Latest news with #UNHumanRightsCouncil
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Iceland: Social Rights And Safety For All Must Remain A Top Priority, Says UN Expert
Reykjavík, 28 May 2025 The Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, George Katrougalos, today urged Iceland to close remaining protection gaps for migrants, persons with disabilities and trans people. 'Iceland stands out globally as a model for equality, progressive governance and human rights. Ensuring access to social rights and safety for all must remain a top priority,' Katrougalos said in a statement at the end of his visit to the country. He raised several issues related to migration, including family reunification and the use of solitary confinement in particular for migrants in pretrial detention. The expert stressed the importance of Icelandic institutions adapting proactively to evolving societal needs, particularly those arising from increased migration and the growing impact of tourism. Katrougalos warned against the rise in disinformation and hate speech, particularly online and targeting religious groups among migrants as well as trans persons. He underscored that the national action plan to combat hate speech – presented in 2023 – had not been adopted and urged Iceland to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the issue. The expert raised concerns about involuntary psychiatric treatment and called for stronger legal safeguards to protect the rights of patients and vulnerable groups. Katrougalos noted important legislative reforms aimed at addressing gender-based violence. He urged the government to step up efforts to ensure that all cases of abuse are investigated by the police and prosecuted, and that victims receive adequate support. 'Iceland stands out globally as a model for its leadership in gender equality,' the expert said. 'The country's progressive governance shows how a small nation can have a global impact.' Katrougalos also welcomed Iceland's commitment to international human rights protection. 'Increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) rather than reducing it, in the current context, is exemplary,' he said. The Independent Expert will present a full report to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Crimes Against Humanity": UN Experts On Russia's Drone Attack In Ukraine
Russia's military has committed "crimes against humanity" and "war crimes" in its drone attacks on civilians in Ukraine's Kherson region, UN experts concluded in a report published Wednesday. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, established by the UN Human Rights Council, said Russian armed forces were "systematically" hitting civilians. Russia's drone attacks are in the spotlight as Moscow has launched some of the heaviest missile and drone strikes of its three-year war in Ukraine, with US President Donald Trump voicing growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him "absolutely crazy". "Russian armed forces have committed the crimes against humanity of murder and the war crimes of attacking civilians, through a months-long pattern of drone attacks targeting civilians on the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Province," the inquiry said. "These acts were committed with the primary purpose to spread terror among the civilian population, in violation of international humanitarian law." The categorical nature of that statement is unusual for such an inquiry. "The attacks are continuing at the time of the publication of this report," they added. The inquiry said that since July last year, Russian military drone operators on the left bank of the Dnipro had "systematically" struck civilians, and had "targeted ambulances". 'No doubt' civilians targeted The commission documented drone attacks on civilians in Kherson city and 16 other localities, geolocating videos of attacks and reviewing open sources. Nearly 150 civilians had been killed and hundreds wounded, the report said, citing official sources. It said men, women and children were among the victims. "Several Russian Telegram channels with links to the perpetrating military units, some of them with thousands of followers, have disseminated hundreds of videos of the attacks from the original feeds of the drones." The footage "leaves no doubt that they intended to target civilians". The report said the attacks amount to the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians. The recurrence of such attacks for more than 10 months, against multiple civilian targets in a wide area "demonstrates that they are widespread and systematic and have been planned". Such elements "led the commission to conclude that Russian armed forces carried out drone attacks targeting civilians pursuant to an organisational policy and committed murder as a crime against humanity", the investigation said. The commission concluded that publishing of videos of civilians being killed and injured "amounts to the war crime of outrages upon personal dignity". Accountability Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The UN Human Rights Council established its highest level of inquiry in March that year to probe violations and abuses committed during the conflict. The commission examined allegations of Ukrainian drone attacks on civilian targets in Kherson province, but could not corroborate them due to lack of information and access on Russia's part. Moscow does not recognise the commission and did not respond to any of its questions regarding drone attacks. In its recommendations, the commission said Moscow should immediately end drone attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and acts that spread terror among civilians and lead to forcible displacement. The Kremlin should also ensure that all perpetrators involved in commissioning such crimes be held accountable to international standards. The commission said Kyiv should make sure victims are given treatment and support, and support those displaced as a result of drone attacks.
Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Ian McEwan and Zadie Smith among hundreds of cultural figures denouncing Gaza 'genocide'
Hundreds of writers and cultural organisations have signed a letter calling Israel's war on Gaza genocidal and urging an immediate ceasefire. The letter's 380 signatories include writers Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, William Dalrymple, Elif Shafak, Irvine Welsh and Kate Moss. "The use of the words 'genocide' or 'acts of genocide' to describe what is happening in Gaza is no longer debated by international legal experts or human rights organizations," the letter reads, adding that the UN Human Rights Council has "clearly identified" acts of genocide enacted by the Israeli military. The letter was organised by writers Horatio Clare, Kapka Kassabova and Monique Roffey. The signatories say: "This is not only about our common humanity and all human rights; this is about our moral fitness as the writers of our time, which diminishes with every day we refuse to speak out and denounce this crime." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters They add: "Too often, words have been used to justify the unjustifiable, deny the undeniable, defend the indefensible. "Too often, too, the right words – the ones that mattered – have been eradicated, along with those who might have written them." Demanding sanctions on Israel The letter quotes a poem by Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed in an Israeli strike a year and seven months ago: "And if one day, O Light / All the galaxies / Of the entire universe / Had no more room for us / You would say: 'Enter my heart, / There you will finally be safe." The letter demands sanctions on Israel if the Israeli government does not implement a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the "immediate unrestricted distribution of food and medical aid throughout Gaza by the UN". 'Shut up and fall in line': Israel, Palestine and the dawn of a new censorship in western art Read More » "We stand in solidarity with the resistance of Palestinian, Jewish, and Israeli people to the genocidal policies of the current Israeli government," the signatories say. It comes a day after more than 800 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to sanction the Israeli government and take steps at the UN Security Council to expel Israel as a UN member state. A slow trickle of cultural figures speaking out against Israel after its military campaign in Gaza began in October 2023 has gradually gained more mainstream momentum. The development comes as the UN and humanitarian bodies warn of the risk of mass starvation as Israel blocks off aid deliveries into the besieged enclave. Israel already faces charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice, and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.
France 24
23-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
UN expert says Guatemalan anti-corruption fighters persecuted
The United States and the European Union have sanctioned top public prosecutor Consuelo Porras for graft and undermining democracy, whiled President Bernardo Arevalo has accused her of seeking to overthrow him. During a visit to Guatemala, Margaret Satterthwaite, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, warned of growing persecution of independent judges, prosecutors, lawyers, journalists and others. "The instrumental use of criminal law by the prosecutor general's office appears to amount to a systematic pattern of intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights, targeted at specific groups," she said in a statement. "This persecution appears to be intensifying, as those who have sought to end impunity and corruption, defend human rights, or speak out against abuses of power increasingly face digital harassment, threats, and criminal charges," Satterthwaite added. The UN expert, who is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, called on Porras's office to "halt its process of criminalization." Satterthwaite met with civil society and Indigenous groups, judicial officials and legislators, as well as both Arevalo and Porras during her visit. "I did hear people who are afraid," she said as she presented her initial findings at a news conference. "Criminalization is terrifying. It's something that no one wants to experience," she said. After meeting Satterthwaite last week, Porras said that her office "investigates" and "does not criminalize." But the UN expert said the "facts point to a very different reality." "Criminalization operates through a set of identifiable actions, involving the public prosecutor's office, members of the judiciary, and often certain private actors," Satterthwaite added. Arevalo's anti-corruption crusade helped to seal his August 2023 election but also put him in the crosshairs of prosecutors themselves accused of graft. The former lawmaker, diplomat and sociologist has repeatedly denounced a "slow-motion coup d'etat" and unsuccessfully tried to remove Porras.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
UN rapporteurs cite 'uncertainty' over long term affects of treated nuclear waste water
The UN Human Rights Council says the release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks to people in Japan and beyond. The concerns are raised in a letter written to the Japanese government in March, which was recently publicly released on the Council's website. Jointly written by several human rights rapporteurs, they express alarm at the radioactive material contained in the wastewater the increasing amount of wastewater to be released and that other less harmful alternatives were not considered. 'The letters are a tool fo bringing concerns to the Japanese Government,' said Dr Marcus Orellana, special rapporteur on human rights. "The Japanese Government says that the waters have been treated to the point that they satisfy regulatory limits, but some of the information with recieved from rapporteurs is that those regulatory limits are inadequate," he added. "We know is that there is uncertainty."
