The measure, issued by the de facto Ministry of Economy on 26 December, enforces a two-year-old decree prohibiting women from working with both national and international NGOs.
In his statement, Mr. Türk emphasised the devastating impact on the delivery of critical humanitarian aid in Afghanistan the decree will have, where more than half the population lives in poverty.
NGOs, he noted, are essential to the survival of millions of Afghans, offering life-saving support to women, men and children alike.
“This is absolutely the wrong path,” Mr. Türk said, urging the de facto authorities to reconsider what he described as a “deeply discriminatory decree.”
Women’s rights under siege
Since coming to power, Afghanistan’s de facto authorities have restricted the rights of women and girls, barring them from education, work, healthcare, and movement.
These measures, including the latest crackdown on NGO employment, effectively erase women from public life, undermining Afghanistan’s prospects for progress.
Mr. Türk emphasised that “no country can progress – politically, economically or socially – while excluding half of its population from public life.”
A plea to rethink the path forward
The High Commissioner called on Afghanistan’s leaders to rethink their course, not just for the sake of women and girls but for the future of the nation as a whole.
He also highlighted the broader implications of these policies for the global community, noting that restricting women’s participation in public life exacerbates poverty and hampers efforts to build a stable and resilient society.
“For the future of Afghanistan, the de facto authorities must change course,” Mr. Türk concluded.
“It is a horrific time to be a child in Haiti, with violence upending lives and forcing more children and families from their homes,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“Children desperately need safety, protection and access to essential services. We cannot look away,” she emphasised.
Decades of political instability, poverty and inequality have enabled the rise of armed groups and the impact on children has been devastating.
Reports indicate a 70 per cent surge in child recruitment over the past year, with minors making up as much as 50 per cent of their ranks. This recruitment violates international law and constitutes a grave violation of children’s rights.
Meanwhile, the displacement crisis has left children especially vulnerable to violence, including sexual violence, exploitation and abuse.
Incidents of sexual violence against children have increased by 1,000 per cent in the last year, the agency said.
Access to basic services such as education, healthcare, clean water and sanitation has been severely disrupted, leaving children at heightened risk of malnutrition and disease.
Nearly 6,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions, and unsanitary displacement sites have created fertile ground for cholera outbreaks. The country has recorded nearly 88,000 suspected cases of the disease, which disproportionately affects children.
A young child whose family fled violence sits in a makeshift shelter in Port-au-Prince.
Worsening urban crisis
The crisis is particularly acute in the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince, where violence and instability are rampant.
By December, attempted sieges of residential neighbourhoods forced approximately 40,000 people to flee their homes in just two weeks.
UNICEF estimates that three million children nationwide need humanitarian assistance, with 1.2 million children in immediate danger across the city.
Call for action
UNICEF is urging all parties to immediately cease hostilities and end violations of children’s rights, including recruitment by armed groups and all forms of sexual violence.
The agency has also called for unimpeded access for humanitarian workers to reach those in need, including displaced populations.
“Children in Haiti are bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not create,” Ms. Russell said. “They rely on the Haitian Government and international community to take urgent action to protect their lives and safeguard their futures,” she emphasised.
In November, following several failed attempts, politicians of all stripes approved a bill to overhaul legislation that has been in effect since 1887, reflecting a deep-rooted practice that violates the rights of children and adolescents: according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). one in five girls aged between 14 and 18 is in a union.
“This approval has been possible because we have gathered the consensus of all political parties, highlights Senator Clara López. “It not only implies prohibition but also a robust public policy that reflects changing customs and raises awareness among the population about the great harm done to children and adolescents with marriages and unions”.
Courtesy Leonardo Vargas/Press Senate of Colombia
Activists celebrate the elimination of child marriage in the Colombian Parliament.
Advancing children’s rights
“We want to congratulate Colombia on the magnificent news,” says Bibiana Aido Almagro, the head of UN Women in Colombia.
“These practices severely affect the rights to life, health, education, and integrity of women and girls and negatively impact their development.”
Andrea Tague Montaña, gender and development officer at UNICEF in Colombia, agrees that the decision is a positive move.
