Critical Oversight: ODIHR Prepares for Local Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

China: UN rights office reiterates need to review national security framework

The 31 August 2022 report stated that violations had taken place in the context of the Government’s assertion that it was targeting terrorists among the Uyghur minority with a counter-extremism strategy, involving the use of so-called Vocational Educational and Training Centres (VETCs), or re-education camps.

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Detailed exchanges and dialogue

In an update to reporters, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and his Office have had detailed exchanges with the Government of China on critical issues.

Topics included counter-terrorism laws and policies, criminal justice, and other policies of concern that impact the human rights of ethnic and religious minorities, including in Xinjiang and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Equality and non-discrimination, as well as national security and human rights concerns in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were also addressed.

Ms. Shamdasani highlighted that a UN human rights team had visited China in June and engaged in dialogue with the authorities, specifically on counter-terrorism policies and the criminal justice system.

Review laws, investigate allegations

“In particular, on Xinjiang, we understand that many problematic laws and policies remain in place, and we have called again on the authorities to undertake a full review, from the human rights perspective, of the legal framework governing national security and counter-terrorism and to strengthen the protection of minorities against discrimination. Allegations of human rights violations, including torture, need to be fully investigated,” she said.

OHCHR hopes to continue active engagement with the Chinese Government, as well as civil society, “to seek tangible progress in the protection of human rights for all in China,” she added.

The Office also continues to closely follow the current human rights situation in the country “despite the difficulties posed by limited access to information and the fear of reprisals against individuals who engage with the United Nations.”

“We have continued to raise with the Government individual cases of particular concern, calling on the authorities to take prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, and to clarify the status and whereabouts of those whose families have been seeking information about them,” she said.

Commitment to engage

Meanwhile, advocacy continues in connection with China’s implementation of these and other recommendations by OHCHR and other human rights mechanisms.

Ms. Shamdasani concluded by saying the UN human rights chief Volker Türk “is committed to sustained engagement with the Government of China and to advocating on behalf of victims – always guided by the goal of helping improve human rights protections for the people on the ground.”

Meta Abandons Plans for High-End Mixed-Reality Headset, Focusing on Affordable Options

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Newsdesk

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29 August 2024

Meta Abandons Plans for High-End Mixed-Reality Headset, Focusing on Affordable Options

Meta Platforms has scrapped its plans for a premium mixed-reality headset, La Jolla, which was intended to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro. The decision was made after a product review meeting, where the company’s Reality Labs division was instructed to cease work on the device.

Metaverse. Illustrative photo. Image credit: cottonbro studio via pexels.com, free license

The headset codenamed La Jolla was scheduled for release in 2027 and featured ultrahigh-resolution micro OLED screens, similar to those used in Vision Pros.

The cancellation of La Jolla comes as no surprise, given the struggles of Apple’s Vision Pro, which has failed to gain traction due to its hefty $3,500 price tag. Meta’s Reality Labs division has incurred significant losses, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains committed to the future of augmented and virtual reality technologies.

Instead, Meta will focus on its existing line of Quest headsets, including the affordable Quest 2 ($200) and Quest 3 ($500). The company had previously discontinued the Quest Pro, its most expensive headset priced at $999, due to weak sales and poor reviews.

The cancellation of La Jolla highlights the challenges of developing high-end mixed-reality headsets. The technology is relatively still in its infancy, and consumers are hesitant to invest in expensive devices with limited functionality and limited software options. Meta’s decision to focus on affordable devices is a logical move from the commercial perspective, as it allows the company to reach a wider audience and generate revenue.

Written by Alius Noreika

The 21st Century and the Shame of Persistent Institutionalisation

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Newsdesk

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29 August 2024

In a moving speech delivered on 28 August at UN headquarters in Geneva, Dr Amalia Gamio, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, highlighted a worrying reality: the lack of implementation of deinstitutionalisation guidelines by member states.

Despite significant efforts by people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, their organisations, and various working groups, discrimination and human rights violations in institutions, specially psychiatric institutions, persist in the 21st century.

despite the adoption of these guidelines two years ago, virtually no state has taken concrete steps to implement them
Dr Amalia Gamio, Vice Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities

Dr Amalia Gamio stressed that, despite the adoption of these guidelines two years ago, virtually no state has taken concrete steps to implement them. In the reviews of state parties, it has been observed that measures contrary to articles 12, 14, 17 and 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are wrongly justified as protection for persons with disabilities.

This approach ignores the guidelines of article 14 and general comment number 5 for article 19, which promote non-discrimination, respect for dignity, equality and deinstitutionalisation.

to persist in institutionalisation is to perpetuate the medical model that ignores gender, age and, above all, dignity.
Dr. Amalia Gamio, Vice Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities

Institutionalisation perpetuates an outdated medical model that ignores personal dignity and autonomy, increasing the potential for violence and limiting legal options for restorative action. And in fact as proven numerous times and again, the right to live independently and be included in the community implies living outside of residential institutions, a principle that continues to be ignored.

Dr Gamio emphasised that all international human rights treaties uphold the right to liberty and non-discrimination. Failure to implement the guidelines not only violates these rights, but also impedes the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, she stated, affecting poverty eradication, gender equality and inclusive economic growth.

