Category Archives: Transhuman News

Voon Lee Shan

KUCHING (March 11): The government needs to come up with more programmes or campaigns to create better public awareness against human trafficking, said Parti Bumi Kenyalang president Voon Lee Shan.

He added that without any campaigns, the public may not think human trafficking is a serious matter in the country.

Human trafficking is active in many parts of the world and Malaysia is not an exception where human trafficking could be active.

The United Nations is very concerned about human trafficking as human beings could be trafficked not only as slaves or forced labour, but also for prostitution and for human organs.

The United Nations has set July 30 every year as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to tell the world the seriousness of human trafficking, he pointed out in a statement yesterday.

Voon referred to the two recent cases of missing children in the state which he said could be related to human trafficking because being young, children are easy prey for trafficking.

He said it was a great shock for him to learn that a four-year-old child, Eric Chang, had been reported missing on Mar 9 while under the care of a family caretaker.

That is not the first time that children have gone missing in Sarawak. The last one missing was a child, Nurardiana Damia Abdullah, six years old, in October, 2019, he said.

He thus opined that it is advisable that children of tender age should not be left in the care of maids alone, especially if the maids are foreigners, while parents bringing children in crowded places should not let their eyes off their children.

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Govt urged to come up with more awareness campaigns against human trafficking - The Borneo Post

Human Rights CouncilForty-ninth session28 February1 April 2022Agenda items 2 and 10Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-GeneralTechnical assistance and capacity-building

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 46/29, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a comprehensive written report on technical assistance and capacity-building for South Sudan. The report, which covers the period from January to December 2021, is based on information received through the engagement of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with the Government of South Sudan and other national stakeholders, including civil society organizations, and on observations and information gathered and verified by the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

I. Introduction

The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 46/29, requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in cooperation with the Government of South Sudan and relevant mechanisms of the African Union, to provide South Sudan with the required technical assistance and capacity-building to address human rights challenges in the post-conflict transition, and to present a comprehensive written report to the Council at its forty-ninth session. It also requested OHCHR to monitor and report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan and to make recommendations to prevent any deterioration in the situation with a view to improving it.

The present report, which covers the period from January to December 2021, presents the human rights situation in South Sudan and the main human rights challenges in the country, and outlines the technical assistance and capacity-building support provided by OHCHR to South Sudan. It also contains recommendations for the Government and other stakeholders aimed at strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

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Technical assistance and capacity-building for South Sudan - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/49/91) - South...

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for March 8th, 2022. In todays edition, weve got a few reviews for you to check out. Primordia, A Musical Story, and Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes are up for evaluation today. After that, weve got a new release to check out. Its not a super-exciting one, but that doesnt matter. We cover them all anyway. After that, we finish up with the usual lists of new and outgoing sales. Lets get to it!

Primordia is, somewhat unapologetically, a throwback to 1990s point-and-click adventure games. I want to say it leans more in the Lucasarts direction than anything else, but some parts of it feel very much like certain Sierra games. The setting is fascinating, presenting a post-human world where the machines we built continue to build themselves and revere their now-extinct creators as mythical gods of sorts. But things arent going well for the robots, either. Resources are drying up, things are breaking down, and many of them are just trying to survive day to day. The protagonist of this tale is one such robot, and hes just had his ships power core stolen by a mysterious robot.

Some of the puzzles in Primordia can be really hard to figure out logically, which is one of the bad ways it can feel old-school. Some people may not resonate with the setting or some elements of the story, and those are such a big factor in this genre that it always needs to be considered. Other than those things, Im hard-pressed to find too many things to complain about here. This Switch version handles the controls as you would expect. You can move the cursor around with the stick or use touch controls. Adventure game fans should enjoy it quite a bit, but be ready to get a little frustrated with some puzzles that feel borderline farcical in their design.

SwitchArcade Score: 4/5

Heres another one for the I wanted to like this a lot more than I did" pile. There are a few different components to this one, and some of them fare better than others. The music and overall presentation? Superb. Great stuff. I could listen to this soundtrack for hours, and the art is both stylish and beautiful. The story? Its up and down. When its going, its really interesting and has a lot of heart. But there are long stretches where almost nothing is happening, and theyre too frequent to ignore.

The biggest problem with A Musical Story comes in its gameplay mechanics, though. You play the tunes in sliced out sections, and you have to hit every note perfectly before the game will let you move on. And unless youre really good with audio cues, youre going to fail a lot. The worst thing is that once youve missed a note, you know you cant succeed but you still have to finish out the slice anyway. Its aggravating in the worst way. You never get that feeling of being one with the music that you get with better rhythm games. Great music, an uneven story, and unpleasant gameplay make for a very rocky road trip indeed.

SwitchArcade Score: 3/5

Much as I enjoy a standard game of pinball, its always nice to see some attempts to work silverball into other gaming concepts. Its even better when they actually work out well. And that is indeed the case with Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes. Its pinball, but also a roguelite. You work your way around maps, picking and choosing the points of interest you want to visit. Some of them will send you into a pinball battle against hordes of zombies. After clearing one of these action stages, the zombie horde on the map will spread, making it harder to move about without taking damage. Each stage culminates in a boss battle against a monster with special skills. Worry not, as youve got some skills of your own and youll accumulate more over the course of each game.

Sure, you can probably find a better pure game of pinball, and all the roguelite caveats apply here. The procedural generation can swing for or against you, and things can get a little repetitive after a while. But broadly speaking, this bit of pinball with a purpose offers up plenty of fun zombie smashing and loot gathering to keep you whacking away for hours on end. Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes has its tongue in its cheek and its hand on someone or somethings heart, and thats good enough for me.

