World News

The UN Human Rights Council heard on Wednesday that fundamental freedoms in Ukraine have been squeezed in Government-controlled areas, as well as across the contact line in eastern territories, held by mainly pro-Russian separatists. Addressing the Council in Geneva amid steadily increasing international tensions over Ukraine, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, said that similar violations continued to be documented in the Crimea, which she described as having...

In a message on Thursday, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge urged Europeans to “be smart, be kind, be safe this holiday season.” The COVID-19 threat remains high across the continent, which was already the epicentre of the pandemic even before the emergence of the new Omicron variant. Use the tools “My message to the people of Europe and central Asia is to exercise caution this holiday season. Use the many tools we have at our disposal. These stabilizers help us to manage the virus and...

France should consider the economic and development benefits of partnership with people of African descent, the head of a Working Group appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said in a statement on Monday. Dominique Day, chairperson of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, was speaking in the wake of its visit to Paris from 13 to 16 December. Focus on development Country visits by UN rights experts take place at the invitation of the host government and focus on...

At least 31 people lost their lives in three separate shipwrecks over the course of four days last week in the Aegean Sea, and an unknown number are still missing, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday. According to the UN agency, between 21 and 24 December more than 160 people were rescued by Greece’s Hellenic Coast Guard – with support from the navy and air force, as well as merchant and private vessels. Commending those efforts, Maria-Clara Martin, UNHCR’s representative in...

Authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in neighbouring Serbia, must condemn and refrain from any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday. Spokesperson Liz Throssell said OHCHR was deeply concerned by recent incidents in both countries which saw individuals glorify atrocity crimes and convicted war criminals, target certain communities with hate speech, and, in some cases, directly incite violence. The fear is that such acts...

Urgent action is required to assist and protect some 400 Vietnamese migrant workers who were allegedly trafficked to Serbia, experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Friday. Eight companies, including Vietnamese labour recruitment agencies and Chinese construction firms registered in Serbia, have reportedly been implicated in serious human rights abuses, they said, citing information received. The experts have written to the businesses and are also in contact with...

Two children – Illia, 15, and Afina, 9 – have shared how although they do not bear any physical scars from the war, now in its eighth year, mortar shells and shrapnel have left them with invisible wounds that are nonetheless painful. “My life has changed a lot,” said Illia. “If it hadn’t been for the war, I wouldn’t have had vision problems, and I would have continued to play hockey and enter university in Donetsk.” A split-second change Sadly, the teenager is not alone. UNICEF said...

The new WHO report sets out for the first time the scale of childhood cancer inequalities in the European Region and examines the patterns that emerge at national and regional levels surrounding the disease. “Childhood cancer inequalities in the WHO European Region” was launched on International Childhood Cancer Day marked each 15 February, and it covers the experiences of both patients, and caregivers, as well as the short and long-term outcomes for patients. Major progress in survival...

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) top official in Europe on Tuesday called on governments and health authorities to “closely examine” why there is low demand and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, as an “Omicron tidal wave” slams countries in the east of the region. Over the past two weeks, cases of the virus have more than doubled in six countries across Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belaurus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, said WHO Regional Director, Dr. Hans...

France has violated the rights of French children detained for years in camps in northeast Syria by failing to repatriate them, the UN Child Rights Committee said in findings issued on Thursday. The Committee had considered three cases filed by a group of French nationals whose grandchildren, nieces and nephews are currently being held in the Rawj, Ayn Isa and Hawl camps, which are under the control of Kurdish forces. The cases concern 49 children whose parents are alleged to have...