It was there from the beginning. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s a foundational text for the United Nations. A document that has been translated into more than 500 languages and displayed on countless classroom walls worldwide. Its drafters had the revolutionary – at the time – idea to expand the …
Matthew Murray is an international lawyer who was a senior advisor in the Obama Administration on anti-corruption issues from 2012-2017. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2012-2015 and Senior Advisor on Governance and Rule of Law for the US Agency for International Development from 2016-2017. The …
In the aftermath of the so-called ‘Danish cartoons crisis’ in 2005, the political, policy and academic world was replete with debates over the benefits or risks of ‘blasphemy laws.’ The debates highlighted a profound gap between those who believed that mocking religion (the faith, the tenets, the sacraments, the symbols, etc.) should not be tolerated and those who argued that …
According to the preamble of the Constitution of Georgia, it is the will of all Georgian citizens to establish a democratic social order that guarantees respect for human rights – not in isolation – but through continued cooperation with other peaceful nations. Respect for fundamental human rights therefore represents not only an integral part of Georgia’s legal and political reality, …
Geneva, 18th January 2017 UN Member States have long recognised the importance, under certain circumstances, of addressing country-specific human rights situations. Where a given country’s government is unable or unwilling to protect the rights of its people, or indeed, where a government is actively complicit in serious human rights violations; then the international community must be ready to step in. …
7th November 2016, Geneva The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) begins today in Marrakech, Morocco. After the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change on 4 November this year, the Marrakech meeting will also represent the first Meeting of the Parties to the Paris …
Friday 28th October 2016, Fiji On 27-28 October 2016, the Universal Rights Group supported the organisation of a Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) workshop for Pacific Island States in Natadola, Fiji. The regional workshop, entitled ‘Benefits of, and challenges to, the ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Torture in the Pacific region: sharing experiences and building capacity,’ represented …
The UN Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011. Though an important milestone, the debate continues on the scope, content, and legal status of companies’ responsibility to respect human rights asserted in those Principles. To gain closer insights into this debate, between 2014 and 2015, the Universal Rights Group, together with partners including …
On 17th March 2016, URG Board member Nazila Ghanea participated in the Human Rights Council “Panel discussion on preventing violent extremism,” alongside Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN; Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights; Gastón Garatea, Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and former Chair of the National Bureau for the Fight against Poverty; Mehreen …
In April last year, the Norwegian Storting (parliament) endorsed a Government White Paper on human rights. The document, entitled, ‘Opportunities for All: Human Rights in Norway’s Foreign Policy and Development Cooperation’ is the country’s first human rights White Paper for fifteen years. The White Paper (which can be read here ) is a part of a renewed national effort to protect …