SwitchArcade Score: 4/5

This is a fairly relaxed adventure game set in a remote village where the people are being terrorized by creatures from the surrounding forests. Normally a job for animal control, but these creatures are of a supernatural nature and thus you, a paranormal detective, have been called in to sort things out. The village is full of odd characters, and youll need to talk to all of them to figure out what they know and what they have seen. Some of them will be less than forthcoming unless you have something to offer them first. Be careful: if you head into the forest without properly preparing, youre liable to become another victim.

(North American eShop, US Prices)

Okay, no Mario games today. But there are some good ones in there. The Kingdom games are on sale, and so is the excellent Operencia: The Stolen Sun. Ratalaika has a bunch of its titles on sale for some of the lowest prices theyve seen yet. In the outbox, youve got a whole bunch of DOOM games. You should have most of those already, if not all of them. Provided you dont, theres your shopping list. Speaking of lists, you know what to do.

Select New Games on Sale

Kathy Rain: Directors Cut ($11.99 from $14.99 until 3/14)Bad North Jotunn Edition ($4.49 from $14.99 until 3/14)Kingdom New Lands ($2.99 from $14.99 until 3/14)Kingdom Two Crowns ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/14)Kingdom Two Crowns Norse Lands ($6.29 from $6.99 until 3/14)Townscaper ($4.49 from $5.99 until 3/14)Dandara: Trials of Fear ($5.24 from $14.99 until 3/14)Mosaic ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/14)Star Renegades ($12.49 from $24.99 until 3/14)Stela ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/14)Demon Turf ($19.99 from $24.99 until 3/14)A Little Golf Journey ($17.99 from $19.99 until 3/14)Uurnog Uurnlimited ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/14)West of Dead ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/14)GoNNER ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/14)

GONNER2 ($3.89 from $12.99 until 3/14)Night Call ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/14)Atomicrops ($5.99 from $14.99 until 3/14)Out There: Omega The Alliance ($3.74 from $14.99 until 3/14)Backbone ($19.99 from $24.99 until 3/14)Swords & Bones ($1.99 from $7.99 until 3/15)Operencia: The Stolen Sun ($8.99 from $29.99 until 3/15)Castlestorm II ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/15)Banner of the Maid ($10.19 from $16.99 until 3/15)Mushroom Savior ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/15)Flaskoman ($2.99 from $499 until 3/15)Aloof ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/21)Frontier Quest ($9.59 from $11.99 until 3/21)Kings Heir Rise to the Throne ($2.09 from $14.99 until 3/28)Abyss The Wraiths of Eden ($2.09 from $14.99 until 3/28)

Tank Battle Heroes ($1.99 from $3.99 until 3/28)InfiniteCorp Card Game ($3.99 from $7.99 until 3/28)Squareboy vs Bullies ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Twin Robots Ultimate ($2.39 from $7.99 until 3/28)Super Destronaut DX ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)My Big Sister ($1.99 from $5.99 until 3/28)One More Dungeon ($2.39 from $799 until 3/28)Super Weekend Mode ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Metagal ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Vera Blanc: Full Moon ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Vera Blanc: Ghost in the Castle ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)UltraGoodness 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Strike! Ten Pin Bowling ($7.49 from $9.99 until 3/28)Autumns Journey ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Jet Set Knights ($3.99 from $9.99 until 3/28)

Freddy Spaghetti ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)SkyScrappers ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/28)The Language of Love ($5.99 from $11.99 until 3/28)Zeroptian Invasion ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Devious Dungeon ($2.39 from $7.99 until 3/28)Devious Dungeon 2 ($2.39 from $7.99 until 3/28)Devious Dungeon Collection ($5.19 from $12.99 until 3/28)Even the Ocean ($7.49 from $14.99 until 3/28)Roommates ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/28)Loot Hero DX ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Jet Kave Adventure ($1.99 from $19.99 until 3/28)Paw Paw Paw ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/28)Balancelot ($3.99 from $7.99 until 3/28)More Dark ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Golf Zero ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)

InkSplosion ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)How to Take Off Your Mask ($7.49 from $14.99 until 3/28)Reflection of Mine ($3.19 from $7.99 until 3/28)Ord ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Micetopia ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/28)Two Parsecs From Earth ($3.19 from $7.99 until 3/28)A Hero and a Garden ($2.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Bird Game + ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Iron Snout ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Jack N Jill DX ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Daggerhood ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/28)Binaries ($2.07 from $12.99 until 3/28)Subsurface Circular ($2.99 from $5.99 until 3/28)Quarantine Circular ($2.99 from $5.99 until 3/28)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 9th

Back to Bed ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)Batu Ta Batu ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)BFF or Die ($2.99 from $7.99 until 3/9)Castle of Pixel Skulls ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)Clumsy Rush ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)Crashbots ($6.69 from $9.99 until 3/9)Cyber Protocol ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/9)Deep Ones ($3.34 from $4.99 until 3/9)Die for Valhalla! ($2.39 from $11.99 until 3/9)Dimension Drive ($1.99 from $12.99 until 3/9)DOOM 1993 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/9)DOOM 2016 ($9.99 from $39.99 until 3/9)DOOM 3 ($2.49 from $9.99 until 3/9)DOOM 64 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/9)DOOM Eternal ($19.79 from $59.99 until 3/9)

DOOM Eternal Deluxe ($29.69 from $89.99 until 3/9)DOOM II Classic ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/9)DOOM Slayers Collection ($17.49 from $49.99 until 3/9)Energy Balance ($2.00 from $2.99 until 3/9)Energy Cycle ($2.00 from $2.99 until 3/9)Energy Invasion ($2.00 from $2.99 until 3/9)Grass Cutter: Mutated Lawns ($4.68 from $6.99 until 3/9)Immortal Planet ($5.99 from $14.99 until 3/9)Inferno 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)Kirakira Stars Idol Memories ($19.60 from $28.00 until 3/9)Lost Wing ($1.99 from $7.99 until 3/9)Luckslinger ($3.49 from $9.99 until 3/9)Lumini ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/9)Metropolis: Lux Obscura ($5.35 from $7.99 until 3/9)Nirvana Pilot Yume ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)

