Human Rights | WPN World People News

MEPs call for elections in Democratic Republic of Congo, condemn violence in Nigeria and urge China to release human rights activists.

Bangladesh’s decision on January 22, 2018, to delay the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Burma should be followed by suspending the bilateral plan, which threatens the refugees’ security and well-being, Human Rights Watch said on Jan 23, 2018. On January 16, Burma and Bangladesh announced an agreement that provides additional details on a plan that would repatriate over 770,000 mostly Rohingya Muslim refugees who left Burma’s Rakhine State since October 2016.

Algerian authorities have stepped up trials of members of the Ahmadiyya religious minority on charges related to the exercise of their religion, Human Rights Watch said on Jan 22, 2018. Sentences range from fines to a year in prison.

Israeli authorities should abandon a new policy that could lead to the indefinite detention of thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese nationals for refusing to leave Israel for Rwanda or Uganda, Human Rights Watch said on Jan 22, 2018. The policy is the latest in a series of coercive measures against these groups aimed at thwarting their legitimate right to seek protection and would almost certainly result in mass unlawful asylum seeker detention.

Raymond Ho, first from left, taking picture with member of the Tax and Legal Reform League.

Secretary-General António Guterres.

Group photo after workshop, first line from left (1) Raymond Ho, founder of Momentum 107 Hong Kong, (3) Christopher Butler, Executive Director of Americans for Tax Reform

Lawless armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) morphed into disastrous trends for the region in 2017, Human Rights Watch said on Jan 18 in releasing its 2018 World Report.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) governments can respond to the popular demands of the region’s youth for reform by implementing five changes in 2018 to arbitrary, outdated legal systems that infringe upon citizens’ rights and liberties, Human Rights Watch said on Jan 18 in releasing its World Report 2018. Some governments in the region have already embarked on important progress, but most remain hostage to rigid mentalities.

Human Rights Watch will launch a billboard and online campaign on January 19, 2018, to end the waste management crisis in Lebanon, Human Rights Watch said on Jan 19. The campaign calls for an end to the dangerous practice of open burning of waste and for parliament and the cabinet to adopt a national waste management law and strategy that cover the entire country and comply with environmental and public health best practices and international law. The petition is online here.