Last week I made my first visit to Brazil as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It was a very full and fascinating week during which I held a series of frank and open discussions with the President, ministers, the judiciary, and many other officials at both federal and...

On November 11, the United Nations Security Council will discuss the pressing, but still elusive issue of protection of civilians in armed conflict. Accountability for crimes committed in the course of hostilities should be at the forefront of that debate. History shows that there can neither be durable peace nor...

A group of representatives from caste-affected communities in Asia recently gave me a piece of brick from the wall of a torn down latrine. The brick symbolised the global struggle against the degrading practice of making members of a "lower caste" clean public toilets with their bare hands.

This...

Yesterday, in Geneva, the United Nations Human Rights Council had a very important discussion about two reports it received on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: the report of the independent fact finding mission on the Gaza conflict, led by Justice Goldstone, and my own report, also requested by...

There has been remarkable progress in terms of the number of States that have adopted democratic governance over the past two decades, mainly through commitment to holding periodic elections. While this gives new hope and expectations to millions of people around the globe, the prospect of leading a fulfilled life,...

Two new United Nations reports were issued this week that document a series of human rights abuses, including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These reports underscore the urgent need for the DRC government and the international community to institute...

I warmly welcome the responsible decision by the US government to open a preliminary investigation into whether US laws were violated by CIA officers and contractors during the interrogation of detainees at places outside the United States, including Guantanamo Bay. The United States Attorney-General has announced the decision to appoint...

August 19 is a date that is etched deep in the consciousness of the United Nations and the memories of those involved in humanitarian and human rights work around the world: the day in 2003 when 22 people, mostly UN staff, were killed in cold blood by a single bomb...