September 2008
Death sentence in rampage sparks debate in China
LA Times, 3 September 2008 - An unemployed man charged with killing six Shanghai police officers in a knife attack was sentenced to death Monday, state media reported.
...click here to read more New U.N. rights chief "will speak out for victims"
GENEVA (Reuters), 1 September 2008 - The United Nations' new High Commissioner for Human Rights, South African judge Navanathem Pillay, said on Monday she would speak out firmly for victims of rights abuses around the world -- and against the abusers.
...click here to read more
August 2008
UN split over Georgia resolutions
BBC, 22 August 2008 -The UN Security Council is deadlocked over the situation in Georgia with the US and Russia rejecting rival resolutions on the crisis.
...click here to read more WHO sees healthier Beijing as Olympic legacy
UN in China, Press Release, 21 August 2008, Beijing -The World Health Organization (WHO) ispleased with the progress China has made on key public health issues
in preparation for the Olympic Games. The challenge is to see the
investments made by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of
the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), WHO and IOC translate into lasting health
impacts on food safety, air quality, tobacco control, and outbreak
prevention and control.
"From our point of view, these were successful Games," said Dr Hans
Troedsson, Representative of the WHO in China. "China made some
important steps forward in vital areas. We look forward to seeing this
progress maintained once the athletes have gone home and the
post-Olympic era begins."
WHO worked closely with China's Ministry of Health, China's Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, and the Beijing Municipal Health
Bureau on enhancing outbreak diagnostic and communications capacity.
Throughout the Games, Chinese parties worked closely with a WHO team
of technicians, for example, to expand the range of diagnostic tests
available in-country. WHO consulted daily with its Chinese
counterparts in a two-way flow of information on disease monitoring.
With partners in the Bloomberg Initiative, WHO supported BOCOG's work
to make these Games tobacco-free. (Launched in 2006 with funds from
Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bloomberg Initiative aims to reduce
tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries.)
A guide on safe food for travelers and another on healthy lifestyles
were produced and distributed throughout Beijing in cooperation with
the Ministry of Health and the Beijing Food Safety Administration.
"The 3 Fives" program – which encourages exercise, healthy eating and
safe food preparation techniques – will expand its reach in China and
spread to other countries as well.
"The athletic and architectural successes we have seen were
thrilling," said Dr Troedsson. "The Games themselves will have proven
to be even more successful if years from now we can point to lasting
health impacts for the residents of the host cities and others in
China."
A monograph on the health legacy of the Beijing Olympics will be
prepared for release in 2009.
Tribes object to fighting fire in sacred places
AP, 14 Aug 2008 - GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Indian tribes from the Klamath River canyon are worried that the U.S. Forest Service is violating some of their sacred lands by fighting a remote wilderness wildfire rather than letting it burn naturally.GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Indian tribes from the Klamath River canyon are worried that the U.S. Forest Service is violating some of their sacred lands by fighting a remote wilderness wildfire rather than letting it burn naturally.
...click here to read moreStatement by Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang, and S. James Anaya, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people on the International Day of the World's Indigenous People
Geneva, 5 Aug 2008 - This year's International Day of the World's Indigenous People, celebrated on 9 August, is the first to take place following the landmark adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly in September 2007.
...click here to read more
July 2008
New UN human rights chief speaks of personal understanding of discrimination
UN News Centre, 29 July 2008 – The newly appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says she comes to her work with a personal understanding of human rights violations, based on her experience of living in South Africa during the apartheid regime when non-whites such as herself suffered from institutionalized discrimination.
...click here to read moreFOLLOWING GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVAL, SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS NAVANETHEM PILLAY OF SOUTH AFRICA AS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
UN DPI, 28 July 2008 – The Secretary-General, following approval by the General Assembly, has appointed Navanethem (Navi) Pillay of South Africa as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights.
...click here to read moreBan joins General Assembly’s call for Olympic truce during Beijing Games
UN NEWS CENTRE, 28 July 2008 – Less than two weeks before the 2008 Summer Olympics begin in Beijing, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today joined the General Assembly in calling on all those who are at war to observe the traditional two-week Olympic Truce.
...click here to read moreSouth African to be next U.N. human rights commissioner
LA Times, 18 July 08 -- The secretary-general will name South African Judge Navanethem Pillay as the next U.N. human rights commissioner as early as today, diplomats and U.N. officials said Thursday.
