Human Rights Archives - IDN-InDepthNews

Africa2016-03-102023-07-10

European Parliament Adopts a Historic Resolution on Eritrea

By Klara Smits and Florence Tornincasa

STRASBOURG (IDN) – The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on Eritrea, which sends a strong signal to the European Commission, the EU Council, member states and the Eritrean government that human rights violations in the country need to be addressed.

The resolution approved on March 10 clearly identifies that Eritrean refugees are fleeing serious human rights violations and an indefinite national service which constitutes slavery.

The resolution also addresses the systematic extortion of refugees, a concern expressed earlier in resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.

UN INSIDER2016-02-272023-07-10

Kudos and Criticism on Human Rights Council’s 10th Anniversary

GENEVA (IDN) – “What we are doing to improve human rights situation around the world is not enough,” stated the American attorney and diplomat Alfred Moses in a critical reflection on the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stressing that the state of human rights has broadly deteriorated with atrocities being committed worldwide.

“What we need is action. We must ask ourselves why is it that the UNHRC has done so little,” noted the Ambassador speaking on a panel at the Geneva Summit on Human Rights and Democracy in Switzerland on February 23.

The inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 member states, which are elected by the UN General Assembly, was created in 2006. It replaced the functional Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) within the overall framework of the UN.

Gender Equality2016-01-222023-07-10

UN Acts To Achieve Complete Gender Equality Ahead Of 2133

BERLIN | DAVOS (IDN) – Declaring that the empowerment of the world’s women is “a global imperative”, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the first-ever High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.

The establishment of the Panel, backed by the United Kingdom, the World Bank Group and UN Women, was proclaimed in Davos, Switzerland, the venue of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF), on January 21.

NGOs & CSOs, SYNDICATION2016-01-132023-07-12

Greece Needs Broad Reform of Police Powers

ATHENS (INPS) – In a letter and briefing paper to the alternate minister for citizen protection, Nikolaos Toskas, Human Rights Watch has urged the Greek government to take formal steps to limit overly broad police stop-and-search powers.

Greece’s government told Human Rights Watch in December 2015 that it will amend a police circular governing the procedure for taking someone into police custody following a stop, for further confirmation of the person’s identity. But the government has not addressed gaps in the law that lead to groundless and sometimes abusive identity checks.