Human Rights | WPN World People News

Morocco’s recent overhaul of its speech laws leaves intact the country’s famous red lines on critical speech, as well as other provisions that could land people in prison solely for peaceful expression, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on May 04.

An Indonesian police raid targeting gay men in Surabaya, Indonesia, on April 30, 2017, threatens the rights of the country’s already beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, Human Rights Watch said on May 04. The police ordered 14 men to undergo HIV tests and arrested eight of those men on charges of violating the country’s draconian and discriminatory anti-pornography law.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein (centre) addresses a press conference in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Newsstand in Rabat, Morocco.

United Nations member countries should denounce the Philippines’ brutal “war on drugs” that has killed more than 7,000 people since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in June 2016, Human Rights Watch said on May 03. The Philippines will appear for the third cycle of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on May 8, 2017, in Geneva.

Somalia’s new government should ensure that the security forces are accountable and improve protection of the most vulnerable people, Human Rights Watch said in a 10-point report on human rights priorities on May 02. The London conference on security sector reform in Somalia, slated for May 11, 2017, is an important opportunity for Somalia’s leadership and the country’s international partners to make a commitment to address past abuses and improve future responses to the many problems arising from war, famine, and political dysfunction.

The Thai government should immediately disclose the whereabouts of Prawet Prapanukul, a prominent human rights lawyer and critic of the monarchy, who has been missing since security forces raided his Bangkok home on April 29, 2017, Human Rights Watch said on May 02. Authorities have not acknowledged his arrest and detention, raising grave concerns that he is the victim of an enforced disappearance.

Mosquito prevention and control in Salto, Uruguay.

United Nations member countries should call on India to stop targeting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and others who criticize the government or its policies, Human Rights Watch said on May 01. The UN Human Rights Council will conduct its third review of India’s human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure on May 4, 2017, in Geneva.

Armed groups fighting for control of a central province in the Central African Republic have targeted civilians in apparent reprisal killings over the past three months, Human Rights Watch said on May 02. The attacks have left at least 45 people dead and at least 11,000 displaced.