JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
“UN special rapporteurs, along with other parts of the human rights ecosystem, by their nature, deal with sensitive and often divisive issues of international concern,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk said when the United States imposed sanctions in 2025 against Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Appointed and mandated by the Council to monitor and report on thematic issues or specific country situations, special rapporteurs and independent experts are not UN staff and do not receive a salary, but their work is unique, insightful, and a window to the world.
The documents also provide a sharp focus on pressing issues of global or national concern, and in November 2025, there is a sharp focus 46 thematic And 13 countries Council-approved mandate.
Here are the highlights on Thursday:
‘Media abandonment’ amid shrinking public space
Digital technology has been the most disruptive factor in freedom of expression for centuries, leading to “media deserts” and a dangerous shrinking of the public sphere, warns Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
He delivered sharp criticism of tech giants and sovereign countries, without naming names. He said many countries are utilizing digital tools to suppress dissent.
At the same time, tech “oligarchs” manipulate online spaces for profit, creating an environment “tainted by hate,” where women, children and journalists bear the brunt of online attacks.
Read the full report Here.
Dangerous power asymmetries
Underscoring power asymmetries that challenge traditional human rights frameworks, the report reveals enormous financial benefits where one digital company can generate more revenue than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 130 national governments.
Meanwhile, unprecedented reach has led to individual platforms having more than three billion monthly users, exceeding the population of any single country.
Watch an interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur Khan below:
Ms Khan warned that the lines between regulators and regulators were increasingly blurring, with many countries colluding with companies at a time when some populist leaders and liberal democracies are increasingly weaponizing weak criminal laws and AI frameworks, to censor speech and incite hostility against minority groups, migrants and women leaders.
“The game must change,” the special rapporteur urged, and called on countries to take their human rights responsibilities seriously to ensure technology does not continue to have a detrimental impact on global freedom of expression.
“Most of the administration in the House currently supports me. My question to them is, what are you going to do now?”
The Taliban’s decision erodes the rights of women and girls
A new decree issued by the Taliban in Afghanistan to regulate the terms of separation of couples will legalize child marriage and prevent women and girls from leaving abusive relationships, UN experts warn.
“The decree on ‘spousal separation’, which was de facto issued by the Ministry of Justice in April 2026, leaves women and girls vulnerable to abuse and exploitation and increases the potential for abuse of power by guardians, including in arranged marriages, making it almost impossible for girls to report or take action against domestic violence, experts found.
Some provisions allow a child to be separated after reaching puberty, demonstrating a failure to protect them from marriage, which causes girls to endure years of physical, psychological, sexual and economic suffering before they can seek help, they said.
Limiting reality
The decree lists various conditions under which a woman can request separation from her husband, including “incompatibility,” disappearance, stubbornness, and religious reasons, which are not specified by law.
“On the surface, these provisions appear to be an attempt to protect women and girls by creating uniform guidelines nationally, but in practice these provisions are undermined by discriminatory treatment of women and girls and bias against them.”
Read their full statement Here.
The invisibility of lesbian, bisexual and queer women
Policymakers must address the political and statistical invisibility of lesbian, bisexual and queer women whose communities face different and intersecting forms of violence and discrimination, said Graeme Reid, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“While there is significant diversity in the lived experiences of lesbian, bisexual and queer women, common structural patterns drive their marginalization,” she said.
The rights of lesbian, bisexual and queer women are often mediated through patriarchal institutions and conditioned on their relationships with men, which specifically limit their freedom of movement, housing, land and property rights, access to health care and other public services and their rights as parents, it said.
Call to action
The independent expert urges countries to adopt laws and policies that expand women’s ability to unconditionally exercise their rights, address violence against women related to their sexual orientation or gender identity, prohibit discrimination in health care and other public services and protect lesbian, bisexual and queer human rights defenders.
Mr. Reid also called on multilateral organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society to collaborate to support such efforts and to close data gaps.
Read the full report Here.
Nicaragua: Gender-based violence is used as a weapon of oppression
The Nicaraguan government has used gender-based violence as a weapon of political repression against women, girls and LGBTIQ+ people in an effort to punish and silence thousands of people across the country, the UN Human Rights Expert Group on Nicaragua said in a newly released report.
Hundreds of people of all ages have been subjected to various abuses and political persecution, exacerbated by discrimination and gender stereotypes, said Ariela Peralta Distéfano, an expert who is a member of the group.
“In particular, Nicaragua has implemented specific forms of gender-based violence and oppression to target women who play active and important roles in the country’s public, political and community life.”
Equality ends when criticism begins
The main motive behind the abuses, violations and crimes against humanity committed since 2018 in the country is political, the group stressed. However, the gender of the victims influences how they are selected, how they are oppressed, and the impacts they suffer.
“The government boasts of gender equality, but the women placed in its institutions carry out orders, but they don’t give them,” said Reed Brody, an expert member of the group.
