World

July 1, 2019 – International Campaign for Tibet statement on UNESCO’s draft decision on “Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan” The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is gravely concerned about the future of the UNESCO World Heritage-protected site the “Three Parallel Rivers,” which is facing numerous threats due to extensive hydropower projects, mining activities that are […]

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 […]

June 28, 2019 – Vaccines save millions of lives, and yet misinformation, limited availability and inadequate access to services have left large numbers of children in jeopardy, prompting the United Nations Children’s Fund to convene a high-level UN event on Friday to “tackle the issue”. “Misinformation about vaccines is as dangerous as a disease”, said […]

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 […]

June 26, 2019 – In light of the worrying signals that the G20 are sending about their commitment to climate ambition, civil society representatives said that these countries are threatening to exacerbate the climate emergency and push the limits of dangerous warming beyond 1.5C degrees. Language on climate change and the Paris Agreement of the […]

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 […]

Beirut, June 25, 2019 – Participants in the ‘Peace to Prosperity’ workshop on June 25 and 26 in Manama, and journalists covering the event, should question Bahraini officials about the government’s jailing of human rights defenders and suppression of free expression, Human Rights Watch said today. The Trump administration organized the economic workshop as part […]

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 […]

NEW YORK, June 25, 2019 – A new report from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) exposes an underreported legacy of the August 2017 violence against Muslim Rohingya civilians by Myanmar security forces: long-term physical disabilities that may condemn many survivors to lifetimes of physical pain and economic insecurity. The new report, “Shot While Fleeing: Rohingya Disabled by […]

June 24, 2019 – Transparency International is one of more than 400 civil society organisations urging the G20 to protect whistleblowers from retaliation, in a joint call with trade unions from across G20 countries. The official G20 engagement groups for Civil Society (C20, or Civil 20) and Trade Unions (L20, or Labour 20) are asking […]

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 […]

June 24, 2019 – There is a need for “genuine regional dialogue” to address rising tensions in the Gulf, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday, calling on Secretary-General António Guterres “to play a role” in bringing countries to the table. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi, was speaking to reporters outside the Security Council […]

June 24, 2019 – 41st session of the Human Rights Council Opening statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet Distinguished President of the Council, Your Excellencies, President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria and President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands, Distinguished Ministers, Excellencies, Director-General Møller, Colleagues and Friends, The eyes of the world […]

June 21, 2019 – A landmark international agreement banning violence and harassment in the workplace has been applauded by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, after it was adopted on Friday at the International Labour Organization’s Centenary Conference in Geneva. In his speech to delegates in the Swiss city, Mr. Guterres congratulated Member States for “building upon […]

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 […]

June 19, 2019 – Yesterday news outlets in several countries simultaneously released the results of investigations by a consortium of journalists into human rights and environmental abuses at Barrick Gold’s North Mara gold mine in Tanzania.[1] This exposé by, among others, Canada’s Toronto Star, UK’s Guardian, and Switzerland’s Tagesanzeiger confirm findings of six years of […]

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 […]