During the US President, Donald J Trump’s, visit India to meet with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, anti-Muslim mobs rioted throughout Delhi, leaving an approximate 42 dead, the majority of whom are Muslim.

UN Secretary General, António Guterres, recently raised concerns over the impending fate of the minorities in India, following the passing of the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). 

During his four-day visit to Pakistan, the Secretary General said that "there is a risk of statelessness" with regards to the two million people that are now facing the danger of exclusion due to the much contested CAA.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, raised a “call for action” to protect human rights, during the first meeting of the UN Human Rights council, which centred on 7 key points; sustainable development, crisis prevention; gender equality; civil participation; the rights of future generations; collective action; and human rights with respects to new technology.

The European Union (EU) has prompted action from the Zimbabwe government to ensure that justice and accountability against human rights abusers is immediately sought.

The call from EU on Monday (Feb 17) requested that an investigation was made into the violence that occurred following the 2018 elections – in particular Zimbabwe security forces who were found to have used excessive lethal force to quell nationwide protests in mid-January 2019, according to Human Rights Watch. Investigations found that ‘at least 17 civilians were killed and 17 women were raped’ and no security force persons has been sanctioned for these offences. 

Human Rights Watch tabled a submission calling on passing a law to the Australian government that will allow targeted sanctions against serious human rights violators abroad, on Monday.

The proposed law was suggested to the parliament’s human rights subcommittee and would implement similar legislation in effect in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.  

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and 27 other non-government organisations have called upon the Government of Myanmar to lift the restrictions on the internet in eight townships in Rakhine State and one in Chin State.

The former chief executive officer of the debt riddled SriLankan Airlines and his wife have been arrested, after a corruption scandal involving the French aerospace company Airbus revealed the couple may have accepted millions of dollars in bribes.

Sudan’s Sovereign Council and government have announced that they will be fully operating with the International Criminal Court (ICC), who will charge former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir with charges of genocide for his role in the Darfur. 

For the first time, the UN has released a list of over 100 companies involved in the violation of Palestinian rights and illegal occupation of the West Bank.

The New York Times, notes that the UNHRC has never requested a list of corporations which will face public scrutiny.

Northern Irish independence party, Sinn Féin, has seen a recent surge of support, particularly among young rural voters, which has raised its polling numbers 14% support in October to over 25% in the last week.

India has continued its detention of four Kashmiri independence leaders and a prominent lawyer under India’s Public Safety Act (PSA) which permits detention without trial for up to two years.

Following talks with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Catalonian separatist leader Quim Torra announced that he would be pushing for an agreed date for a Catalonian independence referendum.