Human Rights | WPN World People News

Russian authorities have threatened to fine or block 10 Russian independent media outlets if they do not delete publications about the war in Ukraine, Human Rights Watch said on February 28, 2022. The authorities have interfered with access to Facebook and Twitter and have blocked access to another media website.

A Russian ballistic missile carrying a cluster munition struck just outside a hospital in Vuhledar, a town in the Ukrainian government-controlled Donetska region, on February 24, 2022, Human Rights Watch said on February 25, 2022. The attack killed four civilians and injured another 10, six of them healthcare workers, and damaged the hospital, an ambulance, and civilian vehicles.

Police arbitrarily detained hundreds of peaceful protesters across Russia on February 24, 2022, at rallies in solidarity with Ukraine and against the war, Human Rights Watch said on February 26, 2022. The authorities also arrested at least two human rights defenders who spoke up against Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine, threatened to block mass media outlets in case their reporting on the war differed from the official narrative, and demanded that foreign social media platforms stop restricting reports from Russian state media.

The European Union should swiftly enforce new sanctions targeting Myanmar’s junta and its state-owned oil company, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), Human Rights Watch said on February 24, 2022. The EU should also ensure that the withdrawals of EU companies complying with sanctions do not benefit the junta. The United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, and other countries should quickly adopt similar measures.

Older people are often at heightened risk of abuses during armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on February 23, 2022. All parties to armed conflict should end abuses against older people and facilitate humanitarian assistance to older people in need. The United Nations Security Council should ensure that the UN addresses the need for enhanced protection of older civilians in armed conflict in its work.

The European Commission should prohibit EU trade with settlements in occupied territories globally, Human Rights Watch said on February 21, 2022 as it signed onto a European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI). The citizen-led initiative, registered with the European Commission in September 2021 and initiated on February 20, 2022, calls for adopting legislation to prohibit products originating from unlawful settlements from entering the EU market and to ban EU exports to settlements.

Indian authorities are wrongfully prosecuting activists and protest organizers under India’s anti-terrorism law two years after 53 people were killed in communal violence following peaceful protests against discriminatory citizenship policies, Human Rights Watch said on February 21, 2022.

The panel discussion during the side event

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.