Human Rights | WPN World People News

The Bangladeshi government should review and reform the proposed Digital Security Act (DSA) instead of enacting the law in its current form, Human Rights Watch said on Feb 22, 2018.

The Bahrain High Criminal Court on February 21, 2018, sentenced the prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab to five years in prison for criticizing torture in a Bahrain prison and Saudi airstrikes in Yemen, Human Rights Watch said on Feb 22, 2018. The new sentence is in addition to the two-year sentence that Rajab is already serving on other charges related to peaceful expression.

The Afghan government and US military should investigate reports that Afghan special forces summarily executed civilians in Kandahar province during military operations from January 31 to February 1, 2018, Human Rights Watch said on Feb 21, 2018. Security personnel found to be responsible for abuses, including failing to report possible war crimes, should be held accountable.

Somali authorities are unlawfully detaining and at times prosecuting in military courts children with alleged ties to the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Feb 21, 2018.

The cost of private probation supervision disproportionately harms the poor, often criminalizing a person’s inability to pay their probation fees and court costs, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Feb 20, 2018.

Senators should address childhood arrivals to the United States and clean up an abusive immigration system during their immigration debate, Human Rights Watch said on Feb 13, 2018.

Thailand’s human rights agenda will be meaningless until the government fulfills its repeated pledges to respect basic rights and restore democratic rule, Human Rights Watch said on Feb 14. On February 12, 2018, Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha hosted an event at the Government House in Bangkok to promote the national human rights agenda, which was adopted in November. Hundreds of guests, including 55 foreign diplomats and representatives from international and multilateral organizations, attended.

There are estimated 13,000 people in slavery across the UK because of their restricted working conditions. Most commonly, people are trafficked into forced labour in industries such as agriculture, construction, hospitality, manufacturing and car washes.

A third suspicious death in Iranian prisons since early January 2018 underscores the need for an immediate independent inquiry, Human Rights Watch said on Feb 13. On February 10, the family of a well-known Iranian environmentalist, Dr. Kavous Seyed Emami, who had been in detention for two weeks on bogus charges, reported that he had died under unknown circumstances.

The record-low rate of permits issued by Israel for Palestinians seeking vital medical treatment outside Gaza underlines the urgent need for Israel to end its decade-long closure of the Gaza Strip, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) said in a joint statement on Feb 13, 2018. Record-high delays by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2017 in issuing required approvals and Egypt’s continued closure of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza have further restricted movement and caused additional suffering.