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HTMLCountry1 How we make a difference 2012
| Women in Casamance unite for peaceWeary of the three decade-long civil strife in the region of Casamance, southern Senegal, women’s associations speak-up for the peaceful and inclusive resolution of the conflict. 31-12-2012 |
| Combatting racist messages in the virtual worldThe Internet has become a leading source for receiving and sending information all over the world. It is also used by extremist groups and individuals to spread messages of hate and incite racial violence, says a UN Human Rights Expert. 21-12-2012 |
| Preventing violence against women, no excuses for inactionTo commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a panel discussion was held in Geneva on the challenges and trends in violence against women and girls. 20-12-2012 |
| Making human rights a priority for businessThe United Nations inaugural Forum on Business and Human Rights brought 1,000 State, business and civil society participants together to address business impacts on human rights. 19-12-2012 |
| UN taps celebrity power in fight against homophobiaPop singer Ricky Martin and the “Princess of Africa” Yvonne Chaka Chaka stand with UN chief Ban Ki-moon to call for an end to violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. 13-12-2012 |
| Human Rights Day: “My voice counts”The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay supports people campaigning for their right to be included and to participate in the public lives of their communities. 07-12-2012 |
| “Every citizen has the right to have a say”Several countries across the Middle East and North Africa turn to transitional justice principles to assist in the move away from authoritarianism to more democratic and inclusive systems of governance. 15-11-2012 |
| Hear Our Voices—Children in Immigration DetentionAll over the world, thousands of children in an irregular migration situation are detained in prisons or detention centres. Some of these former detainees were able to share their stories. 13-11-2012 |
| The right to keep or change one’s beliefsThe UN independent expert on freedom of religion urges States consistently to respect, protect and promote the human right to freedom of religion or belief in the area of conversion. 09-11-2012 |
| Women’s cultural rights: empowering and transformativeFarida Shaheed, UN expert in the field of cultural rights, proposes to shift the paradigm from one that views culture merely as an obstacle to women’s rights to one that seeks to ensure women’s equal enjoyment of cultural rights. 08-11-2012 |
| Mohamed El Hor Abeidy from the Haratin community in MauritaniaMohamed El Hor Abeidy says through his participation in the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme he expects to learn more about the UN human rights system “which will enable us to defend our rights without violating the rights of others 06-11-2012 |
| Seeking ways to eliminate human trafficking in NigerHundreds of thousands of people each year fall prey to human traffickers worldwide. Lawyers and human rights experts in Niger examine how to consolidate the fight against trafficking in humans in the country and the sub region. 26-09-2012 |
| UN leads the way on disability rightsGovernment, civil society and United Nations representatives discuss ways to strengthen protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. 24-09-2012 |
| Born Free and EqualA new publication of the UN Human Rights Office sets out the source and scope of State obligations under international human rights law to protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. 14-09-2012 |
| Ending the recruitment of child soldiersThe Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict appeals to the Human Rights Council for greater protection of conflict-affected children. 12-09-2012 |
| Husam Abdullah Ali: human rights activist from Iraq“The right to language and education for all should be guaranteed,” says Husam Abdullah Ali, a 28-year-old human rights activist who participated in the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme in Geneva. 16-08-2012 |
| How women's rights treaty serves Jamaican womenJoyce Hewett, representing Jamaican NGOs at the 52nd session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, explains why the work of the Committee is important to women in her country. 03-08-2012 |
| Supporting women human rights defenders“Although much progress has been made in realizing women’s rights, we must acknowledge that we still live in a world where women face serious inequalities in all spheres of life—at home, at work, in communities and in politics,”. 30-07-2012 |
| Minority Fellow: Enam Abuljalil El Asfour“I work at the national level to reduce the gap between the different components of the Saudi Arabian population and to flatten the differences between social groups,” says UN Human Rights Minority Fellow Enam Abuljalil El Asfour. 17-07-2012 |
| Protecting the lives of journalists“The most extreme form of censorship is to kill a journalist,” Special Rapporteur Christof Heyns said in his latest report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at the 20th Session in Geneva. 06-07-2012 |
| Calls for end to death penaltyWith United Nations member countries set to discuss the abolition of the death penalty later this year, activists and top UN officials call for an end to capital punishment. 03-07-2012 |
| A call to save the human rights treaty body systemUN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay calls for the strengthening of the current human rights treaty body system. “Let us not lose the moment, for the system requires action, and action now,” Pillay said. 22-06-2012 |
| The right to send out “inconvenient” informationJournalists should not be intimidated, imprisoned, tortured or killed for telling “inconvenient” truths, notes the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Frank La Rue, in his latest report to the Human Rights Council. 21-06-2012 |
| UN officials press for united action to end Syria crisisAmid growing atrocities and little evidence that the Syrian Government is living up to its commitment to stop the ongoing violence, United Nations officials urge the world community to act with one voice to end the crisis. 07-06-2012 |
| Respect and protect human rights in IraqThe UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office issue their report on the human rights situation in Iraq, which remains fragile. 30-05-2012 |
| UN Human Rights Chief ends first ever mission to ZimbabweUN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay ending her official visit to Zimbabwe called for violence free elections and urged countries applying sanctions on Zimbabwe to suspend them, until the conduct and outcome of the elections and related reforms are clear. 29-05-2012 |
