Israel to stop engagement with UN human rights council, alleging bias

Jerusalem/Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Israel has told the United Nations Human Rights Council that it is disengaging from the body, alleging it was biased, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday. Council members have frequently raised allegations of Israeli human rights violations in the Gaza war, while a UN inquiry it set up found last year […]
Human Rights Watch chief says Trump’s return threatens freedoms

Geneva, Switzerland Reuters US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House next week threatens freedoms at home and abroad, the head of Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, warning that his second term could be more damaging than his first. The remarks from Tirana Hassan, the executive director of the New York-based independent rights […]
Australia violated refugees’ rights in offshore detention centre, says UN

Geneva, Switzerland Reuters A UN committee found that Australia violated a human rights treaty by detaining a group of asylum seekers, including minors, on the remote Pacific island of Nauru even after they were granted refugee status, it said in a statement on Thursday. Under Australia’s tough immigration policies, those attempting to reach the country […]
Jimmy Carter, former US President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, dead at 100

Updated: 11:15pm (AEDT) Washington DC, US Reuters Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as US President struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday, […]
Saudi Arabia’s human rights record under fire after World Cup bid win

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters Rights organisations strongly criticised FIFA on Wednesday after world soccer’s ruling body officially awarded the 2034 men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Hosting the global showpiece tournament is the pinnacle of Saudi Arabia’s massive push into sports and entertainment over recent years as it seeks to improve its international image. A […]
Taliban administration officials to attend UN climate conference in Azerbaijan

Kabul, Afghanistan Reuters Afghan Taliban officials will attend a major United Nations climate conference that starts this week, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, the first time they have attended since the former insurgents took power in 2021. The COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku will be among the highest-profile multilateral events attended […]
UN details Nicaragua government’s intensifying violent crackdown on rights

Mexico City Reuters A report from the United Nations released on Tuesday detailed alleged crimes committed by the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, including an intensifying crackdown on dissent enforced with a new wave of arbitrary arrests and torture. Based on 120 interviews with what the UN human rights office describes as victims and […]
Ugandan security forces detain dozens of young protesters, says rights group

Kampala, Uganda Reuters Ugandan security forces detained dozens of young people on Tuesday, a rights group said, as they took part in a banned protest rally in downtown Kampala against official corruption and alleged human rights abuses by the country’s rulers. A Reuters witness saw the detentions being made, while a video posted by NTV […]
Essay: A wolf in sheep’s clothing – freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam

DAVID*, lead advocate and researcher for Vietnam, Laos and North Korea at UK religious freedom advocacy CSW, says Vietnam is “devouring the right to freedom of religion or belief across the country”…
India dismisses US human rights report as “deeply biased”

New Delhi, India Reuters New Delhi said on Thursday it does not attach any value to a US State Department report critical of human rights in India, and called it deeply biased. The annual human rights assessment released earlier this week found “significant” abuses in India’s north-eastern Manipur state last year and attacks on minorities, […]