Canada: All 10 Provinces To End Immigration Detention in Jails

(Ottawa) – All 10 of Canada‘s provinces have now committed to ending their immigration detention agreements and arrangements with the Canada Border Services Agency, a major victory for migrant and refugee rights, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International Canada said today. Newfoundland and Labrador, the last remaining province, has now confirmed that it will no […]

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World News in Brief: Dignity and justice key to end evil of racial discrimination, methane emissions update, Mpox latest, peacebuilding boost

The international day on Thursday highlights that theme, as well as the importance of recognition, justice and development opportunities for those of African descent, said Secretary-General António Guterres. He said the results of entrenched racism continue to be devasting: “opportunities stolen; dignity denied; rights violated; lives taken and lives destroyed.” The African diaspora faces a […]

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Cameroon: Government Bans Opposition Coalitions

(Nairobi) – A declaration by Cameroon’s territorial administration minister to make two opposition coalitions illegal is part of a government crackdown on opposition and dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 12, 2024, the minister, Paul Atanga Nji, said in a statement that the Political Alliance for Change (Alliance politique pour le changement, APC), […]

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Accountability essential to counter human rights abuse in DPR Korea

In an oral update to the Human Rights Council – UN’s paramount human rights body – Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif said that DPRK (more commonly known as North Korea) was showing no signs of compliance. “As there are no indications that the State will address impunity, it is imperative that accountability is pursued outside […]

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Ugandan Appeals Court Shutters LGBT Rights Group

Last week, in another blow to freedoms of association and expression in Uganda, a Ugandan court rejected a petition brought by Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a leading group advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, to compel the government to register the NGO. The petition was rejected on the grounds […]

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UN report details ‘climate of fear’ in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine

Based on over 2,300 testimonies from victims and witnesses, the report details measures taken by Russia to impose Russian language, citizenship, laws, court system and education curricula in the occupied areas, while at the same time suppressing expressions of Ukrainian culture and identity, and dismantling its governance and administrative systems. “The actions of the Russian […]

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Drone Attack Collapses Odesa Residential Building

On March 2, Andriy Sidak raced to his sister’s apartment building fearing the worst. Earlier, a Russian drone had struck the building in the north part of Odesa. What he found was rubble and dust, the mangled remains of what had been a nine-story residential building. Witnesses say the drone hit the building at the […]

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Armed groups continue terror campaign across Burkina Faso

High Commissioner Volker Türk said, from the capital Ouagadougou, that his local office had been “engaging intensely with the authorities, civil society actors, human rights defenders, UN partners and others on many of the multifaceted human rights challenges” the country faces following a coup in January 2022 that saw Captain Ibrahim Traoré assume power. Solidarity […]

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New Bill Would Protect Child Farmworkers in the US

A bill introduced today in the US Senate would strengthen protections for children working on farms. The new legislative push comes amid rising child labor violations and backsliding on child labor protections by some US states. Senator Ben Ray Luján’s bill, the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment in Agriculture, or CARE Act of 2024, would […]

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UN leaders galvanize action for reparations for people of African descent

Experts and UN leaders exchanged views about the best ways forward, centred on this year’s theme, A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent.  While the decade ends in 2024, much work remains to be done, General Assembly President Dennis Francis told the world body. To galvanize […]

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