...click here to read moreThe real India shining story
Rediff.com, 18 July 08 -- Usha Chaumar stands in the lobby of the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel that overlooks the green-tinted glass tower that is home to the United Nations in New York.
...click here to read moreChina gets ivory imports go-ahead
BBC, 15 July 08 -- The UN has given China the green light to bid in a one-off sale of ivory.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) voted in favour of China's request during a meeting being held in Geneva.
...click here to read more Indonesian leader admits rights abuses in East Timor
International Herald Tribune, 15 July 08 -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia acknowledged Tuesday that his country carried out gross human rights abuses during East Timor's 1999 break for independence, but he stopped short of offering a full apology for murders, torture and other crimes.
...click here to read moreFury as Zimbabwe sanctions vetoed
BBC, 12 July 08 -- Britain and the US have condemned Russia and China for vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders.
...click here to read moreCHINESE COMPANIES CAN LAY FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABLE, PROSPEROUS WORLD,
SAYS SECRETARY–GENERAL AT MEETING WITH GLOBAL COMPACT CHINA
UNDPI, 3 July 08 -Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at a meeting with the Global Compact China in Beijing yesterday, 2 July:
...click here to read more At end of tenure, UN advocate for rights expresses hope
IHT, 1 July 08 -GENEVA: She has been doing a job with an objective that many would call impossible: to safeguard human rights around the globe. Yet as Louise Arbour steps down after four years as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, she is not entirely pessimistic.
...click here to read more
June 2008
Symbol of Tibetan resistance addresses Council
Human Rights Tribune, 5 June 08 - Tibet’s longest serving political prisoner and a symbol of resistance to Chinese rule addressed the 8th session of the Human Rights Council Wednesday (June 4). Despite spending 32 years in various prison camps, 82-year old Takna Jigme Sangpo is far from being chastized by this experiences.
...click here to read moreUN food summit hammers out plan for world's hungry
Times Online, 4 June 2008 –Delegates to the UN summit on the world food crisis today began hammering out an emergency plan to reduce hunger and help Third World farmers despite often testy disagreement behind the scenes over the future of biofuels.
...click here to read more Words must be put into action to fight human trafficking – Assembly President
UN News Center, 3 June 2008 – Global and regional pacts must be put into action if the world is to tackle the scourge of human trafficking, a $32 billion annual industry, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today in New York.
...click here to read more
May 2008
WHO rushing more medical aid to China, sending expert team for health system reconstruction
WHO, 22May - Beijing/Manila 22 May 2008—The World Health Organization (WHO) is rushing additional medical supplies to the People's Republic of China. The supplies will be able to treat 130 000 people. WHO is also sending an expert team to collaborate with the government on rebuilding its health infrastructure following the devastating May 12 earthquake.
...click here to read more Fifteen countries elected to UN Human Rights Council
TheEarthTimes, 21 May - The UN General Assembly elected Wednesday 15 countries to serve three-year terms on the 47-nation Human Rights Council, including France and Britain, two of the seven seats for Western Europe. The re-election of France was particularly watched because of its recent clashes with China on the issue of Tibet, and with Myanmar over its refusal to accept international relief aid for Cyclone Nargis victims. France had denounced those two countries for failing to uphold human rights.
...click here to read moreCanada a wallflower at UN dance
TheStar.com, 19 May - A seat on the United Nations Security Council is the most sought-after property on the international stage.
...click here to read moreStatement From The Carter Center on Upcoming U.N. Human Rights Council Elections
Carter Centre, 16 May - The Carter Center calls on the General Assembly not to re-elect Sri Lanka to the Human Rights Council in the upcoming Council elections. Recently adopted reforms of the former Commission on Human Rights, including competitive elections, call for the conduct of a government to be a factor in whether it is selected for a seat on the Council.
...click here to read more
PERMANENT FORUM HAILS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTION OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS DECLARATION,
PLEDGES TO MAKE IT ‘A LIVING DOCUMENT’, AS SEVENTH SESSION CONCLUDES
UNITED NATIONS, 2 May (DPI) - Hailing the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the General Assembly in September 2007 as the beginning of a “new era of renewed partnerships”, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today pledged its commitment to making the Declaration a “living document” throughout its work.
...click here to read more
April 2008
RIGHTS: Climate a "Life and Death" Issue for Native Peoples
UNITED NATIONS, 23 Apr (IPS) - Leaders of the world's 370 million indigenous peoples are calling for the United Nations to include their voices in its future talks on climate change.
