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The UN Secretary General took note of the move in a statementreiterated his call for the swift and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained as a fundamental step towards important political reforms.
António Guterres believes that a viable political solution must be based on an immediate end to the brutal civil conflict in Myanmar and a genuine commitment to inclusive dialogue.
Work towards peace
Continued engagement between the military junta and rebel leaders with the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar is critical to supporting efforts towards a peaceful resolution.
This includes coordination with regional partners such as the ASEAN group of countries, in line with calls from ASEAN Security Council and the General Assembly.
Cambodia: Court upholds sentence of former opposition leader Kem Sokha
And living in Southeast Asia, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has revealed deep concern over the decision by the high court in Cambodia to uphold the sentence of former opposition leader Kem Sokha, as well as the guilty verdicts against 33 other opposition figures, human rights defenders and social media users.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal reaffirmed Sokha’s 27-year prison sentence on charges of treason, espionage and conspiracy, related to a speech he delivered in Australia in 2013, four years before his 2017 arrest.
On Wednesday, in separate cases, the Court of First Instance handed down sentences ranging from 18 months suspended to two years in prison for 33 people.
They face charges of “incitement to cause social disorder” for public comments they made in 2024 regarding the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area project.
Human rights issues
The recent sentences and sentences handed down are inconsistent with international human rights law and risk exacerbating the dire impact of broad and unclear criminal laws and arbitrary law enforcement on civil society, journalists and society at large in Cambodia.
Kem Sokha and 33 other people exercised their right to freedom of expression. Their trials raised concerns about violations of due process and fair trial rights.
The High Commissioner urged Cambodia to ensure that legitimate criticism and expression is protected and not criminalized, to safeguard civil space, to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and uphold fair trial guarantees.
The authorities must cancel these sentences and unconditionally release Kem Sokha and all other people arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights. They should halt further prosecutions, and review Cambodia’s criminal laws to ensure they are consistent with international human rights law standards.
Israel’s new death penalty law ‘violates racial discrimination’: Independent rights expert
Israel’s newly passed ‘Death Penalty for Terrorists’ perpetuates racial discrimination against Palestinians, a panel of independent human rights experts said on Thursday.
UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – supported by the UN human rights office, OHCHR – said the new law constitutes a major erosion of human rights, and urged Israeli authorities to immediately repeal the law.
The committee expressed concern that the law requires the death penalty by hanging as the standard punishment for cases involving ‘acts of terrorism’ before Israeli military courts, which have exclusive jurisdiction over Palestinian citizens in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – while Israeli citizens and residents are exempt from such punishment.
The committee said the new law is a severe blow to human rights, overturning Israel’s de facto moratorium on executions since 1962 and expanding the application of the death penalty in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
‘Only applies to Palestinians’
The committee highlighted its concern that in Israel, “the law only applies to those convicted of intentional murder with the aim of ‘denying the existence of the State of Israel’” so that in effect the law “applies only to Palestinians.”
It further states that the law prohibits mitigation, reduction or pardon of death sentences and sets a 90-day time limit for executions after the final judgment is handed down.
Meanwhile, the Committee said the law was adopted amidst increasing settler violence and extrajudicial killings with impunity across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as ongoing systematic violations of due process and fair trial rights for Palestinians.
As of January 2026, 9,243 Palestinians were in Israeli custody, including 3,385 administrative detainees held without trial, according to UN figures.
A PAHO health worker prepares a rabies vaccination.
Critical disparities in health worker qualifications across South America
South American countries continue to experience significant health care disparities in terms of worker availability in sectors reported to be in urban areas compared to rural and underserved communities, according to new regional report by the UN-backed Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Reports on Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay identified gaps that directly impact the availability of specialists and the ability of health systems to respond to population needs.
These gaps include migration of health workers, concentration in urban areas, misalignment between education supply and health system needs, and stark differences in working conditions between sectors and regions.
Investment required
Among the findings, Brazil shows a large gap, with lower availability in the north and northeast regions, and a high proportion of multiple contracts.
Meanwhile Peru concentrates 85 percent of its personnel in urban areas and is estimated to have a shortage of more than 54,000 health workers.
“Countries need stronger information systems and comprehensive policies that simultaneously address health workforce training, recruitment, distribution and retention,” said James Fitzgerald, Director of Health Systems and Services at PAHO.
PAHO urges governments in the region to invest in training and policies to help retain workers, with particular attention to primary health services and areas of greatest need.
