Category: Human Rights

“LGBTI people are often exposed to additional stigma, discrimination and violence, including when seeking medical services – and perhaps saddest of all, within their own families during lock-downs”, the High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, said in her message for the day, on Monday.   “They are also in some places being treated as scapegoats for the spread of the virus”, she added,… Read More

“Over the past 10 days, the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel has deteriorated at an alarming rate,” she said in a statement. UPDATE: Last night, another 8 Palestinian children were killed in the Gaza Strip. The youngest 4 years old, the oldest 15. Since escalation began 5 days ago, 40 children were killed in the Gaza Strip… Read More

In a survey of more than 17,000 youngsters aged 13 to 24, 54 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people said that they had been bullied at least once, based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Backlash “Everyone says you can be whoever you want, you can be free, you can express yourself at school…then if… Read More

In comments to the Human Rights Council in Geneva – which stopped short of supporting a call for an international probe into the escalation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel – Ms. Bachelet condemned indiscriminate rocket attacks by Gaza’s de facto authority Hamas, which claimed 10 lives in Israel, and strikes inside the enclave by Israeli Security Forces that left 242… Read More

“Gaza’s one million children are reeling from the mounting consequences of violent conflict with nowhere safe to turn. Lives have been lost and families shattered,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. Ms. Fore’s comments late on Tuesday came as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported that only five trucks in a 24-vehicle humanitarian convoy… Read More

“In Syria, all children below the age of 10 have lived their entire life in a country ravaged by conflict. They have known nothing but war”, said Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.  This latest report covers the two-year period in which the COVID-19 pandemic hit and related-restrictions were imposed – making children more vulnerable, while impeding the work of humanitarians.   Prioritize children  The actual number of grave violations is believed to be higher than the… Read More

In line with international human rights norms and standards, the experts called on the Government of Chile to immediately stop collectively expelling migrants.  “Deportations of migrants cannot be carried out in a summary manner but require a case-by-case determination of their international protection needs, taking into account humanitarian considerations of their family roots, social ties and other relevant circumstances”, said the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of… Read More

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews on Thursday urged all countries to follow the path taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.  Ramp up sanctions  “It is imperative that the international community ramp up the size and scope of sanctions as the junta ramps up its repression of the people of Myanmar”, he said.  Myanmar’s military leaders, known… Read More

On Sunday, Roman Protasevich was flying on a Ryanair jet from Greece to Lithuania, where he has been reportedly living in exile since fleeing Belarus in 2019. In the wake of the large-scale popular protests that erupted last August following the disputed presidential election, he was reportedly charged with inciting public disorder and social hatred by the government of President… Read More

Eight Palestinian refugee families residing in Sheikh Jarrah are facing forced eviction due to a legal challenge by the Nahalat Shimon settler organization, with the risk “imminent” for four of the families, according to the office. OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said that the evictions, if ordered and implemented, would violate Israel’s obligations under international law. “Given the disturbing scenes in… Read More