“The findings of this report are horrifying,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a visit to Haiti this week. “It paints a picture of how people are being harassed and terrorized by criminal gangs for months without the State being able to stop it. It...
Alice Nderitu expressed her strongest condemnation for the 24 January airstrike in which at least 40 herders, mainly ethnic Fulani, were killed, and scores of other civilians were injured. The incident occurred in a village on the border of two states, Nasarawa and Benue. She recalled that another airstrike in...
“By nearly every feasible measurement, and in every area of human rights – economic, social and cultural, as much as civil and political – Myanmar has profoundly regressed,” he said. “Despite clear legal obligations for the military to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities, there has been consistent disregard...
Head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, told journalists in Geneva that competing global crises, and skyrocketing levels of poverty and unemployment among Palestine refugees, have put immense strain on them – and the agency – which started the year some $70 million in arrears. “On the one hand we are asked...
The High Commissioner for Human Rights acknowledged on Thursday that addressing the violent legacy of intercommunal relations in Northern Ireland from the 1960s to the 1990s was “hugely complex and sensitive”. ‘Conditional immunity’ But he warned against plans to give conditional immunity from investigation and prosecution to those accused of serious human...
Taking aim at the expected rise in so-called “expedited removals” from the United States, Mr. Türk also criticised the intention to use the COVID pandemic-related Title 42 public health order even more than today. Fast-track expulsion The move will permit the “fast-track expulsion to Mexico” of 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans...
Volker Türk’s allegation that criminal proceedings and the death penalty had been weaponized to stamp out dissent, follows the execution in the last months of four people involved in nationwide protests, that were sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, in September. “The weaponization of criminal procedures to punish...
According to reports, the reforms would deny migrants the chance to seek asylum in the US if they crossed from Mexico into the US without permission. But President Biden also said that up to 30,000 people per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela could come legally, if they meet...
“We estimate that up to around nine million people – additional people – could be pushed into poverty due to the flood impact” said Knut Ostby, UNDP Resident Representative in Pakistan. Climate risk knows no borders Although the Pakistan flooding was “unprecedented”, it could happen to other countries affected by...
The report, We wanted workers, but human beings came, published just ahead of International Migrants Day, zeroes-in on schemes in operation across the Asia-Pacific region – the largest single migrant-producing region in the world. “Migrant workers are often dehumanized”, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, reminding that...
“The map is under threat (from cholera) everywhere,” said Dr. Philippe Barboza, from the World Health Organization, speaking in Geneva, via Zoom. Available data points to cases of infection in around 30 countries, whereas in the previous five years, fewer than 20 countries reported infections, on average. Reversing recent successes “The...
Mr. Bauer believes that Haiti is facing an unprecedented crisis, which could get even worse. For this reason, he says, there is no time to waste. “It’s difficult to believe that a mere two hours’ flight from Miami, a staggering 4.7 million people – half of Haiti’s population – are...