MICHELLE BACHELET

U_N_ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging the world to unite and end the war in Ukraine, calling it senseless, ruthless and “limitless in its potential for global harm.”

For the first time, key players seeking accountability for atrocities during the Ukraine war have come together at an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council to spur investigations into abuses that many Western countries blame on Russia.

GENEVA — (AP) — A United Nations team has landed in China ahead of a long-delayed visit by the U.N. human rights chief to Xinjiang, where rights groups and some Western governments allege the Chinese government is committing genocide and serious abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. The U.N. human rights office said Tuesday its staffers arrived in southern China on Monday to prepare for the visit by High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, expected in May. Bachelet announced in March that her office reached an agreement with China's government that she could visit Xinjiang in far-western China. The rights chief has long talked about hoping to visit Xinjiang, and her office has also been compiling a long-awaited report into alleged human rights abuses in the region. The advance team is in China to make sure that Bachelet would gain “meaningful access” to fully understand the human rights situation in China, Throssell said.

Russia Ukraine War Human Rights FILE - Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks to the media about the Tigray region of Ethiopia during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 3, 2021. The office uses strict methodology and has long acknowledged that its confirmed figures are far short of the real numbers. On April 9, U.N. human rights officers visiting Bucha documented the unlawful killing, including by summary execution, of some 50 civilians, her office said. The human rights office said detention of civilians “has become a widespread practice” in areas controlled by Russian forces and affiliated groups, with 155 such cases reported so far. ___Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraineCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

The United Nations’ human rights office has pointed to what it says is growing evidence of war crimes since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, declaring that humanitarian law appears to have been “tossed aside.”

APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War Internally displaced people from Mariupol and nearby towns arrive at a refugee center fleeing from the Russian attacks, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) (Leo Correa)BERLIN — The U.N. human rights chief says that international humanitarian law appears to have been “tossed aside” in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Human rights advocates have counted 32 cases under the new law by late April, targeting those critical of the invasion. India abstained when the U.N. General Assembly voted this month to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not joined sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The main opposition organization in military-ruled Myanmar has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to act strongly to restore democracy in the Southeast Asian nation, saying that the international community should put sanctions and other pressures on the country’s generals

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met with the de facto rulers of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in efforts to ease gasoline prices as the West grapples with economic headwinds from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

More than 12,500 people in Myanmar have been detained, at least 440,000 have been displaced and about 14 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, the report says.

Poland Russia Ukraine War A mother and her child, fleeing Ukraine, wait to board a bus at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, Poland, Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Ben Wallace said Russian forces are already “exhausted” after facing logistical problems and suffering thousands of losses in the first 13 days of fighting. The United Nations has called the situation the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. __CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian government says it is placing sanctions on Moscow’s “propagandists and purveyors of disinformation” who legitimatize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had been accompanied by a widespread disinformation campaign, both within Russia and internationally, she said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the largest conflict that Europe has seen since World War II, with Russia conducting a multi-pronged offensive across the country.

GENEVA — (AP) — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called Thursday for the U.N. human rights office to release a report it has compiled on the situation of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. Baerbock said in a video speech to the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that the global body needs “more transparency.”“We encourage the High Commissioner (for Human Rights) to publish your report on the detention of members of the Muslim Uyghur community – and we call on Beijing to allow unfettered access,” she said. Diplomats in Geneva have said the report on the situation in China's western Xinjiang province has been ready — or very close to it — for months. U.N. right chief Michelle Bachelet’s office has acknowledged delays in the release. All rights reserved.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called Thursday for the U.N. human rights office to release a report it has compiled on the situation of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. Baerbock said in a video speech to the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that the global body needs “more transparency.”

Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on several Ukrainian cities, with a huge convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles on a road to the capital, Kyiv, and fighting intensifying there and in other population centers.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he plans to open an investigation “as rapidly as possible” into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine

Russia Ukraine War People lie on the floor in the improvised bomb shelter in a sports center, which can accommodate up to 2000 people, in Mariupol, Ukraine, late Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) (Evgeniy Maloletka)The latest on the Russia-Ukraine war:GENEVA — The head of the United Nations refugee agency says more than a half a million people had fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion on Thursday. He also declined to spell out Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to put Russian nuclear forces on high alert. ___UNITED NATIONS — The two major bodies in the United Nations will hold separate meetings Monday on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort, but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.

APTOPIX Germany Syria Torture Trial Syrian women Yasemine, center, who lost her father and brother in Syria, reacts after the verdict in front of the court in Koblenz, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. The verdict Thursday in the landmark trial has been keenly anticipated by Syrians who suffered abuse or lost relatives in the country’s long-running conflict. “The verdict is a breakthrough for Syrian victims and the German justice system in cracking the wall of impunity,” she added. “The goal remains to bring senior Assad associates, such as former Air Force Intelligence chief Jamil Hassan, to justice for their crimes,” said Kroker. Conservative estimates put the number of those detained or forcibly disappeared in Syria at 149,000, more than 85% of them at the hands of the Syrian government, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Most eligible Chilean voters stayed home for the first round of presidential voting.

The U_N_ human rights chief says if insecurity in Burkina Faso keeps up, the West African country could spiral into a humanitarian and human rights “catastrophe.”.

A court in military-ruled Myanmar has sentenced U.S. journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison with hard labor.

UN Human Rights Sudan FILE - Sudan's head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. She made the comments during an urgent session of the organization’s top human rights body about Sudan on Friday after the military coup there nearly two weeks ago. The Human Rights Council debate is taking place while the U.N. still recognizes the ambassador from the deposed Sudanese government as the country’s official representative in Geneva. "Fundamentally, this is about respect for democracy and human rights," Simon Manley, Britain’s ambassador in Geneva, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. Human Rights Council spokesperson Rolando Gomez said a provision remained intact to create a “special rapporteur” to monitor the situation in Sudan for one year.

The United Nation’s top human rights official has condemned actions by military leaders following a coup in Sudan and says that excessive use of force by security forces has left at least 13 people dead and more than 300 injured.

U.N. says atrocities in "reckless" war between Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebels "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," as the U.S. urges citizens to pack their bags.

The U.N. human rights chief says Ethiopia’s yearlong war has been marked by “extreme brutality" as a joint investigation into alleged atrocities faults all sides for committing abuses.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Glasgow "is not the end of the road" and countries must keep raising their targets over the coming years.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Glasgow "is not the end of the road" and countries must keep raising their targets over the coming years.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Glasgow "is not the end of the road" and countries must keep raising their targets over the coming years.

Countries participating in an upcoming climate summit in Scotland are being called on to fulfill their Paris Accord pledges.

Countries participating in an upcoming climate summit in Scotland are being called on to fulfill their Paris Accord pledges.

Countries participating in an upcoming climate summit in Scotland are being called on to fulfill their Paris Accord pledges.

BERLIN — (AP) — The U.N.'s top human rights official called Thursday for countries to act decisively on climate change, saying it is a “matter of survival” for humanity. “This is a human rights obligation and a matter of survival,” she said. Still, the veteran diplomat tried to strike an upbeat note ahead of the summit, which brings together tens of thousands of officials, scientists and climate activists. “I head to Glasgow as an optimist," he said in a speech Thursday at the London School of Economics. ___Follow AP's coverage of the climate summit at http://apnews.com/hub/climateCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

The U.N.‘s top human rights official and U.S. President Joe Biden’s envoy to this year’s climate summit called Thursday for countries to step up the fight against global warming.

Warplanes attacked Turkey-backed opposition fighters in northern Syria on Sunday, killing and wounding about 20, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media said. The airstrike struck a position in an area near the town of Afrin. It came amid increasing tensions between government forces and insurgent groups who still have a stronghold in northwestern Syria, mainly in the province of Idlib.

