26 December 2013 – The United Nations hopes to have peacekeeping reinforcements on the ground in strife-torn South Sudan within the next 48 hours, including both troops and critical assets such as helicopters, as it seeks to protect civilians in a conflict that is already estimated to have claimed well over 1,000 lives, the top UN official in the country said today. The UN is trying to put an “end to this nightmare and give peace a chance,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Hilde Johnson told a video news conference from Juba, South Sudan’s capital, noting that over 50,000 civilians…
Author: UN News
20 December 2013 – Brazilian authorities need to give further priority to the poorest and most marginalized, to ensure that inequalities in the country are progressively eliminated and all receive access to sanitation and water, an independent United Nations human rights expert today urged. Wrapping up her first official mission to Brazil, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, said that Brazil was a “country of contrasts.” “I was shocked by the misery I saw and by the lack of access to sanitation and water by significant portions of the…
26 December 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today urged the Government of Thailand to drop criminal defamation charges against two journalists who wrote about the alleged involvement of the Thai Navy with human trafficking. “Criminal prosecution for defamation has a chilling effect on freedom of the press,” said Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). “International standards are clear that imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty for defamation.” Editor Alan Morison and reporter Chutima Sidasathian, who write for Phuketwan, a small English-language newspaper based on one of the Thai…
26 December 2013 – An independent United Nations expert today urged the Somali Government to finalize and carry out a human rights roadmap endorsed by the cabinet in August. Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia Shamsul Bari said in a news release that the roadmap defines the Government’s responsibilities and sets goals to be achieved in a short period of time. “Finalizing it would demonstrate a sincere commitment by Government to rebuild the foundation and structures of human rights in Somalia,” he stated. Mr. Bari called on the country’s new Prime Minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, and…
25 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the deadly terrorist attack that took place on Tuesday on the police headquarters in Mansoura, Egypt, while also voicing concern at the deteriorating human rights and political climate in the country. The attack in Mansoura reportedly killed at least 15 people and wounded others. In a statement issued last night by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban stressed that no cause can justify such acts of terrorism and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. “The Secretary-General is also troubled by the deteriorating human rights situation and political climate,” the spokesperson…
25 December 2013 – In an appeal broadcast in South Sudan on Wednesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed his call on its leaders to settle their differences peacefully and pledged to help end the violence that has wracked the world’s youngest nation over the past 10 days. “I want to assure you that the United Nations stands with the people of South Sudan at this difficult time,” Mr. Ban said in his radio/video message. Escalating violence has led to hundreds of deaths and the displacement of at least 90,000 people in the country, which gained its independence two years ago after…
24 December 2013 – Two United Nations human rights experts today criticized the British Government’s decision to replace an independent judge-led inquiry into the United Kingdom’s involvement in torture and abuses of people detained overseas in counter-terrorism operations with a parliamentary inquiry. While welcoming publication of parts of the interim UK report by Sir Peter Gibson investigating British involvement in so-called extraordinary rendition operations by the United States in which suspects were interrogated in third countries, the experts voiced concern that the proposed official inquiry is to be entrusted to the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). “The UK has,…
24 December 2013 – Despite remarkable strides in improving women’s lives, China is insufficiently implementing relevant laws against discrimination and more needs to be done to ensure their full participation in the economy and politics as well as equality in wages and recruitment, according to a United Nations working group. “A framework of law and policy has been put into place to eliminate discrimination against women,” Frances Raday, Chairperson of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice, said at the end of the Group’s first visit to the country. “But there remain persistent discriminatory…
23 December 2013 – A United Nations human rights body voiced grave concern today after a court in Russia ordered a non-governmental organization (NGO) that had provided the panel with information to register as a “foreign agent.” A court in St. Petersburg ruled earlier this month that the Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial was engaged in political activity and was therefore in breach of legislation which stipulates that politically active non-profit groups must register as “foreign agents” if they receive money from abroad. The UN Committee against Torture said in a news release it was disturbed that prosecutors, as part of their…
23 December 2013 – Thirty-six Asia-Pacific nations unanimously adopted a landmark declaration at a United Nations forum of ministers in Thailand, outlining the road map towards a regional economic community. The move, called an “historic and defining moment” in the history of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) by its head, brings partners closer to ensure that “this will truly be the Asia-Pacific century.” The ‘Bangkok Declaration on Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia and the Pacific’ was adopted by top Government leaders, ministers and senior officials at a meeting organized by ESCAP…