...click here to read more
UN chief urges Tibetan dialogue with China
GENEVA, 29 April 2008 - United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday welcomed initiatives by the Chinese government for dialogue with the Dalai Lama, saying he hopes Tibetan representatives will seize the opportunity.
...click here to read more
Beijing Games focus of talks as UN official meets head of Olympic Committee
UN News Centre, 23 April 2008 - The United Nations Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace and the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have pledged to ensure that this summer’s Games in Beijing, China, are celebrated in a spirit of friendship and respect.
...click here to read more
UN human rights experts call for restraint and transparency as mass arrests are reported in the Tibet Autonomous Region and surrounding areas in China
UN, 10 April 2008 - GENEVA -- United Nations Special Procedures mandate holders have today issued a joint statement of concern regarding the ongoing protests and reports of high numbers of arrests in the Tibet Autonomous Region and surrounding areas in China. They urge restraint and non-violence by all parties, greater and unfettered access to the regions concerned for journalists and independent observers, guarantees for the free flow of information, and full implementation of international standards in regard to the treatment of protestors and those detained, both in the People's Republic of China and in other countries in which protests are taking place.
...click here to read moreFORUM-ASIA condemns use of force against protestors in Nepal
FORUM-ASIA, 2 April 2008 - FORUM ASIA expresses deep concern over the series of crackdowns against peaceful Tibetan demonstrators in Nepal. The Bangkok-based human rights organisation, with its 40 member organisations across Asia, calls on the government of Nepal to immediately end the violations of the rights to freedom of assembly, expression and movement.
...click here to read moreUN Human Rights Council fails to act on Tibet
FORUM-ASIA, 1 April 2008 - FORUM Asia deplores the failure of the UN Human Rights Council to address the gross human rights violations occurring in Tibetan regions of China.
...click here to read more
March 2008
China untouchable by UN rights council: activists
GENEVA (AFP), 26 March 2008 — China remains untouchable by the UN Human Rights Council, with Beijing to emerge unscathed from the current session despite widespread criticism of its crackdown in Tibet, activists and diplomats say.
...click here to read moreNepalese arrests of protesters on Tibet issue alarm UN human rights office
UN News Centre, 25 March 2008 – United Nations human rights officials in Nepal have expressed deep concern at the arbitrary arrest and detention of several hundred people in the capital, Kathmandu, apparently on the grounds that they were involved in protests related to recent developments in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
...click here to read more UN Special Rapporteurs must defend human rights of Tibetans
Forum-Asia, 20 March 2008 –Appeal for Joint Statement on the situation
in the “Tibet Autonomous Region” and other Tibetan areas of China
...click here to read more Ban Ki-moon urges restraint by authorities amid reported violence, deaths
UN News Centre, 17 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that he is “increasingly concerned” about recent developments in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, including reports of violence and loss of life, and urged restraint by the authorities there.
...click here to read moreChina: UN rights chief voices concern over tensions in Tibet Autonomous Region
UN News Centre, 14 March 2008 – The top United Nations human rights official today voiced concern over the rising tensions between protesters and security forces in the Tibet Autonomous Region and surrounding areas of China, noting that there have been reports of deaths and property destruction.
...click here to read moreArbour denies she was pressured to resign
Nationalpost.com, 7 March 2008 - Louise Arbour announced her anticipated resignation as the top United Nations human rights official Friday, insisting no one had pushed her from the job.
...click here to read moreRIGHTS: Fund to Fight Gender Violence Puts Donors to the Test
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 6 (IPS) - The U.N. "Trust Fund to End Violence against Women" has risen significantly over the last year: from 3.5 million dollars in 2006 to over 15 million dollars in 2007.
...click here to read moreCampaign launched in China to stop domestic violence
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 125,000 Chinese netizens have submitted their signatures to an on-line campaign against domestic violence, local media said Thursday.
...click here to read moreHuman rights investigators pull out of Sri Lanka
The Guardian, 6 March 2008 - Sri Lanka's reputation on human rights took a double blow today as an international panel monitoring abuse investigations resigned and a leading watchdog said the country's government had illegally abducted hundreds of people.
...click here to read moreUN envoy to discuss Burma plans
BBC,6 March 2008 - The UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has arrived in Burma for his third visit since September's suppressed mass anti-government protests.
