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Human Rights Violations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says human rights are being suffocated around the world, lashing out at voices of division and anger who see them as a barrier to their quest for power and profit. In a speech to the Human Rights Council, Guterres decried Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine that marked its third anniversary Monday, appealed for a permanent cease-fire between Palestinian militants and Israel, and urged respect for Congo's territorial integrity, among other things. While reiterating many of his concerns about conflict and climate change, the U.N. chief said he would propose new ideas to the Security Council aimed to bring greater stability and security for the people of Haiti, where a multinational security support mission has been deployed. Guterres depicted a world where human rights were on the ropes and being pummeled hard" by warmongers, a morally bankrupt global financial system" that favors profits over planet protections, those who might exploit artificial
NHRC chairperson Justice (retd) V Ramasubramanian emphasised that safeguarding "privacy as a human right" in the digital world is necessary, even as he pointed out that there is a "significant decline" in value systems and one must bear its consequences. The National Human Rights Commission chief's remarks came during an open house discussion on 'Ensuring privacy and human rights in the digital era: A focus on corporate digital responsibility' held at its premises, with some participants joining virtually, according to an NHRC statement on Wednesday. Some of the important suggestions that emanated from the discussion include simplifying user agreements and policy frameworks to enhance consumer understanding and control over personal data; establishing "clear accountability" structures for data breaches, especially for research institutions and third-party data processors; and strengthening user consent frameworks for greater transparency and informed decision-making. Having "explic
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre for a legal framework on the protection of the rights of domestic workers rights observing their exploitation and a "legal vacuum". In the opinion of a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, for now, there seemed no effective legislative or executive action to enact a statute, which could provide solace to millions of vulnerable domestic workers across the country. "The simple reason for this harassment and rampant abuse, which seems to be prevalent throughout the country, is the legal vacuum which exists vis--vis the rights and protection of domestic workers," the court said. Indeed, domestic workers in India remain largely unprotected and without any comprehensive legal recognition. As a result, they frequently endure low wages, unsafe environments, and extended hours without effective recourse, it added. The court directed the Ministry of Labour and Employment along with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, th
India and the European Union (EU) on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to principles and values of democracy, rule of law and human rights and agreed on the need to safeguard freedom and diversity of civil society actors. The issues were extensively discussed at the 11th India-EU Human Rights Dialogue held in Delhi. The two sides discussed the issues related to civil and political rights, social, economic, and cultural rights, countering religious hatred, elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and opinion, both online and offline, a joint readout said. While the EU reiterated its opposition to capital punishment, India reiterated its stand on recognition of the right to development as a "distinct, universal, inalienable and fundamental human right," it said. India is among few countries that still have death penalty. "During the dialogue, India and the EU reiterated their commitment to the shared principles
The Railway Board has asked the Centre for Railway Information Systems to provide alert to crew controllers in case of violation of its instructions regarding continuous night duty for running staff such as loco pilots. As per the board's guidelines, Continuous night duty for running staff should be limited to four nights with the fourth night towards the headquarters. However, it has been observed that railways are violating these instructions by continuing to book running staff after 4 consecutive nights due to absence of alert in CMS (Crew Management System), the Board said in its letter dated December 26, 2024 addressed to the managing director of the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). In CMS reports for the month of October, November and December (till date), total 1360, 1224 and 696 cases of loco pilots with five and more than five continuous night duty were recorded respectively, the board's letter added. Advising CRIS to provide alerts on crew booking console of
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday spoke with Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and both leaders expressed their commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of all. Sullivan also thanked Yunus for his leadership of Bangladesh during a challenging period, according to a press release issued by the US government. It said that both leaders expressed their commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of all people, regardless of religion. Sullivan also reiterated the US support for a prosperous, stable, and democratic Bangladesh, and offered his country's continued support in meeting the challenges that the South Asian nation faces. Yunus, 84, was sworn in as the chief adviser of Bangladesh on August 8, three days after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India in the face of a massive anti-government protest. There have been a spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities,
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday cautioned that some pernicious forces were trying to show India in a "bad colour" and called for a "counter-attack" to neutralise such attempts. He also said India does not like to be sermonised or lectured on human rights . Addressing the foundation day celebrations of the National Human Rights Commission here, he described Partition, imposition of Emergency and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as traumatising events which "stand as sombre reminder of fragility of liberty". Dhankhar said there are "pernicious forces, that in a structured manner, seek to unfairly seek to taint us". He said these forces have a "sinister design" to use international fora to question our human rights record. He said there was need to neutralise such forces and said he would use the term "pratighat" or counter-attack to fit the Indian context. The vice president said these forces have devised indexes and rank everyone in the world to show "our nation in bad colour".
