News headlines for “Human Rights Issues”, page 4
Killed for speaking up: UN sounds alarm over attacks on environmental defenders
- UN News
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Thursday for greater protection for environmental and land defenders, noting that hundreds worldwide have been killed or detained in recent years.
What the Sino-Russian Declaration Exposes
- Inter Press Service

The joint declaration issued by Russia and China on 20 May, Joint Declaration of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the Establishment of a Multipolar World and a New Type of International Relations, has been read in sharply different ways. Some welcome its language of sovereign equality, multilateralism and a UN-centred international order. Others dismiss it as legal rhetoric deployed in bad faith. Both responses miss the more important point.
People With Albinism Face Discrimination, Danger
- Inter Press Service

NAIROBI, June 3 (IPS) - When Patricia J. looks for work or shops at the outdoor markets near her home in rural Malawi, fear still follows her. Years after surviving two attacks linked to harmful beliefs about albinism, she says she remains constantly alert. “I still carry the fear that at any moment I can be attacked again,” she told us as we did research about conditions for people with albinism.
Growing up with sirens: UN child rights envoy on the toll of the Ukraine-Russia war
- UN News

Children in Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by years of war, sheltering in underground schools – or forced to study online – and living with the psychological strain of constant air raid sirens that could spell death for them and their families.
Filipino Indigenous Leader Takes Ancient Wisdom to the Global Stage
- Inter Press Service

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 3 (IPS) - Every year, when dark clouds gather above the dense forests of the Philippines, 56-year-old Mini Baeyens, of the Aplay Kankanaey tribe, vigilantly watches the sky.
Increased Rates of Deaths, Displacement and Diesel Amid New Ceasefire Escalations in Lebanon
- Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, June 2 (IPS) - Last week on May 28, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation order to Lebanese civilians ordering them to move north of the Zahrani River, approximately 25 miles from the Israeli border, and roughly 20 percent of the Lebanese territory. These new escalations bring the displaced population to more than 1.3 million people, including more than 300,000 of those people being children. 1.3 million people represents approximately 1/4th of the nation’s population of 5.3 million.
As Three COPs Converge, Leaders at GEF Council Call for Unified Global Action
- Inter Press Service

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, June 2 (IPS) - On day 2 of the Global Environment Facility’s 71st Council Meeting, which focused on process and procedure, a clear message emerged: global environmental governance cannot afford fragmentation.
World News in Brief: Violence hampers Ebola efforts, aid delivery in Darfur and Gaza, Nicaraguan activist’s death in custody
- UN News

Escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to impact civilians and efforts to fight Ebola, UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Tuesday.
‘Women and girls cannot wait’: Lebanon’s crisis is putting lives at risk
- UN News

Women and girls in Lebanon are paying an increasingly devastating price as violence and displacement continue despite a ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned on Tuesday.
Haiti: UN rights office welcomes new judicial units to tackle gang violence and impunity
- UN News

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday welcomed the opening of two specialised judicial units in Haiti, saying the move marked “a significant step toward tackling widespread impunity in the country.”

