Category: Human Rights

“On this solemn commemoration, designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, States around the world are failing to sufficiently counter antisemitic violence, discrimination, and hostility within their societies or to ensure that their populations are appropriately educated about the Holocaust”, they said in a joint statement. The UN experts pointed to attacks in the cities of Toulouse, Pittsburg, Brussels, Poway and… Read More

The two Special Rapporteurs – who do not speak on behalf of the UN and operate in an independent investigative capacity – said in a statement that they had recently received information suggesting that a WhatsApp account belonging to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was used to deploy digital spyware on the phone of Jeff Bezos, who is also CEO of Amazon,… Read More

While the Nazis had attempted to hide evidence of mass murder, “millions of clothing items and tons of hair told their own appalling story”, the UN chief said, opening an exhibit at UN headquarters in New York marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The closure of the camps marked the end of the Holocaust itself, but it… Read More

“Some demonstrators have resorted to using violence to express their grievances, and security forces have responded, at times, with unnecessary or disproportionate use of force”, rights office (OHCHR) Spokesperson, Marta Hurtado, told journalists on Tuesday in Geneva. “We call on actors to do their utmost to de-escalate the situation and upon authorities to deploy efforts to establish a meaningful and… Read More

The historic ruling marks the first decision by a UN human rights treaty body based on a complaint filed by an individual seeking protection from the effects of climate change.  Ioane Teitota from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati lodged the complaint in 2015 after being deported from New Zealand when his asylum application was denied.  Mr. Teitota argued that his right to life had been violated, as rising sea levels and other destructive effects of… Read More

The findings come in the latest report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, released on Thursday.  “I am appalled by the flagrant disregard for the laws of war and the Convention on the Rights of the Child by all parties involved in the conflict”, said Commission chair Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro.   “While the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has the primary responsibility for the protection of… Read More

“The single most targeted group was human rights defenders advocating on behalf of community-based and specific ethnic groups such as indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians”, Marta Hurtado told reporters in Geneva, adding that the number of women human rights defenders killed increased “by almost 50 per cent in 2019 compared to 2018”. According to OHCHR, 107 activists were killed last year.… Read More

An investigation carried out by the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in the DRC, found that at least 701 people have been killed and 168 injured following attacks involving the Hema and Lendu communities in the country’s northeast province of Ituri, between December 2017 and September last year.  “In addition, at least 142 people have been subjected to acts of sexual violence” the… Read More

The legislation, which was passed by a resounding majority in El Salvador’s National Assembly on Thursday, also protects, aids and offers durable solutions to people who may be either at risk or who have already been internally displaced, due to violence perpetrated criminal gangs.  And for the first time ever, the law also provides for the establishment of a comprehensive national system of State institutions… Read More

Stop escalation, urges UN chief, as geopolitical tensions reach ‘highest level this century’ UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on world leaders to de-escalate geopolitical tensions on Monday, which he described as being “at their highest level this century” as the new decade dawns. The New Year has begun with our world in turmoil. We are living in dangerous times”, said the UN chief, noting… Read More