Human Rights | WPN World People News

UN peacekeepers in Ansongo, Mali.

May 3 is the World Press Freedom Day. This day is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; to defend the media from attacks on their independence; and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. In Bangladesh, however, the day will be observed as yet another day, where scribes will continue to face physical threat and other harassment, falsely implicated in criminal cases, and arbitrarily detained for just doing their job.

Officials from the internationally recognized Libyan government said in a statement on April 29, 2015, that two Tunisian journalists who had been missing in eastern Libya since September 2014 had been killed.

The discovery of more than 30 bodies in a human trafficking camp should prompt Thai authorities to authorize an independent, United Nations-assisted investigation, commit to publish its findings, and bring those responsible to justice, including any government officials involved, Human Rights Watch said on 1 May, 2015. The UN and others, including the United States, that have called for an end to trafficking in Thailand should urgently press the government to end official complicity and willful blindness in rampant trafficking in the country.

UN expert on human rights in Cambodia Surya Subedi (right) on a visit to the country in May 2012.

A Turkish court on April 29, 2015, released from prison a lawyer facing trial for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but he should not be facing such charges in the first place, Human Rights Watch said on 29 April.

Australia should withdraw plans to send refugees from Nauru to Cambodia in the face of continuing abuses against those already in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said on 29 April. Cambodia should reject its deal with Australia and focus on providing proper protections to the refugees and asylum seekers already on its soil.

Security forces in Sudan arrested dozens of opposition party members, students, and political activists, in the lead up to, during, and after national elections, April 13 to 16, 2015.

Iran’s intelligence and security forces have rounded up and detained scores of Ahwazi Arabs, including several children, in what appears to be an escalating crackdown in Iran’s Khuzestan province, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on 29 April, 2015.

The Burundian government is cracking down on activists, journalists, and demonstrators following protests over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term.