Human Rights | WPN World People News

The village of Novoselivka, near Chernihiv, Ukraine has been heavily bombed.

Many countries around the world are not monitoring and reporting on Covid-19 infection, death, and mitigation efforts in detention settings, health and human rights experts said in a new statement. UN agencies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which have mandates to promote health and human rights and improve prison health, should provide technical assistance and make reporting on Covid-19 mandatory and public to ensure transparency and accountability.

Southeast Asian governments should urgently revamp their response to Myanmar’s abusive junta by coordinating action with the broader international community, Human Rights Watch said on April 22, 2022. Despite adopting a “five-point consensus” on the crisis a year ago, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has failed to fulfill its pledges or take meaningful steps toward pressing the junta to end its human rights violations.

The Sri Lankan authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the apparent use of excessive force by police, who fired on protesters demonstrating against rising fuel prices in Rambukkana, a town near Kandy in central Sri Lanka on April 19, 2022. One person was killed and at least 14 wounded. Those responsible for abuses should be disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate. Sri Lanka has a long history of failing to provide justice and redress to victims of human rights violations.

The United States federal government’s cuts to public housing funding have jeopardized the living conditions of up to 2 million low-income people throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said on April 18, 2022, releasing a video about the situation. The video features interviews with public housing residents in New York City and calls for Congress to dramatically increase funding for this critical resource to make repairs and ensure its upkeep.

The Brazilian government should invite the new UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement to conduct a fact-finding mission in Brazil, more than 100 international and Brazilian organizations said on April 18, 2022 in an open letter to Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco França. The official invitation is necessary for the UN experts to be able to visit the country, where police abuse, disproportionately of Black people, is a chronic problem.

The Maldives authorities have not credibly addressed threats to free expression and other rights by religious extremist groups, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on April 14, 2022. Despite progress in media freedom under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the government has neglected other essential reforms, leaving the justice system vulnerable to pressure from powerful interest groups, and groups that advocate violence against journalists and critics of the government.

Nicosia, capital of Cyprus.

A Bulgarian firm has begun providing free access to online learning materials and textbooks for children who have fled Ukraine, Human Rights Watch said on April 13, 2022.

Brazilian politician and human rights activist Marielle Franco was assassinated in Rio de Janeiro on 14 May 2018.