OMG Police Car Chase TV ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)One Eyed Kutkh ($3.34 from $4.99 until 3/9)OVIVO ($4.68 from $6.99 until 3/9)Planet RIX-13 ($3.34 from $4.99 until 3/9)Rainswept ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/9)Runbow ($2.99 from $14.99 until 3/9)Sigi ($3.34 from $4.99 until 3/9)SkyTime ($2.00 from $2.99 until 3/9)Stab Stab Stab! ($3.99 from $9.99 until 3/9)State of Anarchy MoM ($5.35 from $7.99 until 3/9)Steamburg ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)Tetsumo Party ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/9)The Bug Butcher ($1.99 from $7.99 until 3/9)Thea: The Awakening ($7.19 from $17.99 until 3/9)Urban Flow Extended ($1.99 from $16.99 until 3/9)Vasilis ($3.34 from $4.99 until 3/9)Wingspan ($13.39 from $19.99 until 3/9)

Thats all for today, friends. Well be back tomorrow with a couple more new releases, more sales, and potentially some news. Ive had a bit of a bad day today. I guess that means that statistically speaking tomorrow should be better. I hope so, anyway. May you all have a better Tuesday than I did, and as always, thanks for reading!

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SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Primordia' and 'Zombie Rollerz', Plus the Latest Releases and Sales TouchArcade - Touch Arcade

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has reiterated serious concern about the serious human rights violations and growing restrictions imposed by Algerian authorities on fundamental freedoms.

In Algeria, I am concerned about the growing restrictions on fundamental freedoms, including the increasing number of arrests and detentions of human rights defenders, members of civil society and political opponents, said Ms. Bachelet in her latest annual report on the situation of Human rights in the world.

In this report submitted Tuesday to the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, Ms. Bachelet has called on the Algerian government to change course and take all necessary steps to end its repression and guarantee its peoples rights to freedom of speech, association and peaceful assembly.

The systematic violations of human rights and the repression of Hirak activists in Algeria had been denounced by several regional and international organizations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN special rapporteurs.

For its part, the European Parliament had adopted, in less than a year, two successive resolutions on the alarming human rights situation in Algeria, while several MEPs have condemned the continuing oppression, prosecution and harassment of the Hirak militants by the Algerian military regime.

North Africa Post's news desk is composed of journalists and editors, who are constantly working to provide new and accurate stories to NAP readers.

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UN concerned over growing human rights violations in Algeria - The North Africa Post

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Russia will cease firing from 10am Moscow time (2am EST) to allow civilians to leave from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, according to a Tass report

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OTTAWA Russian forces will stop firing from 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT, 2 AM EST) on Wednesday and are ready to provide humanitarian corridors so people can leave Kyiv and four other cities, Tass news agency cited a senior Russian official as saying on Tuesday.

Information about corridors from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol will be sent to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, said Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre.

Vereshchuk said earlier on Tuesday that authorities had once again not been able to evacuate civilians from Mariupol.

Given the deteriorating humanitarian situation and in order to ensure the safety of civilians and foreign citizens, Russia will observe a regime of silence from 10 am Moscow time on March 9 and is ready to provide humanitarian corridors, Tass cited Mizintsev as saying.

It was unclear if the proposed routes would pass through Russia or Belarus.

Mizintsev earlier said Ukrainian authorities had endorsed only one civilian evacuation route from areas affected by fighting out of 10 that were proposed, including five towards territory controlled by Kyiv.

The United Nations human rights office said it had verified 1,335 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 474 killed and 861 injured, since the invasion began on Feb. 24. The real toll is likely higher, it said.

Moscow denies targeting civilians.

In Mariupol, hundreds of thousands of people have been sheltering under bombardment for more than a week. Many tried to leave on Tuesday along a safe corridor but Ukraines foreign ministry said Russian forces violated a ceasefire and shelled it.

International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman Ewan Watson said people in Mariupol were fast running out of electricity, heat, food, and drinking water.

The situation in Mariupol is apocalyptic, he said.

The number of refugees created by the biggest assault on a European country since the Second World War has now surpassed 2 million.

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'Regime of silence': Russia ready to open human corridors from five Ukrainian cities - National Post

A mischievous little rescue cat named Thuthan Von Nubbinth, who was sitting on her human Olivia Lopezs lap, watched Lopez eating a Vietnamese salad. As Lopez brought a forkful to her mouth, Thuthan immediately swatted it away and then chased after the food that had landed on the chair.

I was recording because Thuthan the cat had tried to bite the fork earlier. We werent expecting Thuthan to full smack the fork but she did.

Thuthan is a special needs cat who has a cleft lip, a nubbed tail, and a variety of chronic illnesses that plague her daily life. Despite these challenges, Thuthan has a wonderful attitude towards life that her humans enjoy sharing with the rest of the world.

Thuthan is a 10-year-old special needs rescue with IBD, CKD, and arthritis. The main reason we post videos of her is to spread awareness of special needs cats and because shes glorious.

Thuthan has a dachshund sister named Mira, whom sometimes she loves.

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Mischievous Cat Hilariously Swats Away a Forkful of Salad On Its Way to Her Human's Mouth - Laughing Squid

UN human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet has praised the solidarity shown to refugees from Ukraine. But she also criticized that other migrants and refugees often face pushbacks and criminalization at the EU's borders and beyond.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday (March 8) called the solidarity shown with those fleeing Ukraine "a bright light in a desperately sad situation."

She said that she felt encouraged by the reception shown by many governments and communities to those fleeing from Ukraine, including a decision by EU member states to activate temporary protection status for them as well as stay permits.

Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, Bachelet pointed out that migrants and refugees from other countries on Europe's borders and from other parts of the world had been experienced wholly different kinds of treatment.