“Child marriages and early unions are understood as harmful practices that not only lead to gender violence but also cause the victims, especially girls, to fall into poverty,” she warns. “They reinforce discrimination and the idea that the best thing that can happen to them is to marry and have children”.
By entering into an unequal power relationship with older partners, explains Ms. Montaña, girls have few opportunities to decide if they want to have sexual relations, how many children they want to have, or what kind of life they want to lead.
“They enter scenarios where, in many cases, they start fulfilling adult women’s roles. Child labour, domestic work, and caregiving become their almost daily tasks,” adds the UNICEF official.
“These are girls who stop studying, who lose their rights by entering an early union. It is important to call on society to stop normalizing early unions; this is a violation of rights. Girls do not stop being girls because they are living with a man”.
The bill also establishes actions to strengthen national public policy on childhood and adolescence, including measures to restore the rights of children and adolescents affected by underage marriages and unions, with a special emphasis on remote rural areas – ensuring that indigenous peoples and other vulnerable communities can take part.
The new law comes into effect once it is signed by President Gustavo Petro.
His itinerary included a trip to Naqoura in the south – where the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is headquartered – and he expressed his gratitude for the courage and determination of peacekeepers operating in one of the most challenging environments, where a fragile ceasefire between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces across the Blue Line of separation is largely holding.
Mr. Guterres’ visit to Naqoura was marked by a tour of UNIFIL positions that had been targeted by Israeli forces last year. Go here to read our explainer recapping the mission’s long history and role in keeping the peace.
Addressing the assembled leadership of the UN mission, he emphasized the critical role of peacekeepers, stating: “You are not just on the Blue Line of Lebanon but on the frontline of peace. The UNIFIL mission is the most challenging environment for peacekeepers anywhere.”
The Secretary-General highlighted ongoing violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which continue to occupy areas within UNIFIL’s operational zone and conduct military operations in Lebanese territory.
These actions, he noted, pose significant risks to the safety and security of the peacekeepers. The UN chief also pointed out that since 27 November, UNIFIL’s ‘blue helmets’ had uncovered over 100 weapons caches belonging to Hezbollah and other armed groups.
Support for the national army
During his visit, Guterres met with the general leading the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon.
He reiterated that the UN presence is temporary and emphasized the importance of supporting the Lebanese military. “UNIFIL is here to do everything possible to support the Lebanese Armed Forces,” he said, underscoring the collaborative efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.
Diplomacy in Beirut
After returning to the capital Beirut in the afternoon, the Secretary-General had discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, who was also visiting the Lebanese capital.
They covered a wide range of regional developments, reflecting the international community’s ongoing interest in Lebanon’s stability and security.
In the evening, Mr. Guterres, along with UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UNIFIL Force Commander General Aroldo Lázaro, attended a working dinner hosted by Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
This provided an opportunity for further dialogue on the challenges facing Lebanon and the role of the international community in addressing them.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres (right) is welcomed by Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib at Beirut airport.
Looking ahead
The Secretary-General’s visit will continue on Saturday, with a full day of meetings in Beirut.
He is scheduled to meet President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam, and Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri.
These meetings are expected to focus on Lebanon’s political and economic situation, as well as the ongoing efforts to support the country’s recovery and stability.
The UN chief’s visit to Lebanon comes at a critical time, as the country grapples with political instability, economic challenges, and security threats.
His presence underscores the United Nations’ commitment to supporting Lebanon and its people, as well as the vital role of UN peacekeepers in maintaining peace and security in the region.
Regina De Dominicis – who also heads the agency’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office – issued her plea for action after another small boat sank off the coast of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on New Year’s Eve.
“Among the seven survivors is an eight-year-old child whose mother is among those unaccounted for. The boat reportedly sank as it approached the shore,” she said.
The deaths follow another deadly incident off the island earlier in December which left an 11-year-old girl as the sole survivor.
“The death toll and number of missing persons in the Mediterranean in 2024 have now surpassed 2,200, with nearly 1,700 lives lost on the central Mediterranean route alone,” said Ms. De Dominicis.