Myanmar UN FILE - In this March 11, 2021, file photo, anti-coup protesters retreat from the frontlines after policemen fire sound-bombs and fire with rubber bullets in Yangon, Myanmar. China and Russia are among the top arms suppliers to Myanmar, as well as ideologically sympathetic to its ruling military. Myanmar opposition forces have one small consolation. To date, more than 1,100 individuals have been killed, according to the U.N.’s Bachelet and human rights groups. Consequently, protesters started wielding simple homemade weapons and then organizing themselves into local militias that they called "people’s defense forces."

Myanmar UN FILE - In this March 11, 2021, file photo, anti-coup protesters retreat from the frontlines after policemen fire sound-bombs and fire with rubber bullets in Yangon, Myanmar. Yet the U.N. is unlikely to take any meaningful action against Myanmar's new rulers because they have the support of China and Russia. China and Russia are among the top arms suppliers to Myanmar, as well as ideologically sympathetic to its ruling military. The pushback has left more than 1,100 people dead, according to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and right groups. “The international community must redouble its efforts to restore democracy and prevent wider conflict before it is too late.”Myanmar opposition forces have one small consolation.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has bracketed Myanmar with Afghanistan and Ethiopia as nations where peace and stability remain a distant dream.

The World Bank has dropped a popular report that ranked countries by how welcoming they are to businesses after allegations that it bowed to pressure from China and other governments.

A new report by the U.N. human rights office warns that artificial intelligence has the potential to facilitate "unprecedented level of surveillance across the globe by state and private actors."

GENEVA — (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief is calling for a moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence technology that poses a serious risk to human rights, including face-scanning systems that track people in public spaces. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, also said Wednesday that countries should expressly ban AI applications that don’t comply with international human rights law. AI-based technologies can be a force for good but they can also “have negative, even catastrophic, effects if they are used without sufficient regard to how they affect people’s human rights,” Bachelet said in a statement. European regulators have already taken steps to rein in the riskiest AI applications. Proposed regulations outlined by European Union officials this year would ban some uses of AI, such as real-time scanning of facial features, and tightly control others that could threaten people's safety or rights.

NAIROBI, Kenya — (AP) — The United Nations human rights chief on Monday said a highly awaited joint investigation into abuses in Ethiopia's Tigray conflict was unable to deploy to the site of one of its deadliest attacks, the alleged massacre of several hundred people in the holy city of Axum. The war saw a dramatic shift in late June when the Tigray forces retook much of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and Ethiopian and allied forces withdrew. Since then, witnesses have said much of Tigray has been far safer and more accessible within the region. The team also investigated in Gondar and Bahir Dar in the neighboring Amhara region along with Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Ethiopia's attorney general, Gedion Timothewos Hessebon, told the council that because of the cutoff date of the joint investigation, the team didn't probe recent reported killings in places such as the Amhara community of Chenna Teklehaymanot.

The United Nations human rights chief on Monday said a highly awaited joint investigation into abuses in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict was unable to deploy to the site of one of its deadliest attacks, the alleged massacre of several hundred people in the holy city of Axum. Michelle Bachelet told the U.N. Human Rights Council that deployments to eastern and central Tigray, where witnesses have accused Ethiopian and allied forces from neighboring Eritrea of some of the worst abuses of the 10-month war, “could not proceed.” The war saw a dramatic shift in late June when the Tigray forces retook much of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and Ethiopian and allied forces withdrew.

The U.N. humanitarian chief says $1.2 billion has been promised to help Afghans facing a growing humanitarian crisis in the country and millions in the region, calling the pledges “an important step” toward helping the needy.

Women are not to go to work until procedures are in place to ensure their safety, a spokesman says.

