Human Rights | WPN World People News

Workers unload trucks laden with hundreds of tents for families displaced by recent fighting in Iraq.

The Indian government should end “manual scavenging” – the cleaning of human waste by communities considered low-caste – by ensuring that local officials enforce the laws prohibiting this discriminatory practice, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released. The government should implement existing legislation aimed to assist manual scavenging community members find alternative, sustainable livelihoods.

Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip should urgently act to stop executions of Palestinians accused of providing information to the Israeli military and appropriately punish those behind the executions, Human Rights Watch said. News reports said unidentified gunmen believed to be acting on instructions from Hamas executed three people on August 21, 2014, 18 people on August 22, and four people on August 23.

People gather on Aug. 24, 2014, at the site where unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown was recently shot to death by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Oman joined the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines on August 20, 2014, Human Rights Watch said. It is the 8th Arab country and 162nd country worldwide to join. The move should encourage the remaining 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa to join the Mine Ban Treaty and respect its provisions.

UNDOF peacekeepers patrol Golan Heights.

Local volunteers prepare humanitarian aid in the cellar of the Sloviansk public library, Ukraine, which serves as a warehouse and collection point for UNHCR's aid delivery.

An elderly returnee to Sloviansk, Ukraine, whose house was hit by artillery and needs major repairs, is comforted by a relative.

Shackles used to bind slaves.

Mexico should ensure that its investigation into the killing of 22 civilians by soldiers on June 30, 2014, is impartial and effective, and properly considers evidence of wrongful state action.