| Next year’s Zimbabwe elections should be free and fairUN Human Rights Chief is on a five-day official visit to Zimbabwe where she met with government officials, civil society and other stakeholders – in a bid to understand the human rights situation on the ground. 23-05-2012 |
| Sudan border disputes, a cause of human rights concernOn her first mission to the world’s newest state, South Sudan, UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay has raised concerns over the border disputes with Sudan: “It is a human rights challenge because it is affecting civilians.” 10-05-2012 |
| Witness protection in Kosovo*The UN Human Rights office assists in building a victim and witness protection program in Kosovo. * Reference to Kosovo should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council res 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo 08-05-2012 |
| Wanted: Human Rights in RioCivil society and UN experts call for an inclusive, just and equitable outcome at the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. 02-05-2012 |
| UN Human Rights Chief lauds Special Sierra Leone Court’s verdictThe UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has lauded the ruling of the Special Court for Sierra Leone which today found former Liberian leader Charles Taylor guilty of planning, aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity. 26-04-2012 |
| Rapping silently for equalityUN teams up with Finnish hip-hop artist Signmark to promote the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 18-04-2012 |
| Addressing impunity in SomaliaUN human rights officers assist the Transitional Government of Somalia restore judicial structures , and rebuild following two decades of violence which destroyed rule of law institutions in the country. 13-04-2012 |
| Discrimination increases vulnerability to HIVHIV is now in its fourth decade since it was first diagnosed. There have been major milestones in HIV prevention, treatment, care of support, but there remain a number of challenges, a UN Human rights council panel has heard. 02-04-2012 |
| Right to food: the impacts of bad dietsIn his new report to the UN Human Rights Council, Olivier De Schutter, the UN independent expert on the right to food, addresses the links between health and malnutrition. 28-03-2012 |
| Children and the justice systemAddressing the Human Rights Council, UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay says imprisonment of children should be considered only as a last resort. 26-03-2012 |
| Serious human rights violations during DRC ElectionsA UN Human Rights report finds serious human rights violations, including killings, disappearances and arbitrary detention, committed by Democratic Republic of the Congo security forces during last year’s elections. 20-03-2012 |
| Number crunching human rightsGround-breaking work by the UN Human Rights office helps resolve and order the reporting of progress in meeting human rights obligations. 19-03-2012 |
| No boundaries for climate change A UN Human Rights Council expert meeting addresses the adverse impacts of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights. 16-03-2012 |
| The UN Human Rights office working to build capacityThe UN Human Rights office assists many countries globally to develop the technical expertise necessary to implement, measure and report on their obligations as signatories and parties to international human rights conventions and treaties. 14-03-2012 |
| Ensuring the right to fair trial for terrorist suspectsAccording to the UN, the measures adopted by some States in their fight against terrorism infringe basic standards of fair trial and due process, and have a disproportionate and excessive negative impact on human rights. 12-03-2012 |
| Women: vital actors of changeSome of the world’s leading human rights activists, politicians and thinkers gather at the UN in Geneva to reflect on the impact of the global climate, food and financial crisis on women and the role women play in promoting peace and human rights. 09-03-2012 |
| A stain on our collective conscienceUN Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon calls on members of the Human Rights Council and “all people of conscience” to act now to put an end to violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 07-03-2012 |
| A right to choose for persons with disabilitiesStates that have endorsed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should ease the participation of all persons with disabilities in the political and public life of their countries. 06-03-2012 |
| The Human Rights Council holds an urgent debate on SyriaUN Human Rights chief Navi Pillay addresses the Human Rights Council urgent debate on Syria, describing the situation in the country as dire and calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to end the fighting and bombardments. 29-02-2012 |
| Human Rights Council holds its 19th sessionHuman rights issues, from minority rights to juvenile justice, will be addressed during the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council, which takes place in Geneva from 27 February to 23 March 2012. 23-02-2012 |
| Getting down to businessThe UN Working Group on business and human rights, meeting for the first time, considers a strategy to promote and ensure implementation of the new global standard to prevent and address human rights abuses linked to business practices. 09-02-2012 |
| Ending impunity for homophobic killingsUN Human Rights chief Navi Pillay welcomes the findings of a court in South Africa, which has handed down long sentences to a group of men found guilty of the brutal murder of a teenager who was living openly as a lesbian. 08-02-2012 |
| Afghan civilians continue to die in record numbersThe number of civilians being killed in the conflict in Afghanistan increases in 2011 for the fifth year in a row. New and more deadly tactics by the Taliban are largely to blame says the UN. 06-02-2012 |
| Human Rights in BahrainA UN Human Rights team recently visited Bahrain after the release of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report on the human rights situation in the country, and emphasizes the need for accountability. 01-02-2012 |
| “Man up” to end violence against womenJimmie Briggs, an advocate for the rights of women, founded the Man Up campaign to mobilize young people to take action in their own countries to fight violence against women and girls. 09-01-2012 |
| Making a human rights wishJoin United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, and thousands around the world in making a wish for human rights. 06-01-2012 |
| “Forgotten Europeans”The UN Human Rights office and UNICEF are advocating for integration of children with disabilities in communities. 06-01-2012 |
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