The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry, which reports to the Human Rights Council, warned that fighting escalated on 5 October last year, when consecutive explosions at a military academy graduation ceremony in government-controlled Homs killed at least 63 people, including 37 civilians. The Syrian Government and Russian forces “responded with bombardments” that struck at least…
The report to the Human Rights Council said violations and crimes under international law committed in the protests sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022 include extra-judicial and unlawful killings and murder, unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, enforced disappearances and gender persecution. “These acts…
In a statement, Tor Wennesland reminded that all Israeli settlements the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal under international law. Permits for the new dwellings were approved by Israeli authorities on Wednesday, the first since the war in Gaza erupted on 7 October. According to news reports, the permits mean that more than 20,000 housing units…
Nearly 8,600 people on the move died in 2023, a 20 per cent increase from 2022, according to the UN agency’s Missing Migrants Project online platform. It details the global movement of people risking their lives to escape conflict, economic crisis and natural disasters, including drought and flooding linked to climate change. IOM says the…
The Unjust Climate report highlights the reality that every year in low and middle-income countries, female heads of households in rural areas suffer significantly greater financial losses than men. On average, female-headed households lose eight per cent more of their income due to heat stress and three per cent more due to floods compared with male-headed households….
Human activities have devastated our wildlife. Human ingenuity can help to save it,” he said. This year’s theme focuses on how digital technologies can drive wildlife conservation at a time when pollution, climate chaos, habitat loss and exploitation of nature are putting a million plant and animal species at risk of extinction. No ‘silver bullet’…
Summarizing the state of the climate, the month ended with extreme heat in the southern hemisphere where it’s summer, while high temperatures atypical of the northern hemisphere winter prevailed. Parts of North and South America, northwest and southeast Africa, southeast and far eastern Asia, western Australia and Europe, all saw record-breaking temperatures, either on a…
The UN Secretary-General received an update on Wednesday from the Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS), which launched an investigation last month following allegations that a handful of UNRWA employees were complicit in Hamas’s October attacks that left almost 1,200 dead in Israel and 240 taken hostage. So far, investigators have reviewed initial information from a…
Civil aviation organization ICAO said that the numbers for the first quarter of 2024 indicate that airlines will sustain the return to profitability recorded in 2023. “The commitment of Member States to aligning their pandemic responses with the guidance developed by the ICAO Council has been crucial to the recovery of their air services,” said…
NCDs are responsible for 75 per cent of deaths worldwide, and it is estimated that strokes and heart attacks are up to three times more likely following a disaster, they said. To save more lives, they are meeting in Denmark this week to ensure that care and treatment for NCDs are included as a standard…
