Human Rights

Eritrea: Conscription System’s Toll on Education

Spurs Dropouts and Exodus by Students, Teachers

Eritrea’s use of secondary school to channel students into indefinite government service and its conscription of teachers subjects students and teachers to forced labor and physical abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Aug 08, 2019.

Colombia/Venezuela: Attacks on Civilians in Border Area

Killings, Disappearances, Recruitment of Children as Soldiers Go Unpunished

Armed groups have committed egregious abuses against Colombian and Venezuelan civilians as they fight for control in Catatumbo, northeastern Colombia, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Aug 08, 2019.

South Africa: Decriminalise Sex Work

Criminalisation Harms Women, Fuels HIV Epidemic

South African authorities are compromising the safety and wellbeing of women and obstructing efforts to end the HIV pandemic by treating sex work as a crime, Human Rights Watch and the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) said in a report released on Aug 07, 2019. South Africa should decriminalise the exchange of sex for money by consenting adults.

Intensified Al Qaeda and ISIL activity in Yemen ‘deeply worrying’, says UN Human Rights Office

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Damage caused by fighting in Abyan Governorate, southern Yemen

All States have ‘primary responsibility’ to protect against hate attacks

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A group of people advocate against hate and discrimination based on ethnicity and religion in the Central African Republic.

Turkey: Concerns for Disappeared Men Now in Police Custody

Four Confirmed in Custody; Two Remain Missing

The Turkish authorities’ decision to deny lawyers access to four men, who were forcibly disappeared in February 2019, but are now confirmed to be in police custody in Ankara raises concerns that the men may be being put under pressure to conceal information about their disappearance, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 06, 2019.

Russia: Over 1,000 Detained at Weekend Protest

Excessive Use of Force; Criminal Cases against Activists

The detention of at least 1,001 people at a Moscow protest on August 3, 2019 and use of excessive force against peaceful protesters represent further evidence of Russian authorities’ preference for repression over rights, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 06, 2019.

Myanmar companies bankroll ‘brutal operations’ of military, independent UN experts claim in new report

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Rohingya refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in Myanmar

India: Basic Freedoms at Risk in Kashmir

Free Political Leaders, Restore Communications, Exercise Restraint

Indian authorities have adopted measures in anticipation of unrest in Jammu and Kashmir state that raise serious human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said on Aug 05. The government announced on August 5, 2019 that it was altering the special constitutional status of the state.

Iran: Jailed Environmentalists on Hunger Strike

Environmentalists Protesting 550 days of Legal Limbo

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A campaign poster showing environmental activists, Taher Ghadirian, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Houman Jokar, Sam Rajabi, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, who have been in detention for six months.