human rights

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UN human rights office urges Ugandan President not to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

27 December 2013
General News

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed by the Ugandan Parliament on Friday, 20 December.

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Civilians flee as fighting and violence spreads in South Sudan

20 December 2013
General News

South Sudan’s capital city Juba is increasingly becoming deserted as tensions escalate between rival factions in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

An estimated 40,000 civilians are being sheltered at UN bases across the country as fighting spreads.

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Conflict in South Sudan raises concern at United Nations

20 December 2013
General News

As fighting between rival members of the army continues in South Sudan, the United Nations is deeply concerned about this situation.

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Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.
UN Photo/Amanda Voisard

UN deputy chief reports ‘solidly positive’ response to new rights protection plan

19 December 2013
Two days after presenting a new United Nations strategy to prevent genocide and human rights abuses to Member States, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said the response has been ‘solidly positive.’
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Security Council told of drug trafficking in West Africa and Sahel

18 December 2013
General News

The Security Council met on Wednesday to discuss combating drug trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel.

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Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.
UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras (file photo)

New UN ‘Rights up Front’ strategy seeks to prevent genocide, human rights abuses

18 December 2013
Still haunted by its failure to forestall genocide in Rwanda and Srebrenica nearly 20 years ago and confronted by ongoing bloodshed in Syria and the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations is revamping its preventive strategies under a new initiative called ‘Rights up Front.’
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UN appeals for nearly $13 billion for humanitarian work in 2014

16 December 2013
General News

The United Nations on Monday appealed for close to $13 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to people in crisis situations around the world next year.

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Mounting crisis in Syria results in collapse of education

13 December 2013
General News

The decline in education for Syrian children has been the sharpest and most rapid in the history of the region, according to UNICEF- the lead agency on a paper analyzing Syria’s education crisis.

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UN agencies concerned over worsening humanitarian crisis in CAR

13 December 2013
General News

Fighting over the past week in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui has killed more than 400 people and displaced nearly 160,000 as the humanitarian crisis in the country worsens.

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India’s decision to re-criminalize same-sex relationships “a step backwards”

12 December 2013
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.

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