Tag: UN

Asia Bibi nominated for award as human rights defender

October 5, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Europe, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, UN

Aasiya Noreen, a Pakistani Christian woman who has been on death row for over seven years for alleged blasphemy, has been nominated for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The 52-year-old, who has become widely known as Asia Bibi (‘Bibi’ is an affectionate title given to women in . . . Read More

UN calls for abolition of death penalty for blasphemy and apostasy

October 3, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Ahok, Amin Afshar Naderi, Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Human rights, Indonesia, Iran, Mariam Ibrahim, Pakistan, UN, USA

During protests against Jakarta's Christian former governor Ahok for alleged blasphemy, some protestors called for the death penalty. Blasphemy is a criminal offence in Indonesia and carries a penalty of up to five years in jail. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The UN Human Rights Council last week passed a new resolution, demanding the abolition of the death penalty for apostasy and blasphemy. The resolution called on UN member states that still have the death penalty to, among other things, “ensure that it is not imposed as a sanction for specific . . . Read More

‘Milestone’ as UN votes to create team to collect evidence of IS’s crimes

September 22, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Antonio Guterres, Genocide, Iraq, Islamic State, Jan Figel, Lord Alton, Middle East, Rex Tillerson, Syria, UN, Yazidis

Desecrated church I in Qaraqosh, Iraq. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Campaigners for Christian and Yazidi victims of the Islamic State group welcomed a vote at the United Nations yesterday (21 September), hailed as a “milestone” in their efforts to bring perpetrators of atrocities to justice. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to create an investigative team to collect evidence of . . . Read More

Congolese military ‘culpable’ in ADF’s North Kivu massacres

September 20, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu, UN

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the situation in the eastern province of North Kivu, which shares borders with Uganda and Rwanda, is still volatile and a source great concern. Eight members of a local church were massacred on 9 September in the latest in a series of attacks. . . . Read More

Award for man who brokered release of Chibok girls

September 19, 2017 Nigeria Chibok girls, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Rebecca Dali, Refugees, UN

Mr Mustapha and his son who in a nursery class at the school. Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School (I), Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. 17 May 2017

A 58-year-old Nigerian lawyer who brokered the release of 82 Chibok girls taken hostage by Boko Haram has been named as the 2017 winner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Nansen Refugee Award. Zannah Mustapha won the prestigious honour, which recognises extraordinary humanitarian work on behalf of . . . Read More

UN calls for aid as deadly violence continues in CAR

September 14, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Central African Republic, Gambo, Seleka, UN, Zemio

The UN General Secretary has called on world leaders to assist the Central African Republic, as the crisis there has deepened over the last three months. “In the Central African Republic, we have seen a 37 per cent increase in refugees and displaced people in just the last three months,” . . . Read More

Amnesty: UN must protect Central African civilians

September 11, 2017 Central African Republic Alindao, Anti-balaka, Basse-Kotto, Central African Republic, Gambo, Seleka, UN, UPC, Zemio

A wave of brutal attacks in the Central African Republic, including the systematic rape and murder of civilians, highlights the urgent need for stronger UN action to protect civilians, says Amnesty International in a new report, published on 8 September. Amnesty’s in-depth report encompasses attacks on civilians in the eastern prefecture . . . Read More

Catholic priest killed, another injured in spate of attacks in CAR

September 8, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Gambo, Seleka, UN, UPC, Zemio

The situation continues to deteriorate in the Central African Republic, with various incidents reported in September. According to local sources, a retired Catholic priest has been killed, another injured, and a Catholic Church compound hosting thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) looted, in separate incidents. On 3 September, Father Robert . . . Read More

Three killed, three kidnapped as ADF Islamists strike again in eastern DRC

September 4, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu, UN

Three people were hacked to death with machetes while three others were kidnapped in a raid carried out by armed men on Saturday, 2 September, in Lahe-Malolu/Vemba village, situated 12km from Beni, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s volatile eastern region of North Kivu. Speaking to the UN-based Radio . . . Read More

UN troops ‘complicit’ in killing of civilians, says MP for Gambo, eastern C. African Republic

August 24, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangassou, Bangui, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Gambo, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka, UN, UPC

A local MP has accused UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) of “complicity” in an attack which claimed dozens of lives, including ten Red Cross workers, in the eastern town of Gambo recently, World Watch Monitor has learned. The MP for Gambo, Michel Kpingo, in a statement (7 August) . . . Read More

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