Pakistan: Crackdown on Farmers’ Protest
In April, Pakistani authorities used draconian laws and excessive force to prevent tenant farmers in Punjab province from protesting for land rights, Human Rights Watch said on May 4. Farmers in Okara district had planned to convene on April 17, 2016...
Kenya: Court to Hear Forced Anal Testing Case
A Kenyan court will hear a constitutional petition challenging the use of forced anal examinations of men accused of homosexuality on May 4, 2016, Human Rights Watch said on May 3. Under international law, forced anal examinations are a form of cruel...
Iran: Flawed Convictions for Journalists
An Iranian court convicted three journalists and a family member of another journalist on April 25, 2016 on vague national security charges. The four, along with a fifth journalist, have been detained since November, 2015. The authorities should quash...
On World Day, UN highlights link between press freedom and development
Journalists wait for the arrival of official delegations at the Geneva II Conference on Syria...
Flint Michigan crisis ‘not just about water,’ UN rights experts say ahead of President Obama’s visit
Bottled water.
Iraq: Al Jazeera Closure a Blow to Free Speech
The closure of Al Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau by the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission is nothing but an effort to clamp down on freedom of expression. The commission should promptly reverse its decision and allow the bureau to operate freely in...
Somalia: Journalists Under Attack
Both the Somali government and the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab are using abusive tactics to sway media coverage, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 2, on World Press Freedom Day. The government should act decisively to end...
Asian Development Bank: Heed Local Voices
Child picking cotton in September 2012, Suyima Pakhtakor, Jizzakh.
PAKISTAN: Labour Day meaningless for country’s working class
Labour Day in Pakistan is oxymoronic, because the day is just another holiday for the nation’s better off population, while the labour class toils under the blazing sun. Perhaps on no other day does the class difference between the haves and have nots...
Kids’ best interests must come first in cross-border custody cases, urge MEPs
It is children who pay the price when EU member states fail to cooperate and protect children’s best interests in legal proceedings such as cross-border parental custody disputes and adoption decisions, Parliament points out in a non-binding...
