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Australia Pledges to Improve Rights Situation
March 30, 2018
The Guardian reports that, upon taking its seat at the UN Human Rights Council, the Government of Australia pledged to improve its human rights situation "in a spirit of self-reflection" in light of a litany of criticisms from UN rights observers over Australia's refugee-processing policies and treatment of Indigenous peoples.
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UN Rights Chief Wades into Political Dispute with Hungarian PM
March 30, 2018
AP reports that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has entered into a public dispute with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, accusing the national leader of "stoking hatred for political profit" and employing "increasingly delusional" racial speech.
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NGO Welcomes Latin American Environmental Rights Treaty
March 30, 2018
Amnesty International has issued a press release welcoming the agreement of a treaty among 24 Latin American and Caribbean countries implementing rights of access to information and to justice in matters relating to the environment and codifying the rights of "environmental human rights defenders" to protest alleged abuses by businesses and governments.
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Global Narcotics Board Calls for Treatment-focused Drug Policy
March 30, 2018
The UN-backed International Narcotics Control Board has issued a report calling on national governments to focus on drug treatment and rehabilitation rather than prevention in their fight against harmful drugs, asserting that governments have an obligation to provide access to treatment as part of their citizens' right to physical and mental health.
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UN Chief: SDGs Contribute to "Fair" Globalization
March 30, 2018
In a speech in Seoul, South Korea, UN Secretary-General António Guterres presented the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the blueprint for a "fair" globalization that combats economic inequality around the world and implements the UN's agenda on climate change.