Andrew Bremberg at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md. A group of human-rights and global-health nonprofit organizations has recommended that the Senate reject the nomination of Bremberg as US ambassador to the UN in Geneva. GAGE SKIDMORE
The vote by the Human Rights Council on July 12, renewing the role of the UN expert on sexual orientation and gender identity and reflecting more global support to protect LGBTIQ rights than in the past, the author writes.
I woke to a flurry of messages from LGBTIQ activists across the world, coordinating activities. It was July 12 and the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva was about to vote on renewing the mandate of the independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity — the SOGI expert, as it is called in the UN.
The lives of women are falling into separate camps internationally: those who live in the wealthiest industrial nations, with progressive laws on abortion, and those in developing countries, where nonprofit health clinics are closing and women have fewer choices. In Nepal, above.
A demonstration outside the Organization of American States in Washington, April 5, 2016, protesting the murder of the Honduran rights defender Berta Cáceres, who was killed a month earlier. Her daughter, Berta Zúñiga Cáceres, is part of the protests. The author of the essay suggests that instead of women’s rights activists being called on to “push back” against oppression, it’s time for others to “join us”?
Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture, was criticized by hundreds of international human-rights lawyers recently for his “problematic definition of rape,” as expressed in an essay he wrote online about Julian Assange of Wikileaks. JEAN-MARC FERRE/UN PHOTO
The property rights of Catherine, a widow, have been threatened with violence in Magu, Tanzania. For widows across the globe, their losses can be uncountable, including their human rights. BEN SMALL/HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL
For many women around the world, the death of a spouse is magnified by many losses — of their social status, marital home, land, property, social security, dignity and, sometimes, their children. But men, on the other hand, lose none of their human rights while usually gaining support in starting a new chapter in his life.
Women in Uruguay preparing to participate in an International Women’s Day march, 2019. New global plans are underway to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing conference advancing women’s rights in 2020, including events to be held in Mexico, France and New York. The efforts will not be easy. CREATIVE COMMONS
Women from North Darfur performing a traditional dance during a celebration organized by the UN mission there. The author of this essay, an international rights lawyer, argues that Omar al-Bashir, the now-ousted president of Sudan, should be transferred to the International Criminal Court for prosecution of atrocities. ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN/UNAMID
The people of Sudan finally ousted President Omar al-Bashir from power, on April 11, 2019.
The US State Department has created a new commission to advise Secretary of State Pompeo, above, on redefining policies aligned with “natural law and natural rights.” For human-rights advocates, the language suggests ominous religious and other overtones. RON PRZYSUCHA/STATE DEPARTMENT
On the last day of the annual UN women’s conference in March, joy was mixed with relief by delegates after grueling negotiations over a summary document. The facilitator for the negotiations, Koki Muli Grignon, a Kenyan diplomat, received bullying text messages during the process. The US mission to the UN said it would investigate the incidents but the status of that work is unclear. RYAN BROWN/UN WOMEN
