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☆ What are the Women’s World Cup armbands and why were they created?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

What are the eight Women’s World Cup armbands? The eight different armbands each carry a “specific message” according to FIFA, falling under the governing body’s “Football Unites the World” campaign and in partnership with various United Nations’ agencies and the World Health Organization (WHO). During last year’s men’s World Cup in Qatar, a number of European captains withdrew from wearing an armband adorned with a heart striped in different colors as part of the “OneLove” campaign. England captain Millie Bright said she planned to wear three different armbands for each of her team’s group stage matches. “Nothing stopping Ali Riley from showing PRIDE at the World Cup this summer,” the website Women’s Sport Exchange tweeted.

Persons: Ali Riley, Steph Catley –, Sam Kerr, –, Qatar Bruno Fahy, Gianni Infantino, Millie Bright, ” Bright, ” Sarah Gregorius, “ You’ve, ’ ” Gregorius, Zealander Riley’s, Riley, Amanda Davies, ”, “, ” Ali Riley, Saeed Khan, Jennifer Garner, Angel City’s Organizations: CNN, New Zealand, Football Ferns, Inclusion, Australia, Indigenous Peoples, Ireland, FIFA, body’s “ Football, United Nations, World Health Organization, WHO, UN Human, Equality, UN, Peace –, UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, Education, –, Cultural Organization, UNESCO, UN Women, Qatar, Getty, Football, “ Football, Reuters, “, FIFPRO, Zealander, Norway, Angel City FC, PRIDE, Exchange Locations: Norway, Sydney, Qatar, England, Netherlands, Germany, Eden, Auckland, AFP

Chief prosecutor Karim Khan visited Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for four days this week to hear testimony from survivors of alleged genocide by Myanmar’s military against its Rohingya population. “There is heartbreak in these camps,” Khan said in an exclusive interview with CNN. Meanwhile, the Rohingya have been waiting six years and no such action has been taken against the Myanmar military leaders who ordered the attacks. “The big difference is that we have access to Ukraine, we don’t have access to Myanmar,” Khan said. Chief prosecutor Khan believed that Myanmar’s military leaders, including junta leader Min Aung Hlaing could be held to account.

Persons: Court’s, Karim Khan, ” Khan, ”, Vladimir Putin, Kutupalong, Ziabul Hossain, ICC’s Khan, Volker Türk, Khan, “, can’t, taka, Mohamed Rofique, Mohammad, Rofique, Min Aung, Slobodan Milošević, Charles Taylor, Jean Kambanda Organizations: CNN, ICC, Myanmar, Criminal, Getty, UN, Human, International Court of Justice, ICJ, Liberian, Rwandan Locations: Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Rakhine, Russia, Myanmar, Kutupalong Rohingya, Cox's Bazar, Tanbir Miraj, AFP, Gambia, Maungdaw, Rohingya, Bazar

☆ Women’s World Cup teams permitted to wear armbands that highlight ‘social causes’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Amanda Davies | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —World soccer governing body FIFA will allow a variety of different armbands that highlight “a range of social causes” to be worn at the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the organization said Friday. “FIFA, in partnership with several United Nations agencies, will use the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ to highlight a range of social causes, selected following extensive consultation with stakeholders including players and the 32 participating member associations,” FIFA said in a statement. “But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society. Several European teams were set to participate in the “OneLove” campaign to promote inclusion and oppose discrimination, but those countries were prevented by FIFA from doing so. There is no explicit mention of LGBTQ rights in Women’s World Cup armbands, beyond the “themes” of “gender equality” and “inclusion.”The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be played from July 20 to August 20 with the opening game taking place in Auckland when co-hosts New Zealand play Norway.

Persons: ”, “, Gianni Infantino, Hadja Lahbib, Nancy Faeser – Organizations: CNN, FIFA, “ FIFA, United Nations, ” FIFA, Football, Inclusion, UN Human, Indigenous Peoples, Equality, UN, Peace –, UNHCR, UN Refugee Agency, Education, –, Cultural Organization, UNESCO, UN Women, World Health Organization, WHO, Qatar –, Belgian Foreign Affairs, German, New Zealand Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, Infantino, Auckland, Norway

☆ North Korea says U.S. has 'sinister intention' in rejoining UNESCO
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, June 27 (Reuters) - North Korea criticised on Tuesday the U.S. plan to rejoin the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO as a "sinister" move to use an international organisation for the purpose of "realizing the strategy for hegemony". The Paris-based U.N. agency announced this month the United States intended to rejoin in July, calling it an "act of confidence in UNESCO and in multilateralism". "Clear is the sinister intention of the U.S. hastening the reentry into the organization ... The U.S. has an inglorious background of having withdrawn not only from UNESCO but also from WHO, the UN Human Rights Council and other international organizations," a statement released by North Korea's permanent mission to UNESCO said. The United States initially joined UNESCO at its founding in 1945 but withdrew in 1984 in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-U.S. bias before returning in 2003.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump's, Jack Kim, Ed Osmond Organizations: UNESCO, Wall Street, WHO, UN Human Rights, North, World Health Organization, United, U.S, Trump, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Paris, United States, multilateralism, U.S, Israel, Korea

