Human Rights | WPN World People News

Myanmar authorities should immediately release 30 Rohingya Muslims detained for attempting to travel from Rakhine State to the city of Yangon, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 08, 2019. The government should lift all travel restrictions on ethnic Rohingya and repeal discriminatory regulations that limit their right to freedom of movement.

Vietnamese police arrested a pro-democracy activist on September 23, 2019 based on his Facebook postings, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 07, 2019. The government should immediately release the activist, Nguyen Quoc Duc Vuong, and drop the charges against him.

Cameroon President Paul Biya ordered the release on October 4, 2019 of a prominent opposition leader, Maurice Kamto. The president also ordered the release of other members and supporters of Kamto’s party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC). Kamto and the other detainees were released on October 5.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres at UN Headquarters, New York.

Indonesian authorities should independently investigate recent riots in Wamena, Papua that resulted in 33 deaths, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 07, 2019. Since September 29, 2019, at least 8,000 indigenous Papuan and other Indonesians have been displaced from their homes in Papua.

The Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision to quash the conviction of a man who had spent almost 18 years in prison for blasphemy spotlighted abuses inherent in the law, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 06, 2019. On September 25, 2019, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence against Wajih-ul-Hassan, who had been sentenced to death in 2002 for writing allegedly blasphemous letters.

European Union governments should improve on and then sign up to a plan to ensure timely disembarkation and relocation of people rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Oct 03, 2019, on the sixth anniversary of the Lampedusa shipwreck, in which at least 368 people died. EU interior ministers gathering in Luxembourg on October 8, 2019, are expected to discuss a joint declaration agreed upon by Germany, France, Italy, and Malta on September 23 in Valletta.

Chinese authorities should immediately release activists detained in China for peacefully voicing support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 03, 2019. Authorities should also cease harassing activists, students, and their families for sharing protest-related information on social media, and allow mainland Chinese to participate in peaceful protests in Hong Kong.

Bulgaria’s prosecutor general should reject a call from a political party in the country’s governing coalition to disband the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), Human Rights Watch said on Oct 02, 2019. The party has been in legal battles for years with the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee over its stance on anti-discrimination issues.

UN Postal Administration-issued stamp featuring a painting of Mahatma Gandhi by Ferdie Pacheco in Commemoration of International Day of Non-Violence.