Category: Human Rights

Tomorrow marks the sixth anniversary of Liu Xiaobo’s death. The 2010 Nobel Peace laureate died from complications of liver cancer on July 13, 2017, in a hospital in Liaoning province while guarded by state security forces. Liu was a Chinese literary critic and leader in the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests. He was imprisoned three […]

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World revealed that between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, with a mid-range of 735 million, representing an increase of 122 million people compared to 2019. It also adds up to a grim warning, potentially jeopardizing the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger. “Overall, […]

(Istanbul, July 12, 2023) – An opinion by a prosecutor at Turkey’s top court of appeal asking the court to uphold the conviction of jailed rights defender Osman Kavala and his codefendants in the Gezi trial is completely devoid of legal reasoning and perpetuates a deep injustice, Human Rights Watch said today. The prosecutor’s opinion […]

One dissident at the time, the Vietnamese government is pursuing a campaign to systematically eliminate what’s left of the country’s human rights and democracy movement. By inexorably adding peaceful activists to the growing list of more than 150 Vietnamese political prisoners, Hanoi is violating international human rights law and betraying its duty as a member […]

‘Chilling effect’ Odhikar has “documented enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings and cooperated with UN human rights mechanisms in this context,” the three experts said. “Such reprisals also have a chilling effect and may deter others from reporting on human rights issues and cooperating with the UN, its representatives, and mechanisms”. The Special Rapporteurs said that […]

Addressing the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk noted that the tome was the “core of faith” for well over one billion Muslims. Those who had burned the Quran most likely did so “to express contempt and inflame anger”, Mr. Türk said, as he warned that these acts also aimed […]

Belarusian lawyer Yulia Yurhilevich and journalist Pavel Mazheika face up to seven years in prison for sharing information widely available to the public. In the latest example of the authorities targeting lawyers and journalists in Belarus, the two have been accused of “repeatedly aiding extremist activity” for sharing information about Yurhilevich’s disbarment and a court […]

Among the exhibit’s visitors were members of the Mothers of Srebrenica, an association that united thousands of people – mothers, sisters, and wives – who have lost loved ones in the massacre in their city. Munira Subašić doesn’t need photographs to remember the tragedy that claimed her husband, son, and 20 other close relatives. “I […]

Last year, Mauritania was under 6 times the usual amount of rainfall. © Eva Diallo, 2022 Bridging the Maghreb and the Sahel, Mauritania is one of the gateways to the continent-wide Sahara Desert. One of the poorest countries in the world, it suffers from exceptionally dry weather and almost no rainfall. Usually, that is. Last […]

Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militias summarily executed at least 28 ethnic Massalit and killed and injured dozens of civilians on May 28, 2023, in Sudan’s West Darfur state. The mass killings of civilians and the total destruction of the town of Misterei demonstrates the need for a stronger international response to the widening […]