Category: Human Rights

21 March marks the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and honours the legacy of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, when South African police opened fire on a peaceful protest against apartheid, killing 69 people. A toxic legacy Despite decades of progress, racism remains a threat, UN Secretary-General […]

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has raised serious concerns over a growing wave of arbitrary arrests, particularly targeting lawyers, judges, and military personnel. The UN has called for the immediate release of detainees, highlighting the use of filmed confessions, where individuals are allegedly coerced into admitting to crimes and then publicly humiliated. […]

A group of former journalists and staff from Voice of America (VOA), alongside advocacy groups such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), have filed a lawsuit in New York federal court seeking to reinstate employees and contractors who were terminated following President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14238. This […]

In a joint appeal, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) urged all countries to step up to support the displaced Rohingya – the world’s largest stateless population. A ‘frightening’ place The humanitarian situation in Cox’s Bazar – home to around one million Rohingya in Bangladesh – has worsened. […]

As Afghanistan’s new school year commences, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has once again called on the Taliban to lift its ongoing ban on girls’ secondary education. This restriction, in place since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, has left millions of Afghan girls without access to education and is threatening […]

Government officials, local authorities, health professionals, and civil society are gathering today at the second global conference on air pollution and health in Cartagena, Colombia. As multilateralism is under threat, this convening is a crucial opportunity for policymakers to make progress on tackling air pollution globally. Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government […]

Today, in a pivotal moment for Syria’s transition, the European Union hosted the ninth edition of the Brussels Conference “Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition.”  Amid renewed hope and significant challenges after the fall of the Assad regime, the EU alongside EU Member States, regional and international partners, as well as, […]

There have been a staggering 1,614 recorded attacks on Ukrainian schools up to the end of last year says the report from the UN human rights office OHCHR – part of a legacy of death, injury, disability and family separation. Children’s educational attainment level has plummeted during the unrelenting hostilities, “diminishing their future educational path […]

Spokespersons for UNICEF and UNHCR in Geneva warned that the liquidity crunch has jeopardized lifesaving work, including progress in reducing child mortality, which has fallen by 60 per cent since 1990.   By slashing severe acute malnutrition by one-third since 2000, UNICEF’s efforts have kept 55 million children alive, through simple interventions, it insisted. “There are […]

A federal court has temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive Social Security records after ruling that such access violated privacy laws. The decision, handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Thursday, was based on concerns raised by two national labor groups and an […]