Human Rights 

UN rights chief bemoans unilateral sanctions on Venezuela, fearing ‘far-reaching implications’

Tensions started escalating at the end of January, when Juan Guaidó, head of the country’s National Assembly, challenged the legitimacy of sitting President Nicolás Maduro and was declared interim president by the National Assembly. President Maduro has been in power since 2013 and was sworn in again for a second term on 10 January. “The sanctions are extremely broad and… Read More
Human Rights 

Steps taken to end Saudi ‘guardianship’ system for women, ‘encouraging’ start

“Any progress will remain very frail unless accompanied by wider reforms and by measures to ensure that rights are reflected and enshrined in the constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and not solely through royal decrees,” the six experts said in a joint statement. Saudi Arabia loosened some social restrictions on women in 2017. And now, by Royal decree,… Read More
Human Rights 

Wednesday’s Daily Brief: Syrian detainees, Zimbabwe hunger crisis, Kabul attack, Mexico disappearances, new tech to feed the world

UN Security Council ‘utterly failed’ Syrian detainees: a victim’s plea to ‘end impunity and stop this horror’ The Security Council has “utterly failed Syrian detainees and their families”, Amina Khoulani, co-founder of Families for Freedom, told the Security Council on Wednesday, during a meeting focused on those who have been jailed or gone missing across Syria, during years of brutal… Read More
Human Rights 

UN Security Council ‘utterly failed’ Syrian detainees; a victim voices her plea to ‘end impunity and stop this horror’ 

In a rare opportunity for the Council to hear directly from family members of people forcibly disappeared, Ms. Khoulani spelled out: “It is your responsibility to protect Syrians from a system that kills, tortures and illegally detains its own citizens”.    Speaking on behalf of the women-led movement, launched in 2017 by families whose loved ones had been detained and disappeared, she painted… Read More
Human Rights 

Four in 10 indigenous languages at risk of disappearing, warn UN human rights experts

In an appeal to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Friday (9 August), UN-appointed experts said that “nation-building” had been largely responsible for “ongoing discrimination” against native speakers. “Over time, such policies can undermine and effectively destroy a culture and even a people”, the experts cautioned, before insisting that indigenous languages allowed freedom of expression and… Read More
Human Rights 

Intensified Al Qaeda and ISIL activity in Yemen ‘deeply worrying’, says UN Human Rights Office

In a statement, the spokesperson noted that, during the period, the Office has verified 19 civilian deaths, and 42 injured, in districts of Taiz, Sa’ada and Aden. The majority of the deaths resulted from an attack in the Al Thabet market area of Sa’ada Governorate on 29 July, in which 14 civilians were killed and 26 injured.  In the Al-Rawdhah… Read More
Human Rights 

All States have ‘primary responsibility’ to protect against hate attacks: UN’s Bachelet

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet’s spokesperson, Rupert Colville, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), welcomed US condemnation of “racism, hatred and white supremacy” in the wake of these “two awful tragedies” which claimed at least 29 lives in Texas and Ohio on Saturday. “We unequivocally condemn racism, xenophobia and intolerance – including white… Read More
Human Rights 

Colombia offers nationality rights to Venezuelan children born there: UN hails ‘very important step’

“This resolution is a contribution towards regular and safe migration, which hopefully will facilitate the recognition of the fundamental rights of Venezuelan children, as well as contribute to their integration into the society,” Ana Durán Salvatierra, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Colombia, said on Tuesday. The resolution, which was announced by President Iván Duque, will enter into force on 20 August and… Read More
Human Rights 

Security Council must ‘come together’ to address the plight of children trapped in armed conflict, says UN envoy

“Children exposed to alarming levels of violence should not be further ostracized once released from armed groups and armed forces”, she upheld. “We must allow these children to be considered as what they are: victims of a conflict”. She asked the Council to work for humanitarian access in resolutions and bilateral relations, explaining that “we can strain every sinew at… Read More
Human Rights 

New UN report shows record number of children killed and maimed in conflict

In the 20 conflict situations monitored in the 2018 edition of the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, released Tuesday, more than 12,000 children were killed or maimed that year. A ‘disheartened’ Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was “particularly appalled” by the unprecedented numbers of grave violations committed against children. Children continue to be used… Read More
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial