Human Rights | WPN World People News

Security forces have fired teargas cartridges directly at protesters in Baghdad, Iraq on numerous occasions since protests resumed on October 25, 2019, killing at least 16, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 08, 2019. The dead are among the large number of protesters Iraqi forces have killed since daily protests began in Baghdad and in other cities in southern Iraq against corruption and for better public services, among other demands.

The Cambodian government should permit exiled opposition leaders to return to Cambodia and freely resume political activities, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 07,2019. As part of the crackdown on the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), Prime Minister Hun Sen has threatened to arrest Sam Rainsy and other party leaders who plan to return on November 9, 2019, Cambodian Independence Day.

A Vietnamese court will hear an appeal on November 7, 2019 of a six-year sentence for a Vietnamese environmental activist convicted of criticizing the government on Facebook, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 05, 2019. The prosecution and detention of the activist, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, clearly violated his right to freedom of speech. The authorities should reverse his conviction and immediately release him.

The Israeli Supreme Court on November 5, 2019 upheld the Israeli government’s authority to deport Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch. The decision now shifts back to the Israeli government; if it proceeds with deportation, Shakir will have to leave Israel by November 25.

A blister pack of pills.

The campus of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

Important social reforms enacted under Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been accompanied by deepening repression and abusive practices meant to silence dissidents and critics, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Nov 04, 2019.

French President Emmanuel Macron should keep his pledges to press for key human rights improvements during his upcoming visit to China, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the president on Nov 01, 2019. Macron will visit China from November 4 to 6, 2019.

The Myanmar authorities should immediately quash the convictions of five theater performers for criticizing the military and drop all remaining charges against troupe members, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 31, 2019. The five had been arrested for performing satirical slam poetry known as thangyat, a traditional vehicle for humorous criticism of topics from politics to social behavior.

Draft amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s trade union law would severely inhibit independent trade union organizing and violate international labor treaties to which Kyrgyzstan is a party, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 31, 2019. Parliament should reject the amendments when they are presented for a third reading.