New report highlights value of UN’s human rights work in the field
Oct 13, 2020, at 03:18 pm
New York: The UN’s work in promoting dialogue between Arabic and Kurdish groups in Iraq is just one example of how human rights personnel are playing a critical role at the Organization’s peace operations around the world.
Lahore HC acquits Christian man, human rights group appreciates
Oct 10, 2020, at 04:02 am
Lahore: The Lahore High Court recently acquitted a Christian man who was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges six years ago, earning appreciation from rights groups like Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP).
Iraq urged to investigate attacks on women human rights defenders
Oct 03, 2020, at 03:12 pm
New York: UN-appointed independent rights experts have urged the Iraqi authorities to investigate the murder of a female human rights defender, and the attempted killing of another, targeted “simply because they are women”.
‘Eyes and ears’ of Human Rights Council facing funding crisis
Sep 29, 2020, at 03:36 pm
New York: The work of UN-appointed independent rights experts is at risk from a critical lack of funding, they warned on Monday.
Human rights, multilateralism and battling COVID-19, top focus of European Union
Sep 26, 2020, at 03:54 pm
New York: The European Union has been at the forefront of international cooperation to defeat “the same common enemy”, COVID-19, the President of the European Council, told the UN General Assembly on Friday.
PoK human rights abuse: Activist Shabir Choudhry expresses discontent on UK lawmaker’s silence
Sep 23, 2020, at 12:48 am
London: A key political activist from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Shabir Choudhry has expressed his displeasure over UK’s Labour MP Debbie Abrahams’ ‘silence’ on the recent attack on peaceful protesters by the Pakistani consulate in Bradford.
H&M joins global clamour in ending alleged human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang
Sep 19, 2020, at 01:28 pm
Stockholm: Swedish clothing icon H&M has said it will not buy raw materials from China's Xinjiang region as it suspected the use of 'forced labour'.
US to stop exports from Xinjiang citing China's human rights abuses
Sep 15, 2020, at 03:10 pm
Washington/UNI: US will take steps to block some exports from China's Xinjiang region, over the country's alleged human rights abuses directed mostly against the Muslim Uighur minority of the region.
Rise to the occasion to tackle injustice, Bachelet urges Human Rights Council
Sep 15, 2020, at 02:48 pm
New York: UN Member States gathered in person in Geneva on Monday for a new session of the Human Rights Council, where UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged countries to “rise to the occasion” to tackle injustice everywhere.
Pakistan must end enforced disappearance of human rights defender: UN Experts
Sep 05, 2020, at 03:10 am
Geneva/IBNS: UN human rights experts on Friday called on the Pakistani authorities to end the secret detention of human rights defender Idris Khattak, who has not been heard from in more than nine months.
Deliberate silencing of peaceful voices in Iraq ‘unacceptable’, says UN human rights chief
Aug 28, 2020, at 09:39 pm
New York: A new UN report launched on Thursday highlights human rights violations and abuses that were committed during recent demonstrations in Iraq and calls for immediate action for justice.
Human rights are the ‘means by which governments can successfully beat pandemics’, says UNAIDS chief
Aug 28, 2020, at 09:18 pm
New York: Some of the world’s most marginalized and defenseless communities have fallen victim to violence and other rights abuses during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the UN agency dedicated to tackling the AIDS virus to urge Governments to protect the most vulnerable, particularly key populations at higher risk of HIV.
Imprisoned rights defenders in Egypt at ‘grave risk’ of COVID-19, warn UN experts
Aug 25, 2020, at 10:04 pm
New York: A group of independent UN rights experts have raised alarm over “grave and unnecessary” risks faced by imprisoned human rights defenders in Egypt due to lengthy pre-trial detention.
Jordan: Closing teachers’ union, detaining officials, ‘serious’ rights violations
Aug 20, 2020, at 07:06 pm
New York: Jordan must reverse the decision to close a 140,000-strong teachers’ union and detain its leaders, independent UN human rights experts said on Wednesday, while also urging the authorities to lift gag orders prohibiting public discussion of the case.
Pakistan still struggling for independence: Woman Journalist
Aug 17, 2020, at 04:49 pm
Islamabad: In a veiled attack on the Pakistan government, a prominent woman journalist of the nation said the South Asian country is still struggling for independence even after 73 years of freedom from the British rule.