The Dar Masalit report accuses the RSF and allied Janjaweed militias of the killings and other crimes, as published by the sultanate. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) said Monday that two more members of the organization have been killed in West Darfur by the RSF and their militias, without specifying the day of the reported killings. The report cited the neighborhoods that came under the most fire, including Al Jamarek, Al Buhaira, Al Thawrah, Al Tadamon, Al Madaris, Al Mansoura, and Al Jabal among others. CNN cannot independently verify all incidents as outlined in the Dar Masalit report. But CNN has confirmed and reported on thousands of civilians fleeing Geneina and West Darfur.

Persons: CNN —, El, Dar, ”, –, Masalit, Health Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Khamis Abbaker, Tariq Hassan Yaqoub Al, Malik, Sadiq Muhammad Ahmed Haroun, El Geneina, Abdel, Rahman Gumma, “, Gumma, General Antonio Guterres, Al Jamarek, Al Buhaira, Al Thawrah, Al Tadamon, Al Madaris, Al Mansoura, Jabal, CNN geolocated, El Geneina “, …, Geneina, haven’t Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Darfur Victims Solidarity Association, Strategic Initiative, Women, Health, West Darfur, Darfur Bar Association, Al, United Nations Mission, Twitter, UN Human Rights, Dar, US Locations: Darfur, Sudan, North Darfur, North Darfur’s, West Darfur’s, El Geneina, West Darfur, Chad, “, Horn of Africa, Saudi, Khartoum, West, El, Geneina, ”, Dar, Chadian, Adré, Saudi Arabia

☆ Opinion: The Ukraine dam disaster demands accountability
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow engaged in an intense round of finger pointing over responsibility for the unfolding environmental disaster. The dam’s collapse is not just devastating for those who reside in the immediate environs — it is a nationwide disaster for Ukraine that could reverberate across the globe. Stalin’s goal in the midst of World War II was to prevent Nazi armies from sweeping across Ukraine, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. The dam collapsed as Ukraine stepped up operations in anticipation of a much-awaited counter-offensive. The broken walls of the Nova Kakhovka dam, and its destructive rushing waters, should strengthen the resolve of Ukraine’s backers.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Joseph Stalin, Dmitry Peskov, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky’s, Andriy Yermak, Ursula Von der Leyen, “, Antonio Guterres Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Soviet Union, EU, ”, UN, UN Security Council, United Nations General Assembly, Human Rights, Twitter, NATO, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine’s, Dnipro, Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow, Soviet, Russia, “ Russia, Geneva, Ukrainian, Vilnius, Lithuania, Baltic, Nova

☆ Sudan one month on: Why cease-fires are failing, and what global leaders are missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

KHARTOUM, Sudan - May 6, 2023: Sudanese Army sodliers walk near armoured vehicles stationed on a street in southern Khartoum, amid ongoing fighting against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AFP via Getty ImagesOne month after fighting between Sudan's two military factions broke out in the capital, Khartoum, internationally-brokered peace talks in Saudi Arabia have yielded no solution. Almost a million people have fled their homes, both to locations within Sudan and across the border to neighboring countries. The World Bank and several global powers froze aid to the country after the military takeover, honoring calls from civilians not to legitimize its leadership. Targeted and collaborative efforts by the international community to exert pressure on the countries supporting Sudan's military factions were needed, Abdel-Magied said.

☆ Saudi Arabia is planning to execute three local tribe members who opposed its futuristic NEOM megacity project, UN experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Three men protesting the NEOM project have been sentenced to death, UN human rights experts said. The experts group said the men had been convicted under an "overly vague" terror law which appears not to meet international law. This image shows the planned design of 'The Line,' a 'vertical skyscraper' which forms part of the futuristic Saudi Arabian city of NEOM. Three further tribe members were given prison sentences of up to 50 years, the experts group said. Since January 2020, residents of the three villages of Al Khuraiba, Sharma and Gayal have been evicted without fair compensation, despite promises from the state, the experts group said.

☆ They've been beaten, trolled, threatened with sexual violence but refuse to be silenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Adie Vanessa Offiong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ixchíu Hernández had already been the victim of years of online threats -- attempts to humiliate and silence her. Published in April 2021, it reveals: "Online attacks on women journalists appear to be increasing significantly, as this study demonstrates, particularly in the context of the 'shadow pandemic' of violence against women during COVID-19. "Online violence against women journalists is designed to: belittle, humiliate, and shame; induce fear, silence, and retreat; discredit them professionally, undermining accountability journalism and trust in facts; and chill their active participation...in public debate. Ricchiardi-Folwell explains that because of the often-sexualized nature of the attacks, women remain silent about their harassment, which leads them to believe they are alone. Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2021 and updated to reference the latest report by UNESCO.

