Human Rights | WPN World People News

Canada is failing to take adequate steps to assist and repatriate dozens of Canadians unlawfully detained in dire conditions for alleged Islamic State (also known as ISIS) links in northeast Syria, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on June 29. 2020. The government should promptly repatriate all its detained citizens for rehabilitation, reintegration, and, as appropriate, prosecution.

United Nations member countries should immediately respond to the unprecedented call by UN human rights experts to examine the Chinese government’s human rights record, Human Rights Watch said on June 29, 2020. The UN Human Rights Council, whose 44th session is slated to begin on June 30, 2020, should address these issues as a matter of priority.

Member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have joined together in support of the court’s crucial work and independence from political pressure, Human Rights Watch said on June 23, 2020. A cross-regional group of 67 ICC member countries issued a joint statement on June 23, 2020 in response to the United States administration’s June 11 executive order that authorizes asset freezes and family travel bans that could be used against ICC officials and potentially others who assist ICC investigations.

Iran’s recently approved law to protect children and adolescents is a small positive step forward but falls short of the fundamental reforms needed to meaningfully protect children’s rights, Human Rights Watch said on June 23, 2020.

Donors and foreign partners should urge Sudan to prioritize justice and legal and institutional reforms in Sudan, even as they focus on the country’s pressing economic concerns, Human Rights Watch said June 23, 2020. On June 25, 2020, a group of governments and multilateral organizations, known as the Friends of Sudan, will hold a partnership conference in Berlin, Germany, to discuss economic support to the country.

Half of the world’s children, or approximately 1 billion children each year are affected by physical, sexual or psychological violence, suffering injuries, disabilities and death, because countries have failed to follow established strategies to protect them.

A ministerial resolution in Ecuador to regulate participation of the armed forces in law enforcement operations could encourage the use of lethal force in circumstances that go beyond what international human rights standards allow, Human Rights Watch said on June 19, 2020.

The Myanmar government should immediately lift all internet restrictions in eight townships in Rakhine and Chin States, Human Rights Watch said on June 19, 2020. The mobile internet shutdown, which began on June 21, 2019, is affecting more than a million people living in a conflict zone.

George Floyd, an African American, was killed after being restrained by police in the United States.

Japan-based Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. should end its partnership with Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL) because of its connections to Myanmar’s abusive armed forces, Human Rights Now, Human Rights Watch, Japan Volunteer International Center, and Shapla Neer said on June 18, 2020. The organizations wrote to Kirin on May 22, 2020, urging the global beverage company to terminate its partnership with the military conglomerate, and the company responded on June 12.