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3 November 2014
On the last day of the annual General Assembly debate on 30 September 2014, representatives of small island developing nations urged the international community for increased collective action to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The focus of this year’s discussion was “Delivering on and implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda”. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | On final day of UN Assembly, small island nations discuss climate change, economics
30 October 2014
Saying the ongoing civil war in Syria and its spillover effects continue to inflict a devastating human and humanitarian toll on neighbouring countries, John Ging, Operations Director for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, made a strong plea on behalf of the neighbouring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, as well as Turkey. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Massive scale-up of assistance needed for countries impacted by ongoing Syria crisis - UN relief official
24 October 2014
On 21 October 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issues a judgment in the case of Sharifi and Others v. Italy and Greece. The ECtHR found that there had been several violations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on account of collective expulsion by the Italian authorities of Afghan migrants, who were then deprived of access to the asylum procedure in Greece. (more…)
Source: ECtHR | Arrêt Sharifi et autres c. Italie et Grèce - Refoulement de migrants afghans d'Italie en Grèce | requête no. 16643/09 | Communique de presse | CEDH 304 (2014) | 21 October 2014
23 October 2014
In a recent interview by The Diplomat, the Kabul based journalist and author of A Man and His Motorcycle: How Hamid Karzai Came to Power Bette Dam discussed the prospects of success for Afghanistan’s new ‘unity government’ and the role of the international community. (more…)
Source: The Diplomat | Interview: Bette Dam | What are the prospects for the new national unity government in Afghanistan?
23 October 2014
In presenting his report on the use of armed drones within law enforcement, Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, stressed that such mechanised systems, controlled by a human from a distance, ‘can hardly do what police officers are supposed to do’, such as using the minimum force required by the circumstances. ‘The situation becomes even more problematic when the police use increasingly autonomous weapons – that is, weapons that have on board computers which decide on the use of force,’ Mr. Heyns continued. ‘The decreased personal involvement of police officers in the deployment of force raises the question, among others, of who is responsible if things go wrong.’ (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Growing use of drones in law enforcement may violate human rights, warns UN expert