U.S. Failings Exposed in U.N. Human Rights Review

Without the emperor’s clothes, like in the Hans Christian Andersen story, the United States was forced to submit its human rights record to the scrutiny of the other 192 members of the United Nations on Monday.

U.N. Rapporteur Calls for Action on Discrimination of Roma

The United Nations rapporteur for minorities has anti-Roma and anti-'Gypsy' bias in her sights.

Why So Many Palestinian Civilians Were Killed During Gaza War

The U.N. investigation into Israel’s devastating military campaign against Gaza, from July to August 2014, has been delayed until June and in the interim Israel and the Palestinians are waging a media war to win the moral narrative as to why so many Palestinian civilians were killed during the bloody conflict.

Glimmer of Hope for Assange

There is a window of hope, thanks to a U.N. human rights body, for a solution to the diplomatic asylum of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in the embassy of Ecuador in London for the past two and a half years.

After Losing Vote, U.S.-EU Threaten to Undermine Treaty

The United States and the 28-member European Union (EU) have assiduously promoted - and vigourously preached - one of the basic tenets of Western multi-party democracy: majority rules.

EU Aims to Scuttle Treaty on Human Rights Abuses

When the United Nations began negotiating a Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations (TNCs) back in the 1970s, the proposal never got off the ground because of vigourous opposition both from the powerful business community and its Western allies.

U.N. Treaty on Corporate Rights Abuse Sees New Momentum

Some 500 global groups are calling for action by governments next month to jumpstart the process of drafting an international treaty to address rights abuses by multinational corporations, following on a related proposal by Ecuador and others.

Shining Light on the Uzbek Government’s Dark Side

Uzbek leader Islam Karimov has taken cosmetic steps lately, such as voicing support for probing journalism, to try to put a more human face on his regime. But the true nature of the Uzbek government can be discerned in a treason case against a former military intelligence official.

Troubled New Year Begins in Sri Lanka

The eve of the much anticipated Sinhala and Tamil New Year, celebrated across the island of Sri Lanka in mid-April to mark the end of the harvest season, was marred by a series of attacks, reminding everyone that “peace” does not mean a lack of violence.