UN calls for better protection of migrants' rights

 The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein criticized Monday the international community for failing to protect the rights of migrants and called for European Union to open its doors.

‘Persistent and grave’ human rights violations in eastern Ukraine (UN report)

UN, 1 June 2015 – Serious human rights violations and abuses persist in eastern Ukraine, including shelling, executions, arbitrary and illegal detentions, torture, ill-treatment, human trafficking and the lack of justice and accountability, as well as deprivation of economic and social rights, deeply affecting the 5 million people living in the conflict-affected areas, a new United Nations report said today.

UN condemns N.Korea ‘rights abuses’ (Resolution is symbolic, faces possible veto in Security Council)

The United Nations on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning North Korean rights abuses and called for the Security Council to consider referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.

US, EU interference in other countries’ affairs unacceptable (Russia's ambassador to OSCE)

US and EU interference in other countries’ affairs is unacceptable, Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Andrei Kelin said on Monday.

“The US claims to be monitoring the human rights situation in other countries, which no one has asked it to do. At the same time, it cannot solve its own human rights problems. Unlike other countries, the US has not expanded its participation in international treaties and conventions over the past several years,” Kelin said at the Warsaw Human Dimension Session of the 2014 OSCE Review Conference.

Ukraine: UN alarmed by intensifying clashes, mounting casualties in country’s east

UN, 8 August 2014 – A senior United Nations human rights official today declared the situation in Eastern Ukraine “extremely alarming” with intensifying fighting, mounting casualties and serious damage to infrastructure.
Briefing the Security Council, Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, expressed concern over the “rapid professionalization of armed groups, which are increasingly well-organized and equipped with heavy weaponry.”

Eastern Ukraine: UN rights chief says downing of plane may be "war crime," urges probe

UN, 28 July 2014 – The shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane over eastern Ukraine may amount to a war crime, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today said today, releasing a new report that details a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror inflicted by armed groups in the area.
“I would like to stress to all those involved in the conflict, including foreign fighters, that every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law, including war crimes, will be brought to justice, no matter who they are,” Navi Pillay said. “I urge all sides to bring to an end the rule of the gun and restore respect for the rule of law and human rights.”

Israel pounds Gaza as Kerry pushes truce (UN says ‘war crimes’ possible)

Israeli forces pounded Gaza on Wednesday, meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists and sending thousands of residents fleeing, as US Secretary of State John Kerry said on a visit to Israel cease-fire talks had made some progress.

In a blow to Israel's economy and a public relations coup for Hamas, US and European air carriers halted flights to the Jewish state citing concern over a militant rocket from Gaza that hit a house near Ben Gurion airport. Israel urged a rethink, saying its air space was safe.

Chinese Foreign ministry condemns Britain over latest human rights report

China on Tuesday condemned Britain for interfering in its domestic affairs, in response to a human rights report, a day after the British government said Beijing had called off human rights talks.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying accused Britain of issuing the report with "irresponsible remarks made about the Chinese political system, rudely slandering and criticizing China's human rights situation."

Egypt: UN rights experts denounce mass death sentences as ‘mockery of justice’

UN, 31 March 2014 – A group of eight United Nations human rights independent experts today urged the Egyptian authorities to quash the 529 death sentences announced in Egypt last week and give the defendants new and fair trials, in line with international human rights law.
“The right to life is a fundamental right, not a toy to be played with. If the death penalty is to be used at all in countries which have not abolished it, international law requires the most stringent respect of a number of fundamental standards,” the experts said in a news statement.

UN human rights office deeply alarmed at mass imposition of death penalty in Egypt

UN, 25 March 2014 – The United Nations human rights office said today it is deeply alarmed by the imposition of the death penalty against 529 people in Egypt on Monday after a “cursory” mass trial in which the majority of defendants were not present in court.
“The astounding number of people sentenced to death in this case is unprecedented in recent history,” Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told a news conference in Geneva.
“The mass imposition of the death penalty after a trial that was rife with procedural irregularities is in breach of international human rights law.”

Human rights are selectively used weapon of the West

The ongoing UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva has focused on two issues.
The situation in Ukraine and the U.S. sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka. Paradoxically, the two issues, which seem to have nothing common, excellently emphasize the fact that in the contemporary world, human rights have been turned into a powerful political weapon which is being selectively used. The notorious double-standards appear brighter in this area than any other sphere. Here is an opinion from expert at the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies Boris Volkhonsky.

UN rights chief calls for urgent action on ‘historic’ report on DPR Korea

18 February 2014 – There can no longer be any excuses for inaction regarding rights abuses in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said today, welcoming a UN-mandated report cataloguing crimes against humanity of an “unimaginable scale” being committed in the country.
“In January 2013, I urged the international community to put much more effort into tackling the human rights situation of people in DPRK. Two months later, the Commission of Inquiry was duly established by the Human Rights Council,” said Ms. Pillay in a press release.

