Human Rights | WPN World People News

The United States-led coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and other local armed groups should make protecting civilians and respect for human rights a priority in the offensive to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), Human Rights Watch said on Jun 13. The offensive was announced on June 6, 2017.

Reversing the Obama administration’s changes in United States policy toward Cuba will not improve respect for human rights on the island, Human Rights Watch said on Jun 13.

Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across the United States in pride and protest to celebrate and demand full rights for the LGBT community.

The referral of a businessman to trial before a military court, and the incommunicado detention of seven other men in undisclosed locations, is a threat to human rights in Tunisia, Human Rights Watch said on Jun 09.

A Turkmen court sentenced 18 men to up to 25 years in prison on February 8, 2017, in what appears to be a purge of people associated with Turkish schools believed to have been previously affiliated with the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, Human Rights Watch said on Jun 09. In a statement published on June 9, seven organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, called on the Turkmen government to ensure that the men are released and their sentenced quashed.

A child stands barefoot alongside other children, after they fled with their families from fighting between ISF and ISIL in an area west of Mosul, Iraq. Many of those fleeing are using the cover of night to evade ISIL snipers.

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres’ trip to Central Asia, beginning June 8, 2017, is a major opportunity for the UN to mark its concern at the highest level over the worrying state of human rights in the region, Human Rights Watch said on Jun 07. The secretary-general should push Central Asian leaders for specific improvements, including ending torture and the crackdowns on demonstrations and freedom of expression.

A prominent human rights defender in Armenia has received death threats, Human Rights Watch said on Jun 07. The authorities should immediately investigate the threats, made on the rights defender’s Facebook page, and ensure that he gets the protection he needs.

A woman stands in a shelter for girls and women who have endured sexual and gender-based violence, in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Thai authorities should drop criminal defamation charges against 14 Burmese migrant workers who alleged that their employer violated their labor rights, Human Rights Watch said on Jun 06. Proceedings in the case will begin in Don Muang Magistrates Court in Bangkok on June 7, 2017.