The Government of South Sudan must do more to protect communities at risk of attacks, and bring the guilty to justice, says the UN peacekeeping mission in the country as it releases its findings from an investigation into the killing of at least 85 cattle herders in Jonglei state. “It is of the utmost importance [...]
Tag Archives: human-rights
Press Review: Labor unions at Foxconn & Forcing Uganda’s gay population into exile
Contract manufacturer Foxconn will hold labor union elections for its Chinese factory employees. [CNN] Uganda’s gay population will be forced into exile if lawmakers pass a new law that would make homosexuality a capital offense. [The Guardian] The Burmese government and Kachin rebels start peace talks in China. [The Guardian] Questions arise about the ability [...]
Press Review: Protest movement in Saudi Arabia & Guatemala shocked by violent crimes against women
China’s extreme air pollution problem might finally force the government to stop downplaying the problem and move towards action. [The Economist] A new UN report finds evidence of increased use of torture in Afghan jails and secret prisons. [The Guardian] New images from Nasa show the long-term damaging effects of climate change on the size [...]
ONE WOMAN RAPED EVERY 22 MINUTES: Can a Culture of Sexual Violence Ever Change in India?
As the trial of five men accused of the gang-rape and murder of a student begins in New Delhi, Fairplanet asks a 21 year-old Mumbai medical student about the cultural dangers of growing up a woman in India. India has a systemic problem with sexual violence: one woman is raped every 22 minutes, as is [...]
Press Review: Sexual violence in Syria & North Korea’s crimes against humanity
The International Rescue Committee is reporting widespread sexual violence against Syrian women and girls who have taken refuge in camps where there is no support to help them heal physically or mentally. [The Guardian] South African activists attempt to change its society’s ambivalent attitude towards rape. [BBC] A year after Kim Jong-un came to power [...]
Europe’s Shame: Mayor of Lampedusa criticizes the EU for its immigration policies and treatment of migrants
With its tropical climate and breathtaking shores, the island of Lampedusa may well be described as an idyllic paradise, somewhere off the Italian mainland in the Mediterranean Sea. Contrary to this blissful image and as far as human rights and immigration are concerned, however, Lampedusa has become Europe’s shame. Since the 2000s, the Italian [...]
Press Review: Crisis in the Central African Republic & Chinese journalists protest censorship
Growing unrest in the Central African Republic is causing concern amongst humanitarian groups who say 300,000 people are caught in the middle of rebel fighting with no access to health care or basic shelter. [The Guardian] Journalists protesting censorship at a major Chinese newspaper may force China’s new leader Xi Jinping to act on the [...]
Press Review: Jordan’s underfunded refugee camps & Families describe violence in Mali
In Jordan’s underfunded refugee camps, where 65 percent of the refugee population are newborns and young children, mortality rates are quickly climbing due to extreme cold and lack of resources. [Reuters] Families fleeing violence in Mali describe the overwhelming human rights abuses that prompted them to evacuate their homes. [The Guardian] The Human Rights Risk [...]
Press Review: Illegal wildlife trade funding civil conflicts & Iran’s lawyers face intimidation
A new report from the World Wildlife Fund finds that the illegal wildlife trade, worth $19 billion per year, funds civil conflicts and is a major contributor to the instability of many nations, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. [BBC] Despite the UN upgrade of North Korea’s food situation, starvation and hunger are [...]
Press Review: 2012 worst year on record for journalists & The state of women’s rights in Afghanistan
As a reminder of China’s ongoing fight for freedom, the founder of the Human Rights Foundation reprints Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo’s court statement to mark the three year anniversary of his prison sentence. [Huffington Post] 2012 stands as the worst year on record for the number of journalists in prison around the world. Turkey is [...]
One Author’s Story: Books Banned In Sudan As Agencies Predict Repeat of Darfur Genocide
Fairplanet talks to Sudanese author Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin as violence increases in Southern Kordofan, and political oppression belies continuing tensions under regime responsible for 2003 genocide. “I could not forget my people in Darfur and write ‘love stories’ while millions of them are suffering and being killed”… [...]
Nigerian farmers bringing Shell to justice
Nigerian farmers take on oil giant This court case could go down in history as one of the first rulings to hold a giant multinational accountable for its actions overseas. Imagine this: behemoth oil company Shell on one side and a handful of Nigerian farmers, backed by the non-profit environmental organization Friends of the [...]
