Afghanistan: 20 years of steady education progress ‘almost wiped out’
Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is strictly forbidden to women and girls over 12. The Taliban swept back into power on 15 August 2021 and swiftly began curtailing women’s rights. Three…
Afghanistan: Taliban rule has erased women from public life, sparked mental health crisis
Alison Davidian, UN Women Country Representative in Afghanistan, briefed journalists in New York on their latest report addressing the plight of women and girls since the de facto authorities returned to power in August 2021. She described this period as…
‘Incredible brutality’ prevalent in battle for Myanmar
In a call to regional bloc ASEAN to help end the violence and support efforts to bring perpetrators to justice, the head of the Human Rights Council-appointed probe into the Myanmar emergency Nicholas Koumjian described an increasingly “desperate” junta whose…
UN chief calls for inclusive elections in Bangladesh
In a statement issued by his Deputy Spokesperson late on Monday (New York time), the UN chief also called for full respect of the human rights across the country. “The Secretary-General welcomes efforts to restore calm and organize parliamentary elections…
First Person: Stitching together a future following deadly siege
UN News/Daniel Dickinson Asnia Dalan holds a bag she sewed following the training she received. The Olango Sindaw Ko Kauyagan Producer cooperative in Piagapo, a village in the hills above Lake Lanao, was set up in the wake of what…
Testing swift responses to chemical terrorism threats
On a seemingly typical day in Semarang, Indonesia, a few train passengers have started to feel nauseous. Others nearby are saying they cannot breathe. Five have fainted. One is not responding. A few minutes in, a miniature car wheezes by…
UN rights chief ‘deeply troubled’ by dissolution of Thailand’s Move Forward Party
The court also banned the Move Forward Party’s (MFP) senior figures, including leader Pita Limjaroenrat, from politics for 10 years. MFP had won the most seats in the May 2023 general elections in Thailand, securing 151 seats in the 500-member…
Bangladesh at a crossroad, says senior UN official
“Young people and people from every range of life across Bangladesh, across the entire country, came out on the streets to celebrate,” UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis remarked. Some of the celebrations following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation took a…
Bangladesh: UN urges peaceful transition as PM resigns and flees the country
Secretary-General António Guterres “continues to closely follow developments in the country,” UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said in a statement. “He urges calm and restraint by all sides and emphasizes the importance of a peaceful, orderly and democratic transition,” he…
Shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop: UN rights chief
More than 80 people, including at least 13 police personnel, are said to have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to media reports. Authorities have imposed a curfew and restricted internet access. A police station in…