“This includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five of all people migrating through the Mediterranean. The majority are fleeing violent conflict and poverty.”
The UN children’s agency is calling on all governments to use the Migration and Asylum Pact to prioritise safeguarding children, which includes ensuring safe, legal pathways for protection and family reunification.
The Pact also demands the establishing of coordinated search and rescue operations, safe disembarkation, community-based reception, and access to asylum services.
“We also urge increased investment in essential services for children and families arriving via dangerous migration routes, including psychosocial support, legal aid, healthcare, and education,” she continued.
“Governments must address the root causes of migration and support the integration of families into host communities, ensuring children’s rights are protected at every stage of their journey.”
Just days ahead of the inauguration of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, top independent rights investigators have urged the country’s authorities to allow peaceful protests to go ahead “without fear of reprisal”.
The appeal from the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, which reports to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, follows the violent repression of demonstrators after last July’s Presidential elections that returned Mr. Maduro to power.
“We remind security forces responsible for maintaining public order that they should adhere to the strictest international standards on the use of force,” said Marta Valiñas, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.
Echoing her statement, fellow human rights expert Francisco Cox warned that Venezuela’s “repressive apparatus remains fully operational”.
Mr. Cox said that in the five months to last December, the authorities had detained at least 56 political opposition activists, 10 journalists and one human rights defender.
‘Criminal responsibility’
“Those who order arbitrary detentions and the imposition of torture or other ill-treatment, as well as those who carry them out, bear individual criminal responsibility,” he said.
According to the Venezuela Public Prosecutor’s Office, around 1,300 of the more than 2,500 individuals detained during the post-electoral security round-up were released – although the Fact-Finding Mission noted that these figures could not be corroborated.
The Mission’s experts said that according to the non-governmental organization Foro Penal, “1,849 people remain in detention for political reasons, facing multiple irregularities and restrictions affecting their rights to food, health, and access to essential legal guarantees in ongoing legal processes”.
New Security Council members take their seats
Five elected members of the Security Council officially began two-year terms on Thursday, with five others leaving the world’s premier body for peace and security.
The incoming members are Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia, selected to serve by the UN General Assembly last June.
The outgoing members are Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland. There are 10 elected members of the Council who serve alongside the five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The flags of the countries who will serve during 2025 and 2026 were installed during a special ceremony outside the chamber.
The Security Council president for the month of January, Algeria’s Ambassador Amar Bendjama, thanked the outgoing members and warmly welcomed the newcomers, describing it as an “immense privilege” to serve as well as “a huge responsibility”.
“The world is facing many challenges that are threatening international peace and security. The situation in the Middle East is highly concerning,” he said.
He urged all Council members to work tirelessly and effectively “and to uphold the values of multilateralism”.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiarifrom the UN political and peacebuilding affairs department said membership of the Council was a “solemn responsibility” and reflected the trust placed on them by the larger membership and organisation.
He praised the increasingly prominent role being played by elected members to reshape the working methods of the Council.
The plan was announced by the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), a platform for intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation.
Miguel Ángel Moratinos called antisemitism – prejudice or hatred towards Jews – “a toxic ideology with deep roots in bigotry and racism that still plagues our world manifesting itself in different forms.”
He noted that the international community will soon mark 80 years since the end of the Holocaust, but antisemitism is still persistent in many parts of the globe.
“It is our collective responsibility to eradicate antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry, hatred and discrimination,” he said.
The plan is focused on the UN system and includes recommendations such as establishing a Working Group to monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and measures to address antisemitism.
Other actions include enhancing awareness and understanding of antisemitism among UN personnel.
Mr. Moratinos said the aim is to mainstream the Action Plan across UN policy frameworks, knowledge management and programming activities.
To this end, his office is working on launching a series of dialogues to exchange views on good practices on countering religious intolerance and bigotry, one of which will focus on antisemitism.
Escalating Violence in eastern DR Congo displaces hundreds of thousands
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and aid coordination office, OCHA, have expressed grave concerns over the escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has displaced 237,000 people this year alone.
“Escalating clashes between non-State armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are intensifying one of the world’s most alarming yet under-reported humanitarian crises,” said UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun on Friday, in a briefing in Geneva.