The call is clear: there is no more time to lose. Society cannot continue to allow the rights of persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities to be violated. “Every year that passes without implementing these guidelines is another year of injustice and discrimination where people keeps being forced or even tricked into psychiatric facilities with a hope of helps that too often turns into betrayal” said one of the attendees at the UN. The international community must act urgently to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are fully realised.

Why Namibia plans to kill over 700 wild animals

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29 August 2024

Namibia plans to cull 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, and distribute the meat to people struggling to feed themselves due to a severe drought in South Africa, the environment ministry has ruled.

The culling will take place in parks and public areas where authorities believe the number of animals exceeds available pasture and water supplies. South Africa is facing its worst drought in decades, with Namibia depleting 84 percent of its food reserves last month, according to UN figures. Almost half of Namibia’s population is expected to experience hunger problems in the coming months.

With such a severe drought, human-wildlife conflicts are expected to increase if authorities do not intervene. “To this end, 83 elephants from identified conflict zones will be killed and the meat distributed to the drought relief programme,” it said in a statement.

The country also plans to cull 30 hippos and 60 buffalo, as well as 50 impala, 100 wildebeest, 300 zebra and 100 eland.

157 animals have already been captured by professional hunters and companies hired by the government, with more than 56,800 kilograms of meat harvested.

“This is necessary and in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of the citizens of Namibia,” Reuters quoted the environment ministry as saying.

More than 200,000 elephants are estimated to live in a protected area spread across five southern African countries – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Namibia – making the region home to one of the largest elephant populations in the world.

Illustrative Photo by Vik Joshi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/hippopotamus-lying-near-the-river-8150826/

Bulgaria is selling dollar bonds for the first time in over 20 years

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29 August 2024

The caretaker government aims to cover 1.5 billion euros worth of bonds maturing next week

Bulgaria will offer US dollar-denominated bonds for the first time in 22 years as it tries to plug its budget deficit and pay off maturing debt amid a prolonged political crisis, Bloomberg reports.

The country will offer 12-year dollar-denominated securities as well as euro-denominated bonds with maturities of 8 and 20 years in a deal that can be priced as early as today (August 28), the agency noted, citing to a familiar source. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, ING Groep NV and UniCredit are managing the deal.

Bulgaria is gearing up for another snap election in October, the seventh in three and a half years, as political parties have failed to form a stable majority coalition. The caretaker government appointed on Tuesday aims to cover 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in bonds maturing next week and finance a planned budget deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product.

Initial price talks were about 165 basis points above the mid-swap for the 8-year euro-denominated bond, 220 b. p. above the midpoint for 20-year bonds in euro and 170 b. t. above the midpoint for 12-year dollar bonds, said the source, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

The government can sell new debt for a total of 10 billion leva ($5.7 billion) in the next 4 months, according to this year’s budget, after already issuing 1.7 billion leva on the domestic market. Two previous governments this year did not tap into international markets.

Illustrative Photo by Karolina Kaboompics: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dollar-banknote-on-white-table-4386155/

Horses are much smarter than previously thought

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28 August 2024

Horses are much smarter than previously thought, scientists say, after research shows the animals do better than expected in a complex reward-based game, reported DPA.

The authors of the study, from Nottingham Trent University, UK, found that when they were denied a treat for not following the rules of the game, the horses were able to immediately change their strategies to get more rewards. This shows that animals have the ability to think and plan ahead, something previously thought to be beyond their ability.

Knowing how horses learn can help keepers train them more humanely and improve their welfare, the team adds. “Horses are not geniuses by nature, they are considered mediocre, but the present study shows that they are actually more advanced cognitively than we give them credit for,” write the authors of the study, published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.

For the purposes of the study, the scientists set 20 horses a task consisting of three stages with gradually increasing complexity of the rules and the introduction of punishment. In the course of it, researchers have found that horses comply with the imposed rules in order to get a treat. The animals performed better than expected in the complex reward-based game, and when they were denied a treat for not following its rules, they were able to switch strategies immediately. According to the researchers, this suggests that the horses knew the rules of the game all along.

According to the scientists, the results of the study show that horses have the ability to form an internal model of the world around them to make decisions and make predictions – a technique known as model-based learning. Until now, this kind of training was thought to be too complex for horses because they have an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with strategic thinking. According to scientists, horses use a different area of the brain to achieve a similar result.

Illustrative Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-horse-in-close-up-photography-1411709/

Secret Masonic tunnels in Warsaw discovered by archaeologists

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28 August 2024

They were discovered in the Guchin Gai park complex

Arheologists excavated part of a mysterious system of tunnels under Gucin Gai – a park complex located in the Mokotow district of the Polish capital Warsaw. The park is located in the former Vilanov estate, one of the residences of the Vilanov royal palace.

In the northwestern part of Guchin Gai, near the Church of St. Catherine, there is a system of U-shaped tunnels with a vault, which extends for about 65 meters. On both sides of the tunnel are symmetrical niches, some of them containing three rows of niches, which create the appearance of a catacomb.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the tunnel and the surrounding area were purchased by the Polish nobleman and minister Stanislaw Kostka Potocki. Stanislaus was also a prominent member of the Freemasons, receiving the title of Grand Master of the Grand National Orient of Poland.

