Violence and rights abuses threaten South Sudan’s stability, a UN report warns

JUBA, South Sudan — Mass violence and gross human rights violations in South Sudan continue unabated ahead of landmark elections due to take place in December, a report by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has warned. Patterns of violence, violations and entrenched impunity continue to blight the lives of an extremely … Read more

Indonesia’s likely next president made 4-star general despite links to alleged human rights abuses

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday awarded an honorary four-star general rank to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, a former high-ranking army officer who is linked to human rights abuses and who emerged as the apparent winner of the Feb. 14 presidential election. Widodo gave the honorary promotion to Subianto, 72, in front … Read more

UK sanctions 4 Israeli settlers accused of human rights abuses in West Bank

LONDON — Britain’s government said Monday it is imposing sanctions on four Israeli settlers accused of committing human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank. The Foreign Office said the sanctions were in response to “unprecedented levels” of violence by settlers in the West Bank over the past year, including those who aggressively harassed … Read more

Foreign aid drops sharply as Taliban abuses jeopardize the Afghan health system, group says

ISLAMABAD — Human Rights Watch said Monday that Afghanistan’s public health system has been hit hard following a sharp reduction in foreign assistance, coupled with serious Taliban abuses against women and girls, jeopardizing the right to healthcare of millions of Afghans. In a new report, the New York-based watchdog said this has left the “Afghan … Read more

UN expert says more needs to be done to address human rights abuses in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to to address human rights abuses in the country, including the killings of journalists and rights activists, a U.N. expert said Friday. However, more needs to be done, she said, including ensuring accountability. The remarks by United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene … Read more

John Pilger, high-profile journalist who exposed abuses, dies at 84

John Pilger, a crusading journalist and documentarian who helped expose state-sanctioned brutality and human-rights abuses in Cambodia and East Timor, even as he faced criticism over factual errors and accusations that he let his left-wing political views unfairly shape his reporting, died Dec. 30 at a hospital in London. He was 84. The cause was … Read more

China sanctions a US research firm and 2 individuals over reports on human rights abuses in Xinjiang

BEIJING — China says it is banning a United States research company and two analysts who have reported extensively on claims of human rights abuses committed against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups native to the country’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was quoted as announcing late Tuesday night that … Read more

UN human rights body establishes a fact-finding mission to probe abuses in Sudan’s conflict

CAIRO — The United Nations’ top human rights body voted Wednesday to establish a face-finding mission to probe allegations of abuses in Sudan’s monthslong war. Sudan was engulfed in chaos in mid-April, when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group exploded into open warfare in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas across … Read more

UN-backed probe into Ethiopia’s abuses is set to end. No one has asked for it to continue

GENEVA — A U.N.-backed probe of human rights abuses in Ethiopia is set to expire after no country stepped forward to seek an extension, despite repeated warnings that serious violations continue almost a year since a cease-fire ended a bloody civil war in the East African country. While the European Union led talks on the … Read more

U.N. experts allege systemic racism and rights abuses in U.S. prisons

Comment on this storyComment Black people in the United States criminal justice system face “systemic racism and racial discrimination by law enforcement officials,” United Nations experts said in a report released this week, after an investigation launched in 2021 amid the protests over the police killing of George Floyd. In “an affront to human dignity,” … Read more