Across the United States, “heads are rolling” at the top of some Ivy League universities amid a campus-wide crackdown on students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, shining a spotlight on the question of freedom of expression worldwide, said UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan.

A top Human Rights Council-appointed expert has welcomed the decision by all health authorities in the United Kingdom to halt the routine use of puberty-blockers offered to children as part of gender transition services, amid a sharp increase more widely in the number of teenage girls seeking such treatment and concerns that it might disrupt brain development.

Following the United Kingdom Parliament’s passage of the “Safety of Rwanda” bill, two top UN officials sounded an alarm on Tuesday about its harmful impact on global responsibility-sharing, human rights and refugee protection.

Independent UN experts have expressed concern over the role airlines and aviation authorities could have in the unlawful removal of asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda under an agreement between the two governments and the proposed “Safety of Rwanda” bill. 

The UN’s top human rights official on Friday raised alarm over the escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between junta and opposition forces amid reports of the military regime forcing members of the minority Muslim Rohingya community to join their ranks.

Despite important achievements over the past decade to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples, safeguard their cultures and expand their participation at the UN, “deep chasms” endure between commitments made and reality on the ground, the President of the General Assembly said on Wednesday. 

Tuesday marked the opening of the third session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, bringing together anti-racism activists, human rights defenders, government delegations and others. 

With the ‘promise of a better world’ in mind, the UN Youth Office has launched a new advocacy campaign – “World Leaders: It’s Time to Let #YouthLead” – calling for greater youth representation in decision-making roles in both the public and private sector, civil society, academia, and the UN. 

People affected by gang wars in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, have been describing to the UN how their lives have been violently changed, with one person saying he feels that he has lost his identity and “no longer amounts to anything”.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali took on fights outside the ring for civil rights and against war, bringing strong messages to the UN since the 1970s, so ahead of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, we looked back at what he brought to the world.

Some of Haiti’s gangs have bigger arsenals than the police as criminal groups are becoming “stronger, richer and more autonomous” by using arms trafficking to fuel their growth, according to UN experts.

All warring parties must allow safe, swift and unfettered humanitarian access and protect civilian infrastructure, top UN officials told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Restoring public order and ensuring access to aid must be priorities in Haiti, where criminal gangs continue to terrorize the population, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva. 

UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday called for the fighting and occupation of Ukraine to end, so the country can begin “healing the deep wounds and painful divisions” caused by Russia’s invasion.

Racism, discrimination and crippled economies and health are among centuries-old legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and part of the stark messages behind the #RememberSlavery special events and newly unveiled chilling exhibits at UN Headquarters.

Almost five million Haitians are going hungry and need food assistance, according to recent UN figures, but the violence and related insecurity created by heavily armed rival gangs operating mainly in the capital are posing more questions about how to make sure those beleaguered people get enough to eat, now and in the future.

Working abroad can be a way for Indonesians to earn much more than they could at home, and provide for their families. However, for some the journey can turn into a nightmare, with long hours, wages withheld, and abuse. The UN is working closely with the government to help bring trafficked workers home.

A 12-year-girl who was allegedly raped repeatedly by her stepfather has been described by Madagascar’s Chief Inspector of Police as “courageous” after she came forward to tell her story during an information session on gender-based violence supported by the United Nations.

Russia must immediately release American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained without evidence for a year, two UN human rights experts said on Thursday. 

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) issued a new report on Tuesday, revealing a surge in credible allegations of torture and executions of captured Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) at the hands of Russian forces.

There are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories said on Tuesday. 

Top UN officials, including the Secretary-General and the General Assembly President on Monday paid tribute to the millions of men, women and children who suffered as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, one of most devastating chapters in human history.

Independent UN human rights experts on Friday expressed alarm over increased reports of sexual slavery and trafficking in Sudan, especially of women and girls.

Large parts of Burkina Faso are being terrorized by armed groups and the rampant insecurity is “beyond alarming”, said the UN human rights chief on Thursday following a brief visit to the country.

Reparatory justice must tackle the grave human rights violations deeply entrenched in the legacy of colonialism and enslavement, the General Assembly heard on Thursday on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, marked annually on 21 March.

Racism is “an evil infecting countries and societies around the world” the UN chief has said in his message marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination but it impacts communities differently.

The UN’s deputy human rights chief on Wednesday underscored the need to ensure accountability for ongoing serious violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), stressing that it would also benefit long-term peace and security across the region.

Russia has instilled a pervasive atmosphere of fear in the occupied regions of Ukraine, perpetrating egregious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in an attempt to cement its control, according to a new report from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, released on Wednesday.

With the number of political prisoners growing and a shutdown of civic space, people in Belarus are being deprived of their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and more, a new UN human rights report presented on Wednesday has revealed.