General News

A decision issued by India’s Supreme Court to uphold a colonial-era law criminalizing same-sex relationships has been described as a “step backwards for India”.

That’s according to a statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on Thursday.

The Indian Supreme Court ruling struck down a 2009 decision by the Delhi High Courts that de-criminalized homosexual acts.

Cécile Pouilly, the Spokesperson for the High Commissioner explained to UN Radio’s Alpha Diallo why this decision was a “blow to human rights”.

The UN children’s fund (UNICEF) turns 67 this Wednesday and the agency is using the occasion to highlight how nearly a quarter of a billion children worldwide are literally being robbed of their birthright.

A UNICEF report finds nearly 230 million youngsters under the age of five officially do not exist because their births were not registered.

While rates vary across regions, UNICEF says the lowest levels of birth registration can be found in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

A group of high profile Somali government officials spent the morning celebrating Human Rights Day with inmates of the Mogadishu Central Prison.

The Day is marked every year on 10 December.

As Somalia recovers from decades of war, the emphasis was put on health and the protection of peoples’ rights.

Jocelyne Sambira reports.

Duration: 2'46''

Thousands of people thronged the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Tuesday to pay tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela who died last week at the age of 95.

Incidentally, the official memorial service for the Nobel Peace Prize winner and champion for equality happened to be held on Human Rights Day, observed annually on 10 December.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the ceremony honouring the man who emerged from nearly three decades of imprisonment to become South Africa’s first black President and first democratically-elected leader.

In Somalia, a country once described as “one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman”, an important conversation is taking place.

The political marginalization of women and their exclusion from the decision-making process was tackled at an event entitled “Women, Peace and Security Open Day”.

The Open Day, held annually since 2010, provides a platform for women affected by conflict and senior UN leaders to discuss key issues of concern.

Jocelyne Sambira has more.

Duration: 4'15''

In some countries, people often think that they are at the mercy of corruption and that it’s “just a way of life”.

In observance of the International Anti-Corruption Day this 9 December, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are calling on ordinary citizens to say “No” to the crime.

Implementation of a landmark law in Afghanistan on the Elimination of Violence against Women has been slow and uneven, according to a UN human rights report released this week.

Entitled ‘A Way to Go,’ it finds that although more reports of violence against women are being registered with the authorities, prosecutions and convictions remain low.

The day after Nelson Mandela’s death, people all over South Africa marked his passing with sadness and celebration, the head of the UN Information Centre  (UNIC) in Pretoria reports.

UNIC Director Helene Hoedl says the airwaves were filled with people sharing their memories of the man who changed the history of their country and our world.

She tells UN Radio’s Rocio Franco Riveros that although there’s a solemn mood in the country, Mandela’s death is also a time of reflection on the impact of the man she calls “the father of the South African nation.”

Nelson Mandela was a “people person”, graceful, charming and showed gratitude even to the most humble of workers around him.

That’s according to Nicholas Fink Haysom, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan and former Chief Legal Adviser during Mandela’s Presidency of South Africa in 1994.

From youth activist, Mr. Haysom, a White South African, became a human rights lawyer and then a member of the leading black political party, the African National Congress (ANC)’s negotiating team for a new Constitution.

The deteriorating security situation in the Central African Republic is hampering delivery of assistance to nearly 2.6 million people.

This warning has come from United Nations humanitarian agencies as inter-ethnic tensions and violence continue to grow.

There is fear that this may escalate to large-scale massacres in the country where there has been a breakdown of law and order following the ouster of the government by the Séléka rebel coalition in March.