Category: Human Rights

Twenty years ago today, I received a phone call in the middle of the night with the news that my friend and colleague, the prominent human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, had gone missing. At that time, Somchai was chair of Thailand’s Muslim Lawyers Association and vice-chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Official […]

The links between China’s rapidly expanding car industry and forced labor in the Xinjiang region demonstrate why it is vital for European Union governments to adopt a proposed law banning imports and exports linked to forced labor. EU institutions agreed on a draft version of the law on March 5, and EU governments are scheduled […]

In late February, I joined youth from 14 countries for a four-day seminar on the rising civilian toll caused by bombing and shelling with explosive weapons in towns and cities during armed conflict. The event was hosted by Mines Action Canada, a co-founder—along with Human Rights Watch—of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW). The […]

Influential people in Ghana are speaking out against the country’s dangerous anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) bill. Last week, Samia Nkrumah, a former member of parliament and chair of a major political party in Ghana, urged the president to veto an anti-LGBT bill, calling it “brutal, harsh, and unjust.” Nkrumah’s father, Kwame, is a […]

The Security Council meeting adjourned at 5:32 PM. Describing the evidence of unspeakable violence she had witnessed against Israeli civilians, the top UN official on sexual violence in war said she was also “horrified by the injustice of women and children killed in Gaza” since 7 October. HIGHLIGHTS Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative […]

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the final report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in the DPRK.  The groundbreaking report provided compelling evidence of widespread, systematic, and grave human rights violations by the DPRK government, and reflected the international community’s consensus view that the human rights situation […]

The escalation of violence and organized crime activity throughout Ecuador is having a dire impact on children’s rights. A temporary switch to online learning, as well as threats by criminal groups, have particularly impacted their right to learn in a safe environment. After President Daniel Noboa declared on January 9 an “armed conflict” against gangs, […]

Today, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič is participating at an event in Cologne-Bonn airport, Germany to mark the 1000th Ukrainian patient transferred to receive healthcare in Germany since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. The medical evacuations are coordinated and financially supported via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. In response […]

The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry, which reports to the Human Rights Council, warned that fighting escalated on 5 October last year, when consecutive explosions at a military academy graduation ceremony in government-controlled Homs killed at least 63 people, including 37 civilians. The Syrian Government and Russian forces “responded with bombardments” that struck at least […]

The text of the following joint statement was issued by the Government of the United States and the European Union: The United States and European Union are pleased to announce the release of joint guidance for online platforms, which sets out 10 practical steps platforms can take globally to prevent, mitigate, and provide remedy for attacks […]