OHCHR

GENEVA / MOGADISHU July 25, 2019 – The international community must continue to help Somalia strengthen its institutions and the justice and security sector ahead of the next elections, says UN Independent Expert Bahame Tom Nyanduga. “Somalia has made considerable progress in the political, economic, social and human rights situation over the past six years, […]

GENEVA, July 18, 2019 – UN human rights experts* have expressed grave concern over the detention and criminal proceedings in Italy against the German captain of the migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3, and stated that the threats to the judge who ruled her release were unlawful. “Rescuing migrants in distress at sea is not a […]

AMMAN, July 12, 2019 – One of the UN’s independent experts has voiced concern about lack of human rights accountability in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, pointing to the actions of “an occupying power seemingly bent on further territorial annexation”. Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory […]

July 1, 2019 – States and other actors involved in refugee protection must recognise the unique vulnerability and specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and gender diverse (LGBTI) asylum-seekers and refugees, the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, and UNHCR’s Assistant […]

GENEVA (27 June 2019) – States around the world have an obligation to ensure social inclusion of victims of trafficking in the long-term, says a UN rights expert. In a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, urges better social inclusion of […]

GENEVA (27 June 2019) – “A new system-wide global approach is necessary to eliminate violence against women and girls,”  said Dubravka Šimonović, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, in a report today to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. “I believe that the establishment of a platform for cooperation between international  and regional independent […]

GENEVA June 25, 2019 – Victims of torture have a right to redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, the UN anti-torture mechanisms* said today ahead of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26. These mechanisms exist to help ensure justice is done and rehabilitation provided, they said, emphasizing that victims should be […]

GENEVA. June 25, 2019 – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, today called for an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer and use of surveillance technology until human rights-compliant regulatory frameworks are in place. He makes the recommendations in his latest report to the Human Rights Council on […]

GENEVA, June 25, 2019 – A group of UN experts* has warned the erosion of nature, the extinction of species and the loss of biological diversity at unprecedented rates severely threatens human rights for present and future generations. In a statement following the release of a new scientific report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on […]

GENEVA / AMMAN June 24, 2019 –  A United Nations committee* notes with deep concern the continued degradation of the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as a result of  Israeli policies and practices, and expresses  particular alarm at a spike in settlement expansion […]

GENEVA June 20, 2019 – Recent statements by senior Israeli political leaders and US diplomats in support of the annexation of parts or all of the occupied West Bank by Israel fly in the face of the absolute prohibition against the annexation of occupied territories, a UN human rights expert said today. “International law is […]

GENEVA, June 19, 2019 – Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a premeditated extrajudicial execution, for which the State of Saudi Arabia is responsible, according to a report published today by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings. Following a six-month investigation, Agnes Callamard issued her findings into the killing […]

GENEVA June 3, 2019 – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday strongly deplored the use of live ammunition in protest camps in Khartoum, which reportedly resulted in a number of people being killed and injured. Their leaders have also reportedly been detained. “The protestors in Sudan have over the past few […]

GENEVA, May 28, 2019 – People in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are trapped in a vicious cycle, in which the failure of the State to provide for life’s basic necessities forces them to turn to rudimentary markets where they face a host of human rights violations in an uncertain legal environment, according […]

GENEVA May 9, 2019 – UN human rights experts* called on Iran to immediately halt the practice of executing child offenders, citing serious concerns for up to 90 individuals who were all under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offences and are on death row. “The executions of two 17-year-old boys […]

GENEVA / ATHENS April 12, 2019 – Greece has a unique opportunity to simultaneously strengthen its economy and drive progress on women’s human rights by prioritising gender equality in its social and economic recovery, says a group of UN independent experts. “Greece has established a strong legal and institutional framework for advancing gender equality. We […]

GENEVA/THE HAGUE April 5, 2019 – The Government of the Netherlands must reinforce its achievements in upholding freedom of religion or belief, to address emerging challenges like rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, says the UN Special Rapporteur on the issue, Ahmed Shaheed. “The guarantees of freedom of religion or belief provided in law and in practice […]

GENEVA April 2, 2019 – UN human rights experts* condemned the Indian Government’s decision to deport three more Rohingya to Myanmar and urged the authorities to stop such forced deportations which are prohibited under international law. The three Rohingyas deported, a father and his children, had been imprisoned since 2013, on charges related to lack […]

GENEVA (1 April 2019) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday urged the Government of Brunei to halt the entry into force of the revised Penal Code which, if implemented in its current form, would enshrine in legislation cruel and inhuman punishments that seriously breach international human rights law – including […]