Category: Human Rights

Media discussions in Cameroon about the health of its president, Paul Biya, 91, are now outlawed.  On October 9, the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, issued a communique saying that the health of President Biya is a “security issue,” that any media debate on the state of the president is “formally forbidden,” and that “offenders” will […]

The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that ambulances and relief centres had been “targeted or hit in Lebanon, causing further casualties”, adding that the UN health agency WHO and health partners have continued to deliver life-saving surgical supplies to frontline health workers. International humanitarian law provides special protection for ambulances, healthcare workers and their […]

On October 11, the United Nations Human Rights Council extended the mandate of its team of international experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo for another year. This was crucial, given the country’s deepening human rights and humanitarian crises, and an intensifying government crackdown on opposition party members, journalists, activists, and other critics of the government. The resolution, […]

“Millions of children worldwide are victims of physical, sexual, and psychological violence both online and offline, including child labor, child marriage, female genital mutilation, gender-based violence, trafficking, bullying, and cyberbullying, among many others,” she said. According to the report many more children are vulnerable to violence due to what it calls “multidimensional poverty.” Half of […]

This year’s global laureate for the UN refugee agency award, Sister Rosita Milesi, is a Brazilian nun, lawyer, social worker and movement builder who has championed the rights and dignity of people on the move for nearly 40 years. The four others have been named regional winners. “All too often, women face heightened risks of […]

A deadly military airstrike in Kaduna state, Nigeria, on September 27 claimed the lives of 24 people and injured dozens more, according to media reports, which stated that the strike was intended for criminal gangs popularly referred to as bandits, but instead killed others. This incident follows a series of erroneous military airstrikes that have killed hundreds […]

In a briefing to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Türk highlighted the widespread devastation and violations of international law that have defined the conflict. He noted that July 2024 was the deadliest month for civilians since October 2022, with a sharp rise in casualties due to large-scale Russian attacks […]

Hundreds, if not thousands, of children in Haiti, driven by hunger and poverty, have in recent months joined criminal groups, where they are forced into illegal activities and face abuse. Criminal groups have increased recruitment of children as a response to the law enforcement operations of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and the Haitian […]

The EU is mobilising all the emergency response tools at its disposal to support people affected by the ongoing crisis in Lebanon. Today, the EU launched a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation consisting of 3 flights from Dubai and Brindisi with the first one reaching Beirut on 11 October. The flights will transport EU-owned stocks including […]

The warning from Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA UNRWA was prompted by renewed evacuation orders from the Israeli military, which “many are refusing because they know too well that no place anywhere in Gaza is safe”. The development comes amid reports by the local authorities of intense Israeli bombardment in the north of the shattered enclave […]