5 years 1 month ago
COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN ERITREA WELCOMES STRONG RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN ERITREA
04 July 2016
Press Release
Geneva (4 July 2016) – The Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea welcomes resolution 32/24, which passed without a vote on Friday, 1 July during the thirty-second session of the Human Rights Council.
Resolution 32/24 commends the Commission for completing its work in a transparent, impartial and consultative manner, while regretting the lack of cooperation by the Government of Eritrea, including the denial of access to the country by the Commission.
Mike Smith, Chairperson of the Commission, said: “The Commission welcomes this…
5 years 1 month ago
Media statement from the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria on the appointment of Yacoub El Hillo
01 July 2016
Press Release
GENEVA (01 July 2016) - The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, fully endorses the statement (here below) of the UN Under- Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Stephen O’Brien.
Mr. de Mistura is grateful to Mr. Yacoub El Hillo’s for his outstanding services during his tenure as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for the Syrian Arab Republic.United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O…
5 years 1 month ago
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SUSPENDS THIRTY-SECOND SESSION AFTER ADOPTING 33 RESOLUTIONS AND ONE DECISION
01 July 2016
Press Release
Creates a New Mandate on Protection against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The Human Rights Council suspended its thirty-second regular session this evening after adopting 33 resolutions and one decision on a wide array of issues. The Council also adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of 14 countries.
The Council created the mandate of an Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for three years, to assess the…
5 years 1 month ago
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES FIFTY-EIGHTH SESSION
24 June 2016
Press Release
Adopts Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Angola, Burkina Faso, France, Honduras, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the United Kingdom
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today concluded its fifty-eighth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Angola, Burkina Faso, France, Honduras, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the United Kingdom.
The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the reports will be available on the webpage of…
5 years 1 month ago
Statement by Staffan De Mistura, UN Special Envoy for Syria, at informal briefing to the General Assembly
22 June 2016
Press Release
Mr. President, Excellencies,
Thank you for the invitation to join Stephen O’Brien and Ivan Simonovic at this meeting. I will obviously defer to both Stephen and to Ivan on the subjects of their own competence and professional knowledge. And I will still refer to the linkages that exist between my own mission - on behalf of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Secretary-General – and those of the humanitarian and human rights. In other words everything seems to be connected. As I have said in the past, when we look at Syria it…
5 years 2 months ago
Readout of the Secretary-General's meeting with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
16 June 2016
Press Release
The Secretary-General met today with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister exchanged views on the situation in Syria. The Secretary-General emphasized that the coming weeks were crucial in advancing a political process through intra-Syrian talks on the basis of his Special Envoy's “Mediator's summary”, particularly in view of the shared sense of urgency given the August deadline set by the ISSG co-chairs. Both agreed it was…
5 years 2 months ago
PRESS COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE GENEVA INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSIONS
15 June 2016
Press Release
GENEVA (Issued as received) - The participants in the thirty-sixth round of the Geneva International Discussions have just completed their work.
In Working Group I dealing with security issues, the participants discussed extensively the fatal incident, which occurred in Khurcha on May 19. In this regard, the Co-Chairs called for a swift and objective investigation into the circumstances surrounding this deeply regrettable crime, cooperation between all relevant actors on the ground and the detention and prosecution of the perpetrator. In this context, they welcomed the…
5 years 2 months ago
UN EXPERT GROUP ALARMED BY INCREASING VIOLENCE TOWARD PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT IN COLOMBIA
13 June 2016
Press Release
GENEVA (Issued as received) – The United Nations Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent today expressed alarm over reports of violence toward people of African descent in Colombia, and called on the authorities to take concrete and urgent measures to protect the Afro-Colombian communities in the country.
The expert panel’s call comes at a time when several Afro-descendant leaders have been subjected to intimidation, including death threats as they continue their campaign in favour of their territorial rights.
“We are concerned that many…
5 years 2 months ago
CÔTE D'IVOIRE JOINS THE CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS
13 June 2016
Press Release
On 25 May 2016, Côte d'Ivoire joined the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Protocol I on Non-detectable Fragments, Protocol II on Mines, Booby-traps and Other Devices, Protocol III on Incendiary Weapons and Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War.
Ambassador Tehmina Janjua of Pakistan, President-designate of the CCW’s Fifth Review Conference, welcomed Côte d'Ivoire as the 123rd States Party to the CCW. She added that Côte d’Ivoire has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening international humanitarian law and to preventing unnecessary and…
5 years 2 months ago
The Secretary-General condemns the abhorrent attack carried out on 12 June in Idlib city, Syria
13 June 2016
Press Release
The Secretary-General condemns the abhorrent attack carried out on 12 June in Idlib city, Syria, which hit a vegetable market and the only bakery in the area. The apparent air strike took place while a ceasefire stipulated in the Four Towns Agreement, which covers Idlib city, had reportedly been restored over the weekend. Local sources reported that the attack left dozens of civilians, including women and children, dead or wounded.
The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a speedy recovery to the…
