Latest news with #GENEVA
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
US shifts Patriot missile exports to Kyiv, postponing Swiss defence plans
GENEVA, July 18 — Delivery of US Patriot weapons systems to Switzerland will be delayed as Washington reprioritises to provide more support to Ukraine, the Swiss government said Thursday. The US defence department informed Bern this week 'that it will reprioritise the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defence' there, the Swiss defence ministry (DDPS) said in a statement. 'This also affects Switzerland, which will receive its production batches later than planned,' it said. US President Donald Trump on Monday announced a deal with Nato chief Mark Rutte for European Nato states to buy US weaponry – particularly advanced Patriot systems – and give it to Kyiv. The move marked a pivot for Trump as his patience has worn thin with Russia's President Vladimir Putin for frustrating efforts to halt the war in Ukraine. European countries – including Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden – have expressed willingness to buy the weaponry for Kyiv. The Swiss government statement said that the US decision to 'reprioritise the delivery of Patriot ground-based air defence systems' to ensure they get to Ukraine would impact a Swiss order made three years ago. Switzerland, which is not in Nato, had ordered five Patriot systems in 2022, with delivery scheduled to begin next year and to be completed in 2028. With its traditional position of well-armed military neutrality, Switzerland would not pass on weapons systems to Ukraine. But it said that 'on July 16, the US Department of Defense informed the DDPS that Switzerland would also be affected by the new prioritisation and that deliveries intended for Switzerland would be delayed'. 'It is currently unclear how many systems will be affected and whether the delivery of guided missiles will also be affected,' it said. 'No statement can be made at this stage regarding the exact timing and any further implications for Switzerland,' the statement added, stressing that 'clarifications are ongoing'. Washington had already informed Switzerland a year ago that the country's order of the PAC-3 MSE version of the guided missiles for Patriot would be delivered later than planned, also in connection with support for Ukraine. — AFP
Arab News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UN experts demand probe into Belarus deaths in custody
'Several individuals identified by human rights defenders as political prisoners have died in custody or shortly after being released,' the UN experts saidThe dead included people who took part in protests surrounding the 2020 presidential electionsGENEVA: United Nations experts on Wednesday demanded transparent investigations into the deaths of people detained in Belarus for voicing political by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, Belarus has outlawed all genuine opposition parties and faces accusations of persecuting dissidents.'Over the past four years, several individuals identified by human rights defenders as political prisoners have died in custody or shortly after being released,' the UN experts said in a joint said the dead included people who took part in protests surrounding the 2020 presidential elections, which rights groups and critics said Lukashenko had call for investigations came from Nils Muiznieks, special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus, plus the rapporteurs on freedom of expression, protecting rights while countering terrorism, and on extrajudicial special rapporteurs are independent figures appointed by the Human Rights Council to report in their field of expertise. They do not speak for the United Nations experts raised the cases of three individuals who died in custody.'It is of the utmost importance to thoroughly investigate the alleged instances of ill-treatment and neglect that resulted in the deaths,' they said, while highlighting the deaths of others designated as political prisoners by human rights defenders.'There are strong reasons to believe that these individuals lost their lives in retaliation for exercising their civil and political rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.'Presenting an annual report to the Human Rights Council, last month Muiznieks said the rights picture in Belarus was 'dire' and getting eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to Belarusian human rights group Viasna.'If these figures are even close to being accurate, Belarus probably has the most political prisoners per capita in the world,' said Muiznieks.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UN-backed experts focusing on Palestinian rights quit
GENEVA: A team of three independent experts working for the UN's top human rights body with a focus on Israel and Palestinian areas say they are resigning, citing personal reasons and a need for change, in the panel's first such group resignation. The resignations, announced Monday by the UN-backed Human Rights Council that set up the team, come as violence continues in Palestinian areas with few signs of letup in the Israeli military campaign against Hamas and other militants behind the Oct. 7 attacks. The Israeli government has repeatedly criticized the panel of experts, known as the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, and denied their repeated requests to travel to the region or otherwise cooperate with the team. Council spokesman Pascal Sim said the move marked the first joint resignations of Commission of Inquiry members since the council was founded in 2006. The team said in a statement that the resignations had 'absolutely nothing to do with any external event or pressure.' Navi Pillay, 83, a former UN human rights chief who has led the commission for the last four years, said in a letter to the council president that she was resigning effective Nov. 3 because of 'age, medical issues and the weight of several other commitments.'
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
UN-backed team focusing on human rights in Palestinian areas announce resignations
GENEVA — A team of three independent experts working for the U.N.'s top human rights body with a focus on Israel and Palestinian areas say they are resigning, citing personal reasons and a need for change. The resignations, announced Monday by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council that set up the team, come as violence continues in Palestinian areas and few signs of letup in the Israeli military campaign against Hamas and other militants behind the Oct. 7 attacks.
Malay Mail
7 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
UN rights commission on Israel-Palestine to be renewed as all three members resign
GENEVA, July 15 — The three members of a United Nations commission charged with investigating human rights abuses in Israel and the Palestinian territories have resigned, saying it is time to renew the body, a UN spokesperson said yesterday. The three-person commission was created in 2021 and has been sharply criticized by Israel. South Africa's Navi Pillay, 83, who once headed the international tribunal for Rwanda, cited her age in a letter announcing her resignation. Australia's Chris Sidoti, 74, said in his letter it was an 'appropriate time' to renew the commission, while India's Miloon Kothari, in his late 60s, just said it had been 'an honour' to serve. Jurg Lauber, the head of the UN's Human Rights Council, asked the council's member states to propose new members by August 31. — AFP pic
