Venezuelans ‘teetering on the brink of survival’ warn UN human rights experts
May 07, 2020, at 03:27 pm
New York/IBNS: United Nations independent experts demanded on Wednesday that the Venezuelan Government take concrete actions to tackle the devastating impact on basic human rights of the country’s economic crisis.
Coronavirus and human rights: New UN report calls for disability-inclusive recovery
May 07, 2020, at 03:22 pm
New York/IBNS: The COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying inequalities experienced by the world’s one billion people with disabilities, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in launching a report issued on Wednesday that calls for a disability-inclusive recovery and response to the crisis.
People in Gilgit-Baltistan should get equal rights like Pakistanis: Chief Justice
Apr 30, 2020, at 01:07 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed has said the citizens of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) should get equal rights like the people of Pakistan.
Human rights ‘uplift everyone’; must guide COVID-19 recovery response, says UN chief
Apr 24, 2020, at 02:11 pm
New York/IBNS: The coronavirus pandemic is not only a critical public health danger, it is also a human, economic and social emergency that is “fast becoming a human rights crisis”, the UN chief said on Thursday, releasing a new policy brief on shaping an effective, inclusive response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Syria: Warring parties failed to abide by international law over hospital attacks
Apr 07, 2020, at 12:09 pm
New York/IBNS: Parties to Syria’s brutal civil war, now in its tenth year, failed to abide by their obligations under international law to avoid attacks on hospitals and other civilian facilities that featured on the UN’s so-called deconfliction list, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.
Rights experts warn against discrimination in COVID-19 response
Apr 07, 2020, at 11:57 am
New York/IBNS: Fearing a needless increase in COVID-19 deaths due to discrimination, UN independent human rights experts on Monday called for Governments to commit to racial equity and equality in their response to the pandemic.
Apr 06, 2020, at 07:31 pm
New Delhi/IBNS: Leading editors and media professionals from South Asia have protested against the arrest of Jang-Geo Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman by Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
COVID-19: Dependence on China and discrimination on PoK people deepening crisis in Pakistan
Apr 02, 2020, at 04:59 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: At the time of crisis when Pakistan is still depending on China, its all-weather ally and the epicentre of the COVID-19 disease spread, reports are emerging that PM Imran Khan-led government is still practicing discrimination and not extending help to people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
Mar 27, 2020, at 11:49 am
New York/IBNS: Dozens of independent UN human rights experts stressed on Thursday that in addition to public health and emergency measures, battling the COVID-19 pandemic, must respect the fundamental human rights of every individual.
UN human rights chief: racism and xenophobia are ‘contagious killers’ too
Mar 14, 2020, at 08:25 am
New York/IBNS: The coronavirus outbreak may have forced millions around the world already into “social distancing”, keeping a metre apart to prevent its spread, but it will not stop them from uniting to combat racism, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared in Geneva on Friday.
Human rights defenders, too often left defenceless themselves – UN expert
Mar 05, 2020, at 02:32 pm
New York/IBNS: Human rights defenders working in conflict and post-conflict situations need to be given greater recognition, protection and support, an independent UN expert said on Wednesday, in his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
With human rights under attack, UN chief unveils blueprint for positive change
Feb 25, 2020, at 10:12 am
New York/IBNS: People’s basic human rights – their birth-right – are “under assault”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, as he launched a Call to Action aimed at boosting equality and reducing suffering everywhere.
Colombia: ‘Staggering number’ of human rights defenders killed in 2019
Jan 15, 2020, at 09:44 am
New York/IBNS: The UN human rights office, OHCHR, is “deeply troubled by the staggering number of human rights defenders killed in Colombia” last year, its spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Bold, innovative measures for refugees and their hosts sought, at first ever Global Forum
Dec 17, 2019, at 09:42 am
New York/IBNS: As refugee numbers approach 26 million, heads of state, top UN diplomats, powerful figures from the private sector and civil society are heading to Geneva to agree on “bold, new” ways to help, at the first ever Global Refugee Forum, which got underway on Monday.
UN human rights report cites ‘multiple root causes’ of deadly Chile protests
Dec 14, 2019, at 07:24 am
New York/IBNS: During the recent mass protests which led Chile to declare a state of emergency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report published on Friday that international human rights norms had been violated by both police and army personnel, which should be prosecuted.
