7 March 2014 – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed serious concern today over the conviction of Malaysian opposition leader, Karpal Singh, who was found guilty of sedition late last month and is due to be sentenced on 11 March. Under Malaysia’s 1948 Sedition Act, Mr. Singh was charged “after suggesting at a press conference in 2009 that it was possible to bring a legal challenge against a decision by the Sultan of the Malaysian state of Perak to dismiss the then Chief Minister,” explained OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville in Geneva. “The prosecution…
Author: UN News
7 March 2014 – The top United Nations relief official warned today that behind the signs of early recovery in typhoon-hit regions of the Philippines there are still millions of people who are extremely vulnerable, and urged the international community to sustain the emergency response and ensure a smooth transition to long-term development. “You can see the signs of early recovery everywhere,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos, as she briefed reporters in Geneva on the situation in the Philippines four months after Typhoon Haiyan, which tore through the archipelago on 8 November, killing more…
9 March 2014 – Violence has again disrupted efforts to deliver aid to a besieged camp on the outskirts of Damascus, the United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees across the Middle East warned today, as UN and other humanitarian agencies launched a global campaign demanding immediate access to all civilians in war-torn Syria trapped by the violence. Spokesperson Christopher Gunness said the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) received credible reports that although substantially reduced in intensity, clashes and shelling have continued in Yarmouk camp for the past two days. “Ongoing hostilities have…
7 March 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency reports today that the security situation in Iraq’s Anbar province continues to deteriorate, with the number of people displaced in the area of Heet increasing by some 25,000 in just this past week, as the crisis enters its third month. “There [are] reports that families are now being displaced for a second time in various locations across the province, moving westwards from previously safe locations including Al-Habaniya, Al-Falahat village, Al-Nassaf village, Al-Azragiyah village and Al-Saqlawiyah,” explained Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at a news briefing…
6 March 2014 – A group of independent United Nations human rights experts has asked the Venezuelan Government for prompt clarification of allegations of arbitrary detention and excessive use of force and violence against protesters, journalists and media workers during recent protests. “The recent violence amid protests in Venezuela need to be urgently and thoroughly investigated, and perpetrators must be held accountable,” the experts stressed in a news release. They also expressed their shock at the reported deaths of at least 17 persons during the demonstrations. “We are deeply disturbed by the allegations of multiple cases of arbitrary detention of…
5 March 2014 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom called today for an investigation into the death of Colombian television journalist killed in Buenaventura, a city he had fled earlier this year after receiving death threats. “I condemn the assassination of Yonni Steven Caicedo,” the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in news release. “Criminals must not be allowed to use violence to stop journalists from doing their work and deprive society of news and information,” Ms. Bokova added. According to Colombian Fundación para la Libertad…
7 March 2014 – The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution setting out practical steps to combat violations against children in armed conflict, as United Nations officials underscored the need to do more to ensure that children are protected and perpetrators are brought to justice. “All children deserve and are entitled to protection, not exploitation. They belong in school, not armies and fighting groups. Children should be armed with pens and textbooks, not guns and grenades,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks at the Council’s open debate on children and armed conflict. Mr. Ban called on the Council…
7 March 2014 – The United Nations human rights chief today voiced concern at the increasing restrictions on civil and political rights in Burundi, following a series of violent acts by the ruling party’s youth wing and the disruption of public meetings organized by opposition parties. “I am concerned that restrictions have increasingly been imposed on freedom of assembly and on the press over the past few months in Burundi,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a news release. Recent attacks by the ruling party’s youth wing, including the reported killing of an opposition youth leader on…
7 March 2014 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) today convicted former Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga of war crimes in relation to a deadly 2003 attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Hundreds of people were killed and many women were forced into sexual slavery as a result of the February 2003 attack on the village of Bogoro in Ituri district. The Trial Chamber of the ICC found Mr. Katanga, a senior commander from the group known as the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), guilty on four counts of war crimes and…
6 March 2014 – An independent United Nations human rights expert hailed a five-point agreement reached today by Cambodia’s two main political parties to initiate electoral reforms in the country towards a more transparent process, and greater freedom of expression and right to public assembly. “I welcome the agreements reached by the Joint Committee composed of members of the Cambodian People’s Party and the Cambodian National Rescue Party to proceed, among other things, on two concrete measures for electoral reform: to review the voter registry and to elaborate a draft law on the financing of political parties,” said Surya P.…