Michelle Bachelet
UN rights chief Bachelet condemns Tanzania election violence
The people of Tanzania should be allowed to express grievances “without fear of reprisals” after nationwide elections, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday. In a statement, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that she had been disturbed by reports of continued intimidation and… »
UN rights office expresses alarm at Hong Kong arrests under new security law
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has expressed alarm at the arrest of demonstrators in Hong Kong, following China’s adoption of a national security law for the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists in Geneva on Friday that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was… »
Slavery reparations: there’s little legal basis to make companies pay for historic actions
Two major British businesses have said they will make undisclosed payments to black and minority ethnic groups to atone for their past owners’ involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Pub group Greene King and insurance broker Lloyd’s of London have both apologised for what they respectively call “inexcusable” actions and “indefensible… »
Unite against hate and violence targeting LGBTI people: UN officials
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for people everywhere to support the right to live free and equal, in line with his message for the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, observed on Sunday. The commemoration comes as the world continues to battle the… »
No opinion can be given on a report of questionable impartiality [re: Venezuela]
By José Gabriel Feres* There is no doubt that we humanists repudiate and reject the practice of violating human rights wherever it comes from. Not only do our ideology and principles support us, but above all our struggle against all those who violate them, in Chile and in the world,… »
UN human rights chief denounces “outrageous conditions” for immigrants in US concentration camps
By Josh Varlin UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet issued a statement Monday condemning the conditions for immigrants detained by the US government in concentration camps along the southern border with Mexico. Her statement cites the separation of children from their parents, the “outrageous conditions” in the network… »
Chile: Abstention wins and Piñera becomes President
By Andrés Figueroa Cornejo Once again, abstention has triumphed in the 2017 presidential election, with more than 50% of those entitled to vote not doing so. Chile reaffirms its leadership of countries with least electoral participation in Latin America, and is second in the world after Madagascar. According to the… »
Thursday’s Date with Calls for a Fairer Chile
Viewpoint by Pía Figueroa* SANTIAGO (IDN) – Every year, as they have been doing since 2011, students in Chile take to the streets each Thursday, demanding a free and good quality education system. They are increasingly being joined by their parents – tired of… »
Photos from the CELAC summit
As 33 heads of state and their representatives meet in Ecuador, just outside Quito in a town called the Middle of the World (Mitad del Mundo), the world’s press gathers to take photos. After his efforts at last week’s summit of the rich and famous in Davos, Switzerland, meeting with… »
President creates Ministry of Indigenous People in Chile
Today, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet signed the laws at La Moneda Palace, Santiago, that create the Ministry of Indigenous People, the National Council and the Indigenous People’s Councils. In a simple ceremony, Bachelet congratulated herself on benefiting, at last, the original Chilean indigenous people who include new ethnic groups recognized… »