Human rights instruments

The Demos Center at Deree - The American College of Greece (acg.edu) and Education Unites launches its "Focus: Human Rights" series on February 22 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6.30 p.m.) in its Plaka building at 17B Ipitou Street.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday that human rights "are under attack around the world" while praising those who defend them, during a ceremony marking the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 75th anniversary.

After almost two weeks of intense negotiations, experts from more than 70 countries gathered in Ljubljana adopted a document to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is the first such treaty since the 1998 Rome Statute.

Representatives of some 70 countries gathered in Ljubljana on 15 May for a two-week conference in a bid to finalise what is considered to be the first key international treaty on prosecution of atrocities since the 1998 Rome Statute.

Bulgaria is at the top of the ranking of EU member states in terms of the number of cases in the so-called "enhanced procedure" (clusters of cases posing structural and systemic problems) at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The country is in sixth place after Russia (16%), Ukraine (15%), Turkey (11%), Romania (10%) and Italy (7%).

The relevant parliamentary committee voted on 12 weapons programmes

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution terminating Russia's participation in the Human Rights Council.

"The UN General Assembly has suspended Russia's participation in the UN Human Rights Council," the statement said.

93 delegations voted in favor of the resolution, 24 against and 58 abstentions.

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will make its first visit to Bulgaria from 24 to 30 October to assess the treatment of people deprived of their liberty, and examine the existing protection measures against torture and ill-treatment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) welcomes the celebration of the International Human Rights Day on Thursday and reaffirms its commitment to promoting and protecting human rights, condemning at the same time any attempt to diminish the principles of their universality and indivisibility.

President Klaus Iohannis stressed on Thursday that International Human Rights Day has not only an anniversary significance, but is an opportunity to reflect on the role that every citizen can play in respecting and protecting the rights of others.