Human Rights | WPN World People News

A string of recent prosecutions in Somaliland targeting people who spoke out on controversial issues is a dangerous attack of free expression, Human Rights Watch said on May 08, 2018. In the latest such case, a prominent traditional elder was charged, tried, and sentenced to five years in prison on April 26, 2018, in proceedings that lasted less than an hour.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his continued disappointment and concern regarding the ongoing practice of imposing penalties on journalists working without accreditation in Belarus, on May 8.

Increased insurgent attacks on civilians in Afghanistan have left victims’ families and survivors in dire need of financial, medical, and psychosocial support, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 08, 2018. The Afghan government should ensure programs to assist victims of attacks by the Taliban and Islamic State-linked armed groups reach those in need.

Cambodian authorities should quash the politically motivated “insurrection” convictions against 11 members, supporters, and activists of Cambodia’s now dissolved main opposition party, Human Rights Watch said on May 07, 2018. Cambodia’s Court of Appeal is scheduled to announce its decision on an appeal by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) members, who had received sentences of from 7 to 20 years, on May 10, 2018.

Saudi Arabia is detaining thousands of people for more than six months, in some cases for over a decade, without referring them to courts for criminal proceedings. Saudi Arabia’s attorney general should promptly charge or release all criminal defendants and stop holding people arbitrarily.

Photographer Farzana Wahidy covering a women's empowerment event in Mazar-i-Sharif, in Afghanistan's north.

FIFA should call on the Kremlin to secure the unconditional release of a Chechen human rights defender before the start of the 2018 World Cup championship, Human Rights Watch said on May 03, 2018. The tournament, which Russia is hosting, starts June 14. Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, is slated to be the home base for Egypt’s national team during the tournament, making Chechnya part of FIFA’s World Cup operations.

The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has important leverage to encourage countries to investigate and prosecute grave international crimes, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 03, 2018.

For this year’s annual International Women’s Day event, the European Parliament Liaison Office in the UK, together with GenderFivePlus (G5+) - the first European feminist Think Tank - organised a debate focusing on why women’s voices are important in the ongoing Brexit negotiations.