rights

UN human rights office establishes West African regional office

3 December 2007
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Senegalese Government today signed an agreement to set up a regional office in the capital, Dakar, to bolster the protection of rights across West Africa.

UN expert invited to observe military commission hearings at Guantanamo Bay

3 December 2007
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism today announced that he will attend, at the invitation of the United States Government, military commission hearings scheduled to commence on Wednesday at Guantanamo Bay.

UN rights expert warns against use of religion as excuse for criminal acts

26 October 2007
Religious belief should never be accepted as a legitimate excuse for carrying out criminal actions that encroach on the rights of others, a United Nations independent human rights expert warned today.
Jorge Bustamante (file photo)

Migrants endure increasing violence and discrimination, says UN rights expert

26 October 2007
Migrants are increasingly subject to violence and discrimination, from prolonged detention to ill-treatment from authorities, in countries of both destination and transit, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants said today.

UN and partners issue handbook on rights of persons with disabilities

8 October 2007
Aiming to help lawmakers better understand the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, the main United Nations human rights office and its partners today launched a handbook on the treaty's provisions.

Top UN official urges human rights body to begin country reviews

13 September 2007
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today urged the Human Rights Council to press forward with its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, which allows the human rights records of every country to be scrutinized.

UN group sounds alarm on rising number of disappearances on International Day

30 August 2007
Marking the International Day of the Disappeared, a United Nations working group voiced concern over the increasing number of enforced disappearances worldwide and reaffirmed its solidarity with victims and human rights defenders working on their behalf.

Secretary-General welcomes agreement on details of UN human rights review

20 June 2007
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the Human Rights Council’s agreement setting out how its universal periodic review mechanism will work, saying it “sends a clear message” that the rights record of every country faces serious and meaningful examination.

UN Human Rights Council agrees to details for reviewing countries

19 June 2007
The United Nations Human Rights Council wrapped up its fifth session today by agreeing to a package of new measures that includes how the “universal periodic review” mechanism – which allows the human rights records of every country to be scrutinized – will work.

UN probe finds ‘significant’ human rights violations in Beit Hanoun attack

13 June 2007
The head of a fact-finding mission dispatched by the United Nations Human Rights Council to Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, where an Israeli attack killed 19 Palestinian civilians last November, said today that “significant” human rights violations occurred there and called for an independent probe by national authorities.