Category: Politics

Proportion of women parliamentarians worldwide reaches ‘all-time high’

UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein | Women parliamentarians of the Afghan Lower House (Wolesi Jirga or “House of the People”) arrive at their inauguration ceremony in Kabul (2001). The proportion of women parliamentarians worldwide reached more than 25 per cent last year– a historic first but still far from gender parity, UN partner the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) […]

Libya: Crimes against humanity committed since 2016 – rights probe

27 March 2023 UN-appointed independent human rights investigators on Monday said there are grounds to believe that Libyan authorities and armed militia groups have been responsible for “a wide array” of war crimes, and crimes against humanity in recent years. In the case of State security forces, human rights violations were committed to quash dissent and exploit […]

Belarus: Ensure ‘full respect’ for workers’ rights during protests, ILO urges President Lukashenko

Kseniya Halubovich A large crowd protesting in Belarus.   Voicing deep concern over detention and arrests of trade unionists in Belarus, the head of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) called on President Alexander Lukashenko to ensure a climate free from violence and intimidation against peacefully protesting workers.  According to ILO, six trade unionists were detained by the […]

Jordan: Closing teachers’ union, detaining officials, ‘serious’ rights violations

UN News/Jing Zhang A street scene in Amman, Jordan.     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.  The Government closed the Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate last month, reportedly in retaliation for criticizing the […]

UN chief: Belarusians must be able to exercise their ‘civil and political rights’

Unsplash/Jana Shnipelson Woman in Minsk, Belarus.     Closely following the developments in Belarus, Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement on Friday underlining the importance of enabling all Belarusians to “exercise their civil and political rights”.  Following the announcement that authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko – who has ruled since 1994 – had a landslide victory in Sunday’s presidential election, […]

Belarus: UN rights chief condemns violence against protesters, calls for grievances to be heard

UN News/Daniel Johnson – Michele Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (file)    The flow of free information is “crucial” in a democratic society, the UN human rights chief said on Wednesday, spotlighting the landlocked eastern European nation of Belarus, “especially in a context of crisis and social unrest”. Following the announcement by the […]