On International Day of Solidarity, UN urges greater support and aid for Palestinians

“At least 67 children have been killed since the ceasefire,” Annalena Baerbock, president of the UN General Assembly, said on Tuesday at an event to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. “The people in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, also endured unspeakable hardship amidst Israeli military operations, settler violence, settlement expansion, evictions, and demolition,” underscored Courtenay Rattray, […]

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Thailand: Australian Journalist Charged with Defamation

(Bangkok) – Thai authorities should drop criminal defamation charges against the Australian journalist Murray Hunter, who is being prosecuted for reporting on Malaysia’s media regulating agency, Human Rights Watch said today. Thai authorities arrested Hunter on September 29, 2025, at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport while he was awaiting to board a flight to Hong Kong. He […]

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Syria: €10 million to help vulnerable people in Syria affected by the drought

The funding announced today will help people access water and rehabilitate critical water infrastructure. It will also improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions in government and non-government controlled areas. It will rapidly provide food and nutrition and help expand essential medical services. The funding will also help vulnerable people throughout the winter with heating fuel, […]

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Nigeria: Hundreds abducted in the north as insurgent attacks rise

At least 402 people, mainly schoolchildren, have been kidnapped in four states in the north-central region – Niger, Kebbi, Kwara and Borno – since 17 November, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday. Only 88 have reportedly been freed or escaped from captivity. Call for justice “We are shocked at the recent surge in mass abductions in north-central Nigeria,” OHCHR Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in Geneva. “We urge the Nigerian authorities […]

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UN Should Protect its Long Underfunded Human Rights Pillar

The United Nations leadership has launched a major reform plan to make the cash-strapped world body more efficient and cost-effective. Unfortunately, it has offered little on how this will impact the UN’s already understaffed and underfunded human rights work and the victims it is intended to help. The UN’s worsening financial crisis is largely due […]

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Cambodia: Returned Migrant Workers Face Hunger, Joblessness

The Cambodian government is not supporting hundreds of thousands of migrant workers with microfinance debts who returned from Thailand because of hostilities in mid-2025. The Cambodian government has long failed to ensure an adequate standard of living, compelling many families to obtain predatory microfinance loans, making the tenuous situation of people who returned even more […]

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New Data on Censorship and Harassment of Brazil’s Educators

A new quantitative study from National Observatory on Violence Against Educators represents one of the most comprehensive efforts to date to measure the nature and scale of censorship and harassment of educators across Brazil. While previous analyses have documented the legal and political tactics to undermine or prohibit human rights education, this new report offers a nationally representative […]

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COP30 Fails to Confront Drivers of Climate Crisis

In Belem, Brazil, as the United Nations climate summit (COP30) convened, I marched alongside thousands of activists and Indigenous peoples calling on governments to urgently address climate change and protect human rights. As previous host countries restricted such demonstrations, the November 15 march was exhilarating. However, despite clear—and powerful—calls from civil society for the summit to […]

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UN rights chief: AI misuse and corporate influence present ‘clear and present’ challenge

Opening the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva on Monday, he said that corporate power has become increasingly influential in terms of social change. He warned that without proper checks in place, new tools like generative artificial intelligence – or AI – could easily be misused. “When powerful tech giants introduce […]

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US Ends Temporary Legal Protection for Myanmar Nationals, Citing Elections as Progress

The United States has announced it will terminate temporary legal protection for citizens of Myanmar, a decision affecting roughly 4,000 nationals currently residing in the country. The move, set to take effect on January 26, 2026, was justified by Washington as recognition of “progress” linked to Myanmar’s upcoming elections. Background Myanmar has been mired in […]

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