The severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka shows no signs of ending any time soon, with the country’s newly installed Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, warning of more difficult days ahead. Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the most senior UN official in Sri Lanka, told UN News that, amid violent protests and the imposition of a state of emergency, any solution must involve a robust democracy and respect for human rights.

Marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on Tuesday, leaders from across the UN system called for a world where all people can live free from violence and discrimination.

The news that more than 100,000 people in Mexico are now officially registered as “disappeared” is a tragedy, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday, in a call for action to tackle the country’s longstanding problem.

The UN migration agency, IOM, is running migrant centres across six provinces in Turkey as part of its refugee response, which provide migrants, refugees, and host community members, with education, social services, law, vocational guidance, and community support. One of those who has benefited from the centres is Leyla Al Darazi, originally from Lebanon, who although born male, has identified as female since a young age. To coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, marked on 17 May, Leyla told her story to Begum Basaran, a communications assistant with IOM Turkey. 

Investigators probing allegations of war crimes in the Ukraine conflict must work closely together and in compliance with international standards of forensic best practice, the UN expert on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions said on Monday. 

Countries taking part in the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour this week in South Africa, are being urged to do more to end child labour by 2025.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday appealed for greater commitment to harmony and diversity one day after 10 people were killed, and three wounded, in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

Investigations must be held into the actions of the Israeli security forces, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Saturday, calling for accountability and an end to impunity.

UN-appointed independent human rights experts called on Thursday for Singapore to immediately impose a moratorium on the death penalty, saying the continued use of capital punishment for drug-related crimes runs contrary to international law.

The UN Human Rights Council met in special session on Thursday in Geneva, prompted by increasing concern over atrocities committed against civilians, linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

To support young people’s political participation and amplify their voices in public life, the UN launched a campaign on Wednesday in collaboration with the Youth Envoy.

The latest deadly prison violence in Ecuador has again highlighted the urgent need for a comprehensive reform of the country’s criminal justice system, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday. 

Almost 76 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, countless civilians remain caught up in the horror and destruction of war, UN rights investigators said on Tuesday. 

Under the guise of preventing money-laundering and cutting off terrorist financing, a new law in Nicaragua further restricts the functioning of civil society, “contrary to the country’s human rights obligations”, the spokesperson for the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Monday.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) issued a statement of deep concern on Saturday in response to an announcement made by the Taliban de facto authorities saying that women should only leave their homes in cases of necessity and then, with their faces covered in public.

Peru has failed to protect the rights of two fleeing demonstrators who were shot dead when police opened fire on a non-violent march in February 2008, the UN Human Rights Committee said in a decision published on Friday.

Ten weeks into the war in Ukraine, UN humanitarians on Friday said that they were urgently ramping up efforts to provide vulnerable children with specialist and psychosocial support, amid “tremendous” mental health needs and ongoing dangers linked to the Russian invasion and sexual and gender-based violence.

Humanitarian needs continue to rise in war-torn Ukraine where an estimated 7.7 million people are now internally displaced, UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday.

The UN’s leading expert on issues facing children caught up in war, on Thursday released a new analysis on the importance of considering how gender differences impact young people during armed conflicts.

Journalists in Ukraine have been targeted and continue to face unprecedented dangers carrying out their work in the wake of the Russian invasion, top independent rights experts said on Wednesday.