The violence has led to widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement, with North and South Kivu already hosting 4.6 million internally displaced people.
From January 1 to 6, intense fighting in North Kivu’s Masisi and Lubero territories forced approximately 150,000 to flee.
Many sought safety in Masisi territory, only to be displaced again as violence spread. In South Kivu’s Fizi territory, 84,000 people are now displaced, with the local government requesting international humanitarian assistance.
‘Broader escalation’
OCHA reported that between January 14 and 15, at least 30 people were killed in Lubero territory, and 30,000 fled to Butembo and surrounding areas. “These recent attacks are part of a broader escalation of violence since June 2024, which has claimed at least 220 lives,” OCHA noted.
Humanitarian access is severely limited, leaving displaced populations in desperate need of shelter, food, clean water, and medical care. “Safe and unimpeded access for aid workers must be guaranteed,” emphasized UNHCR. Both agencies call for an immediate cessation of attacks against civilians and adherence to international humanitarian law.
UNHCR and OCHA remain committed to supporting displaced communities, but the scale of the crisis demands immediate action to scale up relief efforts.
Dignity for migrants should be our guiding light, insists ‘Cabrini’ actress
Film star Cristiana Dell’Anna travelled to Geneva on Friday to highlight her film about the age-old dangers confronting migrants and the astonishing Italian missionary who worked in the slums of New York at the turn of the last century, trying to protect them.
The film, Cabrini, is inspired by the true story of Italian nun, Mother Francesca Cabrini, who Pope Leo XIII tasked with helping vulnerable migrants arriving in the United States at the turn of the last century.
It offers an uncomfortable front row perspective on the discrimination and racism reserved for poor Italian migrants, who were unable to speak English in the already booming city and whose dark skin led to them being called “monkeys”.
Despite serious lifelong sickness, Mother Cabrini took in orphans, fed, clothed and educated them in New York. She was canonized for her work in 1946 – the first US citizen to be made a saint.
Increase awareness
Ms. Dell’Anna said that the film is an opportunity to raise awareness about the difficulties migrants continue to face: ‘Where does the migrant stand today in a world where it’s easier to trade merchandise and it’s easy for things to travel around the world rather than human beings?”
“We should probably reflect on these issues and understand where we place humankind, compared to objects.”
Latest UN estimates indicate that there are at least 281 million migrants worldwide, a number that has increased over the past five decades, with people continuing to leave their homes – driven by poverty, conflict and climate change.
International Year of Peace and Trust begins
Friday marked the opening ceremony of the UN General Assembly-mandated International Year of Peace and Trust, 2025, at UN Headquarters in New York – an initiative designed to foster a culture of peace and dialogue between Member States.
The resolution’s main sponsor is Turkmenistan, and Friday’s launch event provided a platform to align efforts, mobilise resources and inspire collective action to address global challenges through dialogue, trust building and cooperation.
The initiatives unveiled will guide activities through the year, culminating in the International Forum for Peace and Trust in December, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Among the senior officials making keynote addresses were the President of the General Assembly, the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations, and the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism.
Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stressed that no place and no one in Gaza has been safe since the war began in October 2023.
“As the year begins, we got reports of yet another attack on Al Mawasi with dozens of people killed and injured,” he said, calling this “another reminder that there is no humanitarian zone let alone a ‘safe zone’”.
He warned that “every day without a ceasefire will bring more tragedy.”
Separately, UNRWA recalled that the Israeli authorities continue to prevent international media from operating and reporting inside Gaza.
“Access to international journalists to report freely from Gaza must be granted,” the agency said.
Relatedly, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said it is deeply concerned by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) suspension of the operations of the Al Jazeera news network in the occupied West Bank.
The Qatar-based channel was accused of broadcasting “inciting materials” that were “deceiving and stirring strife”, according to international media reports which cited the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The development comes amid the “troubling trend” of suppressing freedom of opinion and expression in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, OHCHR said, urging the PA “to reverse course and respect its international law obligations.”