In the wake of their stunning takeover of Afghanistan, Taliban leaders have promised to restore security and tried to project an image of moderation, but many Afghans are skeptical. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet added to those concerns Tuesday, warning she had credible reports of “summary executions” and restrictions on women in areas under Taliban control. She urged the Human Rights Council to take “bold and vigorous action” to monitor the rights situation. It has been difficult to determine how widespread abuses might be and whether they reflect that Taliban leaders are saying one thing and doing another, or if fighters on the ground are taking matters into their own hands. “At this critical moment, the people of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to defend and protect their rights,” she said.

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (Jose Luis Magana)The director of the CIA met with the Taliban's top political leader in Kabul amid the ongoing effort to evacuate people fleeing their takeover of Afghanistan, a U.S. official said Tuesday. Taliban leaders have promised to restore security and tried to project an image of moderation, but many Afghans are skeptical and are racing to the leave the country, leading to chaos at Kabul's international airport. “At this critical moment, the people of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to defend and protect their rights,” she said. Bachelet noted that Taliban leaders have recently pledged to respect the rights of women, girls and ethnic minorities and refrain from reprisals. “The onus is now fully on the Taliban to translate these commitments into reality,” she told the 47-member-state council, which is the U.N.’s top human rights body.

Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council to take “bold and vigorous action” to monitor the rights situation in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's stunning takeover, as she sought to ensure that international attention on the country doesn’t wane. On Tuesday, Bachelet called for strong action to investigate reports of rights abuses. “At this critical moment, the people of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to defend and protect their rights,” she said. While advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch echoed such calls, a draft resolution at the council stopped far short of intensified scrutiny — and appeared to push back any deeper look at the rights situation until next year. Bachelet noted that Taliban leaders have recently pledged to respect the rights of women, girls and ethnic minorities and refrain from reprisals.

Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council to take “bold and vigorous action” to monitor the rights situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s stunning takeover raised fears that they will return the country to the brutal rule they imposed when they were last in power. On Tuesday, Bachelet called for strong action to investigate reports of rights abuses, as she sought to ensure that international attention on the country doesn't wane. “At this critical moment, the people of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to defend and protect their rights,” she said. Bachelet noted that Taliban leaders have recently pledged to respect the rights of women, girls and ethnic minorities and refrain from reprisals. “The onus is now fully on the Taliban to translate these commitments into reality,” she told the 47-member-state council, which is the U.N.’s top human rights body.

U.S. President Joe Biden says he will stick with his Aug. 31 deadline for finishing a U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others.

Tens of thousands have fled their homes in northern Afghanistan in recent days to escape fighting.

Human rights and press freedom activists are up in arms about a new report on NSO Group, the notorious Israeli hacker-for-hire company.

Switzerland UN Human Rights FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 file photo Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.N.’s top human rights body opened its latest session on Monday, June 21, 2021 and was immediately embroiled in a debate over the representation of Myanmar, where a military takeover toppled the civilian government in February. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, file) (Martial Trezzini)BERLIN — (AP) — The United Nations' human rights chief voiced alarm Monday over the reported use of military-grade malware from Israel-based NSO Group to spy on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's comments came after an investigation by a global media consortium based on leaked targeting data provided further evidence of the malware's use. They include 189 journalists, more than 600 politicians and government officials, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists and several heads of state, according to The Washington Post, a consortium member.

Cuban officials have rallied tens of thousands of supporters in the streets nearly a week after they were stunned by the most widespread protests in decades.

PARIS — (AP) —The U.N. rights chief is urging the release of all those detained in Cuba’s protests and calling on the government to address their grievances. In a statement Friday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for an investigation into the death of a protester in Havana, a 36-year-old who died Monday during clashes between demonstrators and police. “I urge the Government to address the protesters’ grievances through dialogue, and to respect and fully protect the rights of all individuals to peaceful assembly and to freedom of opinion and expression,” said Bachelet, a former Chilean president. All those detained for exercising their rights must be promptly released,” she said. Police arrested dozens of protesters, sometimes violently, and the government has accused protesters of looting and vandalizing shops.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked his Southeast Asian counterparts to press for an end to violence in Myanmar, its return to a democratic path and the release of all political prisoners.

Switzerland UN Human Rights FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 file photo Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.N.’s top human rights body opened its latest session on Monday, June 21, 2021 and was immediately embroiled in a debate over the representation of Myanmar, where a military takeover toppled the civilian government in February. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, file) (Martial Trezzini)BERLIN — (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief on Monday urged countries to “fully fund comprehensive processes" and take “a wide range of reparations measures” to address the legacies of slavery, colonial rule and racial discrimination. Michelle Bachelet presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council a landmark report launched after the killing of George Floyd in the United States and released last month. The U.S. charge d'affaires in Geneva, Benjamin Moeling, welcomed the “insightful and forthright report” in a video statement to the council.

The U.N. human rights chief on Monday urged countries to “fully fund comprehensive processes" and take “a wide range of reparations measures” to address the legacies of slavery, colonial rule and racial discrimination. Michelle Bachelet presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council a landmark report launched after the killing of George Floyd in the United States and released last month. Bachelet told the council in Geneva that research “could not find a single example of a state that has comprehensively reckoned with its past or accounted for its impacts on the lives of people of African descent today," despite some attempts at seeking out the truth through apologies, litigation and memorialization.

The U.N. human rights chief on Tuesday praised the “incredible resilience” of Myanmar’s people in helping each other in the wake of a military takeover and violent crackdown, while calling on the international community to keep up pressure on the junta to halt violence and restore democracy. Michelle Bachelet said the rights situation in Myanmar has changed from a political crisis to a “multi-dimensional human rights catastrophe,” noting that nearly 900 people have been killed and 200,000 forced to flee their homes because of military raids.

The U.N. human rights chief on Thursday urged the Palestinian Authority to ensure the safety of protesters after security forces and supporters of President Mahmoud Abbas attacked demonstrators over the weekend. The protests erupted after an outspoken critic of the PA died shortly after his family says he was severely beaten by security forces who arrested him. The PA, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has grown increasingly autocratic and unpopular in recent years.

Two days after the sentencing of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, the U.N. Human Rights Council released a report, ordered last year in the wake of Floyd’s death, calling on countries to adopt a “transformative agenda” to fight systemic racism.

In a landmark report, the U.N.'s human rights chief said structural racism blocks access to jobs, healthcare, housing, education, and justice.

"There is today a momentous opportunity to achieve a turning point for racial equality and justice," the report from the U.N. human rights chief said.

The report from Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, offers a sweeping look at the roots of centuries of mistreatment faced by Africans and people of African descent, notably from the transatlantic slave trade. “There is today a momentous opportunity to achieve a turning point for racial equality and justice,” the report said. The protests against Floyd's killing and the “momentous” verdict against Chauvin are a “seminal point in the fight against racism,” the report said. The report also laid out cases, concerns and the situation in roughly 60 countries including Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia and France, among others. It cited inequalities faced by people of African descent and the “stark socioeconomic and political marginalization” they face in many countries, including unfair access to education, health care, jobs, housing and clean water.

GENEVA — (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief, in a landmark report launched after the killing of George Floyd in the United States, is urging countries worldwide to do more to help end discrimination, violence and systemic racism against people of African descent and “make amends” to them — including through reparations. The report from Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, offers a sweeping look at the roots of centuries of mistreatment faced by Africans and people of African descent, notably from the transatlantic slave trade. It seeks a “transformative” approach to address its continued impact today. “There is today a momentous opportunity to achieve a turning point for racial equality and justice,” the report said. The U.N.-backed Human Rights Council commissioned the report during a special session last year following the murder of Floyd, an African-American who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2020.

The seaside condominium that collapsed in Florida this week was a true reflection of Miami’s international mix — South American immigrants, Orthodox Jews, foreign retirees.

Nicaragua's arrests of opponents ahead of its November elections have spurred international condemnation and sanctions and may lead to tougher consequences.

A Beijing representative said that China was "seriously concerned by the violations of the rights of refugees and migrants" in countries like the US.

