UN commission accuses Israel of obstructing 7th October probe
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters A UN-mandated commission of inquiry that probes violations of international human rights law on Tuesday accused Israel of obstructing its efforts to collect evidence from the victims of the attack by Hamas in southern Israel on 7th October. “So far as the government of Israel is concerned, we have not only seen […]
UN expert in Israel genocide accusation says she has been threatened
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters A United Nations expert who published a report saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza during its military campaign against Hamas said on Wednesday she had received threats throughout her mandate. Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the West Bank and […]
Ukrainian women tell of beatings and threats under Russian occupation
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Alla Antonova says she suffered beatings, had a plastic bag thrust over her head and endured many other threats from Russian soldiers in occupied Ukraine who wanted to know where her son-in-law was serving in the Ukrainian army. Her mother Natalia Kucherova, 73, was made to sit in an adjacent room of […]
North Korean defectors seek more UN monitoring of abuses
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters North Koreans defectors spoke at a UN event in Geneva on Friday to expose human rights violations in a country one of them described as “hell” and to advocate for a strengthened UN mandate to investigate and document them. The defectors came to the UN in Geneva where diplomats say the UN […]
Russia systematically tortures Ukraine POWs, UN commission says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters A United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine said on Friday that it had gathered more evidence that Russia has systematically tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war, documenting rape threats and the use of electric shocks on genitals. The three-member Commission of Inquiry said in a report that the scale of such torture […]
UN rights chief says China committing violations in Xinjiang, Tibet
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday called on China to implement recommendations to amend laws that violate fundamental rights, including in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in the western region of […]
UN rights chief: blocking aid to Sudan could be a war crime
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations human rights chief on Friday said that the apparent deliberate denial of safe access for humanitarian agencies within war-torn Sudan could amount to a war crime. Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has been fighting Sudan’s army for control of the country since April last year in a war that […]
Western group to ask UN body to investigate Sudan atrocities – document
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United States, Britain, Norway and Germany plan to submit a motion to the UN Human Rights Council to set up an investigation into alleged atrocities in Sudan, a draft motion showed on Friday. Bloodshed, violence and displacement have escalated since fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted in […]
Essay: Three anniversaries will force issues of religious persecution at the UN General Assembly
Whether world leaders grapple with interconnecting issues of religion and global affairs remains to be seen, but, KNOX THAMES, a former special envoy for religious minorities at the US State Department and senior fellow at Pepperdine University, says they cannot afford to ignore them…
Israel occupation makes Palestinian territories “open-air prison” – UN expert
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters A United Nations expert on Tuesday said Israel had transformed the occupied Palestinian territories into an “open-air prison” through widespread detentions of Palestinians, an assertion swiftly dismissed by Israel. Damaged streets are seen after Israeli army’s withdrawal from the Jenin camp, in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on 5th July,2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Yosri […]