News headlines for “Human Rights Issues”

  1. The UN General Assembly: A 75-Year Journey Towards the Future We Want

    NEW YORK, Aug 04 (IPS) - Tijjani Muhammad-Bande is President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations.The United Nations came into existence at a time of great despair, when the penholders of its founding document dared to imagine a better world, one that would be defined by peace and equality. Visionary world leaders chose hope over cynicism, empathy over indifference and partnership over distrust when they came together in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 to sign the Charter of the United Nations. They embarked upon a new, rules-based world order, with an Organization of unrivalled legitimacy at its core.

  2. Religion & the Pandemic: A Call Beyond the Here & Now

    I have never been interested in religion or spirituality before, but I found myself tuning in to all sorts of on-line religion and spirituality related forums "in search of something."

    These are the words of a 30-something single young, middle class man (born into a Protestant-Catholic family background) in a European country. The latter is known more for turning several churches into museums or shopping centers, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. When people are afraid, lonely and alone - they tend to seek "something" beyond science.

  3. With Proper Investment in Youth, Kenya’s Potential for Progress Is Unlimited

    NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 03 (IPS) - Africa's demographic boom has been hailed as its biggest promise for transforming the continent's economic and social outcomes, but only if the right investments are made to prepare its youthful population for tomorrow's world.

  4. The Charter of the United Nations: Ideals for Shaping Our Reality

    NEW YORK, Jul 31 (IPS) - "Reconciling the requirements of the ideal with the possibilities of the real": this is how Georges Bidault, Minister for Foreign Affairs and head of the French delegation to the San Francisco Conference, summed up the objective pursued by the drafters of the Charter of the United Nations.

    On the still living ashes of the Second World War, the fathers of an Organization charged with developing friendly relations between nations, promoting human rights and economic and social progress were less utopian than visionary. They understood that the community of States should have a common constitution. It has been tested by conflict, crisis and upheaval, but its resilience and strength have shaped the very structure of contemporary international relations.

  5. Sierra Leone - Why Everyone is Not Celebrating the New Media Law

    FREETOWN, Jul 30 (IPS) - Last week, Sierra Leone's parliament voted to repeal the country's 55-year-old libel law, which criminalised the publication of information that was deemed defamatory or seditious, and which had been used by successive governments to target and imprison media practitioners and silence dissenting views. But not everyone is convinced it was in the best interest of media freedom.

  6. Statue Smashing – Heroes, Values and Racism

    STOCKHOLM / ROME, Jul 29 (IPS) - On Friday the 24th of June, President Trump announced he was skipping a weekend at his New Jersey golf resort to "ensure law and order in Washington", tweeting:

    I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues – and combatting recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!

  7. Reflections on the Charter of the United Nations on its 75th Anniversary

    NEW YORK, Jul 29 (IPS) - This year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, written and signed during a period of great global change. Today, the world is again shifting beneath our feet. Yet, the Charter remains a firm foundation for our joint efforts.

  8. Neglected, Sacrificed: Older Persons During the COVID19 Pandemic

    NEW YORK, Jul 28 (IPS) - COVID19 is devastating on older persons. The numbers are staggering, more than 80 percent of the fatalities due to coronavirus in the US and East Asia occurred among adults aged 65 and over. In Europe and Australia, the figures are even higher, 94 and 97 per cent of the deaths were persons aged 60 and over.

  9. Include Indigenous People in COVID-19 Response

    KATHMANDU, Jul 28 (IPS) - In Nepal the COVID-19 crisis has been especially hard on indigenous peoples. We had to learn a new vocabulary and use words like quarantine, self-isolation, hand sanitizers and social distancing.

  10. Myanmar's Protection Bill falls Short of Addressing Violence against Women

    UNITED NATIONS, Jul 28 (IPS) - A legislation that aims to protect women against violence in Myanmar, while long overdue, is raising concern among human rights advocates about its inadequate definition of rape, vague definition for "consent", and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rhetoric.

Powered by Inter Press Service

Web feed for Human Rights Issues news headlines