The global food supply is under threat from laws that criminalize the sale and exchange of traditional peasant seed varieties, a group of UN experts said Wednesday. In their latest report to the Human Rights Council, the UN Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas indicated that almost [...]

Amnesty International on Wednesday named 87 Iranian security and interior ministry officials who it says should face criminal investigation for crimes against humanity committed during the 2022 crackdown on the Woman Life Freedom protests, and urged the UN Security Council to refer Iran’s situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) The 1,161-page report, titled “Architects of Atrocities,” [...]

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran on Monday called on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and comply with international humanitarian law following reported US airstrikes that killed and injured civilians in southern Iran. The Mission said that recent strikes in Hormozgan province raise serious questions about whether the United [...]

Representatives for both Cambodia and Thailand on Tuesday delivered opening statements during the first meeting of a United Nations-sanctioned arbitration process intended to resolve a long-running maritime dispute between the neighboring countries. The meeting, which was held in Singapore, served as the first step in the compulsory conciliation process under the UN Convention on the [...]

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday warned that South Sudan’s hunger crisis is worsening amid ongoing armed conflict, diminishing international aid, and a “super El Niño” set to impact the nation and greater region. At a press briefing, WFP’s assistant executive director for program operations, Matthew Hollingworth, stated: “Conflict, displacement, economic hardship, climate [...]

Newly appointed UN expert Bethanie Carney Almroth on Monday warned that pollution in the form of “forever chemicals,” or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), poses severe risks to the basic human right of a healthy and safe environment. Almroth referenced a recent UN report conveying that as PFAS spreads and accumulates in the environment, it has the [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for sweeping reforms to global institutions during the 18th Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability (BRICS) Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, arguing that the international system must adapt to a world that has changed dramatically since 1945. Speaking to leaders of BRICS member states, Guterres said the world is [...]

Amnesty International on Friday accused Zambian authorities of using administrative powers to silence government critics after the passports of six opposition figures, academics and commentators were cancelled on “national security” grounds. The cancellations immediately rendered the documents invalid for travel and identification, while the government has not publicly detailed the specific security allegations against each [...]

Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry on Friday confirmed that two Nigerian nationals have been killed in South Africa, as tensions intensify between the two countries over anti-immigrant protests.  Bishop Taiwo Michael Fakunle and James Uchechukwu Nwankwo were killed in two separate incidents. Fakunle was reportedly murdered at his home in Kensington, Johannesburg, on September 4. The following [...]

A UN expert said Friday that states and other development actors should ensure individuals and communities can actively, freely, and meaningfully participate in economic development decisions by moving beyond symbolic consultations and sharing decision-making power, warning that development cannot be inclusive or sustainable without public participation. UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development Surya [...]