Tag: human rights

The phrase “artificial intelligence” can conjure up images of machines that are able to think, and act, just like humans, independent of any oversight from actual, flesh and blood people. Movies versions of AI tend to feature super-intelligent machines attempting to overthrow humanity and conquer the world. The reality is more prosaic, and tends to describe software that can solve… Read More

Alena Douhan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impacts of unilateral coercive measures on human rights, voiced concerns that sanctions imposed under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act – also known as the Caesar Act – risk exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria, especially in the course of COVID-19 pandemic, and put Syrians at even greater risk of… Read More

Alice came out as a transgender woman as a teenager. , by UN Mexico/Gabriela Ramirez The Women of “Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias” shelter, have been providing up to 80 free meals a day to some of their most vulnerable neighbours. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are often indiscriminately attacked, or, according to media reports, murdered in Mexico and… Read More

On average over the past decade, one journalist has lost their life every four days, according to UNESCO, the UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, in a statement on Wednesday. Although 2020 saw one of the lowest tolls in years, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, said that rarely, if ever, had journalism been so relevant to democracy and to the protection of… Read More

The law, which was adopted on Thursday, ensures refugees and asylum-seekers fundamental protections, including freedom of movement, the right to work and access to healthcare, education and justice, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.  Making history  With its passage, this law makes Chad one of the first countries in the region to fulfill a pledge… Read More

OHCHR spokesperson Marta Hurtado, said in a statement on Wednesday that pardoning the four employees of private military company Blackwater, for their part in the killings that took place when they and other guards opened fire in Nisoor Square, “contributes to impunity and has the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes in the future.” President Trump announced the decision… Read More

“Minorities are the most likely target of online hate speech, and we know that online hate speech against minorities often leads to severe real-world harm, and may even lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide”, said Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, welcoming the recent news that Facebook’s Oversight Board has accepted its first six cases appealing against… Read More

“The killing of Ali Ayman Abu Aliya by the Israeli Defense Forces – in circumstances where there was no threat of death or serious injury to the Israeli Security Forces – is a grave violation of international law,” special rapporteurs Michael Lynk and Agnès Callamard said in a statement.  “Intentional lethal force is justified only when the security personnel are… Read More

The urgent action procedure allows families, relatives and representatives of disappeared persons to submit a request to CED after having reported the disappearance to relevant national authorities.  Nearly half of the requests, or 49 per cent, concern disappearances in Iraq, while 42 per cent are cases in Mexico.  A human tragedy  “Behind each urgent action request, there is a human… Read More

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on Colombia’s Government to take concrete actions to protect the population from the surge in violence inflicted on peasants, indigenous and Afro-Colombian people by non-State armed groups, criminal groups and other armed elements.  “It is the State’s duty to be present throughout the country, implementing a whole range of comprehensive public policies, not only to… Read More