Category: Human Rights

Fresh war crimes fears highlighted in new Yemen report

YPN for UNOCHAA mother holds her child in the Al Dhale’e Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp in Yemen.   The war in Yemen continues to ravage the country and its people, senior UN-appointed rights investigators said on Wednesday, in a call for an international probe into suspected war crimes, and sanctions against the perpetrators.   “Yemen […]

UN agency for Palestinian refugees launches $95 million appeal to keep COVID at bay

UNRWA/Louise Wateridge A health worker provides COVID-19 information to a patient visiting the Jerusalem Health Center.     The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a health and socio-economic emergency across the occupied Palestinian territory, the UN agency for the region warned on Friday, noting a swell of coronavirus cases in recent weeks.  The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA), said that it requires some $95 million to cover the emergency needs of 5.6 million […]

Independent rights experts call on India to remedy ‘alarming’ situation in Jammu and Kashmir

© John Isaac – Friday prayers in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.  UN-appointed independent human rights experts have called for urgent action in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, amid concerns of ongoing abuses against civilians there. The appeal comes a year after the Indian Parliament revoked the special status of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, which provided partial […]

Afghanistan: UN shocked and outraged over deadly attacks on maternity hospital and funeral

UNAMA/Freshta DuniaThe Pul-e-Kheshti Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan. (file)     Perpetrators behind two separate deadly attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday must be brought to justice, top UN officials have said. At least 14 people were killed, including two newborn babies, when gunmen attacked a maternity hospital in the capital, Kabul, that morning.UNAMA News@UNAMAnews UNAMA expresses shock and […]

Syria violence ‘a ticking time-bomb that must not be ignored’: UN human rights chief

UNDP Syria/ The UN is supporting vulnerable communities in Syria during the coronavirus pandemic.    As civilian casualties mount across Syria and human rights violations continue unabated, the UN rights chief expressed serious concern on Friday that some parties to the conflict, including ISIL terrorist fighters, may be using the COVID-19 pandemic as “an opportunity to […]

UN rights expert urges States to step-up anti-slavery efforts to protect most vulnerable during COVID-19

© UNICEF/Eyas El BabaThirteen-year-old boy in Palestine collects rubble near Gaza City, which he transports by donkey to the market to sell. A UN human rights expert urged governments on Tuesday to increase protection for those millions of workers, who due to the COVID-19 pandemic, risk being pushed into exploitative jobs that are tantamount to slavery.  “The […]