US must uphold judges’ right to speak freely about race and gender bias: rights expert

adminFebruary 5, 2024September 18, 202406 mins

Special Rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite voiced serious concerns that a Supreme Court Justice in the state of North Carolina, Anita Earls, was investigated for comments made regarding the potential role that implicit biases based on race, gender, and political affiliation can play in the Court’s decision-making. “Like other citizens, judges are entitled to freedom of expression, provided they conduct themselves…

UN expert says human rights violations rage on in Sudan

adminJanuary 22, 2024September 18, 202408 mins

The independent expert outlined what’s been happening on the ground as violence and displacement continue to ripple across the country following the outbreak of clashes between the national army and RSF militia in April 2023. Out of 45 million people, more than seven million have been displaced, with some seeking safety in neighbouring nations, and…

INTERVIEW: AI expert warns of digital colonization in Africa

adminJanuary 2, 2024September 18, 202407 mins

One of 38 people members of the new UN advisory body on machine learning, Mr. Ndiaye spoke with UN News about the landscape ahead, building on his experience in helping to drive Senegal’s digital transformation in higher education, serving as an expert to the African Union in drafting the Pan-African Strategy on AI and in contributing…

World News in Brief: Food aid relief for Rohingya, 5 new Security Council members, jailing of Russian poets draws rebuke from rights expert

adminJanuary 2, 2024September 18, 202409 mins

“The entire Rohingya population” from Myanmar will benefit, according to the UN agency, which increased the value of its monthly food voucher from $8 to $10 per person on 1 January. Until early last year vouchers were worth $12 but WFP was forced to reduce their value in March to $10 because of funding gaps….

Gaza: UN expert on sexual violence in conflict reiterates grave concern for hostages

adminDecember 21, 2023September 18, 202407 mins

Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, called for the immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all those who remain in captivity. Ms. Patten met this week with the mother of one of the young women taken hostage who expressed the pain, despair and helplessness that families are facing as they…

World News in Brief: Wave of ‘fear and dread’ in Ukraine, UN expert slams Navalny disappearance, youth leaders for nuclear disarmament meet

adminDecember 18, 2023September 18, 202409 mins

That’s according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director Regina De Dominicis who said in a statement on Monday that bombardment was “particularly unrelenting” in the east and south of the country. The UNICEF official said the past week provided a concerning trend with an increase in ballistic missiles and mass drone attacks, including widespread…

USA: Slavery has left a deep and long-lasting legacy on the country, UN experts say

US ‘at a critical juncture’ in fight against racism: Independent expert

adminNovember 14, 2023September 17, 2024013 mins

She travelled across the US between 31 October and 14 November, from Detroit in Michigan to the Louisiana coast, also visiting Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington DC. Ashwini K.P., UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, said following her 14-day fact finding mission that mainstream America was now more aware…

Russians not collectively to blame for Ukraine war: Human rights expert

adminNovember 7, 2023September 17, 202406 mins

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” one of the ‘P5’ permanent members of the Security Council has been subject to monitoring…

Amazon, DoorDash, Walmart, trapping workers in poverty: UN rights expert

adminOctober 31, 2023September 17, 202405 mins

In separate letters to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, the UN-appointed independent expert on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, requested a response to reports of inadequate pay, aggressive union-busting tactics, and the misclassification of workers as “independent contractors”, intentionally depriving them of traditional employment benefits such as…

Israel-Palestine crisis has ‘reached an unprecedented level of dehumanisation’: Independent rights expert

adminOctober 29, 2023September 17, 2024011 mins

In an interview with UN News, UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert Francesca Albanese, said it was “impossible to describe the pain and suffering that Israelis are going through because of what happened to them…because there are not only those who were killed, those who were taken hostage, but there is an entire population that was…