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UN Agent Seeks Rights Review of Debt Repayment in Mozambique
April 26, 2019
The UN’s Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky has asserted that Mozambique’s sovereign debt threatens “economic, social and cultural rights” in the country, particularly in the wake of the impacts of Cyclone Idai, arguing that the concept of debt sustainability must include human rights considerations.
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UN Chief Calls for Autonomous Weapons Ban
April 26, 2019
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on a Group of Governmental Experts meeting under the auspices of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons to propose an absolute ban of “fully autonomous” weapons systems that can kill human beings, saying such weapons must be prohibited under international law.
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IAAF Criticizes UNHRC Statement on Rules for Female Athletes
April 26, 2019
The BBC reports that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has criticized as “inaccurate” a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution characterizing rules restricting the participation of female athletes with high testosterone levels in certain competitions as a violation of international human rights standards.
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UNESCO Report Illustrates Challenges with Water, Sanitation “Rights”
April 25, 2019
A UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report warning of the ongoing global violation of the right to “access to water and sanitation” illustrates challenges in the UN system’s approach of classifying what are traditionally policy goals within the broad legal framework of the international human rights agenda.
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UN “Roadmap” Pushes Gender Dimension in Social Policy
April 25, 2019
The March meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women concluded with the adoption by diplomats of a set of commitments to take a “gender-responsive” approach to a broad array of social-protection, public-services, and other policies.