World News in Brief: IMO tanker attack alert, UN Women on new Afghan law, counter-terrorism in Viet Nam, Paralympics tech

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) raised serious concerns on Wednesday about a tanker carrying one million barrels of crude oil that was attacked in the Red Sea.

“The risk of an oil spill, posing an extremely serious environmental hazard, remains high,” said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, emphasising that the tanker is carrying some 150,000 tonnes of oil on board.

“There is widespread concern about the damage such a spill would cause within the region,” he added.

‘Unacceptable attack’

Referring to the situation regarding the tanker MV Sounion which was targeted while transiting the southern Red Sea, he said “this is yet another unacceptable attack on international shipping, putting the lives of innocent seafarers at risk.”

Since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023 following Hamas-led attacks on Israel, the Houthis in Yemen have launched attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in the besieged enclave against ships with ties to Israel.

“Merchant ships trading essential supplies and the seafarers serving on them should be free to navigate worldwide unhindered by geopolitical tensions,” he said, reiterating a call for “an immediate end to the illegal, cowardly and unjustifiable attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea area”.

Mr. Dominguez expressed gratitude to all those involved in the rescue efforts for ensuring the seafarers have now all been safely evacuated, noting that IMO is in communication with national, regional and UN entities as well as other stakeholders regarding the ongoing incident and will monitor the situation closely.

UN Women deeply concerned by new Afghanistan morality law

UN Women issued a statement on Wednesday expressing deep concern over a new morality law by the Taliban targeting women, which imposes extensive restrictions on personal behaviour, “effectively erasing women from public life”.
 
The law on the “promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice” significantly deepens the already severe curtailment of the rights of Afghan women and girls, including requirements for women to cover their entire bodies and faces, and it forbids women’s voices in public, the gender equality agency said.

Women are also prohibited from interacting with non-Muslims, using public transport alone and looking at men to whom they are not related by blood or marriage.

Over 70 laws erode women’s rights

Over the past three years since regaining power, the Taliban have subjected Afghan women and girls to over 70 edicts, directives and decrees, stripping them of fundamental rights.

According to a new UN Women survey, only one per cent of women surveyed feel like they have influence over decision making in their communities, 64 per cent said they do not feel safe leaving their homes by themselves, compared to two per cent of men, and eight per cent indicated knowing at least one woman or girl who has attempted suicide since August 2021.

“UN Women stands in unwavering solidarity with every Afghan woman and girl subjected to these measures and we will continue to work with our partners to support the full realisation of their rights,” the statement concluded.

Viet Nam in spotlight over alleged misuse of counter-terrorism law

To Viet Nam, where the authorities’ alleged misuse of counter-terrorism laws has prompted alarm from top independent rights experts.

In an alert over the treatment of the Montagnard Indigenous group and Christian religious minorities in the southeast Asian nation, the rights experts highlighted the mass trial by a mobile court that convicted 100 people on charges linked to terrorism.

The hearing was in response to attacks on two police stations in Dak Lak province in June last year, which led to nine deaths.

The independent rights experts, who include Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, maintained that the authorities had incited civilian vigilantes from a majority ethnic group to “hunt down” suspects believed to be from the Montagnard community.

Torture, forced confessions

“Some detainees were subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in detention, including forced confessions. One detainee, also died in custody…after being tortured,” said the experts, who report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva and are not UN staff.

They explained that the 100 convicted defendants were “mainly charged with vague and over-broad terrorism offences” during the mass trial. They maintained that the mobile court “lacked a clear legal basis and was not independent of political influence”.

As Paralympics begin, WHO’s Tedros urges support for crucial assistive technology

As the 2024 Paralympic Games get underway in Paris, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has urged greater access to the so-called “assistive technology” aides that many people with disabilities rely on.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the devices, which include running blades, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs, were hugely important for today’s Paralympians, “but around the world, many people still do not have access to crucial assistive technology due to its high cost and low availability”.

Integration with primary care

Tedros called on governments, donors and civil society “to prioritise these neglected but critical products by integrating them in primary care programmes” in the name of universal health coverage, which is a key Sustainable Development Goal.

WHO estimates that more than 2.5 billion people do not have access to assistive technology today. Only five to 35 per cent of the 80 million people who need a wheelchair actually have access to one, depending on where they live, and only one in 10 people who need hearing aids have them.