Latest Human Rights News
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- Africa: World Will Miss Target of Ending FGM By 2030 Without Urgent Action - Including From Men and Boysby Unicef on February 4, 2023 at 6:49 am
[Unicef] New York -- Joint Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
- Uganda: Bobi Wine Urges Leaders to Speak Up for Release of Political Prisonersby Nile Post on February 3, 2023 at 1:55 pm
[Nile Post] The leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine has challenged leaders at all levels in Uganda to demand for the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
- South Africa: Dire Shortage of School Places for Autistic Childrenby GroundUp on February 3, 2023 at 1:43 pm
[GroundUp] There are currently 133 children on the waiting list at Quest School for Learners with Autism, the only public specialist school in Gqeberha
- Southern Africa: 'Bring King Mswati to the Table'by Namibian on February 3, 2023 at 9:36 am
[Namibian] Human rights activists have called on Southern African Development Community (Sadc) leaders to bring King Mswati of Eswatini to the negotiation table to resolve the political impasse in the kingdom.
- Zimbabwe: Mliswa Pokes Holes On Private Voluntary Organisation Billby 263Chat on February 3, 2023 at 9:13 am
[263Chat] Independent Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has poked holes on the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Amendment Bill questioning the use of the proposed law when there are others laws overriding the same.
- Zimbabwe: President Must Reject Proposed New Law That Threatens Rights and Civic Spaceby AI London on February 3, 2023 at 7:39 am
[AI London] Responding to the Senate's passing of the Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Amendment Bill, which now awaits President Emmerson Mnangagwa's assent to become law, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa, said:
- Zimbabwe: Rape Sentences Need Full Review Urgentlyby The Herald on February 3, 2023 at 7:36 am
[The Herald] If anything adds to the heat in Parliament to legislate for a very high minimum mandatory sentence for rapists, and 20 years has been suggested, the decision by a regional magistrate sitting in Marondera to pass an effective seven-year sentence on a 21-year-old man for pre-meditated rape of an 11-year-old will add the required fuel.
- Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Parliament Enacts Law Critics Say Paralyzes NGO Freedomsby VOA on February 3, 2023 at 4:42 am
[VOA] Harare, Zimbabwe -- Jeers filled the air when lawmakers of the ruling ZANU-PF party celebrated after the Private Voluntary Organizations Amendment Bill, which regulates non-governmental organizations, passed in Zimbabwe's Senate late Wednesday.
- Tanzania: Tanzania's Eviction of Maasai Pastoralists Continuesby HRW on February 3, 2023 at 4:39 am
[HRW] In June 2022, residents of Loliondo division in northern Tanzania's Ngorongoro district protested what they said was a government move to evict them from their ancestral land in the name of conservation. The government responded with excessive force, leading to two days of violence.
- Ghana: Water ATMs Are Changing the Way People Can Access This Vital Resourceby The Conversation Africa on February 2, 2023 at 7:01 pm
[The Conversation Africa] Universal, safe and reliable water access is a pressing need in the global south. One-quarter of the world's population don't currently have access to clean drinking water. In Ghana, about 5 million people out of a total population of about 31 million lack access to clean, safe water. One person in ten has to spend more than 30 minutes to get drinking water.
- Tunisia: Convictions of Six Civilians By Military Courts Must Be Quashedby AI London on February 2, 2023 at 6:18 pm
[AI London] Tunisia's military courts should immediately quash the recent convictions of six civilians, including four opposition politicians and a prominent lawyer, and release those who have already been detained, Amnesty International said today.
