Category: Human Rights

The United States congratulates President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake on his victory in the Sri Lankan presidential election, as confirmed by the vote results on September 22. We commend the people of Sri Lanka for peacefully exercising their right to vote. This election is a testament to the strength of Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions and the […]

The following is the text of a joint statement by the Governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Begin text: The Governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States note with deep concern the announcement by South Sudan’s leaders of an extension of the country’s transitional period by two years. […]

(New York) – World leaders gathering for the United Nations General Assembly’s annual General Debate should call for action to end the global human rights crises, Human Rights Watch said. During the sessions from September 20 to 30, 2024, the situations in Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Afghanistan should top the agenda. At the UN Summit of the Future, leaders […]

In a modest tent in a makeshift camp for displaced people west of the town of Al-Zawaida in Deir al-Balah governorate in Gaza, children whose lives have been turned upside down by a deadly war and widespread destruction are meeting speech therapist Amina Al-Dahdouh. She is there to help them regain confidence in speaking. An […]

President von der Leyen delivered the following statement yesterday in a press conference with Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, on support for Ukraine’s energy security in the coming winter: “In one month, we will mark 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 1000 days of absolute cruelty from the Kremlin. Since the […]

The United Kingdom Labour Party is about to meet for its annual conference. Now that Labour is in government, with their leader Keir Starmer as prime minister, it should act to strengthen social security, and tackle poverty and inequality. The first concrete step should be immediately ending the cruel “two-child limit” policy. The “two-child limit” […]

Following severe flooding across Central and Eastern Europe, the EU has mobilised assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism at the request of Czechia and Poland. In Czechia, several EU member states have stepped in to provide crucial support. Slovenia, Belgium, Croatia and Germany have sent hundreds of dehumidifiers, essential for drying water-damaged buildings and […]

A September 9 internal report by the United Nations Population Fund, the UN agency tasked with improving reproductive and maternal health, found that 268 out of the 348 women held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Makala prison – nearly 80 percent – were victims of rape and other sexual violence when an attempted […]

The European Union has released €5.4 million in humanitarian aid to help the most affected populations in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali and Burkina Faso.  More than 4.4 million people are estimated to be affected in the six countries. Floods have led to the destruction of houses, public […]

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) July advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a landmark ruling. The ICJ’s findings are legally and morally persuasive, and set out obligations on all states, and on the United Nations itself. Two of its important conclusions are with respect to […]