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Rights chief urges Russia to end crackdown as journalist detentions reach all-time high

Volker Türk said he was concerned by the increasing number of journalists charged, convicted and jailed for their independent reporting, in what appears to be an intensification of a crackdown on dissenting voices. He described the continuous attacks on free speech and the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia as “very troubling”. “The intensification of the crackdown on journalists’ independent

UN rights chief urges Georgia to scrap ‘foreign influence’ bill

Thousands of people have taken to the streets for days to protest the draft Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, which would require media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving more than 20 per cent of funding from abroad to register as “organizations acting in the interest of a foreign power”. Respect human rights Mr. Türk

Europe: Report highlights direct link between pandemic and childhood obesity

Results from 17 countries showed that boys and girls aged seven to nine spent more time looking at screens and less time playing outside, mirroring an increase in overweight children in this same age range. More than 50,000 children were surveyed from 2021-23, following the start of the worldwide shutdowns in March 2020. A nuanced

Gaza at ‘most dangerous’ stage amid huge unexploded weapons risk, warns demining expert

“This is the most dangerous period; once people start returning to the north, that’s when most accidents will occur, because they won’t be familiar with where your unexploded ordnance is located,” said Mungo Birch, Chief of the UN Mine Action Programme (UNMAS) in the State of Palestine. “It’s important that once the returns start, we’re

Ukraine: Civilians killed and injured as attacks on power and rail systems intensify

Since 22 March, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure sustained four waves of attacks that killed six people, injured at least 45 and struck at least 20 facilities. Just this past Saturday alone, missile attacks damaged four thermal power plants critical for electricity generation. Two of the plants are located in western Ukraine, far from the frontline. Previous

Ukraine war: UNICEF highlights 40 per cent rise in children killed this year

Attacks that occurred between January and March left 25 children dead, including a two-month-old, said the agency. During the first three weeks of April, nine children lost their lives during attacks. UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Regina De Dominicis, said during a visit to the wartorn country that children and families are

UK’s newly passed ‘Safety in Rwanda’ bill is anything but safe: UN officials

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a joint statement calling on the UK Government to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda. This arrangement seeks to shift responsibility for refugee protection, undermining international cooperation, Mr. Grandi added. “The new legislation marks

Airlines urged not to facilitate UK-Rwanda asylum transfers

Two years ago, London announced the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), now referred to as the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership, which stated that asylum seekers in the UK would be sent to Rwanda before their cases could be heard. The national Rwandan asylum system would then consider their need for international protection. In November 2023,

Ukraine war ‘stark reminder’ of the trials facing multilateralism

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ian Borg briefed ambassadors during their annual meeting on cooperation between the UN and the regional body, which is comprised of 57 States spanning Europe, Central Asia and North America, representing one billion people. The Maltese Foreign Minister said OSCE countries and their societies “are confronted with an era of profound uncertainty”, given

Russian attacks ‘a daily destructive pattern’ in Ukraine, Security Council hears

Miroslav Jenča, an Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav in the UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, warned that the escalation is a direct threat to international security. Affected regions include Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk. Deadly trend “We are appalled by the increase in civilian casualties as a result of