Africa: Housing Is Key to Covid-19 Response and Recovery - UN Expert

In his first report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing Balakrishnan Rajagopal commended several States that have adopted temporary… Read more »

Africa: Covid-19 Measures Are 'Gender-Blind', Increase Risk of Violence Against Women, Says UN Expert

Dubravka Šimonović, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, said that there had been a rise in cases of intimate partner and sexual violence, as well as femicide,… Read more »

Africa: States Must Ensure Access to Contraceptives Even During COVID-19 Pandemic, UN Experts Say

Access to family planning is a human right protected by international law, and States must continue to ensure it even during the COVID-19 pandemic, say UN human rights experts. Read more »

Africa: States Have Duty to Protect From All Hazardous Substances - UN Human Rights Expert

"Exposure to hazardous substances preys on the most vulnerable in society. The SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is no exception," Marcos Orellana, the new special… Read more »

Africa: Covid-19 - UN Poverty Expert Says Social Protection Measures "Full of Holes", Urges Global Rethink

The UN's independent expert on extreme poverty said in a report published today that while governments have adopted more than 1,400 social protection measures since the outbreak of… Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: Bachelet Urges Investigation into Death Threats Against Dr Mukwege

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Friday expressed deep concern over the recent death threats directed at the Congolese human rights defender and Nobel… Read more »

Africa: UN Experts Warn of Closing Digital Space Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

UN Special Rapporteurs* attending the annual RightsCon conference on human rights in the digital age, the first fully online, stressed that "COVID-19 has made us even more reliant… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Press Briefing On Zimbabwe

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Liz Throssell Read more »

Africa: The World Must Change the Way Mental Health Challenges Are Addressed, UN Expert Says

"I welcome the international recognition of mental health, but much more is still needed," the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health, Dainius Pūras,… Read more »

Africa: UN Torture Prevention Body - COVID-19 Shows Need to Strengthen National Preventive Mechanisms

The SPT, which monitors places, including prisons and other confined institutions, where people are deprived of their liberty, has been unable to carry out its normal mandate given… Read more »

Uganda: UN Rights Experts Fear Uganda Is Using COVID-19 Emergency Powers to Target LGBT People

"We are deeply concerned about a raid on an LGBT shelter in Kyengera on 29 March and the arrest and detention of 19 people perceived to be LGBT persons," the UN human rights… Read more »

Africa: Bachelet Alarmed By Media Clampdowns, Says Public Has Right to Know About COVID-19

"Some States have used the outbreak of the new coronavirus as a pretext to restrict information and stifle criticism," Bachelet said. "A free media is always essential, but we have… Read more »

Africa: Raising Women's Voices and Leadership in COVID-19 Policies

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has issued detailed guidance on a range of measures that governments should take to uphold women's… Read more »

Africa: UN Expert Outlines Urgent Steps to Ensure Justice Systems Are Not Paralysed By COVID-19

"The COVID-19 crisis is already severely affecting the right of societies to an operative and independent judicial system. In this context, the lack of access to an independent… Read more »

Africa: UN Experts Call for Urgent Action to Mitigate Heightened Risks of Violence Against Children

Parents, caregivers, service providers and law enforcement officials all need extra support to minimise the increased risks to children, the UN human rights experts said. Read more »

Africa: Racial Equity and Equality Must Guide State Action in COVID-19 Response, Say UN Experts

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent said in a statement published today that structural discrimination could exacerbate inequality in access to health care… Read more »

Eritrea: Eritrea Must Free Political Prisoners and Low-Risk Offenders to Reduce Covid-19 Threat in Crowded Jails, Says UN Expert

Daniela Kravetz, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, highlighted the case of an American-Eritrean dual national and daughter of a former information… Read more »

Africa: Covid-19 - Measures Needed to Protect People Deprived of Liberty, UN Torture Prevention Body Says

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has issued detailed advices on a range of actions governments and independent monitoring bodies should take to… Read more »

Africa: Covid-19 Fears Should Not Be Exploited to Attack and Exclude Minorities - UN Expert

GENEVA (30 March 2020) -The exploitation of COVID-19-related fears by groups and politicians to scapegoat minorities is leading to an alarming rise in verbal and physical abuses… Read more »

Africa: 'Unacceptable' - UN Expert Urges Better Protection of Older Persons Facing the Highest Risk of the Covid-19 Pandemic

"Reports of abandoned older persons in care homes or of dead corpses found in nursing homes are alarming. This is unacceptable," said Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, UN Independent Expert on… Read more »

Africa: Urgent Action Needed to Prevent COVID-19 "Rampaging Through Places of Detention" - Bachelet

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has called on governments to take urgent action to protect the health and safety of people in detention and other closed… Read more »

Africa: States Should Take Action Against COVID-19-Related Expressions of Xenophobia, Says UN Expert

Governments must ensure that their response to the COVID-19 pandemic does not contribute to xenophobia and racial discrimination, and must eradicate xenophobia throughout all State… Read more »

Africa: COVID-19 Will Not Be Stopped Without Providing Safe Water to Vulnerable People - UN Experts

As washing hands with soap and clean water is vital in the fight against COVID-19, governments worldwide must provide continuous access to sufficient water to their populations… Read more »

Africa: Ease Sanctions to Enable Medical Systems to Fight COVID-19, Says Bachelet

Broad sectoral sanctions should urgently be re-evaluated in countries facing the coronavirus pandemic, in light of their potentially debilitating impact on the health sector and… Read more »

Africa: UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies Call for Human Rights Approach in Fighting Covid-19

"Only by including all people in COVID-19 strategies can the pandemic be combatted," said Hilary Gbedemah, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women… Read more »