Volker Türk said he had been “following developments closely” in Israel, where parliamentarians supporting the hard-line nationalist Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed a bill on Monday which in effect strips the Supreme Court of its power to block Government decisions. Opposition parties boycotted the vote which came after...
His message marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement that ended the hostilities and established a demilitarized zone, about 240 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide, as a buffer. The conflict however never officially ended because the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Republic of Korea...
The victims, who included members of the Masalit ethnic community, were allegedly killed last month by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militia, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said, citing credible information. Local people were forced to dispose of the bodies in a mass grave outside the regional...
“Halfway to the 2030 deadline the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track,” he warned. “Gender equality is almost 300 years away. Progress on maternal health and access to family planning has been glacial.” World Population Day is commemorated annually on 11 July and this year’s focus is on unleashing...
The “relief chief” was speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York just as these two separate lifesaving initiatives are set to expire in the coming days. He also voiced concern over gender-based violence in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and noted lack of...
Haiti The security situation in Haiti “is appalling,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, recalling his recent visit to the fragile nation. He called for swift action at a time when the humanitarian needs are “soaring”. And although “there is not yet the political solution in sight”, the UN chief expressed...
In a statement released in Geneva on Friday, OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani expressed concern over the death of 17-year-old Nahel M on Tuesday, after he was shot dead driving away from a traffic stop in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre. According to news reports, at least 875 people were arrested...
The explosion of ethnic violence in Darfur largely by nomadic “Arab” groups in alliance with the RSF who have been battling national army forces for control of the country since mid-April, has led tens of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad. ‘Horrifying accounts’ In a statement, OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani...
Despite gains made in tackling sea-faring criminal groups, “piracy incidents continue to threaten the safety of maritime traffic in the region,” said Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. Effective deterrents Since her last briefing on maritime security in November, she...
“We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open”, he said. “It’s time to wake up and step up.” Mr. Guterres was speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters following a meeting with civil society climate leaders from across the world. ‘Catastrophe’ looms He said limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius...
“Patriarchy must be a thing of the past. Our future depends on women and girls being at the table everywhere when decisions are made,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Only 1 in 4 parliamentarians are women “It was only last year that for the first...
Alarm over the potential threat posed by the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) must not obscure the damage already being done by digital technologies that enable the spread of online hate speech, as well as mis- and disinformation, he said. The policy brief argues that they should be...