In recent weeks, authorities in Nicaragua have stepped up the persecution of President Daniel Ortega’s political rivals in particular.

The mutual finger-pointing, which preceded admissions from Canada’s envoy about shortcomings in her country’s rights record, came in a debate at the Human Rights Council, the U.N.'s top human rights body. The showdown in the largely virtual council session exposed an ongoing rift between the West and allies of China, which has been increasingly pushing back against the criticism of its human rights record. “We urge Canada to immediately stop violations of human rights,” he said, adding that U.N. bodies should “keep following the human rights issues in Canada.”“Canada has also repeatedly used human rights as an instrument to promote its political agenda,” Jiang said. “We know that the world expects Canada to adhere to international human rights standards. We, too, expect no less of ourselves.”Canada held its National Indigenous Peoples' Day celebrations on Monday.

Notable speakers include Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, and President of Ethiopia Sahle-Work Zewde.

The top U.N. human rights body has passed a resolution aimed to intensify scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

Human rights groups and Western nations led by the United States, Britain and Germany are accusing China of massive crimes against the Uyghur minority and demanding unimpeded access for U.N. experts.

One hundred days since their takeover, Myanmar’s ruling generals maintain just the pretense of control over the country.

The guilty verdict in the trial over George Floyd's death was not just celebrated in America.

AdEthiopia continues to deny the Eritreans’ presence, even as senior officials with the interim Tigray government that Ethiopia appointed are increasingly outspoken about them. The Telegraph, citing witnesses, has reported one in Debre Abay. CNN, citing witnesses, has reported one in Dengelat. Even as it announced the limited media access, Ethiopia warned journalists to essentially behave themselves. An access map published this week by the U.N. humanitarian agency showed much of Tigray inaccessible beyond major roads and cities.

According to the U.N. report, at least 133 human rights defenders were murdered in Colombia in 2020, a 23% increase from 2019. The United Nations also registered 76 massacres across the country last year, which are defined as events in which three or more civilians are executed at once. AdThe report will be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. The United Nations urged Colombia’s government to increase its presence in these areas to protect civilians and bring down violence. Critics of his government have said that it has been slow at implementing some aspects of the peace deal, including the coca substitution projects.

Francisco Vera, 11, who is well-known in Colombia for his environmental campaigns and defense of children's rights, gives an interview in Villeta, Colombia, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. The 11-year old activist who received a death threat over Twitter, says that he will continue to lead campaigns and urged other young people to use social media to support causes they believe in. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)VILLETA – A social media death threat aimed at an 11-year-old environmental activist has roused outrage in Colombia, a nation where attacks on social leaders are common and threats are taken seriously. Colombian officials said they are investigating the death threat against Francisco Vera and President Ivan Duque recently promised in a television appearance that his government would find “the bandits” behind the Twitter message. She said a town official suggested shutting down her son’s social media account, but she prefers to let him decide whether to stop campaigning.

Santana, who runs an organization that helps community leaders fleeing violence to settle in Bogota, is one of the thousands of activists assigned some sort of government protection. The Afro-Colombian community leader sometimes she uses a hat or a turban for disguise. Last year 120 community leaders were murdered in Colombia according to the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, up from 107 a year earlier. Now 46, he's spent half of his life promoting human rights and fighting against illegal mining and corruption in his province. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, recently urged the government to increase protection for activists in rural areas.

In this fragile refugee community on the edge of Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict, those who have fled nearly two months of deadly fighting continue to bring new accounts of horror. “So if I go to Tigray, they would pick up that I’m Amhara because Amhara is not a part of them. For Tewodros, the conflict has been one civilian casualty after another since shelling began in early November as he worked at a hospital in Humera. Ethiopia's prime minister often speaks of “medemer,” or national unity, Tewodros said, in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups. In this conflict that remains so much in the shadows, he now relies on strangers to know their fate.

