“The danger of an oil spill, posing an especially critical environmental hazard, stays excessive,” stated IMO Secretary-Normal Arsenio Dominguez, emphasising that the tanker is carrying some 150,000 tonnes of oil on board.
“There may be widespread concern in regards to the injury such a spill would trigger throughout the area,” he added.
‘Unacceptable assault’
Referring to the state of affairs relating to the tanker MV Sounion which was focused whereas transiting the southern Pink Sea, he stated “that is one more unacceptable assault on worldwide delivery, placing the lives of harmless seafarers in danger.”
For the reason that battle in Gaza erupted in October 2023 following Hamas-led assaults on Israel, the Houthis in Yemen have launched assaults in solidarity with the Palestinians within the besieged enclave towards ships with ties to Israel.
“Service provider ships buying and selling important provides and the seafarers serving on them needs to be free to navigate worldwide unhindered by geopolitical tensions,” he stated, reiterating a name for “a right away finish to the unlawful, cowardly and unjustifiable assaults on worldwide delivery within the Pink Sea space”.
Mr. Dominguez expressed gratitude to all these concerned within the rescue efforts for making certain the seafarers have now all been safely evacuated, noting that IMO is in communication with nationwide, regional and UN entities in addition to different stakeholders relating to the continuing incident and can monitor the state of affairs carefully.
UN Ladies deeply involved by new Afghanistan morality regulation
UN Women issued a press release on Wednesday expressing deep concern over a brand new morality regulation by the Taliban focusing on girls, which imposes in depth restrictions on private behaviour, “successfully erasing girls from public life”.
The regulation on the “promotion of advantage and the prevention of vice” considerably deepens the already extreme curtailment of the rights of Afghan girls and women, together with necessities for girls to cowl their total our bodies and faces, and it forbids girls’s voices in public, the gender equality company stated.
Ladies are additionally prohibited from interacting with non-Muslims, utilizing public transport alone and males to whom they aren’t associated by blood or marriage.
Over 70 legal guidelines erode girls’s rights
Over the previous three years since regaining energy, the Taliban have subjected Afghan girls and women to over 70 edicts, directives and decrees, stripping them of elementary rights.
In response to a brand new UN Ladies survey, just one per cent of ladies surveyed really feel like they’ve affect over resolution making of their communities, 64 per cent stated they don’t really feel protected leaving their houses by themselves, in comparison with two per cent of males, and eight per cent indicated figuring out no less than one lady or lady who has tried suicide since August 2021.
“UN Ladies stands in unwavering solidarity with each Afghan lady and lady subjected to those measures and we are going to proceed to work with our companions to assist the total realisation of their rights,” the assertion concluded.
Viet Nam in highlight over alleged misuse of counter-terrorism regulation
To Viet Nam, the place the authorities’ alleged misuse of counter-terrorism legal guidelines has prompted alarm from prime unbiased rights specialists.
In an alert over the remedy of the Montagnard Indigenous group and Christian non secular minorities within the southeast Asian nation, the rights specialists highlighted the mass trial by a cell court docket that convicted 100 folks on expenses linked to terrorism.
The listening to was in response to assaults on two police stations in Dak Lak province in June final 12 months, which led to 9 deaths.
The unbiased rights specialists, who embrace Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, maintained that the authorities had incited civilian vigilantes from a majority ethnic group to “seek out” suspects believed to be from the Montagnard group.
Torture, compelled confessions
“Some detainees had been subjected to torture and merciless, inhuman or degrading remedy or punishment in detention, together with compelled confessions. One detainee, additionally died in custody…after being tortured,” stated the specialists, who report back to the Human Rights Council in Geneva and usually are not UN workers.
They defined that the 100 convicted defendants had been “primarily charged with imprecise and over-broad terrorism offences” throughout the mass trial. They maintained that the cell court docket “lacked a transparent authorized foundation and was not unbiased of political affect”.
Because the 2024 Paralympic Video games get underway in Paris, the pinnacle of the UN World Well being Group (WHO) has urged larger entry to the so-called “assistive expertise” aides that many individuals with disabilities depend on.
WHO Director-Normal Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the gadgets, which embrace working blades, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs, had been massively vital for right now’s Paralympians, “however world wide, many individuals nonetheless should not have entry to essential assistive expertise resulting from its excessive price and low availability”.
Integration with major care
Tedros known as on governments, donors and civil society “to prioritise these uncared for however important merchandise by integrating them in major care programmes” within the title of common well being protection, which is a key Sustainable Improvement Objective.
WHO estimates that greater than 2.5 billion folks should not have entry to assistive expertise right now. Solely 5 to 35 per cent of the 80 million individuals who want a wheelchair even have entry to 1, relying on the place they reside, and just one in 10 individuals who want listening to aids have them.
