Europe

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 spokesperson Liz Throssell, calling on Russia “to ensure such a credible investigation is carried out”. Calls for protection Any State has a...

The experts had previously written to the authorities after receiving information about three cases regarding allegations of sexual abuse of children by their fathers and violations against the mothers who sought to protect them. They found that, according to the allegations, the children were victims of sexual abuse or at high risk of sexual abuse at the hands of their fathers or alleged perpetrators against whom there was credible and disturbing evidence of incestuous sexual abuse...

18 January 2024Human Rights More than 450,000 children are living in residential care homes across Europe and Central Asia, highlighting that a “painful legacy” of neglect, abuse, exploitation, and psychological trauma is far from over, according to a UNICEF report released on Thursday. The UN Children’s Fund’s investigation, Pathways to Better Protection, reveals that children with disabilities account for up to 87 per cent of those in care, where data is available. And the numbers...

Delivering his first message of the new year, Dr. Hans Kluge stressed that without vaccines, the death toll on the continent “could have been around four million, possibly even higher.” More than 2.5 million COVID-19 deaths, and 277 million confirmed cases, were reported in the vast WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. A ‘vital decision’ Analysis of 34 countries showed that most people whose lives were saved by vaccines, 90...

At first glance, one would not notice the tumultuous journey that Shiraz has faced in order to find her place in the world. She is studying programming, and dreams of becoming a heart surgeon. She enjoys belly dancing, with her TikTok videos racking up thousands of views and likes. However, the perceptive observer would notice scars on her arms, which silently reveal her story. “I first identified as a girl when I was a child,” she says. “I yearned to go to a school for girls.”...

2 January 2024Human Rights Major aerial attacks causing widespread death and destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure have rained down on Ukraine in the first days of 2024 due to an intense new Russian offensive. In a statement on Tuesday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown strongly condemned the assaults targeting mostly cities. “For the people of Ukraine, the new year started with loss, pain, and anguish. For the third day in a row, vast aerial assaults by the Russian...

30 November 2023Human Rights UN human rights chief Volker Türk has deplored the decision by Russia’s highest court to outlaw what it called “the international LGBT movement” and brand it as “extremist” – a move he feared could lead to gay and transgender rights groups there being banned outright. Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a claim by the Ministry of Justice that the so-called “international LGBT movement” was committing acts of “an extremist nature” and “inciting social...

14 November 2023Peace and Security The top UN humanitarian official in Ukraine has condemned deadly Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson on Monday. Dozens of civilians were killed and injured, including a two-month-old girl who was hospitalized for her injuries. A hospital and an ambulance were reportedly struck, with two healthcare workers and a patient reported to be among the injured. Civilians pay the price Denise Brown, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine...

In a recent interview conducted with UN News, she emphasised the significance of her report and its purpose, holding to account one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. “It is unique that for the first time a large country, one of the ‘big five’ permanent members of the Security Council, was decided to be monitored by its colleagues on the Human Rights Council, having created the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights last year,” she said...

The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, published on Friday, follows a study issued in March. It documents additional indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons, resulting in deaths, injuries and the destruction and damage of civilian objects. For example, 24 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an attack on a multistorey block of residential apartments in Uman, a city in the Cherkasy region, in April, and part of the building became...