Others say it was Tigrayan forces and their allies who were responsible. In Sudan, where nearly 50,000 people have fled, one ethnic Amhara refugee gave The Associated Press a similar account. “Anyone they found, they would kill,” Tesfaalem Germay, an ethnic Tigrayan who fled to Sudan with his family, said of Ethiopian and Amhara forces. But another refugee, Abebete Refe, told the AP that many ethnic Amhara like him who stayed behind were massacred by Tigrayan forces. In Mai-Kadra, witnesses told the visiting Ethiopian rights commission they saw police, militia and members of a Tigray youth group attack Amhara.

Protests in Belarus have continued for almost four months after President Alexander Lukashenko won his sixth term in office in an election the opposition says was rigged. Police in Minsk said they detained more than 300 people. The Viasna human rights group released the names of 215 people detained in Minsk and other cities, where rallies also took place. At least four journalists have been detained in Minsk and the western city of Grodno, according the Belarusian Association of Journalists. On Friday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement that the situation with human rights in Belarus is getting worse.

Riot police block Belarusian pensioners wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. (AP Photo)GENEVA – The United Nations' human rights chief lamented a deteriorating situation in Belarus and said Friday that reported beatings of protesters by security forces may in some cases amount to torture. Police have cracked down hard on the largely peaceful demonstrations, using stun grenades, tear gas and truncheons to disperse protesters. Thousands of people have been detained and many of them badly beaten since the protests began, human rights advocates say. Opposition leaders in Belarus have sought discussions with the government about a transfer of power or a new election, which Lukashenko has rejected.

Tigray women who fled a conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray region, wait to receive aid at Village 8, the transit centre near the Lugdi border crossing, eastern Sudan, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. Meanwhile, hundreds if not thousands of people have been killed, some 40,000 people have fled into Sudan and the U.N. says 2 million people in the sealed-off Tigray region urgently need help. I mean, our goal is a quick end to the conflict," Nagy told reporters late last week. In a rare intervention on an African issue, Trump told the State Department to suspend millions of dollars of aid to Ethiopia and asserted that Egypt would “blow up” the dam. But where Ethiopia will be by the time Biden takes office two months from now is unknown.

Ethnic Tigrayans arrested, in hiding or cut off from the world. Ethiopia’s deadly conflict is spilling beyond its northern Tigray region and turning identity into a mortal threat. Ethnic Tigrayans report being questioned and threatened. “I’m really afraid this might lead to ethnic attacks on Tigrayans,” said Mekonnen, who leads an association of ethnic Tigrayans. With such concerns rising, the international community has begun to highlight the threat of ethnic targeting in its warnings about Ethiopia’s conflict and its pleas for peace.

GENEVA – The U.N. human rights chief on Tuesday urged India’s government to do more to protect human rights defenders, who have come under mounting pressure in recent months in the world’s largest democracy. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's office pointed to three “problematic” laws in India that have variously tightened restrictions on non-governmental organizations and led to a crackdown on dissent. Critics say India under Modi has grown increasingly intolerant, with a crackdown on dissent unprecedented in scale. Leaders of Modi’s party have routinely labeled critics as “anti-nationals,” and the authorities have dealt with many rights advocates and activists with an iron fist. Rights groups have condemned the arrests as “illegal” and a “grave abuse of state power.”

(Manuel Elias/UN Photo via AP)JOHANNESBURG – In a diminished spotlight because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading human rights defenders on Friday urged people in these fractured times to connect through politics — and vote, too. People must push back even in this socially distanced world, speakers said. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned of a “crisis of governance” and a marginalization of voices that she said will only deepen grievances and harm all of society. “We are witnessing an erosion of public trust in institutions and traditional politics,” said Eamon Gilmore, the European Union’s special representative for human rights. As the global toll closed in on 1 million deaths, the U.K.’s minister for human rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, reminded listeners: “It’s only over when it’s over for all of us.”