She said that a "humane approach" should be the rule instead of the exception, stressing that it is "essential" that all states respect the human rights of migrants and refugees regardless of the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their nationality, or their religion.

She also spoke out against pushbacks and policies limiting the access to asylum and other forms of protection, calling for more efforts to protect the lives of migrants and refugees. She added that "more than 2,000 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean last year -- bringing the total since 2017 to over 10,000."

Bachelet argued that "[t]his tragic loss is not inevitable. It could be addressed by coordinated action to search and rescue migrants at sea; ensuring disembarkation in places of safety; and expanding pathways for safe and regular migration so that migrants are not compelled make more precarious journeys."

In this context, she also called on countries worldwide "to cease actions which criminalize or obstruct the work of humanitarian organisations providing assistance to migrants."

More than two million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in late February. Most have fled westward to neighboring countries like Poland and Hungary.

The two countries, however, had repeatedly made headlines in recent years with their staunchly anti-migrant and -refugee policies and for their de facto barring of people from non-neighboring countries from seeking asylum.

However, Poland and Hungary two countries have also welcomed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in recent weeks in stark contrast to their previous actions.

In several migrant hotspots throughout Europe, NGOs have decried what they perceived to be a double standard in the treatment of Ukrainian refugees compared to refugees and migrants from other regions of the globe.

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Solidarity with Ukrainians contrasts with treatment of other refugees and migrants, UN's Bachelet - InfoMigrants

DAKAR, Senegal, 8 March, 2021-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-Another generation of women will have to wait for gender parity, according to the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Report 2021. As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt, closing the global gender gap has increased by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years.

It makes a mockery of International Womens Day, which in 1977 the United Nations General Assembly declared an annual event. Human rights are the basic minimum protections which every human being should be able to experience daily. Yet even today throughout Africa and indeed the rest of the world not all people are able to enjoy and exercise their rights in the same way.

Treating womens rights as human rights and recognizing that women are equal humans with equal ability, has always been fundamental to African womens movements. As part of our initiatives for International Womens Day, we are looking at how women have fought to be put on an equal footing.

Womens rights are human rights and almost nobody today will say they do not believe in human rights. The challenge I lay down to all of us is to change our bias that womens rights are everyones rights. With human rights there is no us and them we are all human beings. If you believe in human rights, if you believe in human equality, if you believe that no one should be the property of another, that no one should be subject to violence just because, that everyone should freely make choices about their own bodies and life, then womens rights should be your fight. If anyone does not believe womens rights are their fight, then they actually do not believe in human rights.

Niyel is involved in a broad range of advocacy initiatives across the continent. Although not all of them directly address womens rights, womens rights are indirectly at the core of everything we do. For instance, access to water and sanitation is one such initiative. Poor sanitation, no separate public toilet facilities for women and girls, and lack of on-tap water are factors which disproportionately affect women who in rural areas still bear the brunt of collecting water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Niyel for the past five years has been closely involved in influencing sanitation policy at government level particularly across West Africa, and that initiative is inclusive of womens needs and rights, as well as mens.

This year Niyel is launching an educational book series called Sit with Me authored by women of all ages with experience in the struggle for womens rights and which speak to younger women and girls. It depicts their experiences and gives encouragement to continue the struggle.

As proud as we are of these initiatives, we are conscious that the issue goes deeper than the observation of a day or a month. As we all seek to break the bias in various sectors of our society, our focus must remain on understanding how and why these biases are being enforced as well as who is allowing them to dominate the mainstream media, social and otherwise.

We tend to underestimate the active and intentional anti-women agenda that is very active on the continent. We may think that it is just cultural norms and context but although some of that is true, there is an organized institutional and growing opposition to womens rights, bodily autonomy, and sexual and reproductive rights of women in Africa.

For a few years, we have been studying these oppositions that increase barriers towomens rights and being intentional about how we tackle them in our work.

As part of this study, and since, some alarming examples of gross bias against womens rights have emerged in the media and entertainment industries. The same industries that are supposed to be breaking the bias, are some of the greatest perpetrators of bias. One example, amongst many, is a television show host in Cote dIvoire in August 2021 that interviewed a rapist who proceeded to visually dramatise in unnecessarily explicit detail with a manikin doll how he raped women, to the merriment of a live audience and television crew. What was meant to be a denunciation of rape became a defence of it, with no consequences for the television channel other than an enforced apology by the presenter. Following a public outcry, and sustained pressure from womens organizations in Cote dIvoire, the rapist was finally convicted but sentenced only to one year with parole and as such, served no jail time.

The impact of such shows is to entirely undermine what were trying to achieve, which is the change of bias and viewpoints towards women. The show was meant to forward womens advocacy but actually trivialised rape and womens rights and endorsed the normalising of abuse through degrading humour. There is an entire process which leads to the production of a television show, and this demonstrates how ingrained the culture of abuse of women is. Not one person in the chain of command saw fit to stop it before it was allowed to air.

Although there is progress in womens rights, it sometimes feels like each step forward is met by ten steps back. And the voices that have millions of ears and eyes, have to check their ingrained biases with even greater scrutiny.

I am not free from biases, and I choose to acknowledge that I have blind spots and check myself. I invite you to do the same and pay attention to how your own biases might be rampant in the media you and your community consume. When you do, check them too.

That is how we do our part in breaking the bias.

Distributed byAfrican Media Agencyon behalf ofNiyel.

The post The Distance Still To Go In Recognising That Womens Rights Are Human Rights appeared first on African Media Agency.

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The Distance Still To Go In Recognising That Women's Rights Are Human Rights - Africa.com

9 March 2022Afternoon

Concludes Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights and Starts Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children

The Human Rights Council this afternoon held the second part of its annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child with a panel discussion on family reunification in the context of armed conflict and counter terrorism. The Council also concluded an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights and started an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children.

A video on family reunification in the context of armed conflict was played at the beginning of the panel discussion.

Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said conflict was one of the major drivers of family separation. The risk for children to be recruited and used by conflict parties was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the deteriorating security situation in some contexts. The international community must ensure that a child rights-based approach was taken when dealing with children associated or allegedly associated with armed groups. No matter what the context, every person under 18 years of age was considered a child under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Cornelius Williams, Director of Child Protection for the United Nations Childrens Fund, said that unaccompanied and separated children were among the most vulnerable children in the world. Governments should provide social support, case work, and inclusive educational and livelihood opportunities, and develop legal and policy frameworks that supported family resilience and prevented separation. States should prioritise the safe and swift handover of any child they encountered during counter terrorism or military operations to child protection actors instead of placing them in detention.

Fionnuala N Aolin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, said her mandate increasingly addressed issues related to the rights of the child as it intersected with countering terrorism, violent extremism and broader security policies and measures. According to international law, States must treat children, including children related to or associated with designated terrorist groups, primarily as victims when devising responses, including counter-terrorism responses.

Helen Durham, Director of International Law and Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross, said that being separated from your loved ones as war unfurled around you was a terrifying reality for thousands of children. International humanitarian law contained obligations that sought to ensure that when a child was separated from their family in armed conflict, their needs were met. These obligations also sought to maintain or restore contact and ultimately achieve the reunification of family members when possible. Better respect for these rules would help stem harm to the children.

In the discussion, speakers agreed that the family was the optimal environment to raise children, therefore a united or reunited family was indispensable. Children had the right to live in healthy families and family reunification was a sine qua non condition for the proper growth of a child. Speakers condemned the recruitment of children in armed groups and during conflicts. Armed conflicts and terrorism prevented the enjoyment of human rights of citizens, and children were particularly at risk. The protection of women and children in those contexts was paramount as girls were impacted differently and disproportionately by armed conflict.

Speaking in the discussion were the European Union, Portugal on behalf of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, Qatar, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Cuba, UN Women, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Venezuela, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Also speaking were Save the Children International, Plan International, Amnesty International, Beijing Childrens Legal Aid and Research Centre, and China Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded its interactive dialogue with Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. The interactive dialogue started on Tuesday, 8 March and a summary can be found here and here.

In the discussion with the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights, speakers said that the situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip impeded Palestinians from enjoying their cultural rights. Member States should recognise the unlawful destruction of Palestinian heritage. Others said the importance of women in upholding culture should be recognised. The pandemic had seriously affected the enjoyment of cultural rights by indigenous peoples and communities.

In her concluding remarks, Ms. Xanthaki said that she was paying particular attention to linguistic and cultural minorities. She would also focus on the link between cultural rights and sustainable development. Cultural rights were important because they acted as resources of the past but they should not be stuck in the past as they evolved as societies and communities evolved. They were not static, they evolved according to the wishes of the individuals and the communities.

Speaking were the following non-governmental organizations: Al-Haq, Law at the Service of Man, Rencontre Africaine pour la Dfense des Droits de lHomme, and Association for the Defence of Human Rights and the Cultural Rights of the Azerbaijani People.

The Council then started an interactive discussion with Mama Fatima Singhateh, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children.

Ms. Singhateh said that one of the key challenges to addressing the sale and sexual exploitation of children at the national level was the inadequate implementation of existing laws and policies. From the contributions received, in terms of preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children, besides having an adequate legal and policy framework in place, education and awareness-raising were the most frequent measures mentioned. What was often lacking was a systemic and comprehensive approach to such prevention measures and the lack of nationwide coverage. Preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children therefore required a strong and sustained national commitment, coupled with meaningful community involvement and programmes to establish viable alternatives for children and families at risk. She spoke about her country visit to Montenegro.

Montenegro spoke as a country concerned.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers shared concerns regarding States without robust legal frameworks to incorporate new trends in child protection. The international community had to work harder to support national efforts to eliminate child sale, prostitution, trafficking and pornography. Addressing the sale and abuse of children required a strong national effort, combined with efforts aimed at supporting the family structure, in order to eliminate risks at the earliest possible level. Adequate implementation and safeguard measures should be put in place to ensure that children did not fall through the gaps in infrastructure that could exist.

Speaking on the sale and sexual exploitation of children were: European Union, Uruguay (on behalf of a group of countries), Latvia (on behalf of a group of countries), China (on behalf of a group of countries), Paraguay, Egypt, Philippines, Israel, UN Women, Libya, Fiji, United Nations Childrens Fund, Venezuela, France, Malaysia, Iraq, Cuba, India and Luxembourg.

Speaking in right of reply were: Armenia, Cuba and Azerbaijan

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Councils forty-ninth regular session can be found here.

The Council will next meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday, 10 March to hold a panel discussion on access to COVID-19 vaccines. It will then conclude its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, and hold an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights

The interactive dialogue with Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, started on Tuesday, 8 March and a summary can be found here and here.

Discussion

In the discussion with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, some speakers said that the situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip impeded Palestinians from enjoying their cultural rights. Member States should recognise the unlawful destruction of Palestinian heritage. Others said the importance of women in upholding culture should be recognised. The pandemic had seriously affected the enjoyment of cultural rights by indigenous peoples and communities. States should increase the budgets for culture - there should be sustainable solutions for development programmes for cultural rights for minorities in the case of future pandemics, and for how countries suffering from climate change could better defend their heritage.

Concluding Remarks

ALEXANDRA XANTHAKI, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, said she was paying particular attention to linguistic and cultural minorities. She would also focus on the link between cultural rights and sustainable development. She had taken note of the discussion on the danger of nuclear testing and danger in general. Cultural rights were important because they acted as resources of the past but they should not be stuck in the past as they evolved as societies and communities evolved. It was important to use them in order to build the present. They were not static, they evolved according to the wishes of the individuals and the communities.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children, including Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and other Child Sexual Abuse Material

Documentation

The Council has before it (A/HRC/49/51) report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children on a practical approach to addressing the sale and sexual exploitation of children as well as (A/HRC/49/51 Add.1) on her mission to Montenegro.

