Category: Human Rights

“Tolerance is more than standing idly by or remaining insensitive to differences between men and women, cultures and beliefs”, Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said, but instead a “state of mind, an awareness and a requirement.” In 1996, the UN General Assembly invited Member States to observe the Day each year on… Read More

The pre-trial judges “accepted that there exists a reasonable basis to believe widespread and/or systematic acts of violence may have been committed that could qualify as crimes against humanity of deportation across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border” the Court said in a press statement, in addition to “persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion against the Rohingya population.”  After a reported military-led crackdown,… Read More

The assessment by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention came in a statement on Thursday following a 10-day visit to the country, where they interviewed more than 200 people who have been deprived of their liberty. “Detention is currently the general rule in cases such as debt, adultery, intimate relations out of wedlock and drug use”, they said, in… Read More

“The Iraqi people have paid an unthinkable price to get their voices heard”, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in her address to the Council of Representatives in Baghdad.  She noted that since the start of the protests on 1 October, at least 319 people have been killed and around 15,000 injured, including both “peaceful protesters and members of the security forces”.  After a moment of silence for those who lost their… Read More

The Kenyan capital is hosting a three-day summit to mark 25 years since the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The conference, held in Cairo, produced a Programme of Action which recognized that reproductive health, women’s empowerment and gender equality are critical to sustainable development. Ms. Mohammed said it must be carried forward: “Achieving gender equality and women’s… Read More

Multilateralism must weather ‘challenges of today and tomorrow’: Guterres  In a speech to the Paris Peace Forum in Paris on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that to thrive, multilateralism had to adapt, mindful that “conflicts persist, creating suffering and displacement: our world is unsettled”.  He was speaking as commemorations took place in countries across the world, marking the official… Read More

At least 20 people are reported to have been killed and about 1,600 injured, including police officers, during protests that began in early October over rising transport costs and inequality, that has become deeply entrenched in the Latin American country. Throughout the weeks of demonstrations, the Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts have spoken out against the excessive force used by… Read More

At least 92 people have been killed in northeastern and northwestern Syria in the weeks following 9 October, when Turkish forces invaded Kurdish-held border areas in the northeast, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR). “Civilians continue to pay a very high price in the ongoing hostilities in Syria,” said OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville. Noting that victims had come… Read More

These Special Rapporteurs often find themselves caught in the crosshairs of international and domestic politics. Independent of governments and institutions – including the UN’s Human Rights Council, which appoints them – they occupy a unique investigative role that allows them to shine a light on alleged violations perpetrated across the world. The experts have mandates to “report and advise”, both… Read More

Known as “The Terminator”, the former warlord was found guilty “beyond reasonable doubt” of war crimes and crimes against humanity in attacks on villages in Ituri province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 2002 and 2003. Killings, rape, sexual slavery, amid fight for gold As former Deputy Chief of Staff and commander of operations of the Forces… Read More