Human Rights

Cambodia: Supreme Court Dissolves Democracy

Opposition Party Eliminated, Members Banned from Politics

Cambodia’s government-controlled Supreme Court on November 16, 2017, dissolved the main opposition party and imposed political bans of five years on 118 of its members, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 17.

China: Release Gravely Ill Critics

Detained Activist, Bookseller Denied Medical Parole

The Chinese government should immediately and unconditionally release from detention rights activist Huang Qi and bookseller Yiu Mantin, who are seriously ill, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 17. Authorities should also allow the two, who have been held in violation of their basic rights, to seek proper treatment wherever they wish, in China or abroad.

Libya’s detention of migrants ‘is an outrage to humanity,’ says UN human rights chief Zeid

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In Libya, dozens of migrants sleep alongside one another in a cramped cell in Tripoli's Tariq al-Sikka detention facility.

UN warns of trafficking, sexual abuse in shadow of Rohingya refugee crisis

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Displaced persons near Sittwe, Myanmar in December 2013.

Cambodia: Democracy Faces Death

Diplomats and Donors Need to Act if Court Dissolves Opposition Party

Cambodia’s Supreme Court should resist government pressure to rule on dissolving the country’s main opposition party, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 15. Cambodia’s international donors and supporters should state clearly that dissolution of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) will delegitimize national elections scheduled for 2018.

China: End Conversion Therapy in Medical Settings

Beijing Should Enact, Enforce Protection Against Abuses of LGBT People

The Chinese government should take immediate steps to stop public hospitals and private clinics from offering conversion therapy, Human Rights Watch said in a new report on Nov 14. Those facilities’ “treatments,” which aspire to change an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual, are inherently discriminatory and abusive.

Burma: Army Report Whitewashes Ethnic Cleansing

International Inquiry, Accountability Needed for Justice for Rohingya

The Burmese military’s latest claim that its forces did not commit abuses during recent operations against ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State is contrary to a large and growing body of evidence, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 14. On November 13, 2017, a Burmese army “investigation team” issued a report finding that there were “no deaths of innocent people,” while at least 376 “terrorists” were killed during fighting.

Tanzania: Migrant Domestic Workers in Oman, UAE Abused

Women Describe Beatings, Exploitation, Harassment

Tanzanian domestic workers in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face excessive working hours, unpaid salaries, and physical and sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Nov 14. Abusive visa-sponsorship rules in those countries and gaps in Tanzania’s policies leave the women exposed to exploitation.

Guatemala: Courts Jeopardizing Fight Against Impunity

Efforts to Prosecute Abuse, Corruption at Risk

The remarkable progress Guatemala has made in prosecuting corruption and abuse could be reversed if the country’s highest courts don’t stop the egregious delays that are keeping powerful defendants from going to trial, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Nov 12.

Yemen: Houthi Strike on Saudi Airport Likely War Crime

Saudi-Led Coalition Closes Yemeni Land, Sea, Air Ports

The ballistic missile strike by Houthi-Saleh forces in Yemen on Riyadh’s main international airport on November 4, 2017, is most likely a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Nov 07. Saudi Arabia responded to the attack by claiming Iran, which it accuses of aiding the Houthi rebels who control much of northern Yemen, smuggled the missile to Yemen and announcing a “temporary” closure of all Yemeni land, sea, and air ports. Saudi claims about the missile’s origin could not be verified and, according to media reports, Iranian officials denied the allegation.

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