Presentation of Reports

MAMA FATIMA SINGHATEH, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, said her annual thematic report entitled a practical approach to addressing the sale and sexual exploitation of children was a study that provided a set of concrete measures and good practices collected from across the world, to tackle the sale of children for the purpose of child marriage and the sexual exploitation of children in prostitution, in the context of travel and tourism, and online. She would also be presenting the report on her country visit to Montenegro in September 2021.

Her annual report was addressed in the context of prevention, protection and rehabilitation services. There was no gainsaying that there existed a wealth of international and regional instruments as well as literature aimed at promoting the rights of children and protecting them from all forms of violence, including sale and sexual exploitation. However, the incidences of the sale, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children continued to increase and many child victims did not receive adequate support. One of the key challenges to addressing the sale and sexual exploitation of children at the national level was the inadequate implementation of the existing laws and policies. This report therefore offered a more practical approach to addressing this problem to ensure the effective implementation of prevention, protection and rehabilitation measures for children.

From the contributions received, in terms of preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children, besides having an adequate legal and policy framework in place, education and awareness-raising were the most frequent measures mentioned by States and other stakeholders as good practices. However, what was often lacking was a systemic and comprehensive approach to such prevention measures and the lack of nationwide coverage. Preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children therefore required a strong and sustained national commitment, coupled with meaningful community involvement and programmes to establish viable alternatives for children and families at risk.

With regard to the protection of children from sale and sexual exploitation, the numerous examples of good practices related to the training of professionals, the importance of closing the gap between the number of offences, of prosecutions undertaken and of convictions handed down for sexual offences against children, as well as treating children as victims, never as culprits. Other protection measures reported consisted of international cooperation.

The Special Rapporteur encouraged States to promote and support the adoption of a child protection policy in all public and private sectors and entities working with, for, or in contact with children. States were also encouraged to take a more sustainable perspective in regard to justice and rehabilitation services by providing yearly budgetary allocations for child victims in order to ensure that no child was left behind and that concrete and practical measures and services were available and accessible to all children as well as guaranteeing a child friendly, trauma informed approach to justice, support and rehabilitation of child victims of sale and sexual exploitation.

With regard to her mission to Montenegro, the Special Rapporteur commended the Government of Montenegro for significant efforts, despite a lack of reliable, centralised, and disaggregated data on the phenomena of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation which made it difficult to determine the nature and prevalence of the problem. However, she had learned that child sexual exploitation and abuse was most prevalent among children belonging to marginalised communities. There was therefore the need for the Government of Montenegro to continue investing in social, economic and other measures, particularly for marginalised communities.

Statement of Country Concerned

Montenegro, speaking as the country concerned, thanked the Special Rapporteur for her visit to Montenegro, and commended her for her open and professional commitment. The report was constructive, and its recommendations helpful. Montenegro was consistently working to improve the human rights in its country, and cooperated with all Special Procedures, strengthening cooperation with civil society and other partners. Montenegro had adopted a number of strategies and protocols, including on forced early marriages. The authorities were committed to continuing to develop the legislative and institutional frameworks and ensure that policies were in place to implement them. Much of the national legislative framework was in line with international human rights instruments. Nevertheless, further measures needed to be taken to streamline implementation.

Montenegro was mindful that the complex nature of sexual abuse required a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to rehabilitate the victims of this scourge, and the Government was taking steps in that regard. The Special Rapporteurs general finding was that Montenegro had made significant efforts to improve its protection for children against violence and sexual exploitation, nevertheless, there was still work to be done, and Montenegro would continue to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in order to ensure effective implementation of the measures.

Discussion

In the ensuing discussion, Speakers highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary approach on all levels and shared concerns regarding States without robust legal frameworks to incorporate new trends in child protection. It was of great importance to have tools that allowed for the active involvement of children as well as proper training for anyone who came in contact with children. Children must be protected and allowed to enjoy their fundamental rights. Adequate implementation and safeguard measures should be put in place to ensure that children did not fall through the gaps in infrastructure that could exist. The pandemic had had negative effects on childrens safety online, as they had spent more time in front of computers. The sustained effect of the pandemic on sexual exploitation online was of particular concern.

Speakers strongly condemned the sale of children and committed at all levels to eradicate it. The sale of children, aided by new technologies, continued to rise. Children should be educated about acceptable and non-acceptable acts, both online and offline. Child sexual exploitation had also become more prevalent during the pandemic. Child victims and survivors should be given access to justice, whilst avoiding secondary victimisation. Many children were trafficked into sweatshops, domestic work, or enforced prostitution, and the effects of this stayed with them for life. Hate crimes and racism had exacerbated trafficking. All States should combat trafficking, and bring the perpetrators to justice. There should be zero tolerance for trafficking in children.

The report contained a broad range of tools to protect and prevent children from being the victims of trafficking and sale, as well as measures for protecting the most vulnerable. States should have a robust political and legislative framework, but also include new trends, which were necessary in the accelerating digital world, as well as a national systemic approach to all aspects of the issue. Proper training should be provided for anyone in contact with children. The international community had to work harder to support national efforts to eliminate child sale, prostitution, trafficking and pornography. The dialogue with the Special Rapporteur should be spread through all levels of society, including civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions, in order to ensure that all parts of society were brought in to combat the scourge. Addressing the sale and abuse of children required a strong national effort, combined with efforts aimed at supporting the family structure, in order to eliminate risks at the earliest possible level.

