Category: Human Rights

Armenia’s appeals court on November 19 significantly weakened protections against disability-based discrimination and further restricted access to justice for people undergoing disability assessment. The court overturned a progressive ruling by a lower court and held that discrimination “on the basis of disability” can only occur under the law if a person has already been formally recognized […]

UN News asked Astrid Van Genderen Stort, OHCHR chief of external engagement and partnerships, about hers.   “My everyday essentials are my family, a sense of belonging, knowledge, safety and the freedom to speak, do and live the way I deem best,” she responded. With the help of artificial intelligence, UN News has analysed the […]

(Beirut) –The detention of an Emirati dissident in Syria raises serious concerns that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will pressure Syrian authorities to extradite him, Human Rights Watch said today.  An informed source told Human Rights Watch that Syrian authorities detained Jasem al-Shamsi, 55, at a checkpoint in the Damascus countryside on November 6, 2025, […]

Briefing the Security Council, Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, and Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said nearly half the population will need protection and humanitarian assistance in 2026. Women and girls remain “systematically excluded” from almost all aspects of public life, Ms. Gagnon said, as the ban on […]

This year’s honourees include five remarkable laureates from Cameroon, Mexico, Ukraine, Iraq and Tajikistan, each recognised for their courage, empathy and determination to protect people forced to flee. Established in 1954, the award celebrates those who go far beyond the call of duty to support refugees, internally displaced people and the stateless. Announcing the winners, […]

Georgia’s ruling party has introduced new legislation that would dramatically weaken protections for peaceful assembly, further shrinking democratic space and flouting basic human rights standards guaranteed by the country’s constitution and international law. The bill, tabled on December 8, is being reviewed under an expedited procedure without a substantiated justification for bypassing the ordinary legislative timeline. […]

In response to the devastating floods that have hit Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand, the European Union has released €2.4 million in emergency assistance for the most affected areas. This funding will serve to provide essential relief to the most vulnerable communities. Up to €1.8 million will support relief efforts in Sri Lanka, including €500,000 […]

When Rights Collide in the Classroom: Gender Identity, Minors, and the Complex Intersection of Law, Belief and Duty A quiet request within a school — that staff address a student by a different name or pronouns — can appear straightforward on the surface. But when the student is a minor, when staff hold deeply rooted […]

Speaking from the shattered enclave, UNICEF Communication Manager Tess Ingram said that at least 165 children are reported to have died “painful, preventable deaths” related to malnutrition during the war between Hamas fighters and Israel. A lesser-known scourge is acute hunger among pregnant and breastfeeding women and “the devastating domino effect” of this lack of […]