The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recently published its findings from over 200 interviews with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh that described severe human rights violations against Rohingya in Myanmar since an October 9, 2016 attack on the police in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. See OHCHR, Report of the OHCHR mission to Bangladesh: Interviews with Rohingyas fleeing from
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On January 25, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) published its 2016 conclusions regarding 34 States’ implementation of the European Social Charter’s provisions related to employment, training, and equal opportunities. The Committee found 166 instances of States failing to adequately protect these rights and was unable to reach conclusions on an additional 85 cases due to a lack of
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Civil Society On Wednesday, four protesters were arrested in the United States while protesting the Dakota Access pipeline at a bank in Chicago. [Chicago Tribune] On Wednesday, human rights groups in Israel petitioned a high court to block a law that enables the seizure of private Palestinian land for Jewish settlements. [Washington Post] Following recent mass protests in Romania, the
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In 2016, more than 65 million people were estimated to be refugees or internally displaced persons – the highest number in history. [World Economic Forum] Many of the migrants who are fleeing their countries are unable to permanently resettle for a number of reasons, including the global underfunding of refugee support programs and national policies motivated by Islamophobia or isolationism.
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After more than 30 years of separation, Morocco has officially been admitted back in to the African Union (AU), the continent’s largest intergovernmental organization. [New York Times; Reuters] Morocco quit the African Union’s predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, in 1984 after the regional bloc officially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) as a member. [BBC: Morocco] After a
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Civil Society This week hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated across Romania in response to an emergency ordinance that decriminalizes certain cases of misconduct of allegedly corrupt officials. [Guardian] Two human rights activists who were arrested last month and charged with terrorism for organizing peaceful protests to support Anglophone rights in Cameroon continue to be imprisoned, and may face the
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In the month of February 2017, various universal and regional bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through interactive dialogues, the consideration of State and civil society reports, country visits, and the review of individual complaints. Four United Nations treaty bodies will meet this month to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to economic, social,
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Protesters in the United States and around the world demonstrated last week and over the weekend, calling for the protection of the rights of migrants and refugees, women, and other vulnerable groups, as a new administration assumed power in the United States following a bitterly divisive campaign in which now-President Trump denied sexual assault allegations and promised to enact a
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Civil Society Academics and activists warn that the “global gag rule,” which prohibits funding for organizations that provide abortion services and was implemented by United States President Trump on Monday, will have a chilling effect on civil society programs in Latin America offering family planning, contraception, HIV/Aids, and abortion services. [Guardian] This week, United Nations experts called for the release
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a Handbook on the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners and the Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons on January 16 aimed at strengthening prison management of violent extremist prisoners while upholding prisoners’ human rights. [UN News Centre] The handbook, one in a series of UNODC resources meant to help
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