At the same time, Duterte spotlighted Filipino health care workers' contribution to the virus fight at home and around the globe. Duterte, who took office in 2016, often lashes out at what he decries as international meddling in Philippine domestic affairs. Western governments and human rights groups see it as expressing justifiable alarm about an anti-drug crusade that has left more than 5,700 mostly poor suspects dead. Duterte has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings but has repeatedly and openly threatened drug dealers with death. “We firmly reject attempts to undermine” a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated most of China’s claims, Duterte said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures as he addresses a women's forum in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said late Thursday that he was putting the army on high alert and closing the country’s borders with Lithuania and Poland. But the national Border Guard Service said all border checkpoints remained open, though it said controls and inspections have been strengthened. A spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guard, Agnieszka Golias, said traffic at Poland's border with Belarus was as busy as usual. This week, Russia has sent 300 paratroopers for joint military drills with Belarusian soldiers near Brest on the border with Poland.

(BelTA Pool Photo via AP)GENEVA – A representative of Belarus, backed by Russia, China and Venezuela, tried and failed to limit speeches as the U.N.'s top human rights body held an urgent debate Friday on alleged rights violations by Belarusian authorities under President Alexander Lukashenko. Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, the Austrian ambassador in Geneva, allowed speakers who included Lukashenko's main election challenger to continue decrying a string of alleged rights violations in Belarus. “The council’s consideration of the recent events in Belarus is timely,” U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in remarks delivered by her deputy. Council president Tichy-Fisslberger brushed off the appeal, and the former presidential candidate finished her statement. ___This reference corrects the spelling of the UN human rights chief’s surname on second reference.

The comments from Michelle Bachelet came in a catch-all speech to open the latest session of the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council on Monday. She also raised concerns about the human rights situation in Myanmar, Nicaragua and Venezuela, among other places on her agenda. Many see the law as Beijing’s boldest move yet to remove a legal firewall between the semi-autonomous territory of Hong Kong and the mainland’s Communist Party system. “The Hong Kong authorities have consistently stated that the law is not intended to impact negatively on the peaceful exercise of human rights by Hong Kong residents,” said Bachelet. She said her office had documented 47 killings of human rights defenders in Colombia this year.

Seven human rights experts affiliated with the U.N. raised concerns over Hong Kong's national security law in a letter addressed to Chinese authorities, saying that the law infringed on certain fundamental rights. The security law makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the citys internal affairs. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has insisted that it will help bring stability back to Hong Kong after months of unrest. The security law extends beyond Hong Kong, targeting anyone overseas who violates it, although it is not clear how it would be enforced. The letter follows the first in-depth appraisal of the Hong Kong security law from the U.N. human rights system, though officials including U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet have previously expressed concerns about it.

A heavy-handed focus on countering national security threats and illegal drugs has resulted in serious human rights violations in the Philippines, including killings and arbitrary detentions, as well as the vilification of dissent, a summary of the report said. It said many of the human rights concerns have become more acute in recent years.The report, requested by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, is based on nearly 900 submissions as well as government input, court and police records, and interviews with victims and witnesses. Unfortunately, the report has documented deep-seated impunity for serious human rights violations, and victims have been deprived of justice for the killings of their loved ones, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. People who use or sell drugs do not lose their human rights, she said. The poll also stated that 73% said the number of illegal drug users had fallen since Duterte took office in mid-2016.

(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)ISLAMABAD Pakistan reported a record single-day spike in coronavirus-related deaths with 82 new fatalities and 4,688 cases that it says resulted from increased testing in the past 24 hours. ___HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: The pandemic has stranded merchant ship crews at sea for months There are no secrets in India's largest slum. The country registered 9,304 new cases in yet another record single-day spike in infections, raising its totals to 216,919 cases with 6,075 deaths, the Health Ministry reported Thursday. The coastal state of Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected, with 74,860 cases and 2,587 deaths. ___MEXICO CITY -- The coronavirus toll in Mexico has soared to a new daily high, with the health department reporting 1,092 deaths.