...click here to read moreThe United Nations: Adieu Arbour, But Will Her Successor Be Worse?
The Heritage Foundation, 4 March 2008 - It is rumored that Louise Arbour will not seek a second four-year term as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This is the very definition of "mixed blessing." Arbour has repeatedly demonstrated poor judgment and an alarming willingness to cater to the world's more repressive regimes, but there is no guarantee that her successor will be any better. Human rights abusers in the U.N. will surely work to ensure that the next High Commissioner is even less dedicated to human rights and more susceptible to pernicious influence. The U.S. should move quickly to identify strong candidates that would make the office an ally in the fight to advance political and civil rights.
...click here to read moreUN approves new sanctions on Iran
BBC, 4 March 2008 - The UN Security Council has voted in favour of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.
...click here to read moreBRAZIL: Indigenous Groups Defend Constitutional Right to Land
IPS, 4 March 2008 - Thousands of indigenous people in the west-central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul are living in precarious camps or small overcrowded reservations, lacking the land they need to grow the food needed to overcome high levels of malnutrition.
...click here to read moreUN chief says rights body must tackle all abuses
GENEVA (Reuters), 3 March 2008 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the world organisation's Human Rights Council on Monday that it must tackle abuses wherever they arise and promote a single set of rights around the globe.
...click here to read moreU.N. Human Rights Chief to Leave Post
Washingtonpost.com, 3 March 2008 – Louise Arbour, the top U.N. human rights official, will step down on June 30, according to sources close to her, ending a four-year term that has been highlighted by confrontation with the Bush administration over the Iraq war, the death penalty and U.S. efforts against terrorism.
...click here to read moreGhosts of apartheid haunt South Africa
ABC News, 2 March 2008 – The antics of a group of white university students in South Africa have been condemned after they humiliated black campus staff on video.
...click here to read moreArbour deeply troubled about deaths during post-election protests in Armenia
UN, 2 March 2008 – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said that she was deeply troubled following reports of eight deaths and numerous injuries on Saturday during demonstrations in the Armenian capital Yerevan, where a state of emergency has been declared.
...click here to read more
Febuary 2008
Secretary-General Ban welcomes accord ‘breakthrough’ in Kenya
UN News Centre, 28 February 2008 – Urging further measures to end the deadly tensions that erupted after disputed presidential elections in Kenya, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warmly welcomed the agreement on principles for a coalition Government announced in Nairobi today.
...click here to read moreCuba signs human rights pledges
BBC, Feb 28 - Cuba has signed two legally binding human rights agreements at the UN in New York, just days after Raul Castro was sworn in as the new president.
...click here to read moreCambodia leader cries for victims
Swissinfo.ch, Feb 26 - The chief interrogator of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge has wept while visiting a prison he commanded where at least 14,000 people were killed.
...click here to read moreNGOs call for improved human rights policy
Swissinfo.ch, Feb 26 - More than 30 Swiss non-governmental organisations have raised concerns about human rights practices in Switzerland in a report addressed to the United Nations.
...click here to read moreChina Set to Resume Human Rights Dialogue
WashingtonPost.com, Feb. 27 -- China declared Tuesday that it is willing to resume a long-stalled human rights dialogue with the United States, apparently seeking to improve its image before this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
...click here to read moreGuatemala 'to open war archives'
BBC, Feb 26 - Military archives spanning nearly four decades of civil war in Guatemala will be opened to the public, the country's President Alvaro Colom has announced.
...click here to read more IOC backs China human rights push
BBC, Feb 26 - The Beijing Olympics will help to improve the human rights situation in China, says a senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official.
...click here to read moreWe ‘cannot wait’ to end violence against women
UN News Centre, February 25 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today kicked off a multi-year global campaign bringing together the United Nations, governments and civil society to try to end violence against women, calling it an issue that “cannot wait.”
...click here to read more UN warns over food aid rationing
BBC, Feb 25 - The director of the UN's World Food Programme has said it is considering plans to ration food aid because of rising prices and a shortage of funds.
...click here to read more RIGHTS-PERU: Survivors Come Face-to Face with Massacre Leader
LIMA, Feb 22 (IPS) - Teófila Ochoa and Cirila Pulido, survivors of a 1985 massacre in Peru, said that seeing retired Peruvian army officer Telmo Hurtado in prison-issue clothing and shackles was the closest they have come to seeing justice done.
