LUANDA: Pope Leo XIV begins the final leg of his African tour on Tuesday with a visit to Equatorial Guinea, where his increasingly vocal defences of human rights will be closely watched in one of the most closed-off states on the continent. After three days in Angola, the US-born pontiff is due around noon (1100 GMT) in the Central African country, ruled since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, the world&#39;s longest-serving head of state who is not a monarch. Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II, who 40 years ago became the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country of two million people, 80% of whom are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonization. Throughout his African tour, the pope has criticized tyranny and exploitation while promoting peace and social, swapping his previously reserved style for a tougher tone. All eyes are whether that trend will continue in Equatorial Guinea, where he will be hosted by a government regularly accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses. Most of the country&#39;s opposition figures and independent media, hounded by the authorities, are in exile in Spain. The Equatorial Guinean authorities are regularly singled out by international NGOs for endemic corruption and repression of the opposition, marked by arbitrary detentions and curbs on public freedoms. &#39;Spiritual change&#39;&nbsp; In the former capital Malabo, located on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, giant portraits of the pope and welcome banners line the streets, alongside flags of the Vatican and Equatorial Guinea. A hymn composed in his honor will be sung by church choirs across the country throughout his visit. Malabo resident Juan Raul told AFP he sees the visit as an opportunity to bring the nation together.&nbsp;&quot;This will bring spiritual change and motivate many people to go to mass,&quot; he said. Leo will speak on Tuesday before the president, members of the government, the diplomatic corps and civil society, as well as representatives of the cultural sector. On Wednesday, he will travel to Obiang&#39;s Mongomo stronghold to hold a mass and greet students and teachers at a technology school named after Pope Francis. He will then continue to the economic capital Bata to pay tribute to the victims of a 2021 explosion that killed more than 108 people in a military camp and also visit inmates at Bata prison. On Thursday, the pontiff will hold a large mass at Malabo stadium before wrapping up his whirlwind 11-day 18,000-kilometre journey across Africa.

Pope Leo XIV (C) waves as he boards the plane to depart from the "4 de Fevereiro" Luanda International Airport in Luanda on the ninth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa, on April 21, 2026. (AFP)

Africa

Human rights concerns and limited freedoms will frame Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Equatorial Guinea, where he is set to meet government officials, clergy, and citizens.

Pope visits Equatorial Guinea on last stop of Africa tour

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: On World Children&rsquo;s Day, we review steps taken by Pakistan to ensure the welfare of its children in 2025: enacting legislation to protect minors from early marriage and labour exploitation.&nbsp;UNICEF celebrates the day on November 20 every year, calling on&nbsp;governments worldwide to listen to young people and protect their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.&nbsp;Groundbreaking child marriage legislationPakistan&rsquo;s most notable achievement came in May, when President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act. The law sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage for both boys and girls in the federal capital.&nbsp;Under the new legislation, anyone arranging or facilitating underage marriages, including parents, guardians, and religious officials, faces up to seven years in prison and fines of up to Rs1 million. Courts are empowered to intervene and block planned child marriages, with decisions required within 90 days; marriage registrars must verify ages using national identity cards.&nbsp;Former Minister for Women Development Sherry Rehman called the law &ldquo;transformative.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;This law is not just about banning child marriage. It is a declaration that our girls deserve the right to childhood, to education, to health, and to a life free from coercion and harm.&rdquo;&nbsp;Legal experts noted that a 2023 Federal Shariat Court ruling confirmed that setting the minimum marriage age at 18 complies with Islamic law, helping to counter religious opposition to the reforms.&nbsp;Balochistan raises marriage ageBalochistan became the latest province to raise the legal marriage age to 18 in November, addressing high rates of early marriage in the south-western province. A 2024 Save the Children survey found that nearly two-thirds of marriages in Balochistan occurred before age 18, with 40% before age 16. One in four girls surveyed had their first child before 16, and 60% gave birth before 18.&nbsp;Community members cited cultural beliefs about family honour and economic pressures as drivers of early marriages. Previously, girls could marry at 16, while boys were required to be 18. The province now joins Sindh, which enacted similar protections in 2014.&nbsp;Child labor protectionsIn August, the National Assembly passed the Islamabad Child and Adolescent Labour Bill, which aims to prohibit and regulate child labor in the capital territory. While child labor laws exist at federal and provincial levels, including the Employment of Children Act 1991, the new bill updates provisions to align with international child rights conventions.&nbsp;Government coordination and oversightThe National Commission for Child Welfare and Development, operating under the Ministry of Human Rights, has overseen Pakistan&rsquo;s implementation of UN child rights obligations throughout 2025.&nbsp;Established in 1979 as an advisory body on child issues, the commission coordinates monitoring and facilitates implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, submitting mandatory reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva.&nbsp;UNICEF&rsquo;s message on World Children&rsquo;s DayThis year&rsquo;s theme, &ldquo;My Day, My Rights,&rdquo; encourages communities to listen to children and understand how they experience their rights. According to UNICEF, &ldquo;Children and young people are powerful agents of change, bringing new ideas and perspectives that can help shape a better world for all of us.&rdquo;&nbsp; The organization now works in more than 190 countries, focusing on reaching vulnerable and excluded children.

Culture

Pakistan marked major child-rights progress in 2025, passing new laws against child marriage and labour, with Balochistan raising marriage age and UNICEF urging stronger youth protection.

World Children’s Day 2025: How Pakistan advanced child welfare this year

ISLAMABAD: Taliban authorities publicly executed a man in western Afghanistan on Thursday, who had been convicted of two murders, the country&#39;s Supreme Court said, according to AFP. The man was executed in front of crowds at a sports stadium in Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, the Supreme Court said in a statement. It brings to 11 the number of men publicly put to death since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, according to an AFP tally. India to reopen embassy in KabulThe interim Afghan government has been relatively isolated internationally due to concerns about issues such as its systematic human rights abuses, severe oppression of women and girls, suppression of dissent, and failure to combat terrorism Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in his opening remarks at his meeting with the Foreign Minister of the Interim Afghan Government, Amir Khan Mutaqqi, in New Delhi on October 10, announced, &quot;India will be upgrading its technical mission in the Afghan capital Kabul to an embassy.&quot; Jaishankar said India appreciated the interim Afghan government&rsquo;s sensitivity toward India&rsquo;s security concerns, adding, &ldquo;Your solidarity with us in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack was noteworthy.&rdquo; He said, &ldquo;India is fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Afghanistan.&rdquo; &nbsp; New Delhi has maintained a steady contact with the Taliban after they took over power in Kabul in 2021, establishing a technical mission in the country&rsquo;s capital in 2022, the Associated Press reported. It continued engagement through backchannel diplomacy and regional forums that subsequently prompted increased engagement between the two countries this year.

Asia

It brings to 11 the number of men publicly put to death since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, according to an AFP tally; the interim Afghan government has been relatively isolated internationally due to concerns about issues such as the rights of women.

Articles tagged with "human rights"

Pope visits Equatorial Guinea on last stop of Africa tour

World Children’s Day 2025: How Pakistan advanced child welfare this year

Afghan Taliban authorities publicly execute man for murder: court