Category: Rights
Côte d’Ivoire: Le couple Gbagbo inculpé de “crimes économiques”
C’est un premier pas pour la justice en Côte d’Ivoire: Laurent et Simone Gbagbo ont été inculpés hier par le procureur de la République d’Abidjan. L’inculpation porte sur les “crimes économiques” commis par l’ancien président et sa femme.
Iranian Government is Loving the UK Riots
As the UK burned, functionaries of the Iranian regime had fun at the UK government’s expense. A collection of quotes from Iranian officials about the UK riots.
Chemical Weapons, Looting a Church and Forced Displacement — Details Emerge of Ethnic Cleansing Campaign in Sudan
In June this year word began to creep out of the South Kordofan region of Sudan that a campaign of ethnic cleansing of tribes aligned with Southern Sudanese separatists.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights just released a report detailing alleged incidents.
Gingrich V Gingrich on the UN
In 2004, Newt Gingrich sounded reasonable when he talked about the United Nations. As a presidential candidate for 2012, he is off the rails.
Digging Deeper Into the Dodd-Frank Congo ‘Blood Minerals’ Controversy
Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is designed to protect American consumers from products containing conflict minerals. But will it help protect Congolese from the conflict itself?
Mubarak Trial: A Once Feared Ruler Looks Pathetic
There were two possible alternatives to legal action against Mubarak: summary execution or letting him live out his remaining years under house arrest. Surely today’s court room action is the more satisfying than either of these two.
Are We Closer to a Security Council Resolution on Syria?
The Security Council is meeting again this morning to discuss a potential resolution condemning violence in Syria.
New Reports That Sri Lankan Government Officials Ordered the Execution of Surrendering Tamils
Channel 4 News comes out with another huge story: an officer comes forward to accuse top ranking government officials of ordering the summary execution of surrendering Tamil Tigers and civilians.
Security Forces Fire on Crowds in Syria (Video)
In the early days of the Syrian uprising, the epicenter of the unrest was the city of Deraa. Security forces very brutally suppressed revolt in that city, raising allegations of a widespread massacre in the city. So far, Syrian officials have refused to let an Human Rights Council mandated investigative team enter the country to look into these allegations.
Can Inequality Fuel Revolutions?
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been bearing witness to popular uprisings across the world: Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Malawi, Gabon, Uganda, Chile… What drives this unrest? What is it that pushes people to take the streets? We examine the underpinnings of these “revolutions”.
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Iran; Syria; Internet Governance; Libya; and more
UN atomic watchdog chief Yukiya Amano and top aides will travelto Tehran on Sunday for talks with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, a few days before Iran and world powers meet in Baghdad to discuss the broader nuclear dispute. News of the rare visit came as Western diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran were making headway towards a framework deal on how to tackle concerns about Iran’s atomic activity.
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Sudan/South Sudan; State of the World Economy debate; International Day against Homophobia; and more
The U.N. Security Council has called on Sudan and South Sudan to reach an agreement on the status of the disputed, oil-rich Abyei border region and extended the U.N. security force’s mission there by six months. The council passed a resolution Thursday calling the situation a serious security threat and demanding the creation of a jointly administered Abyei police force.
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The top United Nations refugee official today voiced his alarm at new inflows of refugees into Rwanda and Uganda, fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). More than 8,200 refugees have crossed from DRC into Rwanda since 27 April, according to staff of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These are in addition to the 55,000 Congolese refugees that Rwanda is already hosting.
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Syria: U.N.-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan is urging Syria’s government to accept U.N. conditions for expanding the distribution of humanitarian aid to roughly 1 million Syrians in need of assistance, the United Nations said today. Meanwhile, three vehicles belonging to … Read more
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Sustainable Future Symposium; ICT for Development; IAEA/Iran; Global Financial Transaction Tax; and more
Partnerships and development cooperation among countries will play a key role in accelerating sustainable development, the Secretary-General of the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), Sha Zukang said today, stressing that assistance will need to focus on helping developing countries find longer-term solutions to eradicate poverty and transition into a green economy.The two-day Australia High-Level Symposium, “Shaping a Sustainable Future – Partners in Development Cooperation,” which began today, seeks to facilitate an informal dialogue on development cooperation among high-level policymakers, multilateral and civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations and the private sector.
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DR Congo; South Sudan; UNHCR and OIC; and more
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonovic, today voiced concern over the human rights situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has experienced a recent upsurge in violence. Mr. Šimonovic said he was “appalled” by the heightened levels of recent violence triggered by defections in the Congolese armed forces, including former members of certain militia groups, and welcomed joint efforts between the peacekeepers of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), humanitarian actors and the authorities to protect civilians and respond to human rights violations.
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Asia-Pacific Human Development Report; Syria; Horn of Africa; UNRWA
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region must find ways to continue to grow economically and lift millions out of poverty while also responding to climate change and environmental concerns, according to UN report released today, which stresses that new methods of production are needed to meet this goal.UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 argues that policies and actions in the region will have a global impact as it is home to more than half of the world’s population and half of the planet’s megacities.
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SG on Rio/Post-2015 Development; Syria; Middle East; Global Fund; and more
Appealing for flexibility in reaching agreement on a final outcome document, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today, emphasized the need for Member States to agree on launching a process to establish Sustainable Development Goals ahead of the Rio+20 conference while also announcing the appointment of three co-chairs to his High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Development Planning. We should agree on launching a process to establish Sustainable Development Goals that build on the Millennium Development Goals … find better ways to measure progress that goes beyond Gross Domestic Product …and advance action to improve people’s lives through decent work, social protection and the empowerment of women and young people,” the UN chief said in his address to the UN General Assembly.
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Syria; Guinea-Bissau; UNAIDS; Afghanistan; and more
Amid concerns from the international community over the prospects of a “full civil war” in Syria, the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, said today that the ongoing levels of violence and human rights abuses in the Middle Eastern country are unacceptable and the UN observer mission is possibly the only remaining chance to stabilize it.
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Peacebuilding; South Sudan; Indigenous Issues; Rwanda
The United Nations is determined to do everything possible to assist societies torn by war from sliding back into conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an audience in the United States capital today, adding that while there have been setbacks, peacebuilding remains a crucial element of the world body’s efforts.In a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D. C., Mr. Ban highlighted the work of the UN’s 16 peacekeeping operations and 15 political missions in the area of peacebuilding – a core mandate of the Organization.
