Human Rights | WPN World People News

Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall.

The number of children and teenagers murdered in Brazil has more than doubled in 20 years, according to a new UNICEF report marking 25 years since the introduction of the Child and Adolescent Statute.

U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced on July 17 that it has reached a partial settlement in its civil rights lawsuit against Maricopa County, Arizona, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio. The settlement resolves the United States’ claims that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) conducted unlawful detentions of Hispanics during worksite raids of local businesses in violation of the Fourth and 14th Amendments, and retaliated against critics of Sheriff Arpaio and MCSO in violation of the First Amendment. The parties have filed a joint motion requesting that the federal district court in Arizona approve and agree to enforce the settlement agreement. The parties also reached a separate settlement resolving the United States’ claim that MCSO failed to provide adequate language access for limited English-proficient Hispanics in MCSO jails in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The trial of Chad’s former dictator Hissène Habré is a victory for the victims of his government, Human Rights Watch said on July 17. The trial will begin on July 20, 2015, almost 25 years after he was overthrown.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova briefs reporters at UN Headquarters.

Greek citizens aren’t the only victims of the country’s financial crisis – the cost of this debacle includes thousands of migrants and asylum seekers who are streaming into Greece, only to find there’s not enough shelter, food, healthcare, and even toilets to go around.

Iraqi authorities should set aside the guilty verdict and death sentences of 24 men in the June 2014 massacre of up to 1,700 Shia cadets by the extremist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS. On July 8, 2015, Baghdad’s Central Criminal Court sentenced the 24 at the end of a patently unfair trial that lasted only two hours and denied the defense the right to present witnesses and evidence.

Cash transfer programme recipient Elizabeth Kombe with her 2 month old twin sons in Kaputa district, Zambia, October 2011.

Chinese authorities’ use of a two-track system for issuing passports has severely restricted the freedom of movement for virtually all residents of areas populated mainly by religious minorities, Human Rights Watch said in a new report on July 13. China’s discriminatory double-tiered passport system requires residents of those areas to provide far more extensive documentation than other citizens. Additional restrictions in place in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) since 2012 have led to a near-total ban on any foreign travel by residents of that region, except those on government business.

The Irish government should grant asylum seekers the right to work at least within nine months of filing their claims for protection, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald on July 13. A new proposal from a governmental working group would allow asylum seekers to work nine months after filing their claims, in line with EU law.