“HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE AT THE CENTRE OF THE POST 2015 AGENDA” affirmed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navy Pillay, in her Open Letter to all Member States on Human Rights and Post 2015 Agenda on the 6th of June, 2013. According to the High Commissioner, “some of the most celebrated Millennium Development Goals success stories since 2000 are now sites of mass protest decrying widespread deprivation, repression and inequalities masked by the narrow models of economic analysis that have characterized development approaches in the pre-2015 period. The message is clear: economic growth is not an adequate measure of...

Every 60 seconds, eight persons in the world are forced to leave their home and properties to escape terror and persecution. We celebrate today the World Refugee Day, remembering the about 43 million refugees in the world.  We invite you to visit the UN webpage dedicated to the issue for studies, statistics and awareness raising  campaigns. ...

This is the List of Resolutions and Decisions taken during the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council. Please click of the link below to find the texts and the votes records: Texts and votes records (if you are requested to sign in USERNAME: hrc extranet; PASSWORD: 1session) A/HRC/23/L.1    The deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the recent killings in Al-Qusayr A/HRC/23/L.2    Assistance technique à la Côte d’Ivoire dans le domaine des droits de l’homme A/HRC/23/L.2 Rev.1 Assistance technique à la Côte d’Ivoire dans le domaine des droits de l’homme Rev.1 A/HRC/23/L.3    Assistance technique...

Today, 13 June 2013, we start the 100-day count-down to the International Day of Peace, which is celebrated on 21 September each year. We want to share with you the message that the Secretary-General has issued for the day, in which he calls governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to support peace-related projects, as well as other relevant information on the International Day of Peace and the theme of the year: Education for Peace. ...

Today is the World Day against Child Labour.  You can find statistics, surveys and resources about this sad phenomenon still affecting more than 200 million children in the world in the ILO (International Labour Organization) website: http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/wdacl/2013/lang--en/index.htm ...

“There can be no equal societies, development and peace if women and girls remain discriminated against and marginalized.”  – This was a statement made by Ms. Navi Pillay (United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights) in her opening remarks for the Annual Full Day Discussion on Women’s Rights on the 5th of June at the United Nations in Geneva. In the days preceding, the Human Rights Council also discussed the Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women as well the Report of the working group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice....

 On June 4th, at the United Nations in Geneva, IIMA and VIDES Human Rights Office organised, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Uruguay and with the co-sponsorship of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and of Permanent Missions of Costa Rica, France and Holy See, the side event: “Youth Empowerment: which strategies?”. The side event’s goal was to invite all the participants, especially States, to reflect on how young people can become real protagonists of their lives and catalysts for social change.    The Ambassador of Uruguay, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, presided over the Side Event...

“Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprint” We would like to celebrate the World Environment Day 2013 through the Message of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon: "We live in a world of plenty, where food production outstrips demand, yet 870 million people are undernourished and childhood stunting is a silent pandemic.  To create the future we want, we must correct this inequity.  We must ensure access to adequate nutrition for all, double the productivity of smallholder farmers who grow the bulk of food in the developing world, and make food systems sustainable in the face of environmental and economic shocks.  This...

The 31st of May, the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Mr. Kishore Singh, was held during the 23rd session of the Human Rights Council (item 3). The report of Mr. Singh focused on the justiciability of the Right to Education which aims to identify different ways to enforce this right through the establishment of judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms at the national and international level. In fact, he stressed how the improvement of access to justice for all victims of violations of the right to education should be considered a priority by Member States....

On the 27th of May the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navy Pillay, opened the 23rd session of the Human Rights Council expressing her deep concern for the brutal human rights violations presently occurring in Syria, and she strongly urged the International Community to act to put an end to the violence and come to an immediate and lasting solution to the conflict.  She defined the Syrian situation as “an intolerable affront to the human conscience”.  While strongly condemning the violations of human rights and of the international humanitarian law perpetrated by regime’s forces as well as by...