Rights experts deplore ‘blatant disregard’ for health
Meanwhile, two independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council appealled for an end to what they called “the blatant disregard of the right to health in Gaza” following the raid last week on Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north and the arbitrary arrest and detention of its director.
Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health, and Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, voiced their concerns in a statement issued on Thursday.
“For well over a year into the genocide, Israel’s blatant assault on the right to health in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory is plumbing new depths of impunity,” they said.
Healthcare under fire
The experts were “horrified and concerned” by reports from North Gaza, “especially the attack on health workers including the last remaining of 22 now destroyed hospitals: Kamal Adwan Hospital.”
They expressed grave concern over the fate of the hospital’s director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, describing him as “yet another doctor to be harassed, kidnapped and arbitrarily detained by the occupation forces, in his case for defying evacuation orders to leave his patients and colleagues behind.”
They said such action “is part of a pattern by Israel to continuously bombard, destroy and fully annihilate the realisation of the right to health in Gaza.”
Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Concern for hospital director
The experts noted that before Dr. Abu Safiya was kidnapped, his son was killed in front of him.
Furthermore, the doctor “was recently injured while on duty as a result of Israel’s genocidal acts,” yet “continued to provide care while the hospital was under continuous bombardment and threat.”
“More disturbing reports indicate that Israeli forces allegedly conducted extrajudicial executions of some people in the vicinity of the hospital, including a Palestinian man who was reportedly holding a white flag,” they added.
Not a target
More than 1,057 Palestinian health and medical professionals have been killed so far and many have been arbitrarily arrested, according to the independent experts.
“The heroic actions of Palestinian medical colleagues in Gaza, teach us what it means to have taken the medical oath. They are also a clear signal of a depraved humanity that has allowed a genocide to continue for well over a year,” they said.
Stressing that medical personnel enjoy special protections under international humanitarian law, the rights experts said “they are not legitimate targets for attack, nor can they legitimately be detained for exercising their profession.”
End assaults and arbitrary arrests
The experts called on Israel, as the occupying power, to respect and protect the right to life and to health in Gaza and the whole Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“They must also ensure the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, and all other arbitrarily detained healthcare workers. May they be the last arbitrarily arrested Palestinians, and may the new year begin under different auspices.”
About UN rapporteurs
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva. They are mandated to monitor and report on specific country situations or thematic issues.
These experts are not UN staff, do not receive a salary, and serve in their individual capacity, independent of the UN Secretariat.
Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Lazzarini emphasised that the agreement is only the first step in addressing the region’s overwhelming humanitarian challenges.
He joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres in urging all parties to fully implement the ceasefire and ensure unrestricted humanitarian access to meet urgent needs.
“UNRWA is ready to support the international response by scaling up aid delivery,” he said.
Mr. Lazzarini highlighted a looming threat: the impending implementation of Knesset legislation that would terminate UNRWA’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
He warned of dire consequences, particularly in Gaza, where the agency is the backbone of the humanitarian response.
“The disintegration of the agency will intensify the breakdown of social order,” he said.
“Dismantling UNRWA now, outside a political process, will undermine the ceasefire agreement and sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition,” he explained.
Mr. Lazzarini stressed that UNRWA’s unique mandate and capacity to deliver essential services – such as education and primary healthcare – cannot be replicated without a functioning state.
Disinformation campaign
The Commissioner-General also highlighted the aggressive disinformation campaign targeting the agency.
“Billboards and ads accusing UNRWA of terrorism recently appeared in several cities, including New York,” he said, revealing that they had been paid for by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
He explained that such propaganda endangers UNRWA staff, fuels harassment and erodes trust in the international community’s ability to act.
Introducing a political framework
Looking to the future, Mr. Lazzarini emphasised the importance of transitioning UNRWA’s services within a defined political framework, as envisioned by the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
“A clear choice lies before us: We can allow UNRWA to implode because of the Knesset legislation and the suspension of funding by key donors, or we can allow the agency to progressively conclude its mandate within a political framework,” he said.
This transition, he noted, must involve cooperation with empowered Palestinian institutions to avoid chaos and preserve vital services.
