Human Rights | WPN World People News

The Trump administration should use the announced departure of Stephen Bannon as chief White House strategist to quickly distance its civil rights and immigration policies from white nationalist politics, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 18. The White House announced that Chief of Staff John Kelly and Bannon have “mutually agreed” that August 18, 2017 will be Bannon’s last day.

Migrants from the Mediterranean are rescued in the Channel of Sicily, Italy.

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), on August 15th condemned the violent attack by a suspected white supremacist in the United States on Saturday that caused one death and injured at least 19 people.

The Indian government should not forcibly return ethnic Rohingya refugees to Burma, where they face persecution, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 17. India should abide by its international legal obligations and protect the Rohingya – a Muslim minority predominately from western Burma – from systematic abuse by Burmese officials and state security forces.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for police to shoot human rights activists who are “obstructing justice” places all members of the country’s human rights community in grave danger, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 17. On August 16, 2017, Duterte instructed Philippine National Police personnel to “shoot those who are part of [drug activity]. If they [members of human rights organizations] are obstructing justice, you shoot them.”

Secretary-General António Guterres speaks to journalists at a press encounter.

The Iranian parliament on August 13, 2017, approved a long-awaited amendment to the country’s drug law that significantly raises the bar for a mandatory death sentence, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 15. The amendment, which the parliamentary judiciary commission revised four times, is a step in the right direction despite being more limited than a December 2016 draft amendment that sought to outlaw the death penalty for most nonviolent drug related offenses.

The United Nations Minamata Convention on Mercury, which went into effect on August 16, 2017, could benefit millions of people affected by toxic mercury, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 15. Under the treaty, governments are obligated to protect their citizens from the harmful effects of mercury and to put in place controls in polluting industries, such as artisanal and small-scale gold mining and coal-fired power plants.

Thai authorities should immediately drop charges against a prominent academic and four conference participants for violating the military junta’s ban on public assembly at a conference at Chiang Mai University in July 2017, Human Rights Watch said on August 16, 2017. The International Conference on Thai Studies included discussions and other activities that the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta deemed critical of military rule.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.