambodia slated for official UN human rights visits

At the invitation of the Government, Michelle Bachelet will visit Bangladesh from Sunday, 14 August, in the first-ever official trip by a UN Human Rights chief to the country. There, she will visit camps housing Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, as well as high-level officials, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and other ministers, and the National Human Rights Commission along… Read More
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial