This month, civil society organizations and human rights defenders have the opportunity to contribute their comments on three upcoming UN reports on the topics of the right to peace, the relationship between human rights and traditional values, and the death penalty.
Read moreCategory: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
UN Launches the Rabat Plan of Action
On 21 February 2013, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. The Rabat Plan aims to provide guidance on how to balance between Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Read moreUN Publishes Guide for Measuring Human Rights
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the end of 2012 released a new publication entitled Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation, which is available online in English and Spanish. The Guide supports the identification of objective indicators for measuring countries’ progress in realizing human rights and came about in response to requests
Read moreMali Conflict: Concerns Persist for Protection of Human Rights, Displaced Populations, Minority Groups
The West African nation of Mali, previously hailed as a democratic model for other regional governments, has become engulfed in a human rights and political crisis that is now the target of international attention and military intervention. Government and foreign forces are attempting to reclaim territory from separatist rebel groups, while the International Criminal Court and UN and African human rights
Read moreInternational Human Rights Experts, States Call for Inquiry into Human Rights Abuses in North Korea
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights advocates, and some States are publicly supporting the creation of an expert committee to more fully investigate and address the human rights situation in North Korea. Recent reports by victims have revealed shocking allegations, but relatively little is known about the extent of suspected abuses, given the
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A Look at Human Rights Day 2012
What is Human Rights Day? Human Rights Day began in 1950 to commemorate the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. Although the UDHR is not legally binding on UN Member States, it is the origin for binding human rights instruments that followed, including the International Covenant on Civil and
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UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty Reports on Individual Access to Justice
On November 5, U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, presented her annual report to the U.N. General Assembly. The Special Rapporteur highlights the obstacles faced by individuals living in extreme poverty when they attempt to access courts and other remedies. Linking access to justice to numerous other human rights, her report concludes that States
Read moreThe Gambia Suspends Executions after International Outcry
President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia announced on September 15 that he will be suspending further executions of death row inmates. [BBC] In August, President Jammeh had unexpectedly announced all of the remaining forty-eight prisoners on death row would be executed by September, ending the country’s over twenty-five year old moratorium on executions. [BBC] The following Sunday, nine prisoners were executed
Read moreVacancy: UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced a call for applications for the position of Deputy High Commissioner with the deadline of October 15, 2012. The OHCHR, led by High Commissioner Navi Pillay since July 2008, is the main UN entity responsible for creating policies and programs to promote and protect human rights. The OHCHR
Read moreBahrain Update: Protests Continue, UN Team Finds Ongoing Rights Violations, Prominent Activist Beaten
Last Friday, prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was hospitalized after being beaten by security forces in the capital city of Manama following a large demonstration. [BCHR; Washington Post] Mr. Rajab believed the security forces to be nationals of Bahrain and of other Middle Eastern and South Asian nations. [For more on
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