Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
united nations office of thelatest news & developments

Respected SA judge named as UN human rights chief

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday formally appointed South African Judge Navanethem Pillay as his high commissioner for human rights.

Hard life for activists

Nosimilo Ndlovu and Vicky Hill report on a UN study on human rights

Botswana’s Bushmen in lodge controversy

A planned lodge development at the settlement of Molapo in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve has become a source of controversy. Tourists who frequent the 40-room lodge’s…

Tutu wraps up investigation of Gaza deaths

United Nations envoy Archbishop Desmond Tutu, concluding a fact-finding mission to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Thursday, condemned as a ”massacre” the killing of 18 members of…

Top UN human rights forum to examine food crisis

The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on May 23 to examine how the world’s food crisis is undermining the right to food for millions of people,…

SA urged to ratify torture treaty

The South African government needs to ratify an international treaty on preventing torture, South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) chief executive Tseliso Thipanyane said…

‘Time to highlight the human face of climate change’

Climate change is now officially a human rights issue, as the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday passed a resolution on the subject, recognising that the world’s poor…

Lhasa monks accuse Beijing of lying over unrest

Tibetan monks stormed a news briefing at a temple in Lhasa on Thursday, accusing Chinese authorities of lying about recent unrest and saying the Dalai Lama had nothing to do with…

Tibet crackdown leaves 135 dead, says exiled leader

China’s crackdown on protests in Tibet has left at least 135 people dead, 1 000 injured and 400 arrested, the head of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile said in Brussels on…

In memory of Thomas Sankara

October 15 marks the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Thomas Sankara, the president of Burkina Faso — a stark reminder that we are still in the state Odinga Oginga called…

‘Press freedom does not exist’ in Egypt

Rights groups on Saturday accused Egypt of curbing press freedom after a Cairo court this week sentenced four editors each to one year in prison for criticising the president.…