Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten
Civil Society
- Canada issued guidelines this week on supporting human rights defenders. [ISHR]
- Two UN Special Rapporteurs noted this week that the human rights defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are frequently arbitrarily arrested and detained. [OHCHR Press Release]
- Protesters at a film festival in south India were arrested this week after refusing to stand for the national anthem. [Guardian]
- The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report this week, finding that the number of journalists detained this year was the highest recorded by the group in 26 years. [New York Times]
Activities of International Bodies
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has asked the Gambian President Yayeh Jammeh to respect the election results and the rule of law after he sent the military to take over the electoral commission earlier this week. [OHCHR Press Release; Guardian]
- The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights commenced a human rights promotion mission in Mauritania this week. [ACHPR Press Release]
- A task force under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on the mainstreaming of the rights of persons with disabilities met for the first time this month. [ASEAN Press Release]
- António Guterres was sworn in as the UN Secretary General this week. [Washington Post]
Environment
- Beijing issued its highest level warning for air pollution in the city, which is expected to stay at that level over the next several days. [New York Times]
- A report released this week at a convention on biological diversity shows a correlation between the adequate protection of forests and land and the recognition of indigenous peoples’ right to the land. [Guardian]
Armed Conflict, Violence, & Humanitarian Crises
- Tens of thousands of citizens of Aleppo have recently evacuated the city and are in need of food, shelter, and medical attention. [Guardian]
- A bombing at a chapel in Egypt killed 25 people over the weekend. [Guardian]
- Two bombs detonated in Istanbul over the weekend, killing 44 people and resulting in more than 200 arrests. [Guardian]
Politics
- The United States President Barack Obama said this week that the United States will respond to Russia’s involvement in the U.S. presidential elections. [Washington Post]
- Brazil’s senate passed a bill this week that will cap social spending for the next 20 years. [Guardian]