Collaboration with Palestinian Authority
UNRWA is already collaborating with the Palestinian Authority which runs services in the occupied West Bank, to address urgent healthcare and educational needs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Mr. Lazzarini highlighted that the agency remains the largest provider of primary healthcare in Gaza, conducting approximately 17,000 medical consultations daily. It is also the second-largest healthcare provider in the West Bank, after the authorities.
On education, he stressed the agency’s critical role in safeguarding the future of Palestinian children, many of whom are now living in the rubble of Gaza.
“If we fail to resume education in Gaza, and to preserve it in the West Bank, we will sacrifice an entire generation of Palestinian children,” he warned.
A former UNRWA school in Gaza lies in ruins after being bombed. (file)
Urgent appeal
Mr. Lazzarini drew attention to the agency’s precarious financial position, urging donor countries to increase contributions, disburse allocated funds without delay and review any funding currently on hold.
Without immediate financial support, he cautioned, UNRWA’s ability to continue its life-saving work will be at grave risk.
The Commissioner-General also told the press that he had urged the Security Council to take decisive action to avert the end of UNRWA’s operations.
William O’Neill, who reports to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, highlighted an attack on the Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince on 17 December and the killing of several journalists and a police officer at the General Hospital on 24 December.
The victims were attending the hospital’s official reopening.
“Criminal gangs have murdered and kidnapped physicians, nurses and healthcare workers, including humanitarian workers,” Mr. O’Neill said in a statement, adding that gangs had “burned, ransacked and destroyed many hospitals and clinics, forcing many to close or suspend their operations”.
According to the rights expert, only 37 per cent of health facilities in Port-au-Prince are fully functional.
They remain difficult to access because of unchecked gangland violence in the capital that has put millions of Haitians at risk, Mr. O’Neill stressed.
He underscored “repeated threats to attack health premises” and cited reports that police officers were also allegedly involved.
“The Haitian people – including hundreds of thousands of children living in very precarious conditions – are once again paying the high price of this violence with their right to health severely hindered,” he lamented, expressing concern over the spread of diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis.
Journalists under attack
The attacks on 24 December also underscore the dangers faced by journalists in Haiti, with many being killed or fleeing the country due to death threats.
Mr. O’Neill called on the international community to support Haitian authorities in combating insecurity and ensuring the right to health.
“I urge the international community to do everything it can to help Haitian authorities to combat rampant insecurity and ensure the realization of the right to health, including unhindered access to health facilities, goods, and services,” he said.
He also stressed the need for the State to investigate and bring those responsible for the attacks to justice.
William O’Neill (right), talks to a Haitian police officer in Port-au-Prince during a visit to the country in October 2023.
On 20 and 26 December 2024, Tbilisi City Court held hearings to decide whether Georgia should extradite Adina Stoian and her husband Mihai arrested in August 2024 on the Turkish-Georgian border on the basis of an Interpol arrest warrant issued on France’s request.
A few days after mid-December, I happened to be in Tbilisi for The European Times to cover the unstable political situation and the demonstrations in the country following the contested results of the parliamentary elections and the subsequent election of a new contested pro-Kremlin president by the new parliament. On this occasion, I published two articles titled “GEORGIA: Election of an ex-footballer as the new president booed by demonstrators” and “GEORGIA: Police violence in Tbilisi while President Zurabishvili calls for quick EU actions”. I also used the opportunity of being in Tbilisi to meet state and non-state actors as well as lawyers involved in the case of the Stoians and to collect some unpublished information about the couple. A member of their family was also in Tbilisi.
At the end of the second hearing taking place after my departure from Georgia, the court found that a third hearing was necessary to try to solve a crucial issue: the interpretation of the debates and the translation of printed or written court documents in Romanian, as strongly required by Adina and Mihai Stoian and their lawyers instead of the English language imposed until then by the judicial authorities.
The court considered that Mihai and Adina Stoian were sufficiently fluent in English due to their international activities but their counter-argument was that the legal and judicial language used during the proceedings and interpreted in English was foreign to them and was putting them at risk of failing to understand the implications of what they might have to accept and to sign.
