World

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Jan. 21, 2022)—At least three children and more than 60 adults are reported to have been killed and at least 100 others injured in a series of airstrikes today in Yemen, Save the Children said, but the true number is feared to be higher. The children were reportedly playing on a nearby football field when missiles struck […]

New York, NY, 20th January 2021– The IRC highlights today appalling figures showing rising attacks on civilians in Yemen.  Alongside the danger represented by the drone attack in Abu Dhabi, there is growing evidence that Yemen’s deadly war needs international attention now. Data from the Yemen Data Project reveals that in the two months following […]

On Tuesday, MEPs elected Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT) as President of the European Parliament until 2024, with 458 votes in the first round. Roberta Metsola won the election in the first voting round, where she received an absolute majority of 458 votes out of 690 cast in the remote secret vote, among three candidates. At […]

GENEVA (17 January 2022) – Taliban leaders in Afghanistan are institutionalizing large scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls, a group of UN human rights experts* said today. The experts reiterated their alarm expressed since August 2021 at a series of restrictive measures that have been introduced since the Taliban’s takeover […]

On 15 January 2021, a shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda included the billionth dose supplied via COVAX. Together with our partners, COVAX is leading the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, with deliveries to 144 countries to date. But the work that has gone into this milestone is only a […]

January 12, 2022 – Responding to the dismissal of the appeal against the acquittal of three women human rights activists in Poland on absurd charges of “offending religious beliefs” for distributing posters of the Virgin Mary with a halo in the rainbow colours of the LGBTI pride flag, Catrinel Motoc, Senior Campaigner in Amnesty International’s […]

GENEVA, January 11, 2022 – UN human rights experts* today called on the Kazakhstan authorities and security forces to halt their unrestrained use of force, including lethal force, against protesters and ensure that an independent and human-rights based investigations of State use of force against protesters is undertaken. The experts said they were profoundly concerned […]

GENEVA (6 January 2022) – Amid alarming reports of deadly violence in Kazakhstan, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday urged all, including security forces, protesters and others, to refrain from violence and to seek a peaceful resolution of grievances. A police spokesperson in the main city, Almaty, said that security forces […]

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply distressed by the recent tragic death toll in Greece’s Aegean Sea. At least 31 people lost their lives in three separate shipwrecks between 21 and 24 December, while an unknown number are still missing. More than 160 people were rescued by the Hellenic Coast Guard, with support from […]

t is with profound sadness that we are confirming today that two members of Save the Children’s staff were among at least 35 people, including women and children, who were killed on Friday 24th December in an attack by the Myanmar military in Kayah State, in the east of the country. The two staff were both […]

A new report by Christian Aid, Counting the cost 2021: a year of climate breakdown identifies 15 of the most destructive climate disasters of the year. Ten of those events cost $1.5 billion or more. Most of these estimates are based only on insured losses, meaning the true financial costs are likely to be even higher.  Among […]

December 26, 2021 – The Elders are deeply saddened at the passing of their dear friend and colleague Archbishop Desmond Tutu. His death follows a long and brave battle against ill health, which never dimmed his determination to fight against injustice in all its forms. “Arch”, as he liked to be called, was the first […]

The landslide that struck Hpakant yesterday highlights the devastating toll of the military coup on jade mining communities in northern Myanmar and the urgent need to prevent the junta using the country’s natural resources as a financial lifeline. Over 70 people are reportedly missing after the hillside of an old mine site collapsed near Tharyagone […]

GENEVA (23 December 2021) – UN human rights experts* today called on the international community to take urgent steps to clear the way for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan in order to prevent an impending humanitarian catastrophe from unfolding there this winter.  The call came one day after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2615, which […]

SANA’A, December 22, 2021 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that it is running out of funds to continue to provide food assistance to13 million people in Yemen. From January, eight million will receive a reduced food ration, while five million at immediate risk of slipping into famine conditions will remain […]

ROME, December 21, 2021—The Budget Committee of the Italian Senate today voted to approve a modified version of an amendment to the budget law which will see the country’s 10 remaining mink fur farms closed within six months and a permanent ban on fur farming throughout Italy.   The vote follows discussions with animal protection organisation Humane Society […]

December 17, 2021 – What do we know about Omicron variant so far? WHO’s Dr Maria Van Kerkhove updates on the transmissibility, severity, symptoms and ways to protect yourself in Science in 5. Vismita Gupta-Smith We’re doing an update on Omicron in Science in 5 today. Hello, I’m Vismita Gupta-Smith and we are talking to […]

GENEVA, December 14, 2021 (WMO) – A temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on 20 June 2020 has been recognized as a new Arctic temperature record by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The temperature, more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic, was measured at a meteorological observing station during an exceptional […]

GENEVA, December 14, 2021 — The UN Committee against Torture has called on Mexico to stop criminalizing legitimate human rights work, after deciding on the case of a human rights defender targeted for his campaigning, resulting in his being detained and tortured for five years for a crime he did not commit. In a decision […]

DUBAI/GENEVA/WASHINGTON DC — 12 December 2021 — New evidence compiled by the World Health Organization and the World Bank shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage. The organizations also reveal that more than half a billion people are being pushed into extreme poverty because […]