[1/5] A local resident leaves after a doctor's visit at a clinic in the liberated village of Vyshneva, near Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, April 21, 2023. He can be certain of one thing, however: many patients he meets will be suffering from high blood pressure after living for months under Russian occupation near the frontlines. "Patients who we chat to say there was a considerable number of deaths because of the lack of medical help." The World Health Organization estimates that the overall damage to the system could cost more than $15 billion to repair. But as more people return to liberated areas, a skeleton staff buttressed by volunteers will struggle to meet needs.

☆ EU calls for UN to probe Iran schoolgirl poisonings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - European lawmakers called on the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday to conduct an independent investigation into a wave of poisonings that have hit schoolgirls in Iran. 13,000 pupils, mostly girls, have fallen ill after "suspected poisonings" according to state media and officials in Iran, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls’ education. In a resolution, the European Parliament condemned "in the strongest terms, this atrocious attempt to silence women and girls in Iran". It also urged EU member states to facilitate the issuance of visas, asylum and emergency grants to those who need to leave Iran, "particularly women and girls". Iran has arrested several people it said were linked to the wave of poisonings and accused some of connections to "foreign-based dissident media" .

☆ UN to mark Russia invasion of Ukraine anniversary by urging 'just peace'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 1, 2022. The 193-member General Assembly is likely to vote next Thursday after two days of speeches by dozens of states to mark the Feb. 24 anniversary of the start of the war. Russia was diplomatically isolated last year, when 141 states voted on March 2 to denounce its invasion and demand Moscow withdraw its troops. The United States and western allies have called the invasion an unprovoked land grab against a sovereign nation. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said last month.

Others, like China, have criticized the war without meaningfully reducing ties with Russia. The war prompted condemnation in the United Nations and saw Russia booted from the UN Human Rights Council. Beijing has walked a careful line since the invasion began, at times exhibiting impatience with Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin in September acknowledged that China had "questions and concerns" about the war while meeting with Xi in Uzbekistan. "Putin's allies are not 'turning on him,' only expressing dissatisfaction at the difficulties his war in Ukraine is causing them," he added.

☆ Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a 'geopolitical earthquake' that defined 2022 and has transformed the world for years to come
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

An unthinkable, nightmare scenario was now a reality — the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II had begun. The war, which is still raging on, will continue to shape the world in the year to come and likely long after. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine represented a geopolitical earthquake, scrambling the entire chessboard of global politics," Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO, told Insider. Some experts have warned that the nuclear dangers posed by the Ukraine war after are "far worse" than the Cuban missile crisis, which occurred 60 years ago this past October. Indeed, the global dimensions of the Ukraine war could make it an era-defining fight.

☆ Russia is losing in Ukraine and 'will continue to fail in all its war aims,' the UK's armed forces chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The head of the UK's armed forces said on Wednesday that Russia is losing in Ukraine. In November, Russian forces retreated from Kherson — the first major Ukrainian city that Russia captured. The war saw Russia increasingly isolated, condemned in the UN, and booted from the UN Human Rights Council. Russia's war in Ukraine pushed a number of countries to abandon longstanding stances of neutrality. Russia, however, recently rejected a call from Ukrainian leadership to withdraw its forces, signaling that fighting will continue.

The visit by a team from Global Rights Compliance, an international legal practice headquartered in The Hague, has not previously been reported. More than 50,000 alleged incidents of international crimes have been reported by Ukraine's prosecutor general since Russia's full-scale invasion. Widespread or systematic sexual violence could amount to crimes against humanity, generally seen as more serious, legal specialists said. He added that more than half said they had been subjected to various forms of sexual violence. UNIQUE CHALLENGESElderfield said sexual violence was not always given the prominence it should have in national and international investigations.

☆ Elon Musk says there wasn't a single 'breaking point' that made him buy Twitter, but that he feared a rise in online 'groupthink'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said during a Twitter Space that there was no "breaking point" which made him buy the company. Instead, Musk said that general concerns about free speech online motivated him to purchase Twitter. Musk made his first offer to buy Twitter at $43 billion around three weeks later. "Basically, just, we are traveling the path more and more of suppression of free speech. Musk has previously called himself a "free speech absolutist," but has a track record of silencing his own critics.

