More than 60 per cent of these killings occurred in countries experiencing conflict – the highest percentage in over a decade. “Reliable information is vital in conflict situations to help affected populations and to enlighten the world,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “It is unacceptable that journalists pay with their lives for...
The dangers faced by journalists, including risks to their lives, are highlighted each year on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which falls on November 2. This year, the International Day coincides with the biannual UNESCO Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity,...
“The situation in Sudan is catastrophic. There is simply no other way to put it. Hunger disease and sexual violence are rampant. For the people of Sudan, this is a living nightmare,” warned Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The conflict, which erupted in April...
“Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilisation itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history and not its future,” said Tedros Adhanom-Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This certification of Egypt as malaria-free is truly historic, and a testament to the commitment of the people and Government of Egypt...
In an appeal for help, the World Food Programme, WFP, said that more than 27 million people’s lives from Lesotho to Zimbabwe have been devastated, leaving 21 million children malnourished. A record five countries have declared a national disaster because of the drought and requested international assistance: Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia,...
A new publication from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) presents “credible” reports that between 15 August 2021 and 30 June 2023, the country’s de facto authorities were responsible for 218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions. ...
The “tragic killing” at the penal colony at Olenivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, under temporary Russian military control, occurred overnight on 28 July 2022. Many of the POWs were Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered at the stricken Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol. Appeal for...
“These latest killings and the violence, along with the inflammatory rhetoric, serve only to drive Israelis and Palestinians deeper into an abyss,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as his Office warned of the “terrible impact on both Palestinians and Israelis” of the escalation, before calling for an immediate end...
In the recently released 2021-2022 freedom of expression report, UNESCO noted the deaths of 86 journalists last year, amounting to one every four days, up from 55 killings in 2021. The findings highlight the grave risks and vulnerabilities that journalists continue to face in the course of their work, the...
“We have repeatedly raised our concerns about the excessive and lethal use of force used by Brazilian law enforcement officials and the disproportionate impact on Brazilians of African descent,” the three experts said in a statement. “However, the latest reports of police brutality appear to show that such human rights...