Tag: human rights

And as their languages and cultures remain under constant threat, indigenous peoples have taken a major blow from the COVID-19 pandemic.   “An already vulnerable group risks being left even further behind”, warned Secretary-General António Guterres.   Moreover, their lack of participation in decision-making has often meant their specific needs are overlooked or ignored.   “As we work to recover from the pandemic,… Read More

Highlighting more than 210 incidents already this year and one Palestinian fatality, the Special Rapporteurs urged the Israeli authorities to investigate thoroughly, maintaining that the Israeli military were present “in many cases”. Children traumatized In southern Hebron on 13 March, they described how a Palestinian family was attacked by 10 Israeli settlers, some of them armed. Violence by Israeli settlers… Read More

“We meet at a moment when this crime, which should have been consigned to a closed chapter of history, is once again in the headlines”, said Pramila Patten, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, affirming that now was the time to “take stock of both the persistent and entrenched, as well as new and emerging, challenges…to eradicate the scourge”. ‘Chasm between… Read More

Operated by the US State Department, the anti-terrorism programme offers money for information on people outside the country, who the Government has designated as being associated with terrorism, although they have not been charged with any crimes.   It also offers financial incentives to foreigners who claim to have terrorist ties, if they cooperate with US authorities.  USA: “Rewards for Justice”… Read More

In a statement, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Parliament to heed warnings that the proposed new Overseas Operations Bill risks undermining key human rights obligations that lawmakers have previously agreed to. “As currently drafted, the Bill would make it substantially less likely that UK service members on overseas operations would be held accountable for serious human rights violations amounting to… Read More

Magdulein Abaida fled Libya in 2012 after being harassed, tortured and forced to close down her women’s rights organisation, Hakki, or “My Right”. “She was targeted and threatened because of her activism for women’s rights. But the Libyan government failed to investigate, prosecute, punish and provide reparations for the torture and harassment inflicted on her,” Nahla Haidar, a member of CEDAW. Interrogated… Read More

Ahead of International Roma Day on Thursday 8 April, Fernand de Varennes called for more work to be done to control the spread of inflammatory comments on social media. “Those forms of online hate speech violate international human rights obligations and can lead to violence against Sinti, Roma and other minorities”, he said. The birth of the World Roma Congress The first World Roma Congress was held in 1971 near London,… Read More

In a message commemorating the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Secretary-General António Guterres underlined that everyone must “take a hard look at today’s world and ensure that we heed the lessons of 27 years ago”.  The genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda remains in our collective conscience as among the most horrific… Read More

“We must end the legacy of this racist lie”, Secretary-General António Guterres said at a commemorative meeting of the General Assembly that honoured the memory of the millions of people of African descent who suffered under the brutal system of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.  While recalling the resilience of those who endured the “brutal yoke” of slavery, he… Read More

Ahead of the adoption of the Belarus resolution without a vote by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva, the European Union – the main sponsor of both texts – highlighted reported ongoing violations in the east European State. Speaking on behalf of the EU, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Rui Macieira, echoed UN condemnation of… Read More