Human Rights | WPN World People News

Two media workers who were arrested and detained on 11 November on suspicion of “online defamation” over an article that made reference to allegations of government corruption must be released immediately, Amnesty International said.

High-definition satellite imagery shows widespread fire-related destruction in ethnic Rohing on November 13. The Burmese government should immediately invite the United Nations to assist in investigating reported destruction of villages in the area.

Pneumonia and diarrhoea together kill 1.4 million children each year, the overwhelming majority of whom live in lower and middle-income countries. These childhood deaths occur despite the fact that both illnesses are largely preventable through straightforward and cost effective solutions like exclusive breastfeeding, vaccination, quality primary healthcare and reducing household air pollution.

Security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government have unlawfully destroyed large numbers of Arab homes, and sometimes entire villages, in areas retaken from the Islamic State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on November 13.

Voters in three states approved ballot measures on November 8, 2016, to legalize the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana, part of a continued shift in United States drug policy, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 11. In addition, Oklahoma voted to reduce its criminal penalties for drug offenses by making possession a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) forces have detained at least 37 men from areas around Mosul and Hawija suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) since the beginning of the Mosul operation, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 10.

Forced labour often means unpaid wages, excessively long work hours without rest days, confiscation of ID documents, little freedom of movement, deception, intimidation and physical or sexual violence.

United States President-elect Donald Trump should abandon campaign rhetoric that seemed to reject many of the United States’ core human rights obligations and put rights at the heart of his administration’s domestic and foreign policy agendas, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 09. Official results gave Trump the necessary electoral college votes to win.

Punitive abortion laws - like in South Korea - violate human rights. In recent weeks, the government has threatened to toughen penalties on medical providers who perform abortions illegally. Women's groups and experts are fighting to make the government back down on this threat.

A World Bank Group compliance investigation into an investment in Indian tea plantations reinforces the need for human rights risk analysis and oversight of the bank’s investments. The investigation report, released on November 7, 2016, concerned an investment by the bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in India’s tea plantations. India’s tea sector has raised numerous issues related to living and working conditions, freedom of association, and access to health and education.