UN human rights commissioner criticizes Turkey’s Internet law

The Office of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has criticized Turkey for its controversial Internet law, saying it may lead to breaches of human rights.

A statement released by the OHCHR on Feb. 14 criticized the law, which was allowing Turkey’s telecommunications authority (TİB) to block websites without first seeking a court order. The law was adopted Feb. 6 by Parliament and is currently awaiting President Abdullah Gül’s approval. 

Mass 'executions' in Syria could be war crime: UN

GENEVA: Extremist Islamic groups in Syria are committing a "soaring" number of killings in the country's north that could amount to war crimes, the UN human rights office said on Thursday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says that over the past two weeks her office has received reports of "a succession of mass executions of civilians and fighters who were no longer participating in hostilities in Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa by hardline armed opposition groups in Syria, in particular by the" al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

She warned that such killings violate international humanitarian law, and the numbers of such violations are thought to be alarmingly high.

High court orders California to release thousands of prisoners....

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal to halt the early release of thousands of California prison inmates by the end of the year.
The Supreme Court did not comment on its decision, which supports a previous ruling by a lower court forcing California to free about 9,600 additional inmates by the end of the year. In 2011, federal judges ruled that the state must improve prison health conditions. Reducing the number of inmates was included as part of the process.
Since then, California has cut its prison population by about 25,000 inmates. State Gov. Jerry Brown claims that releasing even more could jeopardize public safety. It remains to be seen whether or not counties in California are equipped to handle the influx of inmates scheduled to occur.

Cyprus an example of ills caused by non-enforcement of U.N. decisions: president Nicos Anastasiades (VIDEO ONU)

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The "unacceptable" situation that Cyprus finds itself in -- still divided after 40 years of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for its reunification -- is an example of the harm that can result from the non-enforcement of United Nations decisions, the president of the island nation told the U.N. General Assembly here Thursday.

Tunisian girls return home pregnant after ‘sexual jihad’ in Syria. In the name of sexual jihad and we are silent doing nothing and standing idle. (1+1 VIDEO)

Al Arabiya

A number of Tunisian girls who had travelled to Syria to perform “sexual jihad” there have returned back home pregnant, Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Bin Jeddo said on Thursday.
The Tunisian girls “are (sexually) swapped between 20, 30, and 100 rebels and they come back bearing the fruit of sexual contacts in the name of sexual jihad and we are silent doing nothing and standing idle,” the non-partisan minister said during an address to the National Constituent Assembly.
Bin Jeddo said the interior ministry has banned 6,000 Tunisians from travelling to Syria since March 2013 and arrested 86 individuals suspected of forming “networks” that send Tunisian youth for “jihad” to Syria.

United Nations: Most Syrians killed in unlawful conventional attacks, UN human rights panel says

16 September 2013 – The vast majority of Syrians are killed in unlawful attacks using conventional weapons such as guns and mortars, with children making up a large proportion of the casualties, the United Nations-appointed human rights probe today reported, calling for a halt to weapons being supplied to Government and the rebels. 

“Arms transfers should not occur where there is a real risk that they will be used in the commission of crimes against humanity, violations of international humanitarian law, or war crimes. In Syria, this is a tragic reality,” Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said as he introduced the report to the Human Rights Council.

Niños gaseados en Siria fueron secuestrados por mercenarios...

La consejera política y de medios del gobierno sirio, Buzaina Shaban, denunció que los niños muertos en el presunto ataque químico del 21 de agosto son los mismos que fueron secuestrados por los grupos armados en varias localidades de Latakia (noroccidente de Siria).

“El gobierno sirio no es responsable por el ataque del 21 de agosto, sino que fue la oposición la que ha secuestrado a los niños y los hombres en los pueblos de Latakia y los llevó a la región de Goutha para concentrarlos en un solo lugar y gasearlos,” dijo Shaban.

Russia-EU Values Gap on Display at Summit - «Χάσμα αξιών» στη Σύνοδο Κορυφής ΕΕ-Ρωσίας

Photo: themoscowtimes.com

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Despite declarations of strategic partnership and cooperation at Tuesday's Russia-EU summit in Yekaterinburg, leaders of the two sides demonstrated an apparently growing rift on a wide array of issues, including civil liberties and ways to resolve the bloody civil war in Syria.
One of the main expected achievements of the meeting, a visa facilitation agreement, failed to materialize due to lingering disagreements, and while President Vladimir Putin emphasized the economic dimension of the Russia-EU relationship, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy focused on shared values and human rights.
"Fundamental human rights is an important, albeit difficult, dimension of our partnership," Van Rompuy said at a news conference following the talks.