Chinese govt sponsors rape of Uyghur women through forced marriage, allege activists
Aug 03, 2020, at 03:53 pm
Hit by sex-ratio trouble, the Chinese government is allegedly getting involved in the 'forced marriage' game by advertising marriages to Uyghur women and girls to attract men into the Xinjiang or East Turkistan region of China.
Human rights report details ‘heartbreaking’ accounts of women detained in DPRK
Jul 29, 2020, at 06:14 pm
New York: Women forcibly returned to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are subjected to torture, ill treatment, sexual abuse, and other violations, according to a report published on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights office.
Xinjiang is another Bangladesh waiting to happen, says activist Lily Harding
Jul 27, 2020, at 03:59 pm
New York: Activist Lily Harding feels that Xinjiang region in China is likely to become another Bangladesh (read get liberation like Bangladesh got in 1971) as the people of the area dread Chinese Communist Party control and yearn for a stable democratic republic.
Zimbabwe: COVID-19 must not be used to stifle freedoms, says UN rights office
Jul 25, 2020, at 05:57 pm
New York: The coronavirus pandemic should not be used as an excuse to clamp down on fundamental freedoms, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) reminded authorities in Zimbabwe on Friday.
Human rights through peacekeeping essential factor in beating coronavirus
Jul 08, 2020, at 09:51 am
New York: The UN human rights chief is calling for greater investment in the human rights components of peace operations - not least to monitor the impact of efforts to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Human rights experts discuss plights of minorities in Pakistan
Jun 25, 2020, at 09:44 pm
Washington: Human rights experts recently discussed the condition of minorities in Pakistan and expressed their hardships and sufferings in the south Asian nation at a time when the world is combating COVID-19.
Syrian refugees resort to ever more desperate measures to resist pandemic impact
Jun 17, 2020, at 09:12 am
New York/IBNS: The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic spike in the number of Syrian refugees in need of emergency assistance in the last three months, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, in an appeal for funding to confront new challenges posed by the health emergency.
Human Rights Council picks up again after COVID suspension, to hold racism debate
Jun 16, 2020, at 10:02 am
New York/IBNS: After a three month long COVID-19-enforced break, the Human Rights Council resumed on Monday, giving the green light to a rare Urgent Debate on racism, alleged police brutality and violence against protesters sickened by the killing of American George Floyd in police custody.
Put human rights at the centre of coronavirus response urges Muhammad-Bande
Jun 03, 2020, at 09:42 am
New York: The nations of the world must put human rights at the heart of their ongoing response to COVID-19 and ensure that everyone can enjoy “justice and peace” wherever they may be, the President of the General Assembly said on Tuesday.
UN human rights office welcomes moves to curtail spread of hatred and violence online
May 30, 2020, at 09:21 am
New York/IBNS: The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has welcomed steps taken by social media companies to prevent their platforms from being used to promote hatred, violence and misinformation, Spokesperson Rupert Colville said on Friday.
COVID-19: A ‘new and deadly threat’ for civilians caught up in violence
May 28, 2020, at 12:33 pm
New York/IBNS: Innocent civilians trapped in violence now face “a new and deadly threat” from COVID-19, the UN chief told the Security Council on Wednesday, warning that the pandemic is “amplifying and exploiting the fragilities of our world”.
May 27, 2020, at 02:15 pm
Paris: Speakers like prominent human rights activists from Balochistan and western analysts have accused Pakistan Army of being responsible for enforced disappearances, torture and killing of intellectuals, students and political activists in the country's resource-rich province in a recent virtual conference by a Paris-based rights group of the Baloch.
Pakistan: National Commission for Human Rights still non-functional even after a year lapse
May 19, 2020, at 06:18 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) is still not functioning even after a year since its first term ended.
Pakistan govt allegedly imposes ban on Balochistan Human Rights Commission's website
May 12, 2020, at 05:56 pm
Quetta/IBNS: In yet another attempt by the Pakistani authority to curb down the Baloch voices, PM Imran Khan-led administration has imposed an indefinite ban on the official website of Human Rights Commission of Balochistan, media reports said.
UN chief appeals for global action against coronavirus-fueled hate speech
May 09, 2020, at 03:35 pm
New York/IBNS: UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for concerted global action to quash the “tsunami” of hate speech that has risen alongside the COVID-19 pandemic.