Human Rights | WPN World People News

Qatar should thoroughly and urgently investigate and publicize the underlying causes of migrant worker deaths in light of new medical research concluding that heatstroke is a likely cause of cardiovascular fatalities among these workers in Qatar, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 10, 2019. Qatari authorities should also immediately adopt and enforce adequate restrictions on outdoor work to protect workers from potentially fatal heat-related risks.

Mozambique police officers have been implicated in the killing of an election observer in an escalation of violence that threatens national elections scheduled for October 15, 2019, Human Rights Watch said on Oct 09, 2019.

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.