Human Rights – UN News Centre

It’s been six months since the military coup in Myanmar where there’s grave concern over the widening impact of the deepening political, human rights and humanitarian crisis affecting the country’s people.

The continued recruitment and presence of mercenaries in Libya is impeding “progress in the peace process” and an obstacle to upcoming elections, independent UN human rights experts said on Friday, calling for their “long overdue” departure.  

People being plunged into poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the killing of people with albinism, the outgoing UN appointed independent expert said on Thursday.  

It has never been more urgent to recommit to the spirit and fundamental principles of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday as it marked the 70th anniversary of the key international treaty. 

The UN independent expert on the human rights situation in Myanmar on Tuesday called for a “COVID ceasefire” for the country, as infections and deaths soar even as the military junta escalates attacks against healthcare workers. 

Landmark elections in the Occupied Palestinian territory must be rescheduled soon and include East Jerusalem, three UN independent human rights experts said in a statement on Monday. 

Independent UN rights experts on Wednesday warned that hundreds of Venezuelan cancer patients could die because they have been caught up in the excessively strict application of United States sanctions aimed at Venezuela and the state-owned oil company, Petroleum of Venezuela.

Celebrating what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 102nd birthday on Wednesday, the UN deputy chief hailed the man who led the struggle that ended the racist apartheid system in his native South Africa as exemplifying “courage, compassion and an unwavering commitment to social justice and equality”.   

Survivors of a massacre of mainly Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, and people associated with the perpetrators of what has become known as the Srebrenica genocide, have been telling their stories in a new exhibition by the United Nations, released 26 years after the events took place.

The UN human rights chief on Monday said the apparent widespread use of Pegasus spy software to illegally undermine the rights of those under surveillance, including journalists and politicians, was “extremely alarming” and confirmed “some of the worst fears” surrounding the potential misuse of such technology. 

Attacks against so-called slaves in Mali are on the rise and authorities must do more to prevent them, two independent UN human rights experts said on Monday.

Human rights defenders in Myanmar are being targeted under a “brute force terror campaign” by the military junta, United Nations independent experts said on Monday, calling again for a stronger international response to the coup.

Nelson Mandela International Day is an opportunity to reflect on the life and legacy of “a legendary global advocate for dignity, equality, justice and human rights”, the UN chief said on Sunday.  

One in three prisoners around the world is being held without having stood trial or been found guilty by any court, according to a new study published on Friday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday called for the prompt release of protestors and journalists detained during anti-government demonstrations in Cuba, some of whom are being held incommunicado. 

A UN-appointed independent rights expert has spoken out following the death in custody of a renowned Catholic priest, who suffered from Parkinson’s Disease.

A new report issued on Wednesday by the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS shows that people living with the human immunodeficiency virus face the double jeopardy of HIV and COVID-19 – as widening inequalities continue to prevent them from accessing services. 

Surging COVID-19 cases as the Delta variant spreads, a collapsed health system, and “deep mistrust” of the military junta, are a “perfect storm” of factors that could lead to further major loss of life in Myanmar, the UN independent expert on the human rights situation in the country warned on Wednesday.

Releasing two companion reports on Monday, the UN health agency has provided the first global recommendations for DNA-altering technology, known as human genome editing, to be used as a safe, effective and ethical public health tool to benefit everyone. 

A new study released on Thursday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) illustrates the devastating impact of COVID-19 on victims and survivors of human trafficking and highlights the increased targeting and exploitation of children during the course of the pandemic.

What began as a coup by the Myanmar military has ‘rapidly morphed’ into an all-out attack against the civilian population that has become increasingly widespread and systematic, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Tuesday.

The eruption of violence in the Kingdom of Eswatini in recent days is “deeply concerning”, amid reports that dozens of people have been killed or injured during protests calling for democratic reforms, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday. In a statement later in the day, the UN chief called for "inclusive and meaningful dialogue", to end the violence. 

Belarus has witnessed an unprecedented human rights crisis over the past year, the independent expert appointed to monitor the country said on Monday, calling on authorities to immediately end their policy of repression and fully respect the legitimate aspirations of their people.

With the chief of the UN’s gender empowerment agency declaring that women are still “sitting in the corridors when men are inside at the table negotiating peace”, the historic Generation Equality Forum in Paris concluded on Friday with new commitments designed to address that, and other injustices.

Without an urgent injection of cash, billions globally are at risk of still being without lifesaving access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services by 2030, according to a new UN report published on Thursday. 

Although the COVID-19 pandemic had triggered the roll-out of an “unprecedented number” of new and often innovative social protection measures, it was unable to stem a widening gap between rich and poor countries, according to a new UN report released on Thursday.

The practice of shutting down internet and mobile phone access to stifle dissent has become “entrenched” and more sophisticated in a growing number of countries as governments seek to retain power, a top UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Thursday.

In a bid to put gender equality at the heart of COVID recovery, UN Women kicked off a three-day “landmark effort” in Paris on Wednesday, aiming to lay out ambitious investments and policies to bridge the chasm between where women stand in the world today, and where they should be, by 2030.  

Extreme overcrowding and lack of access to food, water and health, are among the ‘inhumane conditions’ that prisoners in Haiti must endure, often over the course of many years, according to a new UN report.

Rampant impunity for human rights violations in Mali is posing serious risks for the protection of civilians in the West African country, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday.