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NEWS ABOUT: United Nations Human Rights Council

UN: Syrian Forces Killed, Tortured 256 Children

Human Rights Council adds to pressure on President Assad

(AP) - A UN investigation concluded today that Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity by killing and torturing hundreds of children, including a 2-year-old girl reportedly shot to death so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator. The inquiry added to mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad, a day... More »

UN: Libyan Rebels Committed War Crimes, Too

But rebel offenses not as systematic, widespread as those of Gadhafi's forces

(Newser) - A UN investigation has found evidence that both sides of the Libyan conflict have committed war crimes—though the rebels had committed fewer than Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. The rebels were accused of torture and cruel treatment against migrant workers, “which would constitute war crimes,” the report said,... More »

UN Rights Chief to World: Play Nice With WikiLeaks

She raises alarm over moves to cut off funding, starve it of server space

(Newser) - Hackers aren't the only ones not happy about companies deciding to stop doing business with WikiLeaks. The United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights said yesterday that attempts to cut off WikiLeaks' funding and deprive it of server space "could be interpreted as an attempt to censure the... More »

UN Slams Israel's 'Brutal, Illegal' Flotilla Raid

Raid 'betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality'

(Newser) - A United Nations-appointed panel has strongly condemned the deadly Israeli raid on a flotilla of ships trying to break the Gaza blockade. The raid, which left nine activists dead, "betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality," the UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded. The panel found that there... More »

UN to US: Drone Attacks Could Be Unlawful

Human rights watchdog wants more accountability from CIA in Pakistan

(Newser) - A UN human rights watchdog has some strong misgivings about the CIA drone attacks on suspected terrorists in Pakistan that have killed 600 people since last year. "Extralegal executions" are a violation of international law, Philip Alston tells the BBC. “These Predators are being operated in a... More »

UN Warms Up to US

Real challenge comes when US parts with world allies

(Newser) - The relationship between the US and the UN is noticeably warmer these days, with new ambassador Susan Rice getting high marks across the board, write Adam Benz and Robert Friedman in Good magazine. Granted, she replaced Bushie John Bolton, who prior to his appointment could barely conceal his disdain for... More »

UN Begins Gaza War Crimes Probe

Israel alleges bias, but Jewish rapporteur draws wide praise

(Newser) - A UN team investigating possible war crimes by the Israeli army and Hamas has arrived in the Gaza Strip for a weeklong fact-finding mission. Israel is refusing to cooperate with what it calls a "masquerade," alleging that the UN Human Rights Council is unfairly biased. But the selection... More »

US Lands Seat on UN Human Rights Council

Bush White House had boycotted body over Israel, Darfur stances

(AP) - The US today won a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for the first time, along with four countries accused of serious human rights violations: Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. President Bush's administration had boycotted the council over its repeated criticism of Israel and its refusal to cite... More »

US to Join UN Human Rights Panel, Reversing Bush

(Newser) - In another reversal of Bush policy, the Obama administration said today it would seek to join the UN Human Rights Council. The US will participate in May elections for one of three open seats on the 3-year-old body, the Washington Post reports. Bushies declined to join, arguing that the council... More »

Burmese Comedian Bust Not Funny: UN

Popular funnyman had criticized junta and led team in relief effort

(Newser) - The UN's human rights official in Burma expressed concern over the arrest of a popular Burmese comedian who’d been helping cyclone survivors, the AP reports. The comedian, known as Zarganar, was nabbed Wednesday by authorities after traveling to the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta to donate supplies, a relative said. He... More »

UN Official Defends His Comparison of Israelis to Nazis

Jerusalem considers barring successor

(Newser) - A UN investigator hasn't even begun his new job probing Israeli conduct in the Palestinian territories and he is already facing a firestorm of criticism. Richard Falk has been slammed for a comment he made last summer comparing Israel's actions in Gaza to Nazi policies. He defended the comments yesterday... More »

Scholars Urge China to Meet With Dalai Lama

Group slams Beijing for 'fanning racial hatred'

(Newser) - A group of prominent Chinese intellectuals is challenging the government over its response to protests in Tibet, accusing Beijing of inciting ethnic tensions and demanding that it begin talks with the Dalai Lama. A petition signed by 29 writers, journalists and scholars, blasts China’s “one-sided propaganda” war and... More »

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