Human Rights

UAE: Libyans Facing Unfair Trial

Tortured, Denied Access to Lawyers, Defendants Say

Multiple serious due process violations in pretrial detention make it highly unlikely that four Libyans charged with links to armed and political groups in Libya can receive a fair trial in the United Arab Emirates, Human Rights Watch said on February 4. No fair trial will be possible when defendants do not have full access to their lawyers or to the evidence against them, or if evidence obtained by torture is used to convict them.

Sierra Leone: Sign Bill Allowing Safe Abortions

Could Help Address High Maternal Mortality Rates

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An estimated 400 women showed up in support of the safe abortion bill wearing “children by choice, not by force” T-shirts on December 8, 2015 outside of Sierra Leone's Parliament.

New stamps promoting LGBT equality worldwide unveiled at UN

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UN Free and Equal postage stamps – promoting LGBT equality worldwide.

Protect Lives, Not Just Territory, Against Attacks

In December 2015, Nigeria’s government announced a “technical defeat” of extremist group Boko Haram. The claim of victory in the six-year-old conflict was based on alleged expulsion of Boko Haram by government forces from territory it previously held in the northeast.

France: Abuses under State of Emergency

Halt Warrantless Search and House Arrest

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Halim A. says his reputation and business were ruined after police placed him under house arrest on November 15, 2015 during France’s state of emergency. A judge suspended the house arrest on January 23, 2016, and ordered the authorities to pay Halim €1,500 compensation.

India: Supreme Court Revisits “Sodomy” Law

Opportunity to Overturn Discriminatory Law Against LGBT People

India’s Supreme Court agreed on February 2, 2016, to hear an appeal of its 2013 decision that upheld a discriminatory law criminalizing same-sex relations, Human Rights Watch said. The Indian government should file an affidavit with the court to set aside the country’s “sodomy” law and uphold the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

South Korea: Act to Promote Rights in North Korea

North Korea Rights Bill Would Support Accountability

The South Korean parliament should pass legislation on human rights in North Korea that promotes human rights protections and accountability for the most serious international human rights crimes, Human Rights Watch said.

Senior UN humanitarian official deeply concerned at Israel’s administrative detention practices

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Palestinian prisoners are being held in Israeli prisons similar to this one.

Yemen: Houthis Block Vital Goods into Taizz

Food, Medical Supplies Confiscated from Civilians

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Street corner in the Deluxe neighborhood in western Taizz that has been damaged by shelling since March 2015.

End the Abuse of Female Genital Mutilation

When Pion was 10 years old, her grandmother said it was time for her to get married and become a “real” woman. Pion was terrified; she knew what that meant – having her genitalia cut, a practice called female genital mutilation (FGM). In the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania where she lives, she had seen many girls cut and forced to marry. Her older sister was cut when she was 10 and made to marry a much older man a month later. “I got very afraid and used to cry every day,” Pion told Human Rights Watch.