Category: Human Rights

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s scheduled January 25-28 visit to China, accompanied by over 20 Finnish business leaders, is the latest in a wave of trips by democratic governments seeking closer trade relations with Beijing. Recent visits by leaders from Ireland, Sweden, France, Germany, and Canada follow a familiar script: trade and investment dominate the agenda while human rights concerns […]

Speaking in the General Assembly, he said the global system was under unprecedented strain from wars, division, climate breakdown and the erosion of respect for international law. He framed the speech as both a diagnosis of the current global disorder and a personal commitment to press for change during his final year in office. The […]

(Beirut) – Both sides in the conflict between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Northeast Syria need to protect civilians and respect human rights in their operations, Human Rights Watch said today.  The parties should not arbitrarily block aid delivery or destroy or block access to critical infrastructure. They should fully support […]

The UN Security Council is meeting in New York in emergency session on Iran, amid escalating concern over reports that hundreds have been killed during weeks of nationwide anti-government protests. The meeting was requested by the United States. Demonstrations that began in late December, fuelled by soaring inflation, rising food prices and the collapse of the […]

On January 19, International Criminal Court (ICC) Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan briefed the United Nations Security Council on her office’s ongoing investigation in Darfur, Sudan. Deputy Prosecutor Khan had to attend the briefing remotely after not being granted a visa to brief the Council in person in New York City. That decision came in the wake of […]

From Gambia’s legal team, Jessica Jones highlighted how the Rohingya faced “longstanding denigration” and hate speech from senior and other members of the Myanmar military.  Ms. Jones also referred to a video posted on Facebook in August 2017 featuring a soldier displaying “clear encouragement of genocidal violence against the Rohingya” – actions that would be […]

In a January 26 ruling, a Japanese district court held the North Korean government liable for grave human rights violations against Koreans and Japanese citizens lured to North Korea through its “Paradise on Earth” campaign, ordering it to pay 22 million yen (US$142,000) to each plaintiff. Eiko Kawasaki, now 83, and three others filed the lawsuit […]

Addressing judges in The Hague, Ko Ko Hlaing, speaking as Myanmar’s agent, said his country fully recognizes the importance of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide but firmly denies breaching its obligations under international law. “A finding of genocide would place an indelible stain on my country and […]

As Bhutan’s prime minister Tshering Tobgay tours Europe this week seeking investments in the “Gelephu Mindfulness City” mega-project, European leaders should urge him to release the 30 remaining political prisoners from his country’s notorious jails. The 30 men have been held in cruel conditions for decades, after convictions for “treason” following unfair trials that included […]

The UN advocates for the universal abolition of the death penalty. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by 175 countries, protects the right to life and stipulates that, for countries that have not abolished capital punishment, it be imposed only for the ‘most serious crimes’ in exceptional cases.  OHCHR said the sharp increase in capital […]