Annual Full-Day Meeting on the Rights of the Child Panel Discussion on the Rights of the Child and Family Reunification, with a Focus on Family Reunification in the Context of Armed Conflict and Counter Terrorism Statements by Panellists

VIRGINIA GAMBA, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said conflict was one of the major drivers of family separation. Children were the most vulnerable victims of conflict and at risk of suffering multiple violations and abuses of their rights, including for instance separation from their parents or caregivers because of child abduction and/or recruitment and use by parties to conflict. Conflict-affected children were also frequently victims of transnational crimes and were recruited, abducted, and trafficked across borders, making family tracing and reunification even more challenging. The latest report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict published in May 2021 reported a 90 per cent increase in the number of abducted children. Abductions were often carried out in conjunction with child recruitment and use by armed forces and groups or rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated against them. The risk for children to be recruited and used by conflict parties was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the deteriorating security situation in some contexts.

The international community must ensure that a child rights-based approach was taken when dealing with children associated or allegedly associated with armed groups, including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations. No matter what the context, every person under 18 years of age was considered a child under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This status as a child provided boys and girls with specific rights and protection under international law. Amongst the rights they held, children should not be detained merely because of their alleged association with armed groups, including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations, as alternatives to detention should always be prioritised. Those principles must be the basis of any policy and action related to children. In the case of judicial or administrative proceedings affecting children, their opinion must be heard in accordance with their age and maturity. To effectively uphold the best interests of children released or otherwise separated from armed forces or groups, including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations, they should be handed over swiftly to civilian child protection actors.

CORNELIUS WILLIAMS, Director of Child Protection for the United Nations Childrens Fund, said that during armed conflicts, mass population displacements, mixed-migration contexts, and other humanitarian crises, children were at risk of separation from their families. Unaccompanied and separated children were among the most vulnerable children in the world, often deprived of basic care and access to essential services. Having lost the protection of their families, they were at risk of physical and psychological harm, abduction, trafficking, and recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups, sexual abuse and exploitation, and permanent loss of their identity and nationality, among other rights. In 2020, the United Nations Childrens Fund and its partners registered over 180,000 unaccompanied and separated children for support across the world. From a gender perspective, there were more adolescent boys than girls living without parental care. This was true because, due to social and cultural norms, girls were often kept closer to the family, while boys were sent to migrate internally or across borders, to work or to study. It was also true because boys, more often than girls, were recruited and used by armed forces or armed groups, including designated terrorist groups. In this context, the United Nations Childrens Fund was deeply concerned that childrens right to family life was not adequately fulfilled, either before, during or after situations of armed conflict, and counter terrorism operations.

Governments should provide social support, case work, and inclusive educational and livelihood opportunities, and develop legal and policy frameworks that supported family resilience and prevented separation, strengthened family-based care, and ended institutionalisation of children, said Mr. Williams. Humanitarian child protection actors must establish systems to identify unaccompanied and separated children and swiftly trace and restore links between them and their families, while also supporting safe alternative care, reunification and reintegration. Policymakers, security and justice actors must work together to end the detention of children. In this regard, States should prioritise the safe and swift handover of any child they encountered during counter terrorism or military operations to child protection actors instead of placing them in detention. In conclusion, Mr. Williams called on duty bearers to do everything they could to realise childrens rights to family life by preventing family-child separation and reunifying any separated child with their family in the context of armed conflict and counter-terrorism operations.

FIONNUALA N AOLIN, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, said her mandate increasingly addressed issues related to the rights of the child as it intersected with countering terrorism, violent extremism and broader security policies and measures. An intersectional approach to reflecting the experiences of children in these contexts demonstrated how discrimination and human rights abuses intersected and were compounded as determined by other social identities, including race, ethnicity, religion, ability, age and so on. Children, both girls and boys, bore heavy and unseen burdens resulting from the direct and indirect impacts of security practices, not least because any prevention effort in the pre-criminal or the pre-terrorist space could have a specific focus on children and render children as suspect on the basis of religious or ethnic belonging, geographic location and gender. According to international law, States must treat children, including children related to or associated with designated terrorist groups, primarily as victims when devising responses, including counter-terrorism responses. Children were always considered vulnerable and in need of special protection.

Turning specifically to the issue of children of individuals with alleged links to ISIL, particularly in the context of northeast Syria, the mandate had underscored the multiple human rights and humanitarian law violations that children suffered from as a result of their detention, both in the camps as well as in the prisons and other detention centres, including so-called rehabilitation centres. Extending the arm of counter-terrorism to children allegedly associated with non-state armed groups designated as terrorist shifted the discourse from protection to punishment, from protected victim to security threat. In turn, this also changed the protection to which they were entitled, notably regarding detention, applicability of criminal law and treatment under criminal justice, as well as their rights, away from a child right perspective and the question of responsibility for violations of the rights of the child, including recruitment and use. Children could only be detained as a measure of last resort and for the shortest amount of time possible.

Contrary to international law, multiple States had engaged in citizenship stripping on a basis that appeared primarily to involve the prevention of return of the individual (and possibly their children) to their country of citizenship. In such circumstances, the withdrawal of citizenship appeared distinctly punitive. Citizenship stripping could control and define on security grounds who may legally benefit from family membership, which revealed the profound connection being forged between family regulation and contemporary security policy. The protection of the rights of the family in all its diverse forms constituted a distinct and complex agenda within the international legal framework for the protection and promotion of human rights.

HELEN DURHAM, Director of International Law and Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross, said that being separated from your loved ones as war unfurled around you was a terrifying reality for thousands of children. From Rakhine state, to northwest Iraq, to Niger, to Afghanistan, to Ethiopia thousands of children were in situations of prolonged displacement. Especially when unaccompanied, they may be left without access to education, nutrition or healthcare. In many conflicts, children were recruited by armed forces or armed groups, separated from caregivers and communities, and exposed to a multitude of violations. For several years now in northeast Syria, children had lived in camps or had been separated from their families and detained without due process, including as part of counter-terrorism measures. Family separation also occurred when States opted to repatriate children nationals present in a conflict zone while leaving their mothers behind. Separated from their parents or other family members, children were more likely to be at risk of exploitation and violence. They faced barriers in accessing essential services. This was a brief, but sobering highlight of some of the causes of separation that children in war faced today. In this grim reality, the international community must work for more effective application of the powerful protections of international law.