...click here to read more UN extends Somalia peace mission
AP, 20 February 2008 – The U.N. Security Council authorized African peacekeepers Wednesday to continue operating in Somalia for six months while the United Nations mulls taking over those duties.
...click here to read more United Nations experts welcome Australia’s apology to indigenous peoples
OHCHR, 18 February 2008 –The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people; the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the rights to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued the following statement today:
...click here to read more End culture of impunity in Nepal: UN
Timesofindia, 17 February 2008 – A top UN human rights official has urged Nepal to end the culture of impunity in the country and punish armymen involved in torture of innocent people in the Himalayan nation.
...click here to read moreUN troops 'trapped' in Eritrea
BBC, 16 February 2008 – The United Nations has condemned Eritrea, accusing it of preventing hundreds of peacekeepers from crossing from Eritrea into Ethiopia.
...click here to read moreStatement by H.E. Ambassador Yu Qingtai, China's Special Representative for Climate Change Talks, at the Thematic Debate of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change
FMPRC, 12 February 2008 – The issue of climate change has become a serious challenge in today's world. It affects not only the development of the global economy and prosperity, but also the very existence of mankind. A united front to confront this challenge, and to safeguard the common home of mankind has become the unanimous appeal by all members of the international community.
...click here to read moreHRP Panelists Look at Human Rights Institutions
College Publisher Network, 14 February 2008 – As part of a multi-year commitment to studying National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program invited Morten Kjaerum, Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, to speak at the law school last Friday. The Director of the Human Rights Program, Professor Ryan Goodman, gave a brief background to NHRIs. Kjaerum - who is also Special Coordinator of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and served as President of the International Coordination Committee (ICC) for NHRIs - discussed the relatively recent emergence of NHRIs, their proper role in international human rights mechanisms and domestic implementation, and their efficacy....click here to read moreSerbia urges UN action on Kosovo
BBC, 15 February 2008 – Serbia's foreign minister has urged the United Nations Security Council to oppose the province of Kosovo's expected declaration of independence....click here to read moreKenya: The Long Road to Democracy
allAfrica.com, 14 February 2008 – On December, I wrote a piece for Pambazuka News reflecting on the pending elections entitled THE LONG ROAD TO DEMOCRACY. As in the 2002 elections, I was wary that Kenyans would be taken for a ride again....click here to read more1st Regional Workshop on Minority Issues in Southeast Asia
Forum-Asia, 14 February 2008 – We, the participants of the 1st Regional Workshop on Minority Issues in Southeast Asia, organised by the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), in partnership with the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), and Minority Rights Group (MRG), in Bangkok, Thailand on 21 -23 January 2008, ...click here to read more
JANUARY 2008
UN rights expert on freedom of religion voices concern about Israeli restrictions
28 January 2008 – The security restrictions imposed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory are intrusive, disproportionate, discriminatory and arbitrary, an independent United Nations human rights expert has stated, warning that they restrict the access of Muslims, Christians and Jews to worship at their holy places....click here to read moreUN genocide adviser urges end to violence in Kenya, sends staffer there
28 January 2008 – The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide today called for an immediate halt to the destructive cycle of attacks and revenge attacks in Kenya, where post-electoral violence continues to claim lives, and announced plans to dispatch a staff member there....click here to read moreUNDP 'exploited by North Korea'
BBC, 24 Jan - A UN agency operating in North Korea left itself open to exploitation, a US Senate investigation has found....click here to read moreLast Alaska language speaker dies
BBC, 24 Jan - A woman believed to be the last native speaker of the Eyak language in the north-western US state of Alaska has died at the age of 89....click here to read more
Groups demand Aceh truth body
The Jakarta Post, Jan 24 - Leading human rights groups urged Tuesday for the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to address past crimes against humanity in Aceh....click here to read moreHUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL OPENS SPECIAL SESSION ON VIOLATIONS STEMMING
FROM ISRAELI INCURSIONS IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
HRC, 23 Jan - High Commissioner for Human Rights Calls for an End to Restrictions on Aid and Essential Supplies to Gaza;
Underscores International Community's Responsibility to Protect...click here to read moreBring Human-Rights Monitors Back to Sri Lanka
Wall Street Journal, Jan 23 - The UN has criticised a lack of progress in Burma towards change, after last year's violent suppression of anti-government protests....click here to read moreUN raps Burma's 'slow progress'
