Category: Human Rights

The group of 10 rights experts, have written to the Government calling for clemency, amidst concerns that she received inadequate legal assistance at the time of her trial in 2007, and that previous trauma and mental health issues were not satisfactorily put before the jury.  She was convicted of murder, under a federal offence of “kidnapping resulting in death”, according… Read More

“These rights touch on every aspect of life: the right to go to school, to live in one’s community, to access health care, to start a family, to engage in political participation, to be able to play sport, to travel – and to have decent work,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message.  When crises such as #COVID19 grip… Read More

“The Compact reflects a growing global understanding of the great benefits of human mobility. But it also recognizes that, if poorly managed, migration can generate huge challenges, from a tragic loss of life to rights abuses and social tensions”, said Secretary-General António Guterres, launching his biennial report on the Compact’s implementation.   While the coronavirus pandemic heightened challenges and negatively affected more… Read More

Slavery is not simply a matter of history. Today, more than 40 million people are still victims of contemporary slavery. I call on countries, civil society & the private sector to strengthen their efforts to end this abhorrent practice. https://t.co/2FtDcsbLd9 pic.twitter.com/4QyYgsv38b — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 2, 2020 In a message, Secretary-General António Guterres said that global protests this year… Read More

“Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the already dire humanitarian and socio-economic situation” Secretary-General António Guterres said at the meeting online marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which was on Sunday.   While noting that Israel’s suspension of West Bank annexation plans has removed a critical threat to peace and regional stability, he indicated that the expansion of settlement planning and construction continues.  Moreover, demolitions and seizures of Palestinian-owned structures by… Read More

Maxwell Matewere, a Malawian crime prevention expert with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has been active in the anti-human trafficking field for more than two decades. Today, he trains officials throughout Malawi to prevent and combat this crime: this year alone, despite COVID-19 restrictions, his work has led to the rescue of around three hundred human trafficking… Read More

The UN chief was addressing countries that are party to the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which he stressed can only be fully implemented by tackling the obstacles, injustices and discrimination that this population experiences.  “Realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is crucial to fulfilling the core promise of the 2030 Agenda: to leave no… Read More

There was a direct link between the pandemic, socio-economic vulnerability and the risk of exploitation, they said. Exploitation could mean forced labour, including the worst forms of child labour, or being sold, trafficked and sexually exploited.  Governments and businesses should recognise how the loss of jobs, income or land could put vulnerable groups at greater risk, such as people already… Read More

I’ve been legally blind since elementary school, and lost all functional vision by my early thirties. My mother didn’t want me to go to a school for the blind, and was determined to keep me in the public school system: I used the low-vision technologies available at the time, as well as learning how to walk with a cane and… Read More