Tag: human rights

Branding of woman as witch is violation of human rights: Samal

The branding of any woman as a witch is violation of human rights and the government will frame rules to ensure justice to such victims, said minister for Women and Child Development, Prafulla Samal. He was addressing a workshop in the issue of women’s right violation due to witch branding organised by Action Aid and...

March 16, 2018

Syrian government splits rebel-held Eastern Ghouta

Syrian government forces have split the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, cutting off the largest city Douma, media reports said on Saturday. Pro-government forces isolated the cities of Douma, Harasta and the al-Rihan farms from the rest of Eastern Ghouta’s rebel-held network of satellite cities and agricultural areas on the outskirts of Damascus, Efe quoted...

March 11, 2018

Two journalists found dead in Guatemala

The corpses of two Guatemalan journalists were found among cane fields with bullet wounds to the head and their hands and feet bound, authorities said. The slain reporters, identified as Laurent Castillo and Alfredo de Leon, had recently disappeared and were discovered by farm workers near the municipality Santo Domingo, Suchitepequez in the Central American...

February 2, 2018

18 killed in blast targeting rebels’ position in Syria

At least 18 people were killed on Sunday by a blast that targeted a rebels’ position in Idlib, Syria, a monitor group said. Civilians were among those killed and wounded by the car bomb that targeted a position of Agnad al-Caucaus rebel group, Xinhua reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast was...

January 8, 2018

Inclusive employment

Padma Shri Mithu Alur, founder of ADAPT- Able Disabled All People Together, organised a seminar on inclusive employment to commemorate the International Day of the Disabled and Human Rights Day. This is because mainstream providers of vocational and skills training have policies and practices that often exclude people with disabilities. There was a panel discussion...

January 4, 2018

Pakistan violated human rights of Jadhav’s family: Swaraj

Amid cries of ‘Pakistan murdabad’ and ‘shame, shame’ in Parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday accused Islamabad of gross violations of human rights of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav’s family members and creating an intimidating atmosphere during their meeting with him. The meeting In Islamabad was used by Pakistan as an instrument...

December 28, 2017

Myanmar urged to free detained journalists

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called for the immediate release of two journalists arrested in Myanmar two weeks ago for allegedly possessing leaked documents relating to police operations in Rakhine State. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, who works for Reuters, were arrested on December 12 in Yangon and face 14 years in...

December 20, 2017

Indonesian court’s ‘no’ to criminalise extramarital affairs

An Indonesian court on Thursday rejected the petition of a conservative organisation to criminalise sexual relations outside of marriage and between people of the same sex. The petition to reform the criminal code was dismissed by five of the nine judges, reports Efe news. The petition was filed in 2016 by a university professor and...

December 14, 2017

Human rights situation improves: UN chief Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the overall human rights situation has improved over the decades but problems remain. “Over seven decades, humanity has achieved considerable progress. People around the world have gained progressively greater freedoms and equality,” Guterres on Monday told a gathering at UN Headquarters in New York to celebrate the 70th anniversary...

December 12, 2017

J-K Separatist leader Yasin Malik arrested in Srinagar

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested here on Sunday while leading a protest march. Malik, who had gone underground for two days, emerged in uptown Maisuma locality leading a group of protesters and began walking towards the UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in the city....

December 10, 2017

Mounting evidence of Rohingya genocide: Rights group

A human rights group on Wednesday reported “mounting evidence” of “genocide” against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Fortify Rights documented “widespread and systematic attacks on Rohingya civilians” in two Army operations launched after the attacks by Rohingya insurgents in October 2016 and August 2017, reports Efe news. The investigation was based on...

November 15, 2017

Myanmar Army again deny abuses against Rohingya

The Myanmar Army on Tuesday again denied having committed any abuses against the Rohingya Muslim minority, including murders and rapes, during its operations in Rakhine State. The latest military operations began late August in response to a series of assaults by a group of Rohingya insurgents on police posts, causing more than 614,000 people, most...

November 14, 2017

Trump lauds ‘great relationship’ with Duterte

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had a “great relationship” with his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte, who is accused of carrying out a brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings in his nations war on drugs. The two leaders met for the first time briefly on Friday at an economic summit in Danang, Vietnam,...

November 13, 2017

Kin of those who died in queues post-note ban seeking justice

As the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is all set to celebrate the anniversary of demonetisation, the families of 125 people who lost their lives standing in serpentine queues outside banks post the note ban are still pleading with the Centre and the Prime Minister to compensate them for their suffering. In an effort to provide...

November 7, 2017

UN attacks Australia’s ‘inhumane’ refugee-processing system

The UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has denounced the Australian government for withdrawing support to former Manus Island detainees as the stand-off over the provision of services to more than 600 men entered its fifth day on Saturday. It comes as the detainees have called for an investigation into the death of a 29-year-old asylum...

November 4, 2017

Whatever happened to rule of law?

A profoundly important, unprecedented and dangerous decision has been taken by European leaders in the past few days. It’s not made as explicit as it should be – because our leaders are always careful to erect a bodyguard of verbiage and lies to protect them if something goes wrong – but it’s perfectly clear that...

October 31, 2017

Tillerson speaks to Myanmar military leader over Rohingya crisis

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to the Myanmar Armed Forces’ Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing expressing his concern about the humanitarian crisis the Rohingya Muslim minority is currently facing. In a telephone call late Thursday, Tillerson “urged Myanmar’s security forces to support the government in ending the violence in Rakhine state and allowing...

October 27, 2017