U.N. human rights

February 27, 2026 10:48 PM

Women at risk as Taliban curbs hit Afghan healthcare, UN expert warns

Restrictions imposed by the Taliban are jeopardising the lives of women and their children who are sometimes denied emergency treatment, a U.N. human rights expert said on Friday. Regulations require sick or injured women to adhere to a dress code, be accompanied by a male guardian and be treated by male medics, Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett told a press briefing. Bennett said women were frequently denied ambulance services without a male guardian. In one instance describe...

September 16, 2025 4:49 PM

UN rights chief tells Israel to ‘stop the carnage’ as Gaza City ground assault begins

The U.N. Human Rights Chief called on Israel to immediately stop its ground assault on Gaza City that got underway on Tuesday, saying that evidence was mounting of war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly more. "I can only think of what it means for women, for malnourished children, for people with disabilities, if they are again attacked in this way. And I have to say the only response to this is: stop the carnage," High Commissioner Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva. "Palestinians...

November 8, 2024 5:40 PM

Nearly 70% of verified Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

The U.N. Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70% of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. The U.N. tally since the start of the war, in which Israel's military is fighting Hamas militants, includes only fatalities it has managed to verify with three sources, and counting continues. The 8,119 victims verified is a much lower number than the...

October 15, 2024 6:58 PM

U.N. refugee agency says 25% of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders

The U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday it had received reports that most of the 22 victims of an Israeli air strike on a building in northern Lebanon were women and children. "What we are hearing is that amongst the 22 people killed were 12 women and two children," U.N. human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told a Geneva press briefing in response to a question about a strike on Aitou on Monday. "We understand it was a four-story residential building that was struck. With thes...

July 2, 2024 5:43 PM

Wife of Pakistan’s Imran Khan gets bail in graft case, media say

A special court in Pakistan's city of Rawalpindi granted interim bail on Tuesday to the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a graft case, media outlet ARY News said. Khan, in jail since last August, was convicted in some cases ahead of February's general election, but a U.N. human rights working group said on Monday his arbitrary imprisonment violated international law. "The special accountability court granted bail," ARY News said in a message on X, referring to the interim bail. Bot...