This, in effect, prohibits all LGBT public activities and organizations within the country.
The nine experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said the ruling “significantly distances” Russia from its obligations under international law to promote and protect human rights for all.
The experts sent an official letter to the Russian government on Monday, outlining their urgent concerns, which continue the trend of allegations of state-sponsored human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and other gender diverse (LGBT) people who they live there.
Bars and nightclubs attacked
They reported that in previous days Russia had carried out raids in Moscow and St. Petersburg on places commonly visited by LGBT people, including LGBT bars and clubs.
“Balaclava-wearing police officers barged in and conducted unauthorized searches of the premises, while visitors reviewed and photographed their identification documents, creating increased risks of harassment or misuse of their personal information,” a press release issued by the Office of UN Human Rights (OCHR) said.
“The immediate and highly publicized nature of these police actions appear to be aimed at intimidating and instilling fear within the LGBT community in Russia,” the UN experts said.
They warned that human rights defenders and organizations working to defend the LGBT community have now been forced to stop working, “for fear of criminal prosecution,” adding that some lawyers and human rights defenders who representing LGBT clients have already done so.
“This jeopardizes access to legal representation and justice for victims of discrimination, violence and other crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” the experts said.
“In line with the Russian president's stated intention to maintain an anti-LGBT stance as a cornerstone of his political agenda, this decision marks the latest step in a series of legislative initiatives and related actions, eroding the last remaining human rights safeguards for LGBT people. in Russia,” the experts said.
UN special rapporteurs and other rights experts are not paid for their work and serve in an individual capacity, without representing any government or organization.
'Unprecedented' malnutrition crisis in Africa: 75 percent cannot afford healthy food
More than one billion Africans cannot afford a healthy diet and nearly one in three children on the continent are stunted due to malnutrition.
These are the grim conclusions of a report released Thursday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the World Food Program (WFP) and the African Union Commission.
It warns that 78 percent of the African population – including many who live above the extreme poverty line – lack the means to eat healthily, compared to 42 percent globally.
One in five Africans is undernourished: that's almost 282 million people, according to the report, or a quarter more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that the prevalence of stunting among children under five years old was 30 percent in 2022.
The authors expressed hope that the alarming statistics pointing to an “unprecedented” food security and malnutrition crisis “will trigger new momentum for the transformation of agri-food systems in Africa” to make them more inclusive, resilient and sustainable.
Experts call for new focus on long-term health challenges due to childbirth
Each year, at least 40 million women are likely to experience a long-term health problem caused by childbirth, according to a new study published in The Lancet Global Health and highlighted by the UN health agency (WHO).
The study, part of a special series on maternal health, shows a high burden of postnatal conditions that persist in the months or even years after giving birth.
These include pain during sexual intercourse (known as dyspareunia), which affects more than a third of postpartum women, lower back pain, anal incontinence and urinary incontinence.
Other conditions include anxiety, depression, perineal pain, fear of childbirth, and secondary infertility.
The authors of the article. “We call for greater recognition within health systems of these common problems, many of which occur beyond the point at which women typically access postnatal services,” WHO said.
They maintain that effective care during pregnancy and childbirth is also a fundamental preventive factor to detect risks and avoid complications that can lead to lasting health problems after birth.
daily suffering
“Many postpartum conditions cause considerable suffering in women's daily lives long after birth, both emotionally and physically, and yet they are largely under-assessed, under-recognized and under-reported,” said Dr. Pascale Allotey. , Director of Research and Sexual and Reproductive Health at World Health. Health Organization.
“Throughout their lives, and beyond motherhood, women need access to a variety of services from health care providers who listen to their concerns and meet their needs, so that they not only survive childbirth but can also enjoy of good health and quality of life.
These conditions have been largely ignored in clinical research, practice and policy, the article notes, even though they occur frequently.
The authors did not identify any recent high-quality guidelines published in the past 12 years to support effective treatment for about 40 percent of the 32 priority conditions analyzed and could not find a single high-quality guideline from a low- or low-income country. media.
