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Foreign minister claims local office of UN high commissioner for human rights supported impunity for coup plottersVenezuela’s government has ordered the local UN office on human rights to suspend operations, giving its staff 72 hours to leave, after accusing the office of promoting opposition to the South American country.The foreign affairs minister, Yván Gil, announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas on...

Rosalind Croucher tells Senate panel anonymous letter from employees was ‘disappointing’ and they had been reminded to stay ‘impartial’Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe president of the Australian Human Rights Commission has denied that staff have been sanctioned over expressing pro-Palestinian views, after staff wrote a letter stating the commission’s response on the Israel-Gaza war was inadequate.Guardian...

Witnesses claim victims shot ‘execution style’ during house raids after clashes between government forces and Fano rebelsEthiopian government troops went door-to-door killing dozens of civilians last month in a town in the country’s Amhara region, according to residents, who said the bloodshed took place after clashes with local militia.The killings in Merawi appear to be one of the deadliest episodes in Amhara since a...

EU diplomat Johan Floderus’s sister calls on Sweden to start speaking up loudly to demand his releaseThe family of a Swedish EU diplomat imprisoned in Iran for more than 663 days fear he will be given a death sentence or life imprisonment within the coming days after prosecutors sought the maximum sentence in his case.“I ask how can this be happening? He is my...

Ahmad Khalefa, human rights lawyer of Palestinian heritage, released to house arrest after organising anti-war protestA prominent Israeli human rights lawyer of Palestinian heritage has been released to house arrest after spending 110 days in prison for organising a peaceful protest against the war in Gaza.A supreme court judge ruled on Wednesday that Ahmad Khalefa, 42, a lawyer working with Human Rights Defenders Fund,...

People may be exposed to abuses such as torture and degrading treatment in Rwanda, says watchdogEurope’s leading anti-torture watchdog has called on the government to process asylum claims in the UK rather than sending people to Rwanda because of the risk they may be exposed to human rights abuses there.In a report published on Thursday, the Council of Europe’s committee for the prevention of...

Companies such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Tesla, General Motors and BYD could do more to ensure their strict standards are applied in China, Human Rights Watch saysCar manufacturers Toyota, Volkswagen, Tesla, General Motors and BYD may be using aluminium made by Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains and could do more to minimise that risk, Human Rights Watch says.An investigation conducted by HRW has...

Country accused of violating torture convention in hope of finding justice decade after incident in which at least 15 people diedA 25-year-old from Cameroon has filed a complaint to the UN against Spain, accusing the country of multiple violations of the convention against torture in hope of seeking justice after an incident in 2014 during which at least 15 people died while trying to...

Crisis in southern Gaza only set to worsen in coming days as Israeli forces push deeper into Khan YounisMiddle East crisis – live updatesHaneen Harara wakes up each morning in the southern Gazan city of Rafah thinking about the long queues and crowds that stand between her and the survival basics of food, water and medical care.The film-maker and employee at a Dutch charity...

Exclusive: Test case likely against UK’s seasonal worker scheme as charity alleges breach of right to be protected from labour exploitationWhen Ismael found himself sleeping rough at York station in the late October cold he struggled to understand how an opportunity to pick berries 7,000 miles from his home had so quickly ended there.He had left Indonesia less than four months earlier, in July...

In first such admission, previously secret document says Danish aircraft participated in attacks linked to civilian deathsDenmark’s defence ministry said it would launch a review after evidence emerged showing its air force participated in airstrikes on Libya that killed 14 civilians in 2011, the first time any of the 10 countries involved in the Nato bombing campaign has acknowledged a possible link to non-combatant...

Draft legislation allowing for confiscation of valuables has been backed by main political parties Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesA bill to confiscate property and valuables from Ukraine war critics convicted of, among other crimes, “discrediting the Russian army” or calling for foreign sanctions has been drawn up by the Kremlin.The draft legislation to the criminal code was registered in Russia’s State Duma on...

Costs protection bill would tilt balance in favour of accusers and move financial risk to accused, legal body saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Law Council of Australia has warned that proposed changes removing cost barriers for applicants in sexual harassment and discrimination cases could result in “arbitrary and...

Exclusive: summary sent to UK supermarkets describes conflict between pineapple thieves and Del Monte security staffMajor human rights violations are being committed at a vast Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya where there have been numerous deaths and violence, according to the conclusions of an unpublished report.The findings, seen by the Guardian, are highly critical of Del Monte Kenya and include claims that the...

Human Rights Watch’s annual report highlights politicians’ double standards and ‘transactional diplomacy’ amid escalating crisesHuman rights across the world are in a parlous state as leaders shun their obligations to uphold international law, according to the annual report of Human Rights Watch (HRW).In its 2024 world report, HRW warns grimly of escalating human rights crises around the globe, with wartime atrocities increasing, suppression of...

Lt Col Carlos Luis Malatto fled Argentina in 2011 and will be tried in Rome for premeditated killing of eight people in last military dictatorshipA judge in Rome has ordered Lt Col Carlos Luis Malatto, a former Argentine army officer accused of murder and forced disappearances during Argentina’s 1976-83 military dictatorship, to stand trial in Italy for the premeditated killing of eight people.The former...

Action on Armed Violence says 33,846 were killed or wounded by airstrikes, bombs or artillery, the most it has recordedMiddle East crisis – live updatesMore civilians were recorded as being killed or injured by airstrikes, bombs or artillery during 2023 than in any other year for more than a decade due to the high number of casualties from the three-month war in Gaza, an...

Ousman Sonko is accused of supporting repressive policies and was arrested in Bern in 2017 after applying for asylumEurope live – latest updatesA former Gambian minister has become the highest-ranking official to be tried in Europe under the principles of universal jurisdiction after his trial on charges of crimes against humanity opened in Switzerland.Ousman Sonko, interior minister under the west African country’s ousted dictator...