Category: Human Rights

In a statement released this Tuesday, the agencies said they regretted the decision, made on 7 November by the Military Commander in the West Bank, saying it represents “a further erosion of civic and humanitarian space”.  The move extends to the West Bank a decision by the Israeli Minister of Defence, made in October, to designate these Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as terrorist… Read More

“We are seeing traffickers targeting Vietnamese women and girls living in poverty, many of whom are already vulnerable and marginalized. Traffickers operate with impunity”, they said in a statement.  After signing on with labour recruitment companies in Viet Nam, some girls and women found themselves sexually abused, beaten and subjected to torture and other cruel treatments by employers once they arrived in Saudi Arabia.  Often these women are denied food… Read More

Stating that “the threat is very real”, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, called for an urgent coordinated response from the international community.  “Defenders tell me of direct threats, including gendered threats against women, of beatings, arrests, enforced disappearances, and of defenders being killed. They describe living in a climate of constant fear”, she said.  Those most at risk are people documenting alleged war… Read More

Settlement expansion “tramples” on human rights law, Special Rapporteurs Michael Lynk and Balakrishnan Rajagopal said in a statement on Wednesday.  Solidifying a permanent presence  Nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers are now living in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, they stated.  In recent weeks, Israeli authorities have approved plans for more than 1,700 new housing units in two settlements in East Jerusalem, Givat Hamatos and Pisgat Zeev, the… Read More

The UN rights chief’s appeal followed the declaration of a broad state of emergency in Ethiopia, amid reports that Tigrayan forces had made further advances into the neighbouring Amhara region, and other news reports of shelling of the Tigrayan capital Mekelle, by Ethiopian Government forces. “The risks are grave that, far from stabilising the situation, these extremely broad measures –… Read More

Qu Dongyu, the FAO Director-General, was among UN agency chiefs addressing the opening of the Global Solutions Forum on child labour.  The two-day virtual meeting aims to identify and expand solutions to stamp out the practice, a serious violation of human rights, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Millions worldwide affected Some 160 million boys and girls worldwide,… Read More

This year, because of statistics like these, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is highlighting the important role of prosecutorial services, not only in bringing killers to justice, but also prosecuting threats of violence.  In a message marking the day, marked on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, noted that many journalists had lost their lives while covering conflict, but the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones, has risen in recent years.  “In many countries, simply investigating corruption,… Read More

Two decades after Durban, Tendayi Achiume Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, presented a report to the General Assembly highlighting the contributions of the Durban Declaration, including recommendations for fighting intolerance and structural inequality.  “The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), agreed two decades ago, offers a principled and practical blueprint for undoing discriminatory structures and achieving equality and justice for marginalized and exploited… Read More

Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, said States fail to identify and protect victims, often because of their alleged association with terrorist groups, and related stigma, discrimination, and racism.  “States have an obligation, without exception, to identify and protect victims of human trafficking and must become more attuned to the needs of people trafficked by terrorist groups and as a result of… Read More

In a joint statement, the experts called the decision “a frontal attack on the Palestinian human rights movement, and on human rights everywhere.”  “Silencing their voices is not what a democracy adhering to well-accepted human rights and humanitarian standards would do”, they add.  Calling upon the international community to act, they argue that anti-terrorism legislation must never be used to unjustifiably undermine civil liberties.   According to them, the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and… Read More