UN officials warned on Wednesday that Haiti’s crisis has reached a critical phase as violence escalates, with entrenched criminal networks and spiralling humanitarian needs fueling national instability. Haiti is nearing the end of a foreseen political transition period, set to expire on February 7. However, the UN officials stated that efforts to restore security, democratic [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thursday for accountability for the toxic spills that have affected children living near Lega Dembi gold mine in Ethiopia, urging the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to ask the Ethiopian government to suspend mining operations and take measures to safeguard children’s health. HRW reported that [...]

Amnesty International released a statement Thursday as a trial begins for activists who organized an annual vigil commemorating the protestors who were killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The rights organization states that this is an escalation of Hong Kong authorities’ “weaponization” of national security laws to repress dissent. The two activists are Chow Hang-tung [...]

The Nara district court on Wednesday sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for his assassination of Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe. He pleaded guilty to murder, having shot the retired prime minister in 2022 with a homemade gun, according to local media. Yamagami’s defence team focused on the homemade gun, arguing that the [...]

Togo’s Ministry of Justice on Tuesday confirmed the extradition of former Burkinabè transitional president Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba to Burkina Faso, following accusations of corruption, embezzlement, and involvement in attempted coups against the current regime of Captain Ibrahim Traoré. On January 12, the judicial authorities in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, submitted a formal extradition request accompanied [...]

A UN expert on Tuesday urged the Guatemalan government to “take decisive steps to eliminate the instrumentalisation of its justice system once and for all,” ahead of the upcoming judicial appointment process for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Constitutional Court and Prosecutor General. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, stressed the [...]

UN experts on Monday called on member states to include gender apartheid in the drafting of the treaty on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. The experts particularly referred to the situation in Afghanistan, urging states to ensure meaningful women’s participation in the drafting process. The Working Group on discrimination against women and [...]

Amnesty International on Monday demanded that the Cuban government immediately release seven prisoners held for political reasons, and permanently cease political detentions. The rights group listed the names of each prisoner, demanded their release, and denounced the country’s political-prisoner release process, criticizing its “opacity” and “absence of clear criteria and use of arbitrary conditions.” Advocating [...]

The Australian Parliament passed a package of new gun control and expanded hate crime legislation on Tuesday, seen as measures to combat antisemitism, extremism and gun violence following last month’s Bondi Beach shooting. The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism laws realize leadership promises to enact tougher laws on firearms and hate-motivated violence. The combined acts establish [...]

During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, UN agencies warned on Monday that escalating hunger and displacement crises worldwide threaten global economic stability, urging governments and business leaders to take action. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) noted that nearly 318 million people worldwide were facing a crisis-level hunger, with many living in famine [...]