At least 65 migrant bodies found in Libya mass grave, says UN. A mass grave containing the bodies of at least 65 migrants has been found in Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said. The IOM said the circumstances of their deaths and their nationalities are still unknown but they believe they died...
Tag: UN
UN official says group moving on deep-sea mining regulations
A top U.N. regulator said Friday that mining of the world’s ocean floors should not move forward without rules in place, but that his agency cannot stop companies from trying to move ahead if countries can’t agree on a framework. Michael Lodge, secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority, told reporters at a news conference that...
UN rights chief says China committing violations in Xinjiang, Tibet
U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday called on China to implement recommendations to amend laws that violate fundamental rights, including in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang, including the...
Safety fears stall U.N. bid to examine sun-blocking climate change tech
U.N. delegates on Thursday withdrew a motion calling for more research into technologies that aim to fight climate change by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space, amid concerns about health and environmental risks. Some who opposed the draft resolution at the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA) were also worried that the use of solar radiation modification (SRM)...
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,...
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...
United Arab Emirates: Free All Those on Trial in UAE84 Case and Drop Charges
The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center (EDAC), the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch urgently appeal to United Nations special procedures, UN Member States, and the European Union to call on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to drop recent abusive terrorism charges against at least 84 Emiratis. The defendants include many prisoners...
United Arab Emirates: UN experts alarmed by new charges brought against civil society in UAE87 trial
United Arab Emirates: UN experts alarmed by new charges brought against civil society in UAE87 trial. UN experts* today expressed grave concern that the trial in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of 84 members of civil society on spurious terrorism charges could result in the death penalty or lengthy prison sentences for acts allegedly committed...
Tensions between Sudanese Armed Forces, UAE reach boiling point
Since Nov. 2023, tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—commanded by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan—and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have risen. On Nov. 27, Lt. Gen. Yasser Al-Atta, the assistant commander-in-chief of the SAF, criticized the UAE for behaving like a “mafia state” in a speech at a military headquarters. Less than two weeks later, authorities in...
United Arab Emirates acknowledges mass trial of prisoners previously reported during COP28
The United Arab Emirates on Saturday acknowledged it is conducting a mass trial of 84 inmates previously reported by dissidents as it hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks last month. The trial likely includes a prominent activist lauded by rights group abroad. The state-run WAM news agency quoted the country’s attorney general, Hamad al-Shamsi, as saying...