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Author Describes Impunity of UN Peacekeepers in Haiti
December 07, 2017
Author Edwidge Danticat writes in The New Yorker about the experience of Haitians with the impunity of UN peacekeeping forces that reportedly committed rape and murder in his country, as well as infecting its people with a cholera epidemic caused by contaminated water, under the flag of promoting "a secure and stable environment."
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Australian Official Rejects UN Group's Binding Authority
December 07, 2017
The Guardian reports that, at a recent UN Human Rights Committee hearing, Australia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, John Quinn, responded to the panel's extensive allegations of Australian rights violations, including the alleged failure to enforce the Committee's "authoritative" judgments, by asserting that the Committee's views are not legally binding.
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CoE Pushes UN Agenda on Human Rights Education
December 07, 2017
In an October update, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) highlights a Council of Europe (CoE) report finding the need for more consistent implementation of "democratic citizenship and human rights education" across all European countries.
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UN Observer Critiques French Disability Rights Policies
December 07, 2017
UN Special Rapporteur Catalina Devandas has warned France that it must close all "residential institutions" for persons with disabilities and move to "community-based services" to comply with its international human rights obligations requiring "the full inclusion of all people with disabilities in society."
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UN Agent: "Torture" Includes Arbitrary Force by Police
December 07, 2017
In a recent report to the UN General Assembly, UN Special Rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer asserted that governments' international human rights obligations against "torture" are triggered by any "unnecessary, excessive or otherwise arbitrary use of force by law enforcement officials," whether inside or outside of prison.