Tag: human rights

The North African country became divided between two rival administrations in the years after the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi a decade ago.  The Government of National Accord (GNA) is based in the capital, Tripoli, located in the west, while the Libyan National Army (LNA) is in the east.   Elections remain the only way to break the current… Read More

Speaking to journalists in Geneva just days before her term as High Commissioner for Human Rights comes to an end, Ms. Bachelet also said that she was still “trying very hard” to finalise publication of her Office’s long-awaited report on the situation of the mainly Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang province. “We’re working on the report, I had… Read More

During a raid last week, the Israeli army broke into and shut down the offices of seven Palestinian human rights and humanitarian groups operating in Ramallah, located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).  “These actions amount to severe suppression of human rights defenders and are illegal and unacceptable,” the experts said, encouraging UN Member States to use international law to end… Read More

During the day set aside to honour the victims who have lost their lives or suffered for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, Secretary-General António Guterres  issued a statement standing in “firm solidarity”. “Hate speech, online or offline, continues to fuel violence against vulnerable members of society, including ethnic and religious minorities,” he… Read More

The experts said they are deeply concerned at the increasing arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances of members of the Baha’i faith, as well as the destruction or confiscation of their properties, “in what bears all the signs of a policy of systematic persecution”.  These acts were not isolated, they added, but formed part of a broader policy to target any… Read More

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, expressed outrage on Friday over a prison sentence spanning more than three decades handed down to a Saudi woman charged with following and retweeting so-called dissidents and activists. Doctoral student Salma Al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in jail, followed by a 34-year travel ban in connection with a series of tweets and retweets… Read More

“I have helped women survivors of violence regain their strength and resilience for the past 20 years. Each time I supported a woman, I felt victorious. I always wanted to do more and help even more women. Now, I feel like every day new barriers are standing in my way, time stronger than the previous one. The number of women… Read More

On Thursday morning, Israeli Forces broke into, searched and sealed the offices of seven Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organizations³ in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Their property was confiscated and destroyed and military orders closing the offices were left at the premises. The attempted closures of the 7 NGO offices this morning affect all institutions working to promote… Read More

“I told myself that I should travel to Kabul and buy additional equipment, including a fridge, before I expanded my bakery business. This dream never came true as my country fell into the hands of the Taliban. I used to run a business in my province. I employed five women to bake cookies and cakes that I would sell in… Read More

“The first nights and days were especially horrible. Afghanistan was turning into chaos—people were running everywhere; offices were closing. It was all happening in front of my eyes. In 24 hours a democracy we worked for over a 20-year period crumbled. The first thought I had in mind was what is going to happen to the women of Afghanistan? What… Read More