BBC, Jan 18 - The UN has criticised a lack of progress in Burma towards change, after last year's violent suppression of anti-government protests....click here to read moreU.N. Chief Calls for Constructive Dialogue Among Cultures
New York Times, Jan 16 - Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed Tuesday for global dialogue to fight terrorism, though he conceded that there was no quick way to eliminate the Islamist terror threat....click here to read moreChina to Educate Farmers on Property
New York Times, Jan 15 - China will step up efforts to educate farmers on their property rights and encourage them to resolve land disputes through legal means, officials said Tuesday, in a push to curb protests over illegal land grabs and inadequate compensation....click here to read moreDon't pave Cambodia's flawed path to justice
Christian Science Monitor, Jan 15 - Five high-profile members of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government are finally in detention awaiting trial. It's historic progress toward long-awaited justice for the brutal regime that caused the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians in the late-1970s....click here to read more RIGHTS-RWANDA: Children of the Genocide Struggle to Cope
KIGALI, Jan 12 (IPS) - What Gilbert Nshimyumukiza remembers most about the Rwandan genocide is that it started to rain as he and his brothers tried to carry his mortally wounded father back into their house. ...click here to read more Clarity demanded on terrorism blacklist
Swissinfo.ch, Jan 14 - Switzerland is calling for reform of the United Nations terrorism blacklist in an effort to improve transparency...click here to read more UN drive for economic and social rights
FT.com, Jan 8 - The United Nations is to push for economic and social rights, including the human rights responsibilities of companies, to be given greater attention in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights....click here to read moreChina hits back at critics of rights record
Reuters, Jan 8 - China hit back on Tuesday at critics of its human rights record, saying the world was using the Olympics, which Beijing will host in August, as an excuse to make a villain out of its government....click here to read moreObserve Early and Often
NY times, Jan. 5-KENYA descended into chaos last week after accusations of vote rigging. The specter of further unrest haunts Pakistan after elections were postponed in the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s assasination. And two years ago Haitians clashed with the police in Port-au-Prince after a botched vote count enraged supporters of the leading presidential candidate....click here to read moreU.N. Probe Unlikely In Bhutto Slaying
Washington Post, Jan. 5-When former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri was assassinated nearly three years ago, the United States and France prodded the U.N. Security Council into ordering a U.N. inquiry into the killing within 24 hours....click here to read moreHuman rights at heart of peace, says Bennett [ 2008-1-6 ]
The Rising Nepal, Jan. 5- Representative of the United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR), Richard Bennett said that holding the constituent assembly elections alone will not guarantee sustainable peace and democracy but the state should also keep human rights at the centre of the peace process....click here to read moreHuman Rights in Curriculum: Experts to Discuss Strategy
Arab News, 5 January 2008 — The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has invited representatives of 16 higher educational institutions in the country to a workshop that will discuss steps to include human rights in the curriculum in Riyadh today....click here to read moreSri Lanka 'needs UN monitors'
BBC, 4 January 2008 – US-based Human Rights Watch says the United Nations should send observers to monitor the fighting in Sri Lanka....click here to read moreUN finally owns certified copy of its 1945 Charter
UN News Centre, 3 January 2008 – For the first time in its history, the United Nations holds a certified copy of its own Charter, signed on 26 June 1945 by the Organization’s original 51 members, after it was presented to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by the head of the United States National Archives....click here to read moreNew UNICEF initiative enables children around the world to share stories online
UN News Centre, 7 December 2007 – Young people from around the world will be able to record and share their stories online in various languages thanks to a new project launched today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), technology giant Google and the non-profit organization One Laptop per Child....click here to read moreChina to expand lethal injections
BBC, 3 January 2008 - China is to expand the use of lethal injections to replace execution by shooting, a senior official has said....click here to read moreCHALLENGES 2007-2008: Grim Present, Dim Future for Andean Integration
CARACAS, Dec 26 (IPS) - The Andean countries are passing through the gates of the new year with their trade bloc, the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) -- the oldest and most structured regional integration agreement in the Americas -- fraying at the edges....click here to read moreStrobe Talbott Raves About UN, Coos Over Kofi, Ignores Scandals
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Strobe Talbott's curriculum vitae includes 21 years at Time magazine, seven years as a deputy secretary at the State Department under U.S. President Bill Clinton, a stint at Yale and some five years at the Brookings Institution....click here to read more
News Archive-2007