- South Africa: Home Affairs Accused of Violating Children's Rightsby GroundUp on February 2, 2023 at 4:12 pm
[GroundUp] The department has refused to register dozens of children in Musina in cases where one of their parents is undocumented
- Nigeria: Niger Delta Communities File Claims Against Shell in UK High Court Over Devastating Oil Spillsby AI London on February 2, 2023 at 2:55 pm
[AI London] Reacting to the news that two Nigerian communities, which have been devastated by oil spills, have filed claims against Shell at the High Court in London, Amnesty International's Head of Business and Human Rights Mark Dummett, said:
- Southern Africa: SADC Calls Out King Mswati, Urges Urgent National Dialogue in eSwatiniby allAfrica on February 2, 2023 at 2:50 pm
[allAfrica] Harare -- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is calling for a national dialogue in the Kingdom of eSwatini, after the assassination of political activist Advocate Thulani Maseko. Southern Africa's regional bloc acknowledged that political tensions were rising in the tiny kingdom, while attending an extraordinary meeting which took place in Namibia's capital, Windhoek.
- Burundi: Journalist's Conviction Violates Free Speech Rightsby HRW on February 2, 2023 at 2:37 pm
[HRW] Release Floriane Irangabiye; End Politicized Prosecutions
- Southern Africa: Namibian President Geingob Worried By Escalation of Tensions in eSwatiniby Namibian on February 2, 2023 at 9:58 am
[Namibian] PRESIDENT Hage Geingob yesterday expressed concern about the escalation of tensions in Eswatini, and reiterated his call for authorities in the kingdom to investigate the death of human rights and political activists Thulani Rudolf Maseko.
- Nigeria: Shell Must Clean Up Devastating Oil Spills in the Niger Deltaby AI London on February 2, 2023 at 9:32 am
[AI London] Reacting to the news that two Nigerian communities, which have been devastated by oil spills, have filed claims against Shell at the High Court in London, Amnesty International's Head of Business and Human Rights Mark Dummett, said:
- Zimbabwe: Police Accused of Abusing Sex Workersby New Zimbabwe on February 2, 2023 at 9:06 am
[New Zimbabwe] LEGISLATORS have tasked the Economic Justice Women's Project (EJWP) to urgently facilitate an engagement meeting with the Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)Godwin Matanga to iron out rising reports of sexual abuse being perpetrated by police officers on sex workers.
- Tanzania: President Calls for Timely Justiceby Daily News on February 2, 2023 at 7:31 am
[Daily News] PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has stressed the importance of timely dispensation of justice through arbitration of disputes in order to preserve the prevailing peace as well as attract investments and saving costs incurred through lengthy court procedures.
- Algeria: Govt Increases Pressure On Local Human Rights Activistsby DW on February 2, 2023 at 4:58 am
[DW] In Algeria, journalists and human rights activists are being jailed in larger numbers. Most recently a major human rights groups was dissolved by court order, but under questionable circumstances.
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- UN rights chief appeals for Israelis and Palestinians to end ‘illogic of escalation’on February 3, 2023 at 12:00 pm
As violence mounts between Israelis and Palestinians, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday called for an end to the “illogic of escalation”, appealing for leaders to urgently work to resolve their decades-long conflict.
- UN child rights committee lauds Swiss asylum offer to Kurdish familyon February 3, 2023 at 12:00 pm
The UN child rights committee on Friday commended Switzerland for swiftly granting asylum to four Kurdish children and their mother, who faced deportation after fleeing Syria, adding that it showed how controversial decisions could be effectively appealed.
- Spain: Rights experts call for probe into claim Catalan leaders were spied onon February 2, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Three independent UN-appointed human rights experts on Thursday demanded that the Spanish Government thoroughly investigate an alleged spying operation against leaders and activists from the Catalonia region, in the wake of a failed bid for independence six years ago.
- Resolution of ‘racism’ complaint brought by Qatar against UAE and Saudi Arabiaon February 2, 2023 at 12:00 pm
A UN body investigating discrimination complaints lodged by Qatar against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia concluded its work following the resolution of these disputes, according to an announcement on Thursday.
- UN experts laud International Olympic Committee for considering admission of Russian, Belarusian athleteson February 1, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Two UN experts commended the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday for considering the admission of athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus in sports competitions as “neutral” contestants.
- Mali: Independent rights experts call for probe into Wagner Group’s alleged crimeson January 31, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Top UN-appointed independent rights experts on Tuesday called on the authorities in Mali to launch an immediate probe into the mass execution of civilians last year, allegedly by Government forces and the Russia-based private military contractor, the Wagner Group.
