Page 33 - General Comment News Today

By Dagnachew B. Wakene Addis Abeba, January 29/2021 – A number of Ethiopian news outlets have covered the outrageous incident which occurred last month within the premises of the Addis Abeba University (AAU) involving a graduating class law student with visual impairment, Abraham Duressa, who died by suicide. The purpose of this piece is not to provide thorough details of what transpired on that fateful day of 24 th December 2020. Eyewitness accounts and the relevant authorities have already...

Israel’s conviction of human rights defender shows disdain for international obligations, say UN experts GENEVA (26 January 2021) – UN experts* said today Israel must immediately stop using its array of military security tools to obstruct the legitimate and indispensable work of human rights defenders. Their comments come after an Israeli military court convicted Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights defender and founder of Youth Against Settlements, a Hebron-based group which opposes s...

The previous decision of the Court of Appeal issued in July 2016 was retrogressive and threatened to plunge the country back into the dark ages whereby the realisation of socio-economic rights was entirely subject to the arbitrary whims of the state. The case concerned a suit filed before the High Court by inhabitants of  Mitumba, a village settlement situated adjacent to Wilson Airport in Nairobi. This matter arose from the demolition of their houses despite an existing court injunction. Whil...

Women and girls face particularly high risks of being subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

Women and girls face particularly high risks of being subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

Published date: 21 January 2021 13:17 UTC | Last update: 2 months 2 weeks ago Articles contained in the draft could be used to stifle criticism of politicians, government officials and other public figures The draft law criminalises imprecise actions, such as "affecting the national security or national economy of the country" (AFP/file photo) Iraq’s Council of Representatives is considering a vote on a draft law for combatting cybercrime. With rapi...

PNN/ Bethlehem/ The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) and the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) and the Palestinian National Institute for NGOs (PNIN) are concerned that since commencing the roll out of a vaccine against COVID-19 in December 2020, the  Israeli occupying authorities have implemented its vaccine policy in a discriminatory, unlawful, and racist manner by completely disregarding its obligations to Palestinian healthcare. Throughout the Occupied Palestinian Ter...

Committee on the Rights of the Child 18 January 2021 The Committee on the Rights of the Child today opened its online limited eighty-sixth session. Luis Ernesto Pedernera Reyna, Chairperson of the Committee, said the Committee had been working on the Third Optional Protocol, and General Comment 25, and would spare no efforts to discharge its mandate. Because of COVID-19, pre-existing problems had worsened. Child poverty was increasing and the closure of schools had had a devastating impact, in...

The Human Rights Commission is deeply disturbed by recent revelations arising from the Auditor General’s report and further scrutiny by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee that defective condoms as well as gloves were distributed to the general public and have been in circulation since September, 2020. This revelation is a serious indictment on the part of the State and greatly undermines its obligation to ensure that every citizen enjoys the highest attainable standard of health. The right...

The world has been facing one of its harshest social, economic, and health crises since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nations worldwide are still forced to take strict social distancing measures, total or partial lockdowns, and difficult decisions to protect their citizens from a fast-spreading and infecting disease that continues to take many lives. All the while, scientists were busy with lengthy research procedures to find a vaccine. To date, there are over 60 vaccines in clinical ...