Gaza: Statement by HRVP Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič on the humanitarian situation and access constraints

The crisis in Gaza has reached another breaking point. The delivery of any meaningful humanitarian assistance inside Gaza has become almost impossible and the very fabric of civil society is unravelling. Starving civilians are resorting to desperate measures to access the limited aid that trickles in.  Due to the ongoing military operations and the collapse […]

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World News in Brief: UN expert welcomes Assange release, more ICC warrants issued over Ukraine, Human Rights Council updates

Mr. Assange had been sought by US lawmakers after massive leaks of classified material via the WikiLeaks platform. Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, told UN News that “people should not and should never be extradited to where they may face a torture or other […]

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Secretary Blinken to Release 2023 International Religious Freedom Report

Secretary Blinken will deliver on-camera remarks for the release of the 2023 International Religious Freedom Report on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. in the Treaty Room at the U.S. Department of State.  This event will be livestreamed on www.state.gov.  Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain will deliver remarks following those of […]

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Philippine Court Clears Leading ‘Drug War’ Critic

A Philippine court has dismissed the last pending criminal case against former senator Leila de Lima, ending a seven-year legal battle brought by then-President Rodrigo Duterte against one of the country’s preeminent human rights defenders. The case, for alleged drug dealing, was among three charges filed against de Lima that led to her detention in police custody for […]

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The EU updates its Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict

Children are disproportionately affected by armed conflict. They face violence, injury and death, recruitment or use by armed forces and armed groups, displacement and uprooting, interrupted education, lack of health care, long-lasting physical and mental trauma and much more.  On 24 June 2024, the EU significantly updated its Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) framework by […]

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World News in Brief: Guterres condemns terror attacks in Dagestan, call to end ‘war on drugs’, women Heads of State

In a statement issued by his Spokesperson on Monday, António Guterres conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families, the people and Government of Russia, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. Gunmen using automatic weapons reportedly opened fire inside a Christian Orthodox church and synagogue in the city of Derbent on Sunday evening, killing an Orthodox […]

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken at the Release of the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report

AMBASSADOR DYER:  Good morning, everyone.  My name is Cindy Dyer, and I have the privilege of serving as the ambassador-at-large for the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.  Thank you all for joining us today to mark the release of the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report or TIP Report.  This is a particularly […]

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New Mass Media Law Threatens Freedom of Speech, Information in Kazakhstan

Although Kazakhstan’s new mass media law has some amendments that should improve the status quo, its ambiguity and the restrictive nature of other provisions threaten to create obstacles to the work of local and foreign journalists. The law, which President Kassym-Jomart Tokaev signed on June 19, supersedes the laws on media and on television and radio broadcasting. The […]

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First Person: Philippines ‘cyber cops’ tackle explosion of online child abuse

The Southeast Asian country has been identified as one of many trouble spots for online child abuse on the internet, a phenomenon which has grown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cheng Veniles works with law enforcement, prosecution and court officers as part of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) initiatives on online child […]

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Record levels of displacement amid global conflict and natural disasters

Mr. Piper said that the current global figure of 76 million represented those who have “lost their homes, livelihoods, their communities and in some cases, their legal identities, because of wars, disasters like earthquakes and floods, and other weather-related disasters.” Internally displaced people (IDPs), unlike refugees, have not crossed international borders. While some return home […]

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