UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders on Wednesday to prioritize Africa and promote peace, security and sustainable development on the continent. The statement follows the Ninth African Union-UN Annual Conference, where the UN and the African Union (AU) discussed the need to implement further cooperation frameworks, as well as to boost joint action to [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) rendered a decision in absentia on Thursday confirming 39 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes against Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, thus committing him to trial. Pre-Trial Chamber III of the ICC found that, under to articles 61(2)(b) and 61(7) of the Rome Statute, there were substantial grounds [...]

Amnesty International stated on Tuesday that the South African government failed to provide adequate housing and essential services to more than five million people living in informal settlements, which are highly susceptible to severe flooding. Based on the findings of its recent report, Amnesty International South Africa found that the government’s response to flooding disasters [...]

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern Thursday about violent protests that erupted in Cameroon following the announcement of the presidential election results. The OHCHR called on Cameroon’s security forces to refrain from using lethal force to quell demonstrations and urged them to abide by their obligations under international [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called for the immediate and unconditional release of 10 Egyptian Nubian men who have been held by Saudi authorities for over five years, urging the country to uphold its commitment to political reforms. The organization emphasized that the ten individuals were detained solely for expressing their cultural heritage and [...]

The UN expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, George Katrougalos, stated in a report Thursday that comprehensive reforms are needed to rebuild a fairer global financial system. He stressed that international financial reforms should be grounded in a human rights-based approach and consistent with the principles of the UN Charter, [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Thursday that the Taliban have severely undermined media freedom in Afghanistan by closing major news outlets and subjecting remaining ones to surveillance and censorship. The group called on authorities to cease mistreatment of journalists and remove discriminatory restrictions imposed on women reporters. HRW decried Taliban censorship, which incorporates monitoring of [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor called on world leaders Friday to put an end to the repression faced by climate activists, and to instead protect them as human rights defenders, emphasizing that the climate crisis is a human rights crisis. The UN expert stated: “States are repressing the [...]

Amnesty International called on Côte d’Ivoire authorities on Thursday to end the repression of peaceful protests ahead of the upcoming presidential elections, following the dispersal of a demonstration by security forces in Abidjan on October 11 and the subsequent arrest of 255 individuals. Amnesty International’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Marceau Sivieude, stated: [...]

Amnesty International stated on Thursday that authorities in El Salvador have misused the penal justice system and recent legal reforms to repress human rights defenders and silence dissenting voices, thereby undermining the rule of law in the country. Amnesty International’s Americas director Ana Piquer said: “Instead of impartially delivering justice, the criminal justice system in [...]