The double translation of complex issues first by the interpreter Georgian-English and second by themselves in their own language (Romanian) was de facto opening the door to inaccuracies and misunderstandings at both levels and could lead to a miscarriage of justice they would be the victims of, they argued.
The context of the arrest of Adina and Mihai Stoian
On 28 November 2023, a SWAT team of around 175 policemen wearing black masks, helmets, and bullet proof vests, simultaneously descended at 6am on eight separate houses and apartments in and around Paris but also in Nice where Romanian yoga practitioners had decided to go into spiritual retreat. The police forces were then brandishing semi-automatic rifles, shouting, making very loud noises, crashing doors and putting everything upside down.
Most of those Romanian yoga practitioners who were there had chosen to combine the pleasant with the useful in France: yoga and meditation in villas or apartments kindly and freely put at their disposal by their owners or tenants who were also mainly yoga practitioners of Romanian origin and at the same time to enjoy picturesque natural or other environments.
They were IT experts, engineers, designers, artists, medical doctors, psychologists, teachers, university and high school students, and so on.
Around 50 yoga practitioners of all ages were taken to police stations for interrogation, most of them being kept in custody for two days and sometimes more. In November 2024, I published in The European Times an article about the case titled “Police raids on Romanian yoga centers in France, one year later”.
The 28 November 2023 raids were not an operation against a terrorist or armed group or a drug cartel. They were raids targeting eight private places mainly used by peaceful Romanian yoga practitioners but the police suspected these places to be used under cover for illegal activities: trafficking in human beings, sexual exploitation and forcible confinement.This was the official charge against Gregorian Bivolaru and some others who were put in pretrial detention in France in the aftermath of the raids.
The arrest warrant against the Stoians channeled from Paris to Tbilisi through Interpol included the same charges although they were not in France at the time of the police raids or before, had never had any yoga activity in France and no yoga practitioner had filed a complaint against them. In the French media, they were repeatedly painted as criminals, without any evidence that journalists could have gathered by themselves, but who is Adina Stoian?
Family and social background of Adina Stoian
Adina Stoian was born on 12 June 1968 in Sibiu (Romania).
She grew up in Bucharest under the Communist rule of Ceaucescu but was baptized in the Orthodox Church.
Her mother was an accountant at the Ministry of Transport. Her father studied at the Bucharest Polytechnic University and made a military career.
In her studies, Adina followed in her father’s footsteps. In 1991 she graduated from the Polytechnic University with a degree in Transport Engineering. Afterwards, she worked for about two years in the Computer Centre of the Ministry of Transport in Romania before dedicating herself exclusively to spirituality, teaching yoga and trantra classes. She has a sister, Corina, who graduated in mathematics from the Bucharest University. Corina taught mathematics for some time and later on she started working in other fields while teaching yoga in her free time for the last ten years.
In 1990 Adina started attending classes and other events on spirituality and yoga, including lectures given by Gregorian Bivolaru, the founder and spiritual master of MISA (Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute). She was impressed by his teachings.
For over 30 years, she was a yoga practitioner and also a teacher. She shared her knowledge about yoga and personal development through articles and books, courses, workshops, seminars, conferences and camps, both in Romania and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in Asia and South America.
Adina and Mihai Stoian got married in a Romanian Orthodox Church in 2001 and moved to Denmark a year later. As yoga teachers, they worked for the Danish Yoga Natha Centre.
They both co-authored yoga and personal development programs based on the teachings of the traditional tantra yoga. The course is currently taught in many countries in the schools affiliated with Atman, the International Federation for Yoga and Meditation, officially registered in 2004 in the UK. Noteworthy is that Adina Stoian has never been part of the board of the Atman Federation. They also wrote together several books about the Mahavidya, a group of ten Hindu goddesses.
Adina Stoian also gave lectures on topics such as hormones, pre-menstrual syndrom, esoteric astrology, specifically for women.
She is opposed to her extradition to France, saying she was not involved in any yoga activity there and in any illegal activity as mentioned in the Interpol arrest warrant, had nothing to do with the massive police raids on yoga centers on 28 November 2023 which led to several arrests and pretrial detention cases, and no yoga practitioner had filed a complaint against her or her husband.
