Human Rights

Guinea: Deaths, Criminality in Post-Election Violence

Credible Evidence Security Forces Implicated in Excessive Use of Force

There is credible evidence that Guinea’s security forces used excessive lethal force and engaged in other unprofessional conduct during violent street protests in February and March 2018, Human Rights Watch said on Jul 24, 2018. No member of the police or gendarmes has been arrested or charged.

UN experts urge India to align new anti-trafficking bill with human rights law

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UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro.

UN human rights chief denounces grave 'assaults' on fundamental rights of Palestinian people

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A view of Jabalia refugee camp. Jabalia is the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps. It is located north of Gaza City, close to a village of the same name.

Vietnam: Clean Up Abysmal Rights Record

Past UN Member Recommendations Ignored

Vietnam’s government should release all political prisoners and uphold its pledges to respect basic civil and political rights, Human Rights Watch said in a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Turkey: Normalizing the State of Emergency

Draft Law Permits Purging Judges; Prolonged Detention; Curbing Movement, Assembly

A draft law being rushed through Turkey’s parliament will preserve many of the abusive powers granted to the president and executive under the country’s recent state of emergency, which formally ended on July 18, 2018, Human Rights Watch said on Jul 20, 2018.

Iraq: Intelligence Agency Admits Holding Hundreds Despite Previous Denials

Ex-Detainee Describes Degrading Conditions

Iraq’s National Security Service (NSS), an Iraqi intelligence agency reporting to Iraq’s prime minister, has acknowledged for the first time that it is detaining individuals for prolonged periods of time, despite not having a clear mandate to do so, Human Rights Watch said on Jul 22. NSS is holding more than 400 detainees in a detention facility in east Mosul. As of July 4, 2018, 427 men were there, some of whom had been held for more than seven months.

Brazil: Pesticide Poisonings in Rural Areas

Ordinary Brazilians Suffer Health Effects, Retaliation for Speaking Out

Rural residents are being poisoned in Brazil from pesticides sprayed near their homes, schools, and workplaces, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Jul 20, 2018. Many rural communities fear reprisals from wealthy and politically powerful farmers if they denounce such poisonings or advocate more protective laws and regulations.

Cameroon: Killings, Destruction in Anglophone Regions

Government and Separatists Abuse Civilians

Government security forces and armed separatists have committed grave abuses against residents of Cameroon’s Anglophone region, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Jul 19, 2018. The region has been rocked by protests and violent clashes rooted in long-standing political grievances by the country’s Anglophone minority.

Lebanon: Same-Sex Relations Not Illegal

Homosexuality Not an ‘Unnatural Offense,’ Appeals Court Rules

A district court of appeal in Lebanon issued a groundbreaking ruling on July 12, 2018, that consensual sex between people of the same sex is not unlawful, Human Rights Watch said.

Vietnam: US Citizen in Televised ‘Confession’

American on Trial Before Party-Controlled Court

Vietnamese authorities should drop criminal charges and release a United States citizen and Vietnamese nationals arrested for their peaceful participation in protests in Ho Chi Minh City, Human Rights Watch said on Jul 18. William Anh Nguyen is scheduled to go on trial for “disrupting public order” under penal code article 318 on July 20, 2018. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

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