Because of Potocki’s Masonic affiliation, it is rumored that the tunnel served as a secret meeting place for Masonic ceremonies and rituals. Although no contemporary sources or written evidence confirm this, the Register of Monuments still refers to the tunnel as “Masonic Graves”.

The excavations on an area of 5×5 m, covering the entrance to the tunnel and part of the inner corridor, were carried out by the Institute of Archeology of the “Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski” University in cooperation with the Office of the Warsaw Conservator of Monuments, reports BGNES.

The removal of accumulated soil revealed 19th-century walls that formed the entrance from the time of Stanislaus, in addition to much earlier brick walls dating from around the 17th century. Archaeologists also found 17th-century coins that help establish the historical chronology of the tunnel, as well as several items from the Middle Ages.

According to the environmental protection office report, the 17th-century architectural elements are probably the remains of a cistern or glacier structure for collecting and storing water to supply the Vilanov Palace, located a few kilometers away.

This is confirmed by the records of Augustin Lochi (1640 – 1732), court architect of Jan III Sobieski, who describes the construction of a glacier and water catchment on the northern slope of Gora Slujevska (in Gucin Gai).

Zimbabwe faces worsening food crisis due to El Niño droughts

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United Nations News

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27 August 2024

Zimbabwe faces worsening food crisis due to El Niño droughts

This comes just two months after UN humanitarians declared Zimbabwe as one of the hunger hotspots where acute food insecurity was likely to deteriorate.

The storm destroyed more than half of the country’s harvest, leaving about 7.6 million people at risk of acute hunger.

El Niño is a regular and naturally occurring weather event which affects the air temperatures around the sea and coastal landmasses. The climate crisis in recent years has led to more frequent and intense patterns.

Officials from the UN and the World Food Programme (WFP) recently visited Zimbabwe to determine the drought’s impact on the nation and to call for more international support for the humanitarian response.

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‘Nationwide state of disaster’

In April, local Zimbabwean authorities declared that the country was in a nationwide state of disaster.

Figures from the authorities showed that 57 per cent of people in “rural” parts of the country are set to be food insecure between January and March 2025 – a peak hunger period there.

Other UN reports indicate that civilians will need to depend on “alternative sources of income, social support, and humanitarian assistance” to withstand this season.

It was further reported that “humanitarian assistance needs will remain high in many areas of the country until the harvest in 2025 due to poor purchasing capacity resulting from limited income-earning opportunities and high food prices.”

El Niño’s impact

The El Niño-induced droughts have reportedly put a strain on Zimbabwe’s economy, leaving more than a fifth of children out of school and a lack of water supplies in the country.

The UN and some of its partners are working with the Zimbabwean Government to provide aid to civilians.

However, these teams require more funding, as the $429 million flash appeal which was launched in May that aims to aid over 3 million people, is only about 11 per cent funded.

The El Niño droughts have also affected other South African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Malawi and more. Each of these nations is in high need of humanitarian interventions as food insecurity levels have risen significantly due to the drought.

Rights experts urge United Kingdom to curb hate speech

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United Nations News

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26 August 2024

Rights experts urge United Kingdom to curb hate speech

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racism (CERD) voiced concern over persistent hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobic incidents on various platforms, including by politicians and public figures.

It was particularly concerned about recurring racist acts and violence by extremist far-right and white supremacist individuals and groups targeting ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.

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Southport stabbing attack

This includes violent acts committed in late July and early August this year when riots broke out across the UK following a stabbing attack at a dance class in Southport that left three young girls dead and 10 other people injured.

The unrest was fuelled by disinformation shared on social media about the suspect.

In calling for action, the UN Committee urged the UK authorities to implement comprehensive measures to curb racist hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric, including on the part of political and public figures.

Members emphasized the need for thorough investigations and strict penalties for racist hate crimes, and effective remedies for the victims and their families.

According to news reports, British courts have handed down hundreds of sentences to those who took part in the unrest, including to some who fueled the disorder through online posts.

Police target ethnic minorities

The Committee also expressed concern about the disproportionate impact of police stop-and-search practices, including strip searches, on ethnic minorities, especially children.

It also raised alarm over the use of excessive and deadly force by law enforcement, lack of accountability, and inadequate support for victims’ families, all of which disproportionately affect people of African descent and other ethnic minorities.

Concerns surrounding institutional racism within policing and the criminal justice system were also highlighted.

Investigate racial profiling

The Committee urged the UK to set up an independent complaint mechanism to investigate allegations of racial profiling, stop-and-search practices, strip searches, and excessive use of force by the police.

Furthermore, perpetrators should be prosecuted and punished, and victims and their families should have access to effective remedies.

Additionally, decisive action to eliminate racial discrimination within policing and the criminal justice system, must be taken.

About the Committee

The Committee published its findings on the UK after concluding a four-year review of the country, alongside seven other nations including Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Venezuela.

The 18 international experts appointed to the Committee receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council, which is located in Geneva.

They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.