NEW YORK: Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan assailed the international body on Tuesday after its members elected several countries widely criticized for their human rights records to the premier UN body tasked with defending human rights. China, Russia, Cuba and Pakistan were among the 15 countries that ...
Read More »Probe of gang rape case that shocked Egypt ensnares many
CAIRO: An announcement last month that Egypt’s top prosecutor would investigate an alleged 2014 gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at a luxury Cairo hotel marked a rare moment of triumph for human rights activists. Those hopes were quickly dispelled after authorities detained possible witnesses and some of their acquaintances, ...
Read More »Peaceful protests a ‘fundamental human right’: UN
GENEVA: As authorities worldwide grapple with swelling demonstrations over issues like political rights and racial justice, a UN committee reaffirmed that protesting peacefully, online or in person, is a fundamental human right. The independent experts on the Human Rights Committee published a fresh interpretation of the right of peaceful assembly, ...
Read More »George Floyd’s brother urges UN to probe
GENEVA: The brother of George Floyd made a heartfelt plea to the U.N.’s top human rights body, urging it to launch intense international scrutiny of systemic racism, the killing of black people by police and violence against peaceful protesters in the United States. Philonese Floyd, in a video message to ...
Read More »UN chief urges India to end using pellet guns against children in Kashmir
LONDON: The UN chief called on New Delhi to immediately end such practices in the annual report on Children and Armed Conflict launched by Special Representative Virginia Gamba. “I am concerned by the detention of children, including their arrest during night raids, internment at army camps, torture in detention and ...
Read More »Sweden tells India to restore free movement in Kashmir
STOCKHOLM: Ahead of its delegation’s arrival, Sweden has sent a strong message to India asking it to lift the restrictions in Indian-Kashmir which has been in lockdown since August 5 when the government revoked Article 370 from its constitution. The Swedish Royal couple King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Foreign Minister ...
Read More »Death toll from protests in Iran climbs to 143: Amnesty
TEHRAN: At least 143 people in Iran have been killed since protests broke out earlier this month over the government’s decision to raise fuel prices, Amnesty International said. The human rights organization said in a report that it believes the death toll is significantly higher and is continuing to investigate. ...
Read More »Amnesty International calls Facebook, Google rights abusers
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – The data-collection business model fueling Facebook and Google represents a threat to human rights around the world, Amnesty International said in a report. The organization argued that offering people free online services and then using information about them to target money-making ads imperils a gamut of ...
Read More »Saudi backpedals on video labelling feminism ‘extremism’
RIYADH: Saudi authorities have distanced themselves from an official video that sparked controversy after it branded feminism, homosexuality and atheism as extremist ideas. Saudi Arabia’s state security agency posted the animated video on Twitter last weekend at a time when de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to ...
Read More »Mehwish becomes goodwill ambassador for girls’ rights
LONDON: Pakistan’s leading actress Mehwish Hayat’s cap as she has been appointed a goodwill ambassador for girls’ rights by the Ministry of Human Rights. The recipient of the prestigious Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Hayat, announced about her appointment in a video message on micro-blogging website, saying: “Delighted to be appointed by the Ministry ...
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