Record civilian cluster munitions victims as experts urge global ban

Record civilian cluster munitions victims as experts urge global ban

The CMC 2023 report indicates that 1,172 people were killed or injured in 2022, which is the highest number since regular reporting started in 2010.  Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Human Rights Arms Advocacy Director Mary Wareham, emphasised that 95 per cent of casualties reported were civilians. “It is unconscionable that civilians are still dying…

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‘Immense challenges’ block justice for Ukrainian war victims, rights experts warn

‘Immense challenges’ block justice for Ukrainian war victims, rights experts warn

Speaking in Kyiv, Commission Chair Erik Møse pointed to continuing patterns of violations by Russian armed forces, including wilful killings, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and illegal deportations, many of which qualify as war crimes. According to the Commission, the Ukrainian legal system faced “immense challenges” to provide accountability and justice to the victims and ensure…

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Iran: Draft hijab law tantamount to ‘gender apartheid’ say rights experts

Iran: Draft hijab law tantamount to ‘gender apartheid’ say rights experts

“The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,” the independent experts said. They stressed that the proposed parliamentary Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab…

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Refusal to waive IP rights for COVID-19 vaccines violates human rights: Experts

Refusal to waive IP rights for COVID-19 vaccines violates human rights: Experts

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) adopted a decision under its “early warning and urgent action” procedures, stating that developed countries’ “persistent refusal” to waive COVID-19 vaccine IP rights – such as patents and trademarks – violated non-discrimination guarantees under international human rights law.  CERD is one of the UN’s human rights…

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Mexico: Rights experts ‘outraged’ over attacks on women activists

Mexico: Rights experts ‘outraged’ over attacks on women activists

“We are outraged that those searching for forcibly disappeared family members and loved ones continue to be targeted and face violence in Mexico,” they said in a statement, issued in the wake of two recent incidents. Brutal killing  Human rights defender Teresa Magueyal was shot dead while riding her bicycle in Celaya, Guanajuato state, on 2 May.  Her son, José Luis Apaseo Magueyal, 34,…

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Rights experts call for second UN Decade for People of African Descent

Rights experts call for second UN Decade for People of African Descent

They stressed that more than ever, the world urgently needs humanity to unite and collaborate in a spirit of equality and non-discrimination. “This demands political will to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, inequality and stratification at both the domestic and international levels,” they said in a statement. Achieving this goal means that inequalities within and among countries…

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Russia hits ‘new low’ with ban against discrediting army: Rights experts

Russia hits ‘new low’ with ban against discrediting army: Rights experts

The law was adopted shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Special Rapporteurs said they had already raised serious concerns over the law with the Russian Government and through public statements. “The decision to deny constitutional protection of the right to freedom of expression constitutes a new low in Russia’s clampdown on the freedom of expression…

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Greece: Rights experts condemn ‘racist violence’ against asylum-seekers

Greece: Rights experts condemn ‘racist violence’ against asylum-seekers

That’s the message from the group of eight experts, including Ashwini K.P., the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, who urged Greece on Wednesday to investigate alleged violations against asylum-seekers. They said that they were “particularly concerned” by the failure of the country’s security personnel and coast guard to provide “prompt and effective” assistance…

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Rape by Sudan’s RSF militia used to ‘punish and terrorise’ warn rights experts

Rape by Sudan’s RSF militia used to ‘punish and terrorise’ warn rights experts

Sudan’s military leadership plunged into protracted conflict for control of Sudan with former partner turned rival, the Rapid Support Forces, four months ago, leaving thousands dead, and millions forcibly displaced, the group of more than 30 rights experts said. Around 700,000 refugees and asylum seekers have been forced to flee across Sudan’s many borders into…

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The eerie silence of starvation ‘is deafening, it never leaves you’: UN official

Rights experts denounce idea of ‘reformed’ Taliban two years after return to power

The gap between promises and practices by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities has widened during this period, they said, denouncing the idea of a “reformed” Taliban.  They said Taliban policies imposed on the population “have resulted in a continuous, systematic and shocking rescinding of a multitude of human rights, including the rights to education, work, and…

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