Switzerland

27 Sep 2019; MEMO: The UN Human Rights Council yesterday voted in favour of extending an investigation into war crimes committed in Yemen.

GENEVA, Sept 27 (NNN-BSS) — The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution urging Myanmar to create conducive environment in northern Rakhine state and convince Rohingyas to return with full safety and dignity as per the bilateral agreement with Bangladesh.

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 37 in favour, two against and seven abstentions during the ongoing 42 regular session of the UNHRC in Geneva Thursday.

The resolution, brought by Bangladesh was finalized by all member countries of OIC and European Union.

BERN (Reuters) - The Swiss parliament on Wednesday approved Attorney General Michael Lauber for a third term, opting for continuity despite impending disciplinary proceedings over his handling of a soccer corruption probe.

Lauber was thrown into the limelight last year when details emerged of confidential meetings he and another high-level prosecutor held with FIFA officials while investigating suspected corruption in world soccer.

The resulting questions over their impartiality sent shockwaves through the Swiss justice system.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will present a plan for creating security in the Gulf in cooperation with other countries in the region when he attends the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

Saudi Arabia and the United States accuse Iran of attacking Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14, the biggest such assault on the world’s top oil exporter.

Iran denies involvement in the attack, which was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, a group aligned with Iran and currently fighting a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen’s civil war.

Berne, Sep 21; AFP/GANASHAKTI: Thousands of people protested in the Swiss capital Bern Saturday over the roll-out of a 5G wireless technology across the country, which they fear could damage people's health.

The protesters, many carrying placards, gathered in front of the Swiss parliament building, in a bid to stop the construction of more 5G-compatible antennae.

"The fact that so many people turned out today is a strong sign against the uncontrolled introduction of 5G," said Tamlin Schibler Ulmann, co-president of Frequencia, the group that organised the rally.

GENEVA, Sept 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A panel of UN experts warns the failure of South Sudan’s warring factions to implement last year’s peace accord risks plunging the country into full-scale war once again.

The report by the three-member Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan shows no improvements since South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar signed a peace accord aimed at ending the country’s six-year civil war.

GENEVA, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela is “ready” to defend itself, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Friday, after Washington invoked a regional defence pact that might justify such a move.

“We are ready to protect ourselves, we are ready to react,” Arreaza told a news conference after meeting in Geneva with UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

“We will let no one trample sacred Venezuelan soil, we will respond and hope that never happens,” the minister said.

GENEVA, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenyan and British lawyers have submitted a complaint to the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of Kenyans who were forced from their land during the British colonial era.

They say they suffered horrific human rights abuses when British settlers took over their land in what is now Kericho County in the fertile Rift Valley.

The land was later leased to multinationals including tea companies.

GENEVA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A dysfunctional dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is worrisome and will open door to more unilateral actions, WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell has said.

In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua, Rockwell reiterated that "the dispute settlement system has been an integral part of the success of the WTO."

"If you take away this important multilateral component, you open the door to more unilateral actions," warned the spokesperson.

GENEVA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday expressed concern about the migration policies of the United State and the European Union (EU).

In a speech at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council, Bachelet said some migration policies are "putting migrants at heightened risk of human rights violations and abuses, and may violate the rights of vulnerable people."