“Rarely have we seen – and this is what bothers me – extensive patterns of unlawful, discriminatory and disproportionate restriction by States and private actors on freedom of expression,” said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur mandated to promote and protect this right globally. Ms. Khan briefed journalists at UN...
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,...
“What we’re hearing is that amongst the 22 people who were killed were 12 women and two children,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). “We understand it was a four-storey residential building that was struck. With these factors in mind,...
The mandate of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia, established by the 47-member Council in October 2022, was extended last October. The Special Rapporteur is tasked with monitoring, assessing and reporting on the rights situation in the country. The current mandate holder, Mariana Katzarova, is not...
Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and association, warned that “the brutal repression of the university-based protest movement is a profound threat to democratic systems and institutions.” Furthermore, “it risks alienating an entire generation, damaging their participation and perception of their role in democratic processes,...
Research conducted by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, revealed that 67 nuclear tests performed between 1946 and 1958 by the United States Government in the Marshall Islands left communities displaced and contributed to radioactive land and sea pollution. “The nuclear legacy casts a long shadow across generations and the...
The development came as UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned “escalation after escalation” in the Middle East on Tuesday, as a report from his Office underscored the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Since the 7 October attacks, settlement activities increased markedly, reaching a record...
Akua Kuenyehia, chair of the independent expert mechanism on advancing racial justice said, “Manifestations of systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement and in criminal justice systems are still predominant in many parts of the world, and broad impunity persists.” While also dealing with “broad...
Tackling insecurity in the Caribbean country must be the utmost priority, the report said, urging the authorities and the international community to do more to protect people and prevent further suffering. “No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk....
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that failing to address the mental, sexual and reproductive health of adolescents will have “serious and life-threatening consequences for young people”. It will also come at a massive cost for society, which justifies a major public investment from governments worldwide. Tedros noted that anaemia...
Alice Edwards, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on Torture, also condemned the killing of six Israeli hostages earlier this month and called for an immediate end to hostilities on all fronts. Approximately 250 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage during the 7 October 2023 terror attack by...
There are still nearly 2,000 people living in the town of Beryslav, including more than 70 children and 90 people who have only limited mobility. “Despite constant shelling, they have not evacuated the area, which has no electricity, which has no gas and which has no water, all due to...