“With this milestone agreement, we are poised to accompany Sudan through an important moment in its history” – the words of UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday, as she signed a deal between the UN and the newly-constituted Government of Sudan to open a Human Rights Office in the capital, Khartoum. The signing […]
Category: Human Rights
Nowhere is safe to hide in war-torn Yemen, say UN-appointed rights experts
The people of Yemen have been subject to “numerous” possible war crimes in recent years including forced recruitment of children and sexual abuse in detention, UN-appointed senior rights experts said on Tuesday, in an appeal to the international community to do more to end the conflict. At the launch of its second report into alleged violations […]
Steps taken to end Saudi ‘guardianship’ system for women, ‘encouraging’ start
Allowing Saudi women to apply for passports and travel without their guardians’ permission is “an encouraging move” towards the “complete abolition of the ‘guardianship’ system,” independent United Nations rights experts said on Thursday, but more action is needed to fully dismantle these restrictions. “Any progress will remain very frail unless accompanied by wider reforms and […]
Four in 10 indigenous languages at risk of disappearing, warn UN human rights experts
Of 7,000 indigenous languages spoken today, four in 10 are in danger of disappearing, rights experts said on Wednesday, in a call for a decade of action to reverse the “historic destruction” of age-old dialects. In an appeal to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Friday (9 August), UN-appointed experts said that […]
In Afghanistan, attacks against schools have tripled in one year
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday that much greater protection for educational facilities was needed across Afghanistan where attacks against schools have increased three-fold in just one year. The call coincides with the third International Conference on Safe Schools, taking place this week in Mallorca, Spain. If you are a pupil in Afghanistan, […]
North Koreans trapped in ‘vicious cycle of deprivation, corruption, repression’ and endemic bribery: UN human rights office
Bribery is the main way people in North Korea get food, healthcare, shelter and work, a new UN human rights office report said on Tuesday. Based on more than 200 first-hand accounts of escapees from the country, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the report asserts that the State-run public distribution […]