Citizens for Justice and Peace
UN questions ‘statelessness and disenfranchisement’ of ‘minority groups’ in Assam Special Rapporteur's report to UNGA highlights plight of Bengali Muslims
22-Sep-2018
The UN Special Rapporteur has once again raised the issue of possible statelessness of millions of people in Assam in wake of the exclusion of their names from the National Register of Citizens (NRC). This is part of a report titled Contemporary forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance that was presented before…
UN raises concerns over exclusion of people from NRC in Assam and subsequent ‘statelessness’ Special Rapporteurs demand clarification about procedure, policy and safeguards
26-Jun-2018
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated in Assam and there is a potential humanitarian crisis brewing with fears that thousands of people could be excluded from the list and be rendered stateless. The matter has now caught the attention of the United Nations prompting four Special Rapporteurs to write to Sushma Swaraj,…
UN staff pension fund has investments in companies accused of rights violations
02-May-2018
A Guardian investigation has found that the United Nations staff pension fund has about $1 billion dollars invested in companies engaged in actions that contradict the UN’s basic values and programmes. The fund was set up by the UN General Assembly in 1948, and supplies disability, retirement and death benefits to UN staff. It currently has more…
Global execution rate declined in 2017: Amnesty
12-Apr-2018
Amnesty International has released its report on death sentences and executions in 2017, where it notes that the number of executions that were carried out in 2017 reduced compared to 2016 and 2015. According to the report, Amnesty documented 993 executions in 2017, 4% lower than executions in 2016, which numbered 1,032, and 39% lower…
13 million need humanitarian aid in the Democratic Republic of Congo
22-Mar-2018
Mark Lowcock, United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council that conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has doubled the humanitarian requirements, and that a lack of funds is the “largest single impediment” to adequately tackling the issue. A recently released UN report has documented killings and other major human rights violations stemming…
Bangladesh government has created a fearful environment by curtailing civil and political rights: Odhikar Report slams Bangladesh for deteriorating human rights situation
17-Mar-2018
Human rights organisation Odhikar has released report detailing the human rights situation in Bangladesh in February 2018. Bangladesh is currently governed by the Awami League-led alliance, which has been in power since 2009. The report alleges that the government has “made different, important government and independent institutions politicized and subservient to it.” It says that…
Funding cuts for slavery victims in the UK could raise risk of homelessness
10-Mar-2018
The United Kingdom’s government is cutting the financial aid it supplies to victims of slavery in the country by almost half, the Guardian reported, with the weekly allowance being reduced from £65 to £37.75. The financial aid is provided for 45 days after it is verified that someone was a victim of modern slavery. The Home…
India Doesn’t Escape UN High Commissioner’s Concern on Global Rise of Dictators, Deteriorating Rights Violence against Muslims, Dalits and Criminalisation of Dissent mentioned
09-Mar-2018
In a stark and sharp oral statement before the 37th session of the Human Rights Council while presenting the Annual Report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has minced no words while speaking about out the emergence of global dictators. On Authoritarian World Leaders Recalling Mandela’s greatness, the Commissioner spoke of…
Syria could face two million lawsuits over lost and damaged property: NRC
28-Feb-2018
According to experts, Syrians will likely file more than two million lawsuits to secure compensation for lost and damaged property, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Syria’s civil war will soon be in its eighth year, and has displaced around 23 million people. According to Laura Cunial, a legal and housing expert with the Norwegian Refugee Council…
UN names South Sudan military officials allegedly responsible for war crimes
26-Feb-2018
The Guardian reported that investigators from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan say they have singled out more than 40 military officials from South Sudan who could be accountable for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. The findings stem from several hundred witness interviews, satellite images, and almost 60,000 documents that date back…
Prosecutors come together to combat modern slavery
26-Feb-2018
Prosecutors from around the world joined hands at a three-day summit in London last week that was intended to bolster efforts against modern slavery, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Britain’s Crown Protection Service (CPS) said the prosecutors intend to collaborate more closely to convict those engaging in slavery and human trafficking. The prosecutors also planned to…
Reuters publishes investigation that resulted in reporters’ arrest in Myanmar
13-Feb-2018
The New York Times reported that Reuters has published a 4,500-word investigation into the killing of ten Rohingya men by soldiers and villagers in Myanmar; the dead were buried in one grave. Reuters said that while reporting on the issue, two of its reporters were arrested by Myanmar police. The report, based on eyewitness accounts and numerous…
War imperilling Yemen’s heritage
13-Feb-2018
The years-long Saudi Arabia-led war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen has impacted the country’s culture and historical landmarks, according to Al Jazeera. Experts are concerned that the Awwam Temple, as well as other historic and cultural landmarks in the country that have not been singled out by international authorities are under threat. The temple is…
Hundreds of workers rescued at least twice from slavery in last 15 years in Brazil
09-Feb-2018
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 35,000 workers in Brazil have been saved from slavery in the last 15 years. However, more than 600 of these workers found themselves in slavery-like conditions for at least one more time. 35,341 workers were rescued from slavery between 2003 and 2017, but 1.73% of these…
UN human rights chief calls on the Maldives to lift state of emergency
09-Feb-2018
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has said that the Maldives’ President Abdulla Yameen’s declaration of a state of emergency, and ensuing suspension of constitutional guarantees has eliminated checks and balances and the separation of powers that are vital for any functioning democracy. This could result in increased human rights violations for…