The decision by Zambia to abolish the death penalty is “a historic milestone’, the UN team in the country said on Friday in a statement. 

Read the full story, “Zambia: Abolition of the death penalty ‘a historic milestone’”, on globalissues.org →

The trial of Belarusian rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski is “simply politically motivated” and he should be released, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.

Read the full story, “Belarus: Trial of Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski ‘politically motivated’”, on globalissues.org →

Hundreds of political prisoners in Myanmar were granted amnesty this week, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said Friday, but thousands more remain incarcerated.

Read the full story, “Myanmar: Hundreds of political prisoners released, but thousands remain in jail”, on globalissues.org →

The heads of many of the world’s biggest social media platforms were urged on Friday to change their business models and become more accountable in the battle against rising hate speech online.

Read the full story, “‘Urgent need’ for more accountability from social media giants to curb hate speech: UN experts”, on globalissues.org →

World food prices declined for the ninth consecutive month in December, though many commodities are still at record highs, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday. 

Read the full story, “Food prices decline in December following ‘two very volatile years’: FAO”, on globalissues.org →

Plans by the Biden administration to expand restrictions on people seeking refuge in the United States are “not in line with refugee law standards”, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. 

Read the full story, “New US border measures ‘not in line with international standards’, warns UNHCR”, on globalissues.org →