Category: Human Rights

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called to halt the “illogic of escalation” that has been building up to the detriment of the human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis.” He raised serious concerns that scores of Palestinians, including a boy and three older men, were killed and hundreds injured in the Israeli operation in Nablus, and by… Read More

More than 4,300 people participated in the Internet for Trust Conference, organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which will launch the guidelines in September.  The three-day event marked the latest phase in the global dialogue to develop regulatory solutions for social media to improve the reliability of information and promote human rights online.  Fertile ground for… Read More

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk raised a range of concerns that several sets of proposed legislative changes that Israel’s parliament is considering would pose serious risks to the effectiveness of the judiciary to defend the rule of law, human rights, and judicial independence. Human rights at risk “If passed, these changes risk weakening human rights protections for… Read More

Matilda Bogner, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), told journalists in Geneva that the civilian death toll in the southern city of Mariupol – besieged and bombarded by Russian missiles – had been particularly high.  “My colleagues interviewed a former prisoner of war, and he was from Mariupol and he was forced in Mariupol to… Read More

“We are witnessing a surge in violence, including some of the deadliest incidents in nearly 20 years,” said Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). “We have seen ominous signs of what awaits if we fail to address the current instability.” Raising concerns that developments on the ground are continuing along a negative trajectory, gaining in… Read More

“Over 100 million people rely on artisanal gold mining for their livelihoods, so it’s critical that we work with governments to equip miners with the knowledge and tools necessary to phase out mercury use,” said Ludovic Bernaudat, the programme manager of planetGOLD, an innovative effort led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Funded by the UN-backed Global Environment Facility, the… Read More

The Human Rights Council-appointed experts called for donors worldwide to give generously to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Rohingya Refugee Response fund. “The planned rations reductions are the devastating consequence of the international community’s failure to provide funding for initiatives that address the fundamental needs of Rohingya refugees”, the two Special Rapporteurs said in a statement. “Rations will be slashed for Rohingya… Read More

The six-hour-long documentary “The US and the Holocaust”, released in 2022, sheds light on the catastrophic consequences of hate speech and disinformation, and the desperate bid for freedom by millions of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. Taste of freedom What does freedom taste like? Joseph Hilsenrath, a young Jewish boy evacuated to the US during the Second World War, described that… Read More

Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said that since Saturday, at least nine people have been reportedly arrested and some detained, on security and graft charges.  Among those arrested were two former judges, a lawyer, a prominent businessman, the head of a radio station and the leader of the Islamist Ennahdha political party, according to media reports.  Concern over military tribunals  OHCHR noted… Read More

Keenan Anderson died in Los Angeles after being repeatedly tased by police following a chase resulting from a traffic stop, according to news reports, and Tyre Nichols in Memphis, died after being severely beaten as he lay on the ground, by five officers in Memphis, Tennessee, who have since been charged with murder and other offences. ‘Urgency to act’ “The brutal… Read More