rights Archives - Page 9 of 22

Over-compliance with unilateral sanctions hurts human rights

·September 15, 2023·1 min read

As governments increasingly use unilateral sanctions measures to pursue foreign policy objectives, it has become common for businesses, including banks and financial institutions to over-comply with them, said the UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, Alena Douhan. Ms. Douhan said some individually imposed sanctions are having...

Afghanistan: Human rights ‘in a state of collapse’, warns Türk

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·September 12, 2023·2 min read

“Human rights in Afghanistan are in a state of collapse,” he told the Human Rights Council, before sounding the alarm over ongoing reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as serious violations against former Government officials, as documented in a new human rights office...

War crimes intensifying: Myanmar human rights investigators

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·September 12, 2023·2 min read

“The frequency and intensity of war crimes and crimes against humanity has only increased in recent months,” said Nicholas Koumjian, head of the investigation team, formally known as the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). ‘Brazen bombings’ Addressing the forum in Geneva, he described even “more brazen aerial bombings and indiscriminate...

Accountability key to Sri Lanka’s future: UN rights chief

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·September 6, 2023·3 min read

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stressed the urgency of addressing these challenges if the country is to move forward, recalling the 2022 anti-Government protests demanding a fairer and more inclusive society. “But the potential for a historic transformation that would address long-standing challenges is far from being...

‘Immense challenges’ block justice for Ukrainian war victims, rights experts warn

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·September 5, 2023·2 min read

Speaking in Kyiv, Commission Chair Erik Møse pointed to continuing patterns of violations by Russian armed forces, including wilful killings, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and illegal deportations, many of which qualify as war crimes. According to the Commission, the Ukrainian legal system faced “immense challenges” to provide accountability and justice...

Rights experts call for second UN Decade for People of African Descent

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·September 4, 2023·3 min read

They stressed that more than ever, the world urgently needs humanity to unite and collaborate in a spirit of equality and non-discrimination. “This demands political will to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, inequality and stratification at both the domestic and international levels,” they said in a statement. Achieving this goal means that...

Iran: Draft hijab law tantamount to ‘gender apartheid’ say rights experts

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·September 3, 2023·2 min read

“The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,” the independent experts said. They stressed that the proposed parliamentary Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the...

Refusal to waive IP rights for COVID-19 vaccines violates human rights: Experts

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·September 1, 2023·2 min read

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) adopted a decision under its “early warning and urgent action” procedures, stating that developed countries’ “persistent refusal” to waive COVID-19 vaccine IP rights – such as patents and trademarks – violated non-discrimination guarantees under international human rights law. CERD is...

Mexico: Rights experts ‘outraged’ over attacks on women activists

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·August 31, 2023·2 min read

“We are outraged that those searching for forcibly disappeared family members and loved ones continue to be targeted and face violence in Mexico,” they said in a statement, issued in the wake of two recent incidents. Brutal killing Human rights defender Teresa Magueyal was shot dead while riding her bicycle in Celaya, Guanajuato state, on 2 May. ...

Russia hits ‘new low’ with ban against discrediting army: Rights experts

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·August 29, 2023·1 min read

The law was adopted shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Special Rapporteurs said they had already raised serious concerns over the law with the Russian Government and through public statements. “The decision to deny constitutional protection of the right to freedom of expression constitutes a new low in Russia’s clampdown...

Greece: Rights experts condemn ‘racist violence’ against asylum-seekers

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·August 23, 2023·2 min read

That’s the message from the group of eight experts, including Ashwini K.P., the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, who urged Greece on Wednesday to investigate alleged violations against asylum-seekers. They said that they were “particularly concerned” by the failure of the country’s security personnel and coast guard to...

Keep pressuring Taliban amid ‘unparalleled assault’ on women’s rights

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·August 16, 2023·1 min read

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, made the appeal in a statement marking two years since the Taliban regained control of the country. ‘Gender apartheid’ “Through over 50 edicts, orders and restrictions, the Taliban have left no aspect of women’s lives untouched, no freedom spared. They have created a...