Category: Pacific

“Between April and November 2021, we have received allegations indicating several instances of extrajudicial killings, including of young children, enforced disappearance, torture and inhuman treatment and the forced displacement of at least 5,000 indigenous Papuans by security forces,” the three independent experts said in a statement.  Special Rapporteurs Francisco Cali Tzay, who protects rights of indigenous peoples, Morris Tidball-Binz, who monitors extrajudicial, summary… Read More

Born Jun Araki, JohnJ never felt comfortable in the female gender they were born into. At elementary school, they would wear trousers under their school uniform skirts and on field trips, were too self-conscious to take a bath with female students. JohnJ often felt frustrated at being seen as a woman, and how they were expected to act. Although more… Read More

Salt farming in India is hard work. In Gujarat, women set up huts, dig wells, and pump up brine, which they sift through a series of pans, eventually crystallising salt. Apart from the pumping, all elements of the process are completed by hand. The women generally work without a contract, and the pay is poor. SEWA An estimated 1000 women,… Read More

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews insisted that these arms had been used against civilians. He also called for the UN Security Council to convene an emergency session to vote on a resolution to ban this trade. Transfers ‘shock the conscience’ “It should be incontrovertible that weapons used to kill civilians… Read More

Every year, according to official government figures, between seven and nine thousand very young girls get married in Kyrgyzstan, and about 500 girls aged 13 to 17 become mothers. Girls still run the risk of falling prey to such practices as “ala kachuu”, which literally means “pick up and run away” in Kyrgyz. In other words, they are kidnapped and… Read More

“The United Nations in Timor-Leste has been supporting democracy in the country for more than two decades, by promoting human rights, development, and peace and security. Our role in elections depends on the wishes of the Member State involved, and commonly consists of technical support and advice, and can also include support for electoral administration and planning, voter registration, election… Read More

“We were told that Syria is the sacred land”, recalls Asel, a 32-year-old Kazakh woman. “If we died there in battle, we would immediately go to heaven and become martyrs”. In 2014 Asel was one of around 150 people who left Kazakhstan to join the ISIL terrorist network, also known by the Arabic term Da’esh, in Syria, along with her… Read More

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said the agency was stepping up aid for the displaced as conflict intensifies.  “Security is deteriorating rapidly across the country as fighting and armed conflict intensifies with no sign of abating”, Mr. Saltmarsh said.  In total, some 440,000 people have been newly displaced since February 2021 -when a brutal military coup displaced the… Read More

“A decade after the killing of the two journalists, there is still no justice as a result of an appalling and pervasive culture of impunity in Bangladesh,” the five UN Special Rapporteurs said in a statement.   Mr. Sarowar and Ms. Runi, who were married, were stabbed to death in their home in the capital, Dhaka, in front of their… Read More

The natural disasters were a major blow to 74-year-old Fangupō Lātū, from the village of Pātangata. His fishing boat was sunk and destroyed during the tsunami, leaving him unable to make a living.  However, he is also worried about how the crisis is affecting his community. “My village’s main source of income and livelihood come from the ocean, but the… Read More