Human Rights | WPN World People News

Brazil should treat access to sexual and reproductive health services, including access to abortion as provided by law, as essential services that need to be continued without interruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said on June 12, 2020.

Malaysia and Thailand should urgently rescue Rohingya refugees stranded at sea and provide them with assistance and access to asylum, Human Rights Watch said on June 12, 2020. On June 8, 2020, Malaysian authorities detained 269 Rohingya refugees who arrived on a damaged boat off Malaysia’s coast at Langkawi. A second boat with an estimated 300 Rohingya remains at sea near Thailand’s Koh Adang island, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

Democratic Republic of Congo should take immediate steps to protect the rights of thousands of Congolese workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of 11 international and Congolese human rights groups said in a letter to 13 mining companies on June 11, 2020.

Burundi’s authoritarian president, Pierre Nkurunziza, whose death was confirmed in a government statement on June 9, 2020, leaves a legacy of political repression and widespread human rights abuse. Days after the constitutional court declared the victory of his party’s candidate, Evariste Ndayishimiye, in the country’s May 2020 presidential elections, his death provides a moment for Burundi’s leadership to ensure concrete human rights and democratic reforms, and accountability for past abuses.

Protesters in Brooklyn, New York, show the names of African Americans who have been killed in incidents involving the police.

Government officials in the United States responsible for police policy and practice should reject a new campaign called #8CantWait that proposes only minor and ineffectual changes, Human Rights Watch said on June 09, 2020. They should instead adopt meaningful reforms that will ensure police are held to account and reduce the police footprint, investing saved resources into services that improve access to housing, education, employment, and health care to address structural racism in the United States.

Hong Kong’s and China’s governments should reverse measures threatening the fundamental rights of people in Hong Kong, Human Rights Watch said on the first anniversary of mass protests in the city. On June 9, 2019, over one million Hong Kong people marched peacefully against a proposed law that would allow Hong Kong authorities to transfer criminal suspects to China, where they would face a grossly unfair criminal justice system.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, in the US state of Alabama, is dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people and people terrorized by lynching.

Cambodian authorities should urgently investigate the abduction of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a prominent Thai pro-democracy activist living in exile in Phnom Penh, and publicly reveal their findings, Human Rights Watch said on June 05, 2020.

Iranian authorities have detained two students from Sharif University in Tehran in solitary confinement for nearly two months, Human Rights Watch said on June 06,2020. The authorities should release the two students immediately – unless they can promptly charge them with a recognizable crime – and ensure all their due process rights.