UN updates guidelines to ensure successful return to civilian life for former combatants
Nov 20, 2019, at 09:51 am
New York/IBNS: Increasing hurdles which prevent former combatants from returning to a peaceful civilian life have prompted the UN to update its standard practices, in an effort to ensure they remain “fit-for-purpose for years to come”.
Repression, use of force risk worsening Bolivia crisis: UN human rights chief
Nov 17, 2019, at 05:57 pm
New York/IBNS: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is urging authorities in Bolivia to ensure security forces comply with international standards on the use of force following the deaths of at least five protestors on Friday.
Human rights experts call for ‘paradigm shift’ on arbitrary detention in Qatar
Nov 15, 2019, at 10:05 am
New York/IBNS: A group of independent UN human rights experts is calling for a “paradigm shift” in Qatar to protect people in the Gulf State from arbitrary detention.
Speaking truth to power: the UN experts fighting for global human rights
Nov 09, 2019, at 08:40 am
New York/IBNS: Fearless. Plain-speaking. Critical. Courageous. Unflinching. Unfair. Biased. Manipulative. These are some of the adjectives used to describe the Human Rights Council experts who fan out across the world to research, hold consultations and gather information on a vast range of human rights violations.
UN’s Bachelet addresses progress and setbacks in human rights worldwide
Oct 16, 2019, at 09:33 am
New York: The world is undeniably facing rising challenges to multilateralism, however work can be done with Member States to strengthen the agreement of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN’s top rights official told the committee charged with tackling social, humanitarian and cultural issues, on Tuesday.
UN human rights report shows rise in reprisals against activists, victims
Sep 20, 2019, at 09:30 am
New York: Cases of intimidation and retaliation against victims, civil society and activists who cooperate with the United Nations are on the rise, a new report from the UN Human Rights Office reveals.
Apr 11, 2019, at 10:18 am
New York, Apr 11 (IBNS): Over a month after two competing resolutions on Venezuela failed to pass, the UN Security Council met on Wednesday to discuss the “very real humanitarian problem” facing the country, where close to seven million people are in dire need of aid, and some 5,000 people continue to flee across borders every day.
Mar 28, 2019, at 08:52 am
New York, Mar 28 (IBNS): The UN’s top rights official on Wednesday rejected claims by Sri Lankan officials that she distanced herself from a report on the country and instructed her staff to be more “cautious” in future, before stressing her commitment to justice for victims of grave abuses during the civil war.
Human rights ‘core to sustainable development’: deputy UN chief
Mar 08, 2019, at 09:06 am
New York, Mar 8 (IBNS): “Human rights are core to the 2030 Agenda, and sustainable development is a powerful vehicle for the realization of all human rights,” the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said in a speech to the Human Rights Council, on Thursday.
More urgency needed to help increasing numbers ‘locked out’, before 2030, says UN’s Bachelet
Jan 17, 2019, at 12:23 pm
New York, Jan 17 (IBNS): Many countries are failing to protect and promote the interests of all their people – despite pledging to do so in 2016 – the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday.
How to stay in shape and step up support for refugees
Jan 09, 2019, at 09:18 am
New York, Jan 9 (IBNS): At a time of year when many resolve to get fit, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the huge distances many are forced to cover to escape persecution, in search of a better life far from home.
Human Rights Watch urges Thailand authorities to halt deportation of Saudi woman
Jan 07, 2019, at 10:02 am
Bangkok, Jan 7 (IBNS): Thailand authorities should immediately halt the planned deportation of a Saudi woman who says she is fleeing domestic abuse and fears for her safety if forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
First-ever World Braille Day underscores importance of written language for human rights
Jan 04, 2019, at 09:16 am
New York, Jan 4 (IBNS): To raise awareness of the importance of Braille for approximately 1.3 billion people living with some form of distance or near vision impairment, on Friday the United Nations is observing the first official World Braille Day.
Dec 29, 2018, at 08:24 am
New York, Dec 29 (IBNS): The excessive use of force during large-scale demonstrations against food and fuel shortages in Sudan is alarming, and an infringement on the right of peaceful assembly, said UN independent experts on Friday.
Nicaragua: UN rights chief ‘alarmed’ by imminent expulsion of key human rights groups
Dec 22, 2018, at 08:02 am
New York, Dec 22 (IBNS): After the Nicaraguan Government announced that it has asked two key human rights institutions to leave the country, the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said on Friday that she was “extremely alarmed” by a decision that means, in effect, there will be “no functioning independent human rights bodies left in Nicaragua”.