The human rights situation in Myanmar remained alarming, with a pattern of widespread and systematic violations that prevailing impunity allowed to continue, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar said today.
In progress at UNHQ
Press Conference
“There isn’t an internationally recognized right that some company somewhere hasn’t violated,” John Ruggie, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, said today during a Headquarters press conference.
The international community must use a range of approaches to ameliorate the dismal human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Vitit Muntarbhorn, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in that country, told correspondents at Headquarters this afternoon.
Speaking to reporters at Headquarters today, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food warned that increasing dependency on commercial seed varieties monopolized by a few very powerful multi-national companies could severely impact small farmers in developing countries.
During a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, Angela Kane, Under-Secretary-General for Management, and United Nations Controller, Jun Yamazaki, presented a mixed picture as they outlined the Organization’s financial health, its proposed budget, and recent reform and management initiatives.
It was crucial to listen to victims when addressing the scourge of human trafficking, Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told correspondents this afternoon, as she announced a Headquarters event that will provide a platform to four survivors of the scourge tomorrow.
The recognition that there was a clear link between crime and conflict, and the fact that serious and organized crime was prevalent in many conflict areas was the basis for a new agreement between the United Nations and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to strengthen police units in peacekeeping missions around the world, a senior United Nations security official said today.
The time had come to adopt a United Nations convention on rights of detainees, Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, told correspondents at Headquarters today. “In so many countries”, he said, “States are not living up to their obligations to respect the basic dignity of human beings in detention.”
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was designed to address the current challenges facing the continent, including poverty, development and continued marginalization of Africa, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership’s secretariat said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.
All responses to the current financial and economic crisis must pay particular attention to the welfare of children, who were most vulnerable to its negative effects, Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, told correspondents at Headquarters today on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.