- Deny legitimacy of Myanmar’s military junta, UN expert urgeson January 31, 2023 at 12:00 pm
The international community must promptly deny the legitimacy of Myanmar’s military junta, the UN-appointed independent expert on the situation of human rights in the country said briefing at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, launching a critical report as the coup enters its third year on Wednesday.
- Hate Speech: Turning the tideon January 30, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Online hate speech might seem like an unstoppable tide, but strategies are being employed by governments, civil society, and individuals, to fight back. A new UN Podcasts series, UNiting Against Hate, explains how this dangerous phenomenon is being tackled worldwide.
- Libya: human rights abuses must be addressed, says UN probeon January 30, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Top UN-appointed independent rights investigators on Monday urged the authorities to share more information on mass graves and other serious crimes linked to the country’s civil war.
- Two years on from Myanmar military coup, UN chief stresses international unity, as arrests, airstrikes continueon January 30, 2023 at 12:00 pm
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for Member States to urge the military leadership in Myanmar to respect the will and needs of its own people, as risks to regional stability grow.
- Hate speech: Nations fight backon January 29, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Online hate speech is a growing, worrying phenomenon that puts lives at risks. In the second of three feature stories based on the new UN Podcasts series, UNiting Against Hate, we focus on the national strategies Costa Rica and the Czech Republic have put in place to tackle the issue.
- Hate speech: A growing, international threaton January 28, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Whilst hate speech is nothing new, it has arguably been super-charged by the internet, which has allowed lies, conspiracies, and threats to instantly spread around the world. In a short series of features, based on the new UN Podcasts series, UNiting Against Hate, we look at the effects, and possible solutions, to this growing problem.
- We must not simply remember, ‘but speak out and stand up’: UN chief Guterreson January 28, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Antisemitism has been described as the canary in the coal mine of freedom, and with hateful bigots and dangerous conspiracy theorists now finding willing audiences online, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday said, “we must pledge to speak out wherever we witness hate and to stand up for human rights and dignity for all.”
- ‘All sides need to think about the future they want for Venezuela’, says UN human rights chiefon January 28, 2023 at 12:00 pm
There is a general recognition across Venezuela’s political and social spectrum of the need for reform, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Saturday, wrapping up a trip to the country during which, among others, he heard complaints of arbitrary detention and torture.
- Holocaust remembrance: beware ‘siren songs of hate’ – UN chiefon January 27, 2023 at 12:00 pm
At a UN ceremony to mark the Holocaust on Friday, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that antisemitism, hate speech, and misinformation are ever-present, 90 years on from the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.
- Myanmar mired ever deeper in crisis as human rights spiral backwards, warns Türkon January 27, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Nearly two years on from Myanmar’s brutal military coup against the democratically-elected government, the country has sunk deeper than ever into crisis, undergoing a wholesale regression in human rights, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday.
- Systemic racism within UK criminal justice system a serious concern: UN human rights expertson January 27, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Racism in the United Kingdom is “structural, institutional and systemic”, independent UN human rights experts said on Friday, warning that people of African descent in the country continue to encounter discrimination and erosion of their fundamental rights.
- Home, belonging, and the Holocauston January 26, 2023 at 12:00 pm
This year, the theme of the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked on Friday, is “home and belonging”, two concepts that were systematically ripped away from Jewish citizens, once the Nazi Party took control of Germany in 1933.
- Closure of Moscow Helsinki Group, ‘yet another blow to human rights’ in Russia: OHCHRon January 26, 2023 at 12:00 pm
The court order closing down Russia’s oldest human rights organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), is “yet another blow to human rights and civic space in the country”, said a Spokesperson for the UN rights office, OHCHR on Thursday.
- Crises hindering victim identification: UNODC human trafficking reporton January 24, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Fewer victims of people trafficking are being identified, even as the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises are increasing their vulnerability, a new report released on Tuesday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has found.