Category: Human Rights

Agnes Callamard, who is leading an independent human rights inquiry into the killing at the Saudi consulate last October, denounced the lack of transparency of Saudi Arabia’s investigation and legal proceedings so far. Calling the murder “an extrajudicial killing committed in a consulate office on foreign territory,” the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions spelled out that “these… Read More

“I am saddened by the persistent violence that continues to result in the tragic loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives”, said Nickolay Mladenov. “Recent incidents in the West Bank and Gaza highlight the mounting tensions across the occupied Palestinian territory and the risk of a broader escalation of the conflict,” the UN official told the Security Council. “I am concerned… Read More

“It is deplorable that Judge Afiuni continues to be subjected to arbitrary detention, the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, said on Tuesday.  In 2009, then-President Hugo Chavez demanded that she be imprisoned for 30 years for releasing businessman Eligio Cedeño on bail, who immediately fled the country.  Judge Afiuni had issued the ruling in accordance with a decision by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which… Read More

In a statement released on Tuesday, the experts, Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, and Surya Deva, Chairperson of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, said that, by expending unprecedented amounts of capital on housing, these firms have converted homes into financial instruments and investments, buying up affordable properties, upgrading them and substantially… Read More

“Slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were among history’s most appalling manifestations of human brutality”, he reminded delegates from across the world gathered in the General Assembly Hall with a call for “justice and equal opportunities for all people of African descent”.  In 2007, the UN designated 25 March as a day to honour and remember those who suffered during the transatlantic slave trade: “We pay homage… Read More

“Racial discrimination still has not been banished to the history books. This vicious form of exclusion and intolerance continues to manifest itself on the sports field, in the media, on the streets, in the workplace and even in the corridors of power,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Thursday. “Unfortunately, once again,… Read More

Amid a protracted crisis from a faltering economy, political instability and violent anti-Government demonstrations, a technical team of five OHCHR staff members are currently touring the country, which rights chief Michelle Bachelet, described as “a positive first step”. She highlighted “dramatically” deteriorating “economic and social rights”, exacerbated by the recent electricity blackout and expressed concern about the “continued criminalization of… Read More

Speaking in Geneva, Santiago Canton, Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, explained what the panel knew about the Israeli Defence Force’s relevant military protocols with regard to demonstrators. “Under the rules, they could be shot in the leg at any moment,” he said. “While in theory, this key inciter status was… Read More

Sexual exploitation is defined as “any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another”.  Sexual abuse, in UN terms, constitutes “the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force, or under unequal… Read More

Palestinians took to the streets on Thursday and Friday, according to news reports, after months of disputes and deadlock both between the extremist Hamas faction, and the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, together with Israeli authorities, which control all access into Gaza under a years-long blockade policy. Electricity supplies have been sporadic for months, with Israel also… Read More