Category: Human Rights

Now in its third year, Noeleen Heyzer said that “the impact of the military takeover on the country and its people, has been devasting.” She thanked Member States for renewing the resolution for the continuation of her mandate and support for an “all-stakeholder approach in promoting a Myanmar-led process, reflective of the will of the people”, to end the suffering… Read More

In a report to the Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor, said that “States can and should do more to protect defenders”. She stressed that 25 years after States agreed on a Declaration to promote and protect the work of human rights defenders, their contributions were often ignored. The expert who champions the work of rights defenders worldwide, also reminded the Council… Read More

In his latest report to the Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Gerard Quinn, outlined how more inclusive policy approaches and innovative private sector involvement can spur progress. “States and societies at large must move away from systems that were historically built to provide a material safety net and relegate persons with disabilities to… Read More

“The national duty to investigate torture is alarmingly, universally, under-implemented,” said Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. ‘Take ownership’ “Despite the impressive growth in international criminal courts and tribunals and our collective commitment to those entities, their capacity to deal with the scale and scope of torture crimes being perpetrated today will… Read More

In a report to the latest session of the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, warned of an alarming increase in the use of “intrusive and high-risk technologies”, according to a press release issued by the UN human rights office (OHCHR). This includes drones, biometrics, artificial intelligence… Read More

The Commission of Inquiry on Syria pointed to “failures that hindered the delivery of urgent and lifesaving aid” to the largely opposition-held northwest region, in the days after the 6 February quakes. Humanitarian assessments point to more than 7,000 people killed in Syria by the natural disaster. Rescue equipment lacking At a press conference in Geneva, chairperson of the inquiry,… Read More

The experts offered several recommendations after observing a range of concerns, from poor detention conditions to allegations of corruption, on the heels of the first visit of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) to South Africa, from 26 February to 9 March. “This must change,” said Abdallah Ounnir, head… Read More

“I am the daughter of a housewife and a car painter” is how Nicaraguan activist Ms. Mesén describes herself, while sitting behind her office desk in San José, the capital city of Costa Rica, where she is now living. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that causes bones to break easily and damages hearing, muscles, teeth and the spine, she… Read More

In a statement, the dozen experts said representatives from the Russian-owned mercenary outfit had been “offering pardons for criminal sentences to prisoners who join the group and take part in the war in Ukraine, as well as a monthly payment to their relatives”. The experts – members of the Working Group on the use of Mercenaries, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and… Read More

UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan said the practice raises concerns about rights violations, including the right to due process, as enshrined under a decades-old international treaty.  Longstanding practice  “The United States has for years been imposing sanctions on individuals and entities without national criminal jurisdiction and in the absence of universal jurisdiction,” she said.   “This is a clear violation… Read More