World News

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Thursday condemned Iran’s execution of a young man who was a minor at the time he was charged with committing a crime. Arman Abdolali, 25, is the second juvenile offender to be executed in the country this year. OHCHR expressed serious concern that his case follows the pattern of child offenders being convicted after a flawed trial and on the basis of forced confessions. “It is deeply alarming and shocking that his hanging went ahead, despite...

Shahpirai, 30, is the sole provider for her husband and three children. “With my salary as a teacher, I could just afford to pay rent and buy food for my family, but not to seek treatment for my child”, she said. An upturn Her situation took a turn for the better last July, when while walking through her village she noticed people gathered in front of an elder’s house. “I asked what was going on and learned that some doctors were treating sick women and children”. The doctors were part...

A UN human rights expert welcomed India’s decision to repeal three contentious farm laws that sparked a year of nationwide protests which left 600 people dead. In a statement released this Friday, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, also urged the Government to ensure accountability for the casualties. “To truly turn the page on this painful chapter, it is incumbent on the authorities to heed calls for accountability concerning the casualties reported during...

The development follows media reports that a military vehicle slammed into demonstrators in the city of Yangon over the weekend, leaving an unknown number injured and at least five dead. Political motives In a statement on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet maintained that Ms. Suu Kyi’s guilty verdict was the result of a “sham trial”. “The conviction of the State Counsellor following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is...

The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution to delay a decision on who will represent Afghanistan and Myanmar at the world body. The Assembly agreed to defer action, which means the current ambassadors for the two countries will remain in place for the time being. The de facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, as well as the military rulers in Myanmar, had sought to replace the envoys, who were appointed by democratically-elected governments that were deposed this year...

More than 10 months since Myanmar’s military seized power, the country’s human rights situation is deepening on an unprecedented scale, the UN rights office, OHCHR, has warned. In a strongly worded statement on Friday, OHCHR said that it was “appalled by the alarming escalation of grave human rights abuses” in the country. “In the last week alone, security forces have killed and burned to death 11 people, among them five minors, and rammed vehicles into protesters exercising their...

IOM’s Chief of Mission, Christa Rottensteiner, explained that “immunizing people on the move is key to combatting the spread of the disease.” An estimated 36,000 migrants have been stranded on their journeys due to mobility restrictions, nearly 3,500 in Ma’rib alone. Many are sleeping in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions where the virus can easily spread.  “Vaccinating against COVID-19 is even more crucial in places like Ma’rib where ongoing conflict continues to weaken health...

Four UN independent human rights experts called on Thursday for Morocco to reverse its decision to extradite a Uyghur Muslim to China as his return would place him under threat of serious human rights violations. If he is made to return, human rights defender Yidiresi Aishan risks detention, enforced disappearance, or torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the experts argue. Deep concern “We are deeply concerned by today’s decision by the Moroccan Court of...

Authorities in Viet Nam must immediately release four activists jailed this week for spreading anti-State propaganda, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday. Over a three-day period, prominent human rights defenders Trinh Ba Phoung, Nguyen Thi Tam, Do Nam Trung and independent author Pham Doan Trang, were sentenced to up to a decade in jail, and five years on probation. Silence and intimidate Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said OHCHR was “deeply troubled” by the harsh...

A UN independent expert on Sunday commended Bangladesh for providing a safe haven to Rohingya refugees fleeing atrocity crimes in Myanmar, offering to do all he can to “push for a stronger, more coordinated international response” to the crisis. “Bangladesh saved untold numbers of lives when it opened its arms and hearts to Rohingya people who survived these most unspeakable of horrors inflicted on them by the Myanmar military”, said Tom Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the human rights...