International humanitarian law contained obligations that sought to ensure that when a child was separated from their family in armed conflict, their needs were met. These obligations also sought to maintain or restore contact and ultimately achieve the reunification of family members when possible. Better respect for these rules would help stem harm to the children.

In conclusion, she made four recommendations to Members States. First, prevent separation in the first place. This required the maintenance of family unity to the degree possible, contact between family members, and the provision of information on their whereabouts. Second, quickly identify unaccompanied children. Identification helped to ensure their cases were followed up and their needs were met. Knowledge of their whereabouts helped prevent recruitment and avoided children resorting to harmful coping strategies to meet essential needs. Third, children detained in northeast Syria should be released and reunited with their families in camps or elsewhere. Foreign children should be repatriated together with their family members to countries of origin, subject to the principle of non-refoulement. Fourth, she called on States that had not done so to accede to the Convention on the Rights of the Childs Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict, and to endorse the Paris Principles on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups.

Discussion

Speakers welcomed the convening of this panel discussion as they agreed that the family was the optimal environment to raise children, therefore a united or reunited family was indispensable. Children had the right to live in healthy families and family reunification was a sine qua non condition for the proper growth of a child. A comprehensive return process was vital, and for children who could not be reunited, countries had to provide inclusive care, education, health care and recreational activities.

Speakers condemned the recruitment of children in armed groups and during conflicts. Armed conflicts and terrorism prevented the enjoyment of human rights of citizens, and children were particularly at risk. It was essential to pay attention to children in vulnerable situations such as armed conflict; the disappearances and deaths of children during conflict needed to be investigated. The protection of women and children in those contexts was paramount as girls were impacted differently and disproportionately by armed conflict, therefore their specific needs needed to be taken into account. Children had a right to be with their families. Family life provided support for the lifelong development of children, therefore governments should adopt guidelines on preventing radicalisation.

All children were equal in dignity and rights and could not be overlooked. Concerns were expressed about children in Qatar, Afghanistan and Armenia, among others. Concerns were also expressed about the increase of sexual exploitation of children. Children were the future. All children should be released from detention. One speaker was concerned about the rights of migrant children in Europe as children on the move were subject to criminal processing and cruel and degrading treatments. Migrant children were particularly vulnerable, they were at risk of falling in the hand of criminal networks, an issue that needed to be tackled urgently.

Concluding Remarks

FIONNUALA N AOLIN, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, said equal measures were needed to protect children equally, no matter which group was in question, and children should be seen as victims of terrorism, no matter which group targeted them, or the context they were in. One of her mandates particular concerns was ensuring that all children in all conflict zones were treated equally. Insufficient attention was paid to the long-term effects of family protection in post 9/11 measures as rolled out in many countries. It was important to stress accountability for crimes committed against children in areas of conflict. Protection should be sought for children at the national level through accountability at the national level, in particular in Syria. Every child was deserving of protection, and this motif defined the contributions of each panellist. Family-based care was valuable and had long-term success, and the attention should be paid to ensure that families were brought home together. When mothers were separated from their children and impossible choices were imposed on children, such as repatriation or separation, that choice was neither free nor fair, nor did it ensure long-term success. When children were enforcedly separated, the long-term damage done to children was often irreparable. States must ensure family integrity. Reintegration was a long-term process, and States must commit to the long-term with urgency.

CORNELIUS WILLIAMS, Director of Child Protection for the United Nations Childrens Fund, said that concerning the impact of the COVD-19 pandemic on reunification, movement restrictions, quarantines and isolation measures had delayed the reunification processes for children. There were some good practices within communities to provide support activities, including guidelines developed by civil society organizations on family reunification, which could support interventions in future pandemics. He echoed the calls to States to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Childs Optional Protocol on children and armed conflict and the Paris Principles. He saluted community-based solutions as well as the calls of all the panellists for the safe repatriation of all children in conflict zones, consistent with international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. He also highlighted the need to be mindful of policies that had gender implications on policies around citizenship that rendered women and children stateless. Any policy needed to be designed from the child right perspective but also from the gender perspective.

HELEN DURHAM, Director of International Law and Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross, said the emphasis was on the urgency of the issue. It was heartening to hear from many who took the floor emphasising the need to treat children exclusively through a prism of security, and the good practices that had been heard from States on initiatives, including on voluntary repatriation. On a red thread that tied all interventions together, existing human rights law set out critical child rights, and there were international humanitarian laws setting out repatriation: these all highlighted the need for them to be applied without discrimination or selectivity. Often, as soon as a child was associated with a group designated as terrorist, selectivity and discrimination were applied. Laws had a sober rationale on how to deal with these, and established common ground on how to deal with future generations. All children were legally entitled to protections afforded under the Optional Protocol and other laws and standards. Policies should be applied in the best interests of children, including the protection of the family unit and the issue of swift repatriation. These should be implemented without discrimination. The fundamental issue was that a child was a child.

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Human Rights Council holds panel discussion on family reunification in the context of armed conflict and counter terrorism - World - ReliefWeb

GENEVA The U.N. human rights office said on Friday it has received credible reports of several cases of Russian forces using cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine, adding that indiscriminate use of such weapons might amount to war crimes.

Due to their wide area effects, the use of cluster munitions in populated areas is incompatible with the international humanitarian law principles governing the conduct of hostilities, spokesperson Liz Throssell told Geneva-based journalists.

We remind the Russian authorities that directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as so-called area bombardment in towns and villages and other forms of indiscriminate attacks, are prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes.

Asked about a potential change in Facebook policy that would allow some users to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers, Throssell called it concerning and said her office would raise it with the company. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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UN rights office has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine - Financial Post