Equality and Human Rights

Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian ex-official of the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh administration, was arrested and imprisoned along with other top Karabakh officials during Baku's recapture of Nagorno Karabakh in September 2023. On Thursday (3 October), Vardanyan's lawyers filed a lawsuit in Baku for alleged torture and denial of a speedy trial. 

Several patients in a makeshift Mpox isolation ward in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are in urgent need of proper medical care as hospital staff struggle with drug shortages and overcrowding. These patients have been diagnosed with Mpox, a virus that was declared a global public health emergency three weeks ago. Reports over the past two weeks suggest that vaccines against the new strain of the virus are expected to arrive soon. In response to the outbreak, Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has approved a $10 million fund to support containment efforts. However, until these measures are implemented, health workers in parts of the DRC continue to struggle to provide adequate care for patients.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has pardoned more than 4,800 people wanted or convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation. This was reported by the Moroccan newspaper Le Matin and the French news agency AFP on Monday evening (19 August), citing the North African country's justice ministry. The pardoned farmers simply met the 'conditions for pardon', the ministry said, explaining the decision.

Sierra Leone's parliament has passed a law banning child marriage, a development hailed by campaigners as a major victory for children's rights.

More than 14 months of war have severely affected Sudan's health sector, with many hospitals and medical facilities closed, damaged or destroyed. In Omdurman, many hospital buildings are abandoned. Doctors warn that the few operating facilities may close due to limited resources and overcrowding. Dr Ammar Moatasem, who works at a dialysis centre in Kassala State, said they could not follow proper treatment protocols. Awad Mohamed, a patient at the centre, expressed frustration at the lack of hope for improvement. Manal Fadl, a displaced Sudanese mother who underwent heart surgery just before the war, has not received proper follow-up care. 

Hundreds of pilgrims who died of extreme heat during this year's Hajj were not officially registered with the Saudi authorities (the Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims). As a result, many pilgrims were unable to access basic services such as air-conditioned buses and cooling tents. This situation highlights a growing challenge for Hajj organisers in the face of climate change: the requirement for official permits to access these services raises concerns that unregistered pilgrims may increasingly face life-threatening heat exposure. In addition, the high cost of official Hajj packages is leading some Muslims to seek cheaper, unofficial alternatives that do not include the necessary permits, taking advantage of relaxed restrictions on other types of Saudi visas. The lack of permits for unregistered pilgrims is hampering the provision of services and care, according to Colonel Talal bin Shalhoub, the security spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Interior, in an interview on Saudi al-Arabiya television. Critics argue that all pilgrims should be protected from extreme heat, regardless of their registration status, and claim that authorities have cracked down on unauthorised participants this year.

The UN Security Council, at the initiative of the United Kingdom, recently adopted a resolution on Thursday (13 June) calling for an immediate end to the siege of Al Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state. The city, some 800 kilometres west of Khartoum, remains a key conflict zone as it is the last major western city not yet in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF, a former elite unit made up of ethnic Arab militias and once part of the regime of dictator Omar Hassan al Bashir, is now led by General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. Daglo, a military leader and wealthy businessman from Darfur, plays a central role in the current power struggle in Sudan. The violence has killed at least 14,000 people and displaced more than 10 million others, according to UN estimates.