Citizens for Justice and Peace
NRC verification process has caused great uncertainty and anxiety: UN UN High Commissioner for Human Rights talks about Assam and Kashmir at Human Rights Council session
10-Sep-2019
On September 9, 2019, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet spoke about the citizenship issue in Assam as well as the situation in Kashmir as a part of her opening address at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council. The inclusion of these two subjects was significant as the speech covered some of…
GOI responds to UN’s concerns about Assam Assures all is well
04-Sep-2019
After a series of concerns raised by the United Nations, via repeated letters and communiques, about the brewing humanitarian crisis in Assam, the Indian Government has finally issued a formal response. In a letter dated August 23, a representative of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Offices at Geneva wrote to the…
संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने असम NRC मुद्दे पर भारत सरकार से पूछे कड़े प्रश्न पत्र लिख कर अंतर्राष्ट्रीय कन्वेंशन सम्बंधित अनुलग्न के तहत कर्तव्यों का कराया स्मरण
15-Jun-2019
संयुक्त राष्ट्र के पांच अधिकारियों ने भारत सरकार को हाल ही में असम NRC के मुद्दे को लेकर पत्र लिखा है। इस पत्र में भारत सरकार से अपने पूर्व के दो पत्रों पर कोई प्रतिक्रिया न मिलने पर अधिकारियों ने खेद भी प्रकट किया है। संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने असम NRC की प्रक्रियाओं और उससे संबंधित…
“Rising tide of bigotry, stigmatization and scapegoating” in NRC process: UN demands GOI response Reminds India of obligations under international Human Rights conventions
06-Jun-2019
In a scathing letter to the Government of India, five senior officials of the United Nations have expressed regret at the lack of response from the government on previous communiques where they had highlighted concerns about instances of human rights violations taking place during the processes and procedures related to the update of the National…
UN questions ‘statelessness and disenfranchisement’ of ‘minority groups’ in Assam Special Rapporteur's report to UNGA highlights plight of Bengali Muslims
22-Sep-2018
The UN Special Rapporteur has once again raised the issue of possible statelessness of millions of people in Assam in wake of the exclusion of their names from the National Register of Citizens (NRC). This is part of a report titled Contemporary forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance that was presented before…
UN raises concerns over exclusion of people from NRC in Assam and subsequent ‘statelessness’ Special Rapporteurs demand clarification about procedure, policy and safeguards
26-Jun-2018
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated in Assam and there is a potential humanitarian crisis brewing with fears that thousands of people could be excluded from the list and be rendered stateless. The matter has now caught the attention of the United Nations prompting four Special Rapporteurs to write to Sushma Swaraj,…
UN staff pension fund has investments in companies accused of rights violations
02-May-2018
A Guardian investigation has found that the United Nations staff pension fund has about $1 billion dollars invested in companies engaged in actions that contradict the UN’s basic values and programmes. The fund was set up by the UN General Assembly in 1948, and supplies disability, retirement and death benefits to UN staff. It currently has more…
Global execution rate declined in 2017: Amnesty
12-Apr-2018
Amnesty International has released its report on death sentences and executions in 2017, where it notes that the number of executions that were carried out in 2017 reduced compared to 2016 and 2015. According to the report, Amnesty documented 993 executions in 2017, 4% lower than executions in 2016, which numbered 1,032, and 39% lower…
13 million need humanitarian aid in the Democratic Republic of Congo
22-Mar-2018
Mark Lowcock, United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council that conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has doubled the humanitarian requirements, and that a lack of funds is the “largest single impediment” to adequately tackling the issue. A recently released UN report has documented killings and other major human rights violations stemming…
Bangladesh government has created a fearful environment by curtailing civil and political rights: Odhikar Report slams Bangladesh for deteriorating human rights situation
17-Mar-2018
Human rights organisation Odhikar has released report detailing the human rights situation in Bangladesh in February 2018. Bangladesh is currently governed by the Awami League-led alliance, which has been in power since 2009. The report alleges that the government has “made different, important government and independent institutions politicized and subservient to it.” It says that…
Funding cuts for slavery victims in the UK could raise risk of homelessness
10-Mar-2018
The United Kingdom’s government is cutting the financial aid it supplies to victims of slavery in the country by almost half, the Guardian reported, with the weekly allowance being reduced from £65 to £37.75. The financial aid is provided for 45 days after it is verified that someone was a victim of modern slavery. The Home…
India Doesn’t Escape UN High Commissioner’s Concern on Global Rise of Dictators, Deteriorating Rights Violence against Muslims, Dalits and Criminalisation of Dissent mentioned
09-Mar-2018
In a stark and sharp oral statement before the 37th session of the Human Rights Council while presenting the Annual Report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has minced no words while speaking about out the emergence of global dictators. On Authoritarian World Leaders Recalling Mandela’s greatness, the Commissioner spoke of…
Syria could face two million lawsuits over lost and damaged property: NRC
28-Feb-2018
According to experts, Syrians will likely file more than two million lawsuits to secure compensation for lost and damaged property, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Syria’s civil war will soon be in its eighth year, and has displaced around 23 million people. According to Laura Cunial, a legal and housing expert with the Norwegian Refugee Council…
UN names South Sudan military officials allegedly responsible for war crimes
26-Feb-2018
The Guardian reported that investigators from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan say they have singled out more than 40 military officials from South Sudan who could be accountable for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. The findings stem from several hundred witness interviews, satellite images, and almost 60,000 documents that date back…
Prosecutors come together to combat modern slavery
26-Feb-2018
Prosecutors from around the world joined hands at a three-day summit in London last week that was intended to bolster efforts against modern slavery, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. Britain’s Crown Protection Service (CPS) said the prosecutors intend to collaborate more closely to convict those engaging in slavery and human trafficking. The prosecutors also planned to…