Category: Human Rights

Russian courts have issued the first known extremism convictions arising from the 2023 Supreme Court decision designating the “international LGBT movement” as extremist. The Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates to allow arbitrary prosecution of LGBT people and of anyone who defends their rights or expresses solidarity with them. The only way to remedy this […]

Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for OHCHR, said in a statement that the Office regretted the announcement and that it continues to engage with the authorities and other stakeholders. “Our guiding principle has been and remains the promotion and protection of the human rights of the people of Venezuela,” she added. Earlier this week, OHCHR said […]

(Berlin, February 16, 2024) – The Kremlin bears responsibility for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death in prison, Human Rights Watch said today. Russia’s state prison service said in a public statement on February 16, 2024 that Navalny had lost consciousness and could not be resuscitated. “For more than a decade the Kremlin persecuted, imprisoned, […]

Mr. Navalny, 47, had lost consciousness and could not be revived, according to media reports. “If someone dies in the custody of the State, the presumption is that the State is responsible – a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body,” said OHCHR […]

Zimbabwe’s cabinet has approved a bill that, if passed by parliament, will abolish the death penalty. Member of Parliament Edwin Mushoriwa introduced a private members bill in 2023 – the Death Penalty Abolition Bill – to amend Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Code and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act to abolish the death penalty. Nationwide consultations across the […]

Expressing deep concern, the Human Rights Council-appointed experts highlighted the alarming toll on journalists and media workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza. “We are alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza, in […]

Data confirms that the impacts of the climate crisis fall hardest on countries and people who are already struggling and who have contributed the least to climate change. But the right policies can both confront the climate crisis and protect and improve people’s social and economic rights. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately vulnerable to […]

“Even one mutilation is one too many,” António Guterres said in his message to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), observed annually on 6 February. The UN estimates that globally, 200 million women and girls have been subjected to some form of FGM, which involves the removal of or […]

An EU-funded programme has helped the twins recover, but much more needs to be done to prevent millions of other stories having a different ending. Arafa Musa cuddles her twins, Mawada and Mushtaha, while waiting to be examined at Dar Al-Salam health facility in Port Sudan, occasionally speaking to them softly as they breastfeed in […]

As Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese has a mandate from the Council which includes investigating violations, undertaking regular visits or missions and reporting on findings. Israel’s Foreign Minister and Interior Minister announced this week that she was prohibited from entering the country following recent comments […]