The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Friday released a report highlighting numerous human rights violations in Myanmar two years after the military coup. The report states: Myanmar’s conflict landscape has changed dramatically, highlighting concerns for the protection of civilians. By late 2021, and throughout 2022, violence intensified especially in the [...]

A group of 60 civil and human rights organizations Tuesday urged the United Nations to oppose Ethiopia’s request to end the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), the body tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict. The organizations, led by Human Rights Watch (HRW), cited Ethiopians’ [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tunisia Director Salsabil Chellali Monday urged Tunisian authorities to reinstate dismissed judges and prosecutors and remove all measures used to subdue judicial authority. President Kais Saied dismissed 57 magistrates last year as part of an “anti-corruption” crusade. According to Chellali, ”These blows to judicial independence reflect the government’s determination to subjugate [...]

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Bruno Lemarquis Wednesday indicated in a report that the UN will need to raise $2.25 billion to combat widespread the mass displacement of people in the DRC. Lemarquis stated that security incidents against aid workers in the DRC continue to be a major barrier [...]

Organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Wednesday urged a Somali court to dismiss charges against journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin. The groups also claimed that the government’s decision to apprehend Mumin was an attempt to victimize strong-willed Somali journalists. In a letter to Somalia’s attorney general, the groups [...]

The Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church Monday reported that at least 4,812 children have been sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church since 1950. The commission, established by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (PEC), acknowledged on Tuesday that this figure is the “tip of the [...]

A Kenyan court ruled Monday that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, can be sued in a case involving mental injury to a former Facebook moderator in the course of his employment. Justice Jacob Gakeri rejected Meta Platform Inc.’s and Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd’s motion to dismiss, which claimed that the court lacked jurisdiction. Justice Gakeri stated [...]

The UN Development Programme Tuesday reported that unemployment plays a key role in pushing people to join extremist groups in the Southern Sahara. The report indicates a 92 percent increase in the number of volunteer recruits pushed to such groups due to lack of jobs since the last such study conducted in 2017. The report [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Tuesday asserted that the Iranian government is seeking to effectively punish anti-regime protesters through criminal proceedings and the imposition of the death penalty. In  a statement, he said that the Iranian government’s actions amount to “state-sanctioned killing” intended to “strike fear into the population so as to [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Friday urged Burkina Faso authorities to hasten investigations into the deaths of 28 men in Burkina Faso. Their bodies were discovered on December 30 and 31 in Nouna, Kossi Province, Boucle du Mouhoun region. Türk commented, “It is encouraging that the authorities have announced an investigation into [...]