Human Rights | WPN World People News

UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, in Helsinki on 3 May 2016 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day

Burma’s new government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) should signal human rights are a top priority by presenting a plan of action to begin long-needed reforms, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to new president Htin Kyaw on May 4.

In April, Pakistani authorities used draconian laws and excessive force to prevent tenant farmers in Punjab province from protesting for land rights, Human Rights Watch said on May 4. Farmers in Okara district had planned to convene on April 17, 2016, the International Day of Peasants’ and Farmers’ Struggles.

A Kenyan court will hear a constitutional petition challenging the use of forced anal examinations of men accused of homosexuality on May 4, 2016, Human Rights Watch said on May 3. Under international law, forced anal examinations are a form of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that may amount to torture.

An Iranian court convicted three journalists and a family member of another journalist on April 25, 2016 on vague national security charges. The four, along with a fifth journalist, have been detained since November, 2015. The authorities should quash their convictions and release them.

Journalists wait for the arrival of official delegations at the Geneva II Conference on Syria, in Montreux, Switzerland.

Bottled water.

The closure of Al Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau by the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission is nothing but an effort to clamp down on freedom of expression. The commission should promptly reverse its decision and allow the bureau to operate freely in accordance with international standards on freedom of the media and free speech, the organization said.

Both the Somali government and the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab are using abusive tactics to sway media coverage, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 2, on World Press Freedom Day. The government should act decisively to end intimidation and violence against journalists by state security forces and Al-Shabab militants. Somalis’ need for a free and vibrant media is especially important in light of the electoral process planned for 2016.

Child picking cotton in September 2012, Suyima Pakhtakor, Jizzakh.