Human Rights | WPN World People News

Sri Lanka’s latest counterterrorism bill falls far short of the government’s pledges to the United Nations Human Rights Council to end abusive detention without charge, Human Rights Watch said on May 18. The Cabinet approved the third draft of the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) on May 3, 2017, but no parliamentary vote has been set.

The United States House Judiciary Committee should reject a dangerous immigration bill that would exacerbate abusive aspects of the US immigration system and undermine public safety, Human Rights Watch said on May 18. The bill would essentially criminalize the presence of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the US.

The Pakistani government is increasingly clamping down on internet dissent at the expense of fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said on May 16. The government should immediately end abusive state monitoring of internet activity, prosecute those committing violence on the basis of internet blasphemy allegations, and commit to upholding free expression for all.

G20 labor ministers gathering in Germany on May 18 and 19, 2017, should pledge to protect human rights in global supply chains, Human Rights Watch said on May 16. Germany currently holds the presidency of the G20, a group of 20 governments from major global economies.

The International Day against Homophobia is marked every 17 May to raise awareness about the importance of non- discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world. To mark the occasion, MEPs discussed on 16 May reports by independent Russian media and human rights organisations alleging atrocities against homosexual men in Chechnya.

New data analysis reveals that more than 10,000 parents of US citizen children are most likely detained every year in California by immigration authorities, Human Rights Watch said on May 15. In light of new Trump administration policies likely to boost detention and deportation, the state of California should act to ensure that detained migrants are held in dignified and humane conditions and have access to lawyers.

Seven people who sheltered the whistleblower Edward Snowden in June 2013 are at risk of return to torture and persecution at home, Human Rights Watch said on May 15. On May 11, 2017, the Hong Kong Immigration Department rejected their asylum claim; their lawyers are in the process of appealing the decision and pursuing a separate case for entry and asylum in Canada, where sponsors are ready to assist them.

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights called on President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on May 10 and 11, 2017, to turn his government’s pledges for reform into concrete human rights improvements and fulfill its obligations under human rights law, eight human rights groups said on May 13. The rights groups endorsed the high commissioner’s recommendations, calling on Mirziyoyev to end ongoing abuses and deliver on Uzbekistan’s human rights commitments in full.

A Russian court on May 11, 2017, convicted a 22-year-old blogger on criminal charges of incitement of hatred and insult to the religious feelings of believers, Human Rights Watch said on May 12. The court gave the blogger, Ruslan Sokolovsky, a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence.