Latest news with #U.N.OfficeoftheHighCommissionerforHumanRights
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Attacks against Palestinians intensify in occupied West Bank, says UN rights office
GENEVA: There has been an increase in killings of and attacks against Palestinians by settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday. "Israeli settlers and security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the past weeks," Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCR), told reporters in Geneva. About 30,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the north of the occupied West Bank since the Israeli military launched its "Iron Wall" operation. It is contributing to the ongoing consolidation of annexation of the West Bank, in violation of international law, the OHCHR said. In June, the UN recorded the highest monthly count of Palestinians injured in over two decades in the West Bank. Since January there have been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties, which is a 13 per cent increase on the same period last year, OHCHR said. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Fifty-three Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and in Israel in reported attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes, the office added.
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Nicaragua's crackdown on opposition extends beyond its borders
July 8 (UPI) -- Nicaragua faces a widespread and intensifying political crackdown under President Daniel Ortega, as international organizations report that the persecution now extends beyond the country's borders through killings, threats and surveillance targeting exiled dissidents. "The persecution of individuals perceived as political opponents in Nicaragua not only continues, but has become a recurring practice that extends beyond national borders, putting exiles at serious risk of death and physical harm," the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a recent report. The June 19 killing of retired Nicaraguan Army Maj. Roberto Samcam in San José, Costa Rica, is among the recent cases cited by the United Nations. Samcam had been living in exile in Costa Rica since 2018 after accusing Ortega's government of human rights violations. Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency said his killing may be linked to Sandinista cells operating in the country. The agency reported that at least 137 Nicaraguan dissidents living in exile in Costa Rica have been killed or violently attacked over the past two years. Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, director of the U.N. Human Rights Office's Division of Global Operations, said the human rights situation in Nicaragua has significantly deteriorated over the past year. She said those targeted include human rights defenders, journalists, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, and both religious and lay leaders. In its May 2025 annual report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights warned of Nicaragua's continued backsliding on human rights, the erosion of judicial independence and escalating attacks on democratic freedoms. The report cited a pattern of targeted criminalization of political opponents both inside the country and in exile, including the revocation of legal status, arrest warrants, de facto statelessness and vague laws to suppress dissent. The rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities are also under threat, said Kohonen Sheriff, after the approval of a presidential decree eliminating public consultation for natural resource exploitation in protected areas -- many situated on Indigenous and Afro-descendant lands. Attacks on these communities continue, including killings, sexual violence and arbitrary detentions. According to a United Nations report, at least 54 people remain in arbitrary detention, including 10 Indigenous individuals. "Arbitrary detentions continue to be used as a tool of political repression, reinforcing a climate of fear to silence critical voices," Kohonen Sheriff said. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
El Salvador Says Trump Admin Controls Migrants in Notorious CECOT Prison
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The government of El Salvador told United Nations investigators that the Trump administration retains control over a group of Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. to a controversial Salvadoran prison—contradicting public claims made by officials in both countries. The admission appears in new court filings by attorneys for more than 100 migrants contesting their deportation to the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a high-security facility infamous for alleged human rights abuses. Salvadoran authorities, responding to questions from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that "jurisdiction and legal responsibility" for the detainees rests solely with U.S. officials. The deportations occurred in March, despite a judge's order to halt the flights. The Trump administration has argued that the men are now outside U.S. legal jurisdiction and no longer protected by constitutional rights. However, lawyers for the deportees say the U.N. response undermines that claim. "El Salvador has confirmed what we and everyone else understood: it is the United States that controls what happens to the Venezuelans languishing at CECOT," said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt. The administration had paid El Salvador $6 million to detain 300 migrants under a deal justified using the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act. That arrangement, and a mistaken deportation involving a Maryland resident barred by court order from being sent abroad, have drawn lawsuits and sharp criticism from immigrant rights groups, who argue the policy violates constitutional due process. This article includes reporting by the Associated Press. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
28-06-2025
- Politics
Russian drone strike on Odesa kills married couple, injures 17 people, Ukraine says
KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian drones struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 17, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday. A drone slammed into a residential tower block in the city, causing damage to three floors and trapping residents, emergency services said. The two killed in the attack were a married couple, according to regional Gov. Oleh Kiper, who added that three children were among the injured. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, over 40 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight and on Saturday morning over western Russia and Kremlin-occupied Crimea. Long-range drone strikes have been a hallmark of the war, now in its fourth year. The race by both sides to develop increasingly sophisticated and deadlier drones has turned the war into a testing ground for new weaponry. Ukrainian drones have pulled off some stunning feats. At the start of June, nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged in a covert Ukrainian operation using cheaply made drones sneaked into Russian territory. Smaller, short-range drones are used by both sides on the battlefield and in areas close to the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a report published Thursday that short-range drone attacks killed at least 395 civilians and injured 2,635 between the start of the war in February 2022 and April 2025. Almost 90% of the attacks were by the Russian armed forces, it reported. More than 13,300 civilians have died and over 34,700 have been injured in the war, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said a June 11 report.
Japan Times
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Myanmar junta chief meets foreign leaders, U.N. says military choking aid
Myanmar's ostracized junta chief met the leaders of India and Thailand during a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday, and the U.N. said his military was limiting humanitarian aid following the earthquake that killed over 3,100 people amid civil war. Shunned by most world leaders since leading a 2021 coup that overthrew an elected government and ignited nationwide conflict, Min Aung Hlaing's rare foreign trip exploits a window opened by the earthquake to ramp up diplomacy. On the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit, Min Aung Hlaing had two-way meetings with Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with recovery from the quake a common topic. With a protracted civil war ravaging Myanmar since the coup, Modi called for a post-earthquake ceasefire in the country of 55 million people to be made permanent, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said. "Political resolution to the conflict is the only way forward, starting with inclusive and credible elections," spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. Myanmar's junta announced a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday until April 22 in operations against armed opponents, reflecting moves by a rebel alliance and a shadow government that includes parts of the previous administration. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the junta was restricting aid supplies to quake-hit areas where local communities did not back its rule. It also said it was investigating 53 reported attacks by the junta against opponents, including airstrikes, of which 16 were after a ceasefire on April 2. A junta spokesman did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment. The death toll from last Friday's 7.7 magnitude earthquake climbed to 3,145, with more than 4,500 injured and more than 200 still missing, the junta said. "The earthquake has supercharged the suffering, with the monsoon season just around the corner," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Thursday, referring to the civil strife unleashed by the 2021 coup. "I appeal for every effort to transform this tragic moment into an opportunity for the people of Myanmar." United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher was set to arrive in Myanmar on Friday, followed by a visit by Julie Bishop, the United Nations' special envoy for the country. Myanmar's neighbors, such as China, India and Southeast Asian nations, are among those that dispatched relief supplies and rescuers to aid the recovery effort in quake-hit areas that are home to about 28 million people over the past week. The United States, which was until recently the world's top humanitarian donor, had previously offered a relatively modest $2 million and on Friday made an additional $7 million in funds available to support earthquake-affected communities, according to the State Department. Extreme heat and forecast heavy rain could cause disease outbreaks among earthquake survivors camping in the open, as the risk of cholera grows in such areas, namely Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital of Naypyitaw. Even before the quake, millions had suffered in Myanmar's widening civil war, triggered by the coup that ousted the government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. It has decimated the mainly agrarian economy, driven more than 3.5 million people from their homes and crippled essential services such as health care. On the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, Min Aung Hlaing with met the prime minister of Nepal, India and Thailand. The BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, grouping also includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The junta leader's discussions with the Thai prime minister included disaster prevention and transnational crime, Thai officials said. Thailand's foreign ministry said the Thai and Malaysian foreign ministers would visit Myanmar on Saturday. At the summit, Thai premier Paetongtarn urged the group to forge a free trade agreement and to cooperate on completing a highway connecting Thailand, Myanmar and India, the Thai government said. In his meeting with the junta chief, India's Modi pushed for an early restoration of the democratic process in Myanmar, including through credible and inclusive elections, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. Before the quake, Myanmar's junta had been pushing ahead with a plan to hold a general election in December, though critics have derided this as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies. "Min Aung Hlaing's recent state visits to China and Russia have created new incentives for India to dial up its own engagement," Singapore-based analyst Angshuman Choudhury said. "Moreover, under Modi, India has pitched itself as a humanitarian first responder in the region — so post-earthquake disaster relief becomes an easy pivot for a direct meeting."
