Human Rights

Syrian refugees straining health services in region, UN warns in new report

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A Syrian father watches as Turkish medical staff examine his child who has developed breathing difficulties.

OSCE meeting examines ways to facilitate freer movement of people

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A departures sign at an airport.

Bangladesh: Tragedy Shows Urgency of Worker Protections

Allow Workers to Unionize; Overhaul Factory Inspections

The collapse of an eight-story factory building near Dhaka shows the urgent need to improve Bangladesh’s protections for worker health and safety, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Reforms should include a drastic overhaul of the government’s system of labor inspections and an end to government efforts to thwart the right of workers to unionize.

Taiwan: Reinstate Moratorium on Death Penalty

12 Executions in 4 Months Sets Back Rule of Law

The government of Taiwan should immediately reinstate its moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Mexico: Abolish “Arraigo” Detention from Constitution

Proposals to Curtail the Practice Inadequate; Detainees at Risk of Torture

Mexico’s congress should reject a proposed constitutional change on preventive detention, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The proposed change, which would reduce the maximum preventive detention period from 80 days to 40, would not meet international human rights standards.

OSCE media freedom representative lauds passage of defamation bill by British Parliament

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The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, Bonn, 20 June 2011.

EU: Ending Sanctions Undercuts Burma’s Rights Progress

Pressure Still Needed to Protect Rohingya and Minorities, Release Political Prisoners

The European Union’s premature lifting of all targeted sanctions on Burma means the EU will need a new platform to press the government to improve the country’s still dire human rights situation. On April 22, 2013, EU foreign ministers ended decades of EU travel bans and targeted sanctions on Burmese army and government individuals and entities, except its export ban on arms.

Burma: End ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of Rohingya Muslims

Unpunished Crimes Against Humanity, Humanitarian Crisis in Arakan State

Burmese authorities and members of Arakanese groups have committed crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State since June 2012, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan: Abuses in International Spotlight

UN Reviews Should Urge Concrete Improvements

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan’s highly repressive policies are coming up for rare international scrutiny on April 22 and 24, 2013, Human Rights Watch said today.

Renewed Anger in India After Reported Rape of 5-year-old

Protesters have taken to the streets in the Indian capital following the reported brutal rape of a five-year-old girl, who remains hospitalized with severe internal injuries. India's prime minister and president have expressed shock and anguish at the crime, which comes just four months after a similar incident rocked the country.

Indian police on Saturday say they have arrested 22-year-old Manoj Kumar who had fled to the neighboring state of Bihar after allegedly kidnapping, raping and torturing the young girl.

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