☆ UN Iran expert concerned about death sentences for protesters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A U.N.-appointed independent expert on Iran voiced concern on Tuesday that the repression of protesters was intensifying, with authorities launching a "campaign" of sentencing them to death. "I'm afraid that the Iranian regime will react violently to the Human Rights Council resolution and this may trigger more violence and repression on their part," Javaid Rehman told Reuters, referring to a UN Human Rights Council vote to establish a probe into the crackdown last week. "Now (authorities) have started a campaign of sentencing (protesters) to death," he added, saying he expected more to be sentenced. The U.N. human rights office confirmed in an email that one of those indicted for "corruption on earth for publication of lies on a large scale" was famous Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, citing a judicial official. Its judiciary chief last month ordered judges to issue tough sentences for the "main elements of riots".

☆ New Zealand increases funding for Vanuatu wharves
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta speaks during a session of the UN Human Rights Councill in Geneva, Switzerland February 28, 2022. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement on Wednesday that building climate-resilient wharves and establishing reliable and regular shipping services would help the prosperity and wellbeing of the people of Vanuatu. The project is part of the Vanuatu Inter-Island Shipping Support Project, which has among a number of projects, has completed two wharves. New Zealand, alongside the government of Vanuatu and the Asian Development Bank, has been a co-financier of the project since 2012. Foreign investment in wharves in Vanuatu came into the spotlight in 2018 following media reports China wanted to establish a military base in Vanuatu after funding a wharf big enough to handle large warships.

☆ UN reviewing video of captured Russian soldiers who appear to have been killed at close range, NYT reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The UN is reviewing reports that Ukrainians may have executed 10 Russian prisoners of war. Videos reviewed by The New York Times appear to show Russian soldiers were killed at close range. On Ukrainian channels, the videos were shared as examples of the country's successful defense against Russian invaders, according to The Times. (The French phrase "hors de combat" means "out of combat" and refers to people incapable of performing their combat duties.) Representatives of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Putin purges Russia's Human Rights Council, replacing critics with pro-war cheerleaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Human Rights Council was reshuffled to exclude critics and bring in pro-war cheerleaders. It comes ahead of a key annual meeting where free speech about the Ukraine war was to be discussed. This system — often referred to as controlled opposition — is what Chatterje-Doody said had allowed organizations such as the Human Rights Council to express genuine criticism. On October 7, Russia rejected a UN Human Rights Council draft resolution condemning what the body called "the significant deterioration of the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation." Top Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that membership rotations at the Human Rights Council are normal.

☆ UN human rights chief fears pushback on gender issues, cites Iran clampdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Cecile Mantovani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The new U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday there was a worrying pushback against progress in easing rights abuses, above all on gender issues, pointing to Iran's violent clampdown on unrest touched off by a woman's death in police custody. Turk, whose predecessor Michelle Bachelet drew criticism in some quarters for appearing soft on some governments when they were backsliding on human rights, also promised to speak out "when we feel our voice can make a difference". He takes charge of the U.N. human rights office at a time of turbulence in Europe over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as some of the most widespread unrest in Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Turk pointed to what he called a pushback on human rights, especially with respect to gender issues, and highlighted to a "strongman mentality" and autocratic tendencies in a number of countries. "And unfortunately, human rights is thrown into the vortex of these dynamics and has become a battlefield which we cannot afford and human beings cannot afford," he said.

☆ Factbox: Russia prepares to formally annex 15% of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Sergei PivovarovLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin is preparing to formally annex around 15% of Ukrainian territory after referendums on joining Russia in areas controlled by Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists. The United States is prepared to impose additional economic costs on Russia in conjunction with U.S. allies if Moscow moves forward with annexing portions of Ukrainian territory, the White House said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had received sophisticated air defence systems, known as National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), from the United States. Taken together, Russia would be annexing at least 90,000 square km of Ukrainian territory. With Crimea and the territory in the four other areas, Russia would have annexed at least one fifth of Ukrainian territory.

☆ UN report on China’s Uyghurs: What you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-01 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Just minutes before the end of her term on Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights dropped a damning report on China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. China has repeatedly and vehemently denied accusations of human rights abuses in the region, and decried the UN report on Wednesday as “based on the disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces.”Here’s what you need to know. The 45-page report was the final offering from Michelle Bachelet, the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), whose term ended at midnight Geneva time. China responded to the report with its own 131-page document, saying the UN’s investigation “distorts” China’s laws and policies. However, activists and overseas Uyghurs have welcomed the report as a symbolic step and a new level of recognition by the UN of the human rights violations alleged in Xinjiang.

☆ A new Taliban decree orders Afghanistan's women to veil their faces in public, and if they don't comply, male relatives face punishment
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Taliban ruled that Afghan women will have to cover their faces in public. If women do not comply, their closest male relative could face imprisonment or be fired from government jobs. Most women in Afghanistan already choose to wear a headscarf but often do not cover their faces in urban areas like Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. Since taking control of Afghanistan in August of last year, the Taliban have introduced draconian laws imposing restrictions on women's freedom. The experts criticized what they described as the Taliban's "attempt to steadily erase women and girls from public life."

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