United Nations Human Rights chief on Tuesday said she has information that that security forces in southern Kyrgyzstan are using torture against young Uzbek men, who are also being subjected to beatings, arbitrary detentions and forced confessions.
Eyebrows went north in India, especially in New Delhi where in the confusion some people criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which is based in New York. Chitra Subramaniam offers some perspective.
In a defiant stance, Sri Lanka said on Thursday that it would not allow a United Nations panel to enter the country to investigate alleged human rights abuses during the last stages of the country's civil war, which could put the country in a confrontation course with the world body.
In a sharp criticism of the US$ 4.2 billion United Nations budget presented by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for 2008-09, India has slammed its emphasis only on peace, security and human rights rather than on resolving the basic causes of conflicts including lack of development and socio-economic inequities. Describing it as "technically inadequate and politically flawed," India's Ambassador to the UN Nirupam Sen bluntly told Ban that it needs to be fundamentally revised.
Gambhir also took a dig at Qureshi's emphasis on a "new Pakistan" under Khan, saying while the Indian delegation had come to listen to Pakistan's "new" foreign minister outline the vision of a new Pakistan, "what we heard is a 'New Pakistan' cast in the mold of old."
'Afghan people will not accept a governing structure that excludes women and minorities'
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, who perhaps became the first Head of State to speak in Tamil at the UN General Assembly, has conveyed that the government puts the language on equal status with that of Sinhala, a top minister said.
The submission was made by the UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan; on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule; and the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci.
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The 54-member ECOSOC, holding the first plenary meeting of its 2021 session in the General Assembly Hall on Monday, held elections for two seats in the Asia-Pacific States category with Afghanistan, India and China in the fray.
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
A United Nations human rights investigator has recommended that international pressure be put on North Korea as part of a multi-pronged strategy to know the fate of hundreds of foreign nationals allegedly abducted by it.
Hossain said they will "always try to maintain good relations" with India.
Guterres said in Islamabad that he was concerned over the situation in Kashmir, and that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve the long pending issue.
Taliban cleric Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was killed in a blast which occured in Afghanistan's Kabul on Thursday, local media reported.
The world is seeing an "explosion" in seizures of power by force and military coups are back, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told world leaders on Tuesday, lamenting that geopolitical divisions are undermining international cooperation as he called for strengthening global governance and re-igniting multilateralism.
Princess Sheikha Latifa is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the prime minister of the UAE.
With 100 days until the start of the Winter Olympics, Beijing is promising a "simple and safe" 2022 Games - although preparations are anything but simple as China readies to host thousands of athletes and personnel as it battles COVID-19 flare-ups.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting searches at the home of Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising -- who served as additional solicitor general during UPA 2 -- and the offices of Lawyers Collective, an NGO run by her husband lawyer Anand Grover, officials said.
Ongoing military operations continue to send people fleeing and cause hardship for thousands of families, a UN report said.
Self-proclaimed godman and fugitive Nithyananda's 'United States of Kailasa' has signed a 'cultural partnership' with over 30 American cities, a media report has said, days after the city of Newark in the United States state of New Jersey said it rescinded a 'sister-city' agreement with the fictional country.
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Mercedes' seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, and now-retired four-times champion Sebastian Vettel, have been among those making political statements at races in recent seasons.
Taking note of the 'ongoing peaceful movement for freedom in Indian-occupied Kashmir', OIC Secretary General Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu stressed the need for resumption of the dialogue process between Pakistan and India to achieve a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the killing and maiming of children who continue to be recruited and used as human shields by Maoists in India and over the threat of sexual violence against girls within Naxalite ranks.
Pak asks the UN to act before the situation snowballs into a 'full-fledged crisis'.
Managing director of Tata Steel B Muthuraman and vice chairman of Goldman Sachs group Suzanne Nora Johnson are among the 20 business labour and civil society leaders named by the UN to serve on Global Contact group.
Elated after India's abstention at the UN Human Rights Council vote on Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody for poaching.
The summit is being convened by Italy, the current chair of the G20 that comprises 20 of the world's major economies.
"I think it's absolutely essential for the two countries to be able to come together and seriously discuss their problems, and I think it's essential that human rights are fully respected in all territories that you mentioned," Guterres said during his press briefing on Thursday.
PM Modi went to New York this time not to engage in polemics, but to find solutions to global problems. He made some progress on several matters, even on reform of the UN Security Council, when the US made a major concession for the first time that six permanent members without veto, including India, could be considered
However, the WH Press Secretary says that the right circumstances for a meeting between the two leaders does not exist right now.
Majority of the 15 members said there should not be any statement or outcome issued after the consultations and their will prevailed, leaving China to come out and make a statement in its national capacity followed by Pakistan.
India has contributed USD 260,000 for a permanent memorial unveiled at the UN headquarters to honour the victims of slavery and transatlantic slave trade.
India strongly condemned the 'barbaric' terror attack by the Taliban on a school in Pakistan that killed 141 people, mostly children, as United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council called for perpetrators of the blood-curdling attack to be brought to justice.
'The struggle of insurgents and pro-independence political activists is fuelled by a deep conviction that not only is a free Balochistan possible, but they also believe that Pakistan will inevitably break apart, leading to Balochistan's independence.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply concerned by the war in Ukraine and his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York demonstrates his commitment to finding a way forward and contributing in any way possible to a resolution of the conflict, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Pakistan has drawn the attention of the United Nations to what it said was India's "intention" to escalate tension on the Line of Control by launching artillery barrages, which were threatening regional peace and security.