United Nations

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is working with authorities in Burundi to better protect the country's albino children in the wake of a brutal crime in which a six-year-old girl was shot and dismembered, apparently in the mistaken belief of some locals that the body parts have magical qualities.

The top United Nations human rights official called today for an immediate end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which she said contravened international law and had deprived those living there of their most basic human rights for months.

Five independent United Nations experts on human rights today demanded that authorities in Myanmar hold fair and open re-trials for dozens of prisoners of conscience sentenced to lengthy prison terms and immediately release their jailed defence counsels.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Switzerland for the start of a two-day visit that includes talks with the United Nations' top human rights officials and a meeting with his many envoys and representatives worldwide.

The top United Nations official in Iraq today welcomed the country's establishment of an independent commission to promote and protect human rights in the troubled Middle East country.

A group of independent United Nations experts today expressed "significant human rights concerns" over the legal rights of irregular migrants and asylum-seekers in Italy, while otherwise acknowledging the strength of the country's judicial system.

The United Nations human rights chief voiced her dismay today after several prisoners were put to death in Afghanistan in recent days and urged the Government to stop any further planned executions.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has spotlighted in two new reports to the General Assembly how Israeli practices impinge upon the rights of Palestinians through the continued building of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and other means.

The top United Nations human rights official has called for strengthening Haiti's police and judicial systems, as well as for greater assistance for the victims of the series of hurricanes that ravaged the tiny Caribbean nation in recent months.

A group of independent United Nations human rights experts has urged Ukraine to address issues such as access to justice by detainees and the right to a fair trial, while noting the progress made by the country in dealing with arbitrary detention.

The relationship between racism and migration, ethnic conflicts and poverty will all be under the spotlight of the new United Nations independent expert on racism during his time in office, he told journalists today.

Nearly three years since its creation, more patience is needed in judging the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which is still in an "evolutionary" stage, the body's President told the General Assembly today.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has deplored last week's stoning to death of a 13-year-old Somali girl who was a victim of rape.

Colombia faces grave human rights challenges in its ongoing conflict, including hostage-taking, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrest and detention, despite measures taken by the Government to protect vulnerable groups, the United Nations rights chief says after visiting the Andean country.

The sexual exploitation of children is a matter for concern in Latvia despite the low number of reported cases, an independent United Nations human rights expert said today, warning that continued vigilance is needed from the State to protect its young.

The United Nations human rights chief today praised Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe for dismissing three army generals and 24 other officers over the alleged illegal killing of civilians in the South American country.

Over two-thirds of young people in Latin America feel they suffer discrimination, partly because so many are poor and under-educated, according to a report released today by the United Nations office for the region.

Propelled by this year's global food crisis, nearly one billion people worldwide are now hungry, an independent United Nations expert said today, urging the issue to be viewed through the lens of human rights.

The United Nations today convened a gathering of more than 60 delegates from 17 countries across the Middle East and North Africa in Amman to discuss the responsibility of States to protect human rights while countering terrorism, in the first event of its kind in the region.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today begins a week-long review of the situation in Colombia amid concerns that indigenous groups continue to be forced to flee their territories by armed groups.