The Special Rapporteur on the right to education presented his report at the Human Rights Council

On the 19^th of June, the Human Rights Councils held a clustered dialogue with Mr Kishore Singh, Special Rapporteur on the right to education. Mr Singh reported that, despite the considerable progress made in universalizing access to primary school, education remained of worrying low quality in many areas.

Aung San Suu Kyi at 101st International Labour Conference

On the 14th of June, the 101st Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) was visited by the Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for democracy (NLD) and, since April 2012, Member of the Parliament of Republic of Union of Myanmar. Ms. Suu Kyi was visiting Europe for the first time in 24 years, most of which had been spent under house arrest since the Burmese military regime – still governing -  condemned her.

President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano at the 101st International Labour Conference

On the 13^th of June Mr G. Napolitano, the Italian President, addressed the 101st International Labour Conference. He expressed great concern regarding widespread unemployment in Europe and around the world, particularly among the youth, and recalled  - through the words of the economist Federico Caffé – that labour is not only a means of production, but a primary end in itself. As such, States should consider it as a priority in public policies.

Rio+20: fears and concerns

"Simply put, participatory, accountable, non-discriminatory and empowering development is more effective, more just and ultimately more sustainable." On June 12th, 2012, prior the UN Rio +20 Conference on sustainable development, The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, stated that sustainable development would not be possible without taking into account human rights.

Syria among 52 perpetrators of grave violations against children

On Tuesday the 12^th of June, the UN Secretary-General published his “list of shame”, which reported 52 parties who recruit and use, kill and maim or commit sexual violence against children in addition to those who attack schools and hospitals. This included four new parties in Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) examined the situation of children in Vietnam

On the 31st of May 2012 the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) examined the situation of children and the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Vietnam. The Committee drew attention to some necessary reforms in order to align domestic legislation with international standards. This included raising from 16 to 18 the age of adulthood and reforms in the field of juvenile criminal justice.

Falling Short of Child Labour Deadlines: The Experts Speak

On the 12th of June, World Day Against Child Labour, several experts released statements expressing their continued concern for children labouring to survive. According to the ILO’s Director-General Juan Somavia, 215 million children remain in child labour and over half of these in the worst forms of labour.

UN: A new online platform will measure the development efforts

New York, 6^th of June 2012  4:50 PM

On Wednesday the United Nations created an online platform to measure the financial and political progress made by States towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). "From today, we have made available to all an accessible tool so that the whole world can follow the progress made by Member States towards achieving the MDGs", said Mr Ban during the informal meeting of the General Assembly organized to launch the website http://mdgsupport.un.org. This tool will be known as the "Framework for integrated implementation".

Cuba reviewed by the Committee against Torture

On the 22^nd and 23^rd of May the Committee Against Torture (CAT) held and interactive dialogue with a delegation from Cuba led by Rafael Pino Becquer, Deputy Attorney General of Cuba, following the submission of a national report.