EUROPE
Poland
‘People fleeing war, violence and persecution need protection’
On 24 July 2020 UNHCR urged Poland to protect people fleeing war, violence etc. This came one day after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that by denying access to asylum procedures, Poland violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Poland has named security concerns for restricting entry of refugees. But applying for refugee status is a fundamental human right of those who flee their country for fear of persecution. UNHCR reminded that safe border management and providing a safe haven for refugees are not mutually exclusive.
Poland
‘Warsaw against its own fundamental duty to protect it’s civilian’
People went on streets against the Polish government’s plans to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on prevention and combating of domestic violence.
The Law and Justice government has used fear-mongering and hateful rhetoric about so-called “gender ideology” to legitimize attacks on the rights of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
Sources state that Poland reports fewer cases of domestic abuse than other EU countries merely reflects how taboo the issue remains.
EU and Council of Europe have condemned such action.
Bosnia & Herzegovina
‘On 25th sombre anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, UN showed the need for true reconciliation in the country’
Srebrenica genocide, the worst atrocity crime in Europe since Second World War. Killed thousands of mainly Muslim men & boys during Balkan war (July 1995). Even after 25 years, peace in Bosnia & Herzegovina remains fragile.
UN states “Confronting that past is a vital step towards rebuilding trust.”
Belarus
‘Crackdown on opposition, political activists & journalist during election time’
Belarus have arbitrarily arrested journalists, bloggers, and political activists ahead of the August 9, 2020, presidential election and pressed charges against two potential candidates.
1st opposition leader: Viktar Babaryka, was barred because of dubious criminal charges against him. He’s now in prison.
2nd opposition leader: Valer Tsapkala, was barred after thousands of endorsement signatures were deemed invalid.
Belarus has been led by Alexander Lukashenka since 1994. He is running for a sixth term.
Belarus should know that International community cares whether the elections are free & fair.
Hungary
‘End Pressure on Media; Respect, Protect Independent Journalism’
The firing of Szabolcs Dull, the editor-in-chief of Hungary’s biggest independent news website, Index, on July 22, 2020, has raised a question on media independence and diversity.
On July 23, Index staff unanimously requested the reinstatement of Dull as editor-in-chief.
Free press is essential for the country’s democracy but Hungary’s media landscape is now largely controlled by Orban and his government.
ASIA
Nepal
‘Attacks on indigenous People’
Park rangers and soldiers guarding Nepal’s famous Chitwan National Park have been accused of killing a man, setting fire to houses, and using their trained elephants to destroy homes in two separate incidents this month. The incidents are only the latest in a long history of alleged persecution of local and indigenous communities by park guards.
South Korea
‘Intimidating North Korean HR groups’
The South Korean government is targeting activist organizations that focus on North Korea’s human rights problems for special review in an apparent effort to intimidate them, Human Rights Watch said today. Tensions between the South Korean government and some activists sharpened significantly after North Korea’s leaders threatened retaliation because some groups sent leaflets across the border that strongly criticized North Korea’s human rights record and leadership.
Cambodia
‘Detainees’ Families are being oppressed’
The Cambodian authorities should stop harassing and forcibly dispