rights

The United Nations marked Human Rights Day today by shining the spotlight on the hundreds of thousands of “largely unsung heroes,” the human rights defenders who risk dismissal, harassment, torture, jail and even death for their activities.

The United Nations human rights chief today welcomed the approaching entry into force of a landmark new treaty to deter enforced disappearance after Iraq became the 20th State to ratify the convention, paving the way for it to become effective in the next 30 days.

A group of independent United Nations experts today urged South Africa to strengthen oversight and control over private military and security companies exporting their services abroad, saying regulations currently in place face implementation challenges.

The upcoming five-year review of the United Nations Human Rights Council should help it make a greater difference on the ground, reacting more swiftly and effectively to chronic and urgent abuses, the body’s president told the General Assembly today.

United Nations independent human rights experts have urged the repeal of all laws discriminating against people affected by leprosy, which has been eliminated as a public health problem in most countries but still carries a strong social stigma.

The United Nations human rights office in Nepal today said that it has been assured by local Government officials that two landmark verdicts on cases involving caste-based discrimination will be swiftly enforced.

The United Nations today launched a major campaign for universal adoption of treaty protocols that outlaw the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography, and protect youngsters in armed conflict, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for full ratification by 2012.

A United Nations expert body is urging broad support for the creation of a new global treaty to regulate the activities of private military and security contractors, stressing the need for strict control mechanisms for this “highly specific and dangerous trade.”

Women living in rural areas in many parts of the world face severe deprivations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in a message on the International Day of Rural Women calling for greater support of their rights.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has hailed the first-ever law recognizing children's rights launched today in Southern Sudan, extolling the Government for its efforts to create a society in which children can grow and develop to their full potential.