Civil society organisations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in the United Arab Emirates this week have criticized restrictions on their participation, including alleging that some of their members had been briefly detained at the talks. Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS), a network of civil society groups, said on Wednesday it had...
Tag: HumanRights
Alaska Tribes accuse Canada of human rights violations, request international hearing on mining
At the mouth of the Unuk River near Ketchikan, there is a very old petroglyph. According to Lee Wagner of Metlakatla, the rising sun painted onto a rock above the river is thousands of years old and it’s a family crest. “And you will also see remnants of more of them along the river as...
Shell must clean up pollution before it leaves Niger delta, report says
Firm told it must take responsibility for toxic legacy of pollution and safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure. The oil firm Shell cannot be allowed to withdraw from the Niger delta before it takes responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure, a report says. Shell plc is preparing to...
THE FISH MEMORY OF THE HUMANITY
On 17 February 2024, the world woke to the news that human rights activist and long-time opponent of the Putin regime, Alexei Navalny, had died in a Russian prison. The 47 year old Kremlin critic and civil rights crusader was serving in the Kharp penal colony, one of Russia’s highest security prisons, a 19 year...
How the UAE kept the Sudan war raging
A network of munition supply lines, backing the Rapid Support Forces against the Sudanese army, can be traced to the Gulf via Libya, Chad, Uganda and elsewhere. At midday on 6 August last year, a plane carrying unknown cargo could be seen on the runway at Hamrat al-Sheikh, an airstrip in Sudan’s North Kordofan state. A handful...
Plight of Nepali migrants: UAE emerging as transit point for human trafficking
In recent times, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has increasingly become a transit point for human traffickers, exploiting the vulnerabilities of Nepali migrants seeking better opportunities abroad. Due to the easy accessibility of visit visas, many find themselves face to face with deception and exploitation. Tej Bahadur Chhetri, the Nepali ambassador to the UAE, raises...
Russia: UN human rights office ‘appalled’ at death of Navalny in prison
Mr. Navalny, 47, had lost consciousness and could not be revived, according to media reports. “If someone dies in the custody of the State, the presumption is that the State is responsible – a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body,” said OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell,...
Putin henchmen and their Dubious Dubai Connections. The case of Chechen strong man Ramazan Kadyrov
As the glittering skyscrapers of Dubai continue rising ever higher, new evidence shows this glitzy emirate has also constructed a massive offshore haven enabling some of the world’s most repressive regimes and drug cartels to shield wealth and escape consequences for human rights abuses. An in-depth investigation drawing on leaked property records and intelligence sources...
Venezuela Shuts Down UN Human Rights Office, Expels Staff
Venezuela on Thursday ordered the U.N. human rights office in Caracas to shut down all operations, ordering the staff to leave the country within three days. During a news conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil announced the decision, saying that the office had played an “inappropriate role” and had become the “private law firm of...
Syrian returnees subjected to “gross human rights violations and abuses”, UN report details
Many Syrians who had fled the war face gross human rights violations and abuses upon their return to Syria, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office released today. The documented violations and abuses have been perpetrated by the Government, de facto authorities and other armed groups across the country, the report states. They include arbitrary detention,...