Controversial former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was buried Saturday after three days of national mourning in which thousands of supporters lined up outside a museum in Lima to visit the politician's casket. Peruvian President Dina Boluarte saluted the former president before his burial at a pompous ceremony held in the presidential palace, where his casket was saluted by soldiers dressed in 19th-century uniforms. But Boluarte did not speak about Fujimori, a divisive figure who ruled Peru for a decade, and whose eldest daughter is now one of the country's most influential politicians. Fujimori died of cancer on Wednesday at age 86. He was Peru's president from 1990 to 2000 and had been in prison for most of the past 15 years after being convicted of crimes against humanity. Fujimori was a university professor when he burst onto Peru's political scene in the early 90s. His administration helped to put the nation's economy on track following years of hyperinflation, and defea
Several thousand people rallied Sunday in the Serbian capital, accusing the populist government of cracking down on environmental activists opposed to a large European Union-backed lithium excavation project planned in the Balkan country. The protest outside the headquarters of the state RTS television station in central Belgrade comes after tens of thousands rallied in recent weeks against the opening of the lithium mine in western Serbia. The state-controlled TV station is accused of ignoring the detentions of anti-lithium excavation activists. Environmental organizations reported detentions of dozens of their activists after a big rally last month in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia, saying their homes were searched, laptops and phones confiscated while many faced threats on social media. Activist Nina Stojanovic told the crowd on Sunday that a total of 30 to 60 people have been detained or questioned in the past two months throughout Serbia. We are here to protect everyone, to
The State Department said Friday it has opted against what would have been its first-ever blocking of aid to an Israeli military unit over rights abuses, saying it is now satisfied with Israeli efforts to remediate the abuse. While the U.S. has not publicly identified the Israeli unit, it is believed to be the Netzah Yehuda, which has historically been based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The unit and some of its members have been linked to abuses of civilians in the Palestinian territory, including the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian American man after his detention by the battalion's forces in 2022. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had determined in a finding made public in April that an Israeli army battalion committed grave human-rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, triggering a U.S. rights law on aid to foreign security forces known as the Leahy law. In the face of protests from Republican lawmakers over the finding, Blinken said he would allow aid to t
A global deal on the criminal use of computer technology is moving ahead despite worries it will let governments around the world violate human rights by probing electronic communications and bypassing privacy safeguards. Nearly 200 nations approved the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime on Thursday afternoon at a special committee meeting that capped months of complicated negotiations. The treaty expected to win General Assembly approval within months creates a framework for nations to cooperate against internet-related crimes including the illegal access and interception of computer information; electronic eavesdropping and online child sex abuse. Like outer space or even some parts of the deep sea, cyberspace is a relatively new area for regular human activity and many governments and businesses are rushing to keep up. The convention expected at the General Assembly later this year began with a Russian initiative several years ago and critics said they can see those .
The UN human rights office is expressing concerns about reports that Iran has executed 29 people over two days this week, with the rights chief decrying an alarmingly high number" of executions in such a short period of time. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday it has verified 38 people were executed in July, bringing the total number of executions to at least 345 this year mostly for drug offenses or murder including 15 women. Imposing the death penalty for offenses not involving intentional killing is incompatible with international human rights norms and standards, rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told a U.N. briefing Friday. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk is extremely concerned about reports that, in the space of two days this week, Iranian authorities reportedly executed at least 29 people across the country, she said. This represents an alarmingly high number of executions in such a short period of time. Throssell
A human rights activist since the 1980s, Oleg Orlov thought Russia had turned a corner when the Soviet Union collapsed and a democratically elected president became leader. But then Vladimir Putin rose to power, crushing dissent and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finally, the 71-year-old Orlov was himself thrown in prison for opposing the war. Freed last week in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, he was forced into exile -- just like the Soviet dissidents of his youth. In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday in Berlin, Orlov decried t he scale and severity of repressions under Putin, with people imprisoned for merely criticizing the authorities, something unseen since the days of dictator Josef Stalin. And he's vowing to continue his work to free the many political prisoners in Russia and keep their names in the spotlight. We're sliding somewhere into Stalin times, said Orlov, who at times showed signs of fatigue from a hectic schedul
A United Nations human rights working group on Monday called for the immediate release of Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying he had been detained arbitrarily in violation of international laws. The Geneva-based United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made this demand after examining Khan's case in which he was sentenced last year on charges of corruption. Khan has been facing multiple prison sentences since 2022 when he was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in the parliament. There was no immediate comment from the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster. Khan has been held in prison since August 2023 when a court awarded him a three-year prison sentence after finding him guilty of hiding assets after selling state gifts. It led to a ban on Khan from taking part in politics and contesting the Feb 8 elections, which his party says were rigged. The Election Commission of Pakistan, which oversaw the .