Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugees in Risky Covid-19 Quarantine
Bangladesh authorities have quarantined 29 Rohingya refugees without adequate access to aid on an unstable silt island in the Bay of Bengal, Human Rights Watch said on May 05, 2020. The authorities said that they are holding the refugees, who had been...
Syria: ISIS Dumped Bodies in Gorge
The Islamic State (also known as ISIS) used a gorge in northeast Syria as a dumping ground for the bodies of people it had abducted or detained, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 04, 2020. A Human Rights Watch investigation and drone...
Journalists provide ‘antidote’ to COVID-19 misinformation, UN chief says ahead of World Press Freedom Day
The UN Secretary-General is calling for greater protection of journalists who are providing the “antidote” to what he has characterized as a pandemic of misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 crisis.
Sudan bans female genital mutilation, UNICEF vows to help support new law
The United Nations Childen’s Fund (UNICEF) welcomed the landmark move by Sudan’s transitional government this week to criminalize female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), with a three-year jail sentence for offenders.
Somalia: Spate of Arrests, Intimidation of Journalists
Somali authorities have been stepping up their intimidation of journalists as the country faces a growing number of Covid-19 cases. Since mid-April 2020 alone, authorities arbitrarily detained three journalists, accused two of various crimes, and...
Lift Cuba embargo or risk many lives lost to COVID-19, UN rights experts warn US
UN experts urge the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba that is obstructing the country’s health care system...
Coronavirus and human rights: New guidance highlights support for persons with disabilities
New guidance issued on Thursday sets out key actions, to counter what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called the “double risk” faced by persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nepal: Supreme Court’s Decision Reaffirms the Need to Amend Transitional Justice Law
The decision by Nepal’s Supreme Court to reject a petition by the government asking that it reviews its 2015 ruling against amnesties for grave conflict-era crimes is an important step in securing truth, justice, and reparations for the thousands of...
US: Immigrants’ Lives, Liberty at Stake in California Case
Immigrants’ basic rights to life and liberty are at stake as California’s Supreme Court considers a request to stop transfers from California jails and prisons to United States federal immigration detention centers during the Covid-19 pandemic, Human...
Ghana: 1st Covid-19 Case in Psychiatric Hospital
Ghana’s Accra Psychiatric Hospital has confirmed that a patient has tested positive for Covid-19, causing concern about protection for other patients and staff, Human Rights Watch said on April 30, 2020. The infected woman was admitted to the acute...
