Category: Human Rights

Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a regular press briefing in New York, that the report reflects how UN teams have work to adapt their practices in every country to continue lifesaving efforts “without disruption”.   Out now!? The new Secretary-General’s Report on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse has been released today. Read about the @UN’s efforts in Prioritizing… Read More

“Today, apartheid lies dead. But, sadly, racism lives on – in all regions and all societies”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a meeting of the General Assembly commemorating Sunday’s international day.    He painted a picture of pervasive discrimination and exclusion suffered by people of African descent, injustices and oppression endured by indigenous peoples, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred – and the latest abhorrence of… Read More

In a new report, the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the UN human rights office (OHCHR), warned that key institutions – health, social and legal systems – are impacted by ageism.  ‘Ageist attitudes’  It is estimated that every second person in the world holds “moderately or highly ageist attitudes”. … Read More

“I want to commemorate Syrian victims and remember Syrian suffering and resilience in the face of unimaginable violence and indignities that… have faced over ten long years”, Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said, reciting a litany of “countless” violations of international law, including “the unspeakable horrors of chemical weapons”.  Gruesome snapshot  On this grim anniversary, I want to commemorate Syrian victims… Read More

“The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers, it started with hate speech against a minority”, warned Fernand de Varennes, the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues. “Dehumanizing language, even reducing minorities to pests, normalizes violence against them and makes their persecution and eventual elimination acceptable”, he added. A slippery slope The UN rights envoy pointed out that in some countries,… Read More

The Secretary-General’s official spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement released on Sunday, that the UN chief’s call was in relation to the recent legal action taken against former government officials and authorities in Bolivia. Bolivia fell into crisis in 2019, after President Evo Morales declared victory in disputed elections that would have granted him a fourth term, prompting mass protests. Dozens… Read More

The initiative underscores the need for global solidarity to ensure vaccines are accessible in all countries, initially targeting healthcare workers and the most vulnerable.   Tidal wave of suffering  “The virus has killed more than 2.5 million people, and left millions more with debilitating long-term health effects”, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message to launch the campaign.  “Over the past year, we’ve all missed out on doing the things… Read More

The call comes after a resumption of federal executions in the US in the last year of Donald Trump’s Presidency, in which 13 people were put to death. In their appeal to the White House, the rights experts insisted that the death penalty served “no deterrent value and cannot be reconciled with the right to life”. ‘Inherently flawed’ The punishment… Read More

Latest available data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners revealed that violence against women remains “devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young”.  Some 736 million women – that translates to a third of all women – have been subjected to physical or sexual violence across their lifetimes.  ?data shows that violence against women remains devastatingly pervasive & starts alarmingly… Read More

Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on torture, made the charge on Monday in presenting his latest report, which evaluates States’ response to his official communications and requests for country visits.  “While the reactions of governments to allegations and requests transmitted to them, range from complete silence to aggressive rejection, unsubstantiated denial, bureaucratic obstruction and even sophisticated forms of pretence, the… Read More