Human Rights | WPN World People News

Ahead of the International Day of the Girl Child, UNICEF is issuing a new compilation of data revealing the magnitude of violence against adolescent girls and the alarming attitudes that perpetuate such abuse.

A counterterrorism bill before the French parliament would provide overly broad and vague powers that would breach rights to free movement and expression, Human Rights Watch said. The bill, proposed by the French government in July 2014 under an accelerated procedure, was adopted by the National Assembly in September and is now before the senate.

The awarding of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize to the 17-year-old activist Malala Yousafzai honors students around the world who take great risks to learn in the face of adversity and conflict, Human Rights Watch said. Yousafzai is a tenacious advocate for the rights of all children, and girls in particular, to go to school and receive a quality education, free from discrimination and fear.

A latrine used by approximately 800 students at a high school in Haiti’s Central Plateau.

Mexico’s efforts to address the large number of cases of enforced disappearances and abductions throughout the country in recent years have been marred by inexplicable delays and contradictory public statements, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent to Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong.

Syrian Kurdish refugees cross the border into Turkey after fleeing fighting around the city of Kobane in north-east Syria.

President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan should delay the execution of five men convicted in a badly flawed trial following the gang rape of four women in Paghman district, near Kabul, Human Rights Watch said. The men, who were convicted of robbery and extramarital sex (zina), are scheduled to be executed on October 8, 2014.

At least five people have disappeared in Crimea since May 2014, including two on September 27, Human Rights Watch said.

Three are Crimean Tatars and two are pro-Ukraine activists. Crimean Tatars have generally openly opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March. Two other Crimean Tatars who appeared not to have political ties have gone missing in recent days. The body of one was found hanged on October 6. De-facto authorities in Crimea should promptly and thoroughly investigate these cases and bring those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung should urgently assure the public of their rights to peaceful assembly and expression in advance of his deadline that city streets be cleared by October 6, 2014, Human Rights Watch said in a public letter.

This Christian Iraqi family fled the town of Qaragosh, 30km east of Mosul, in June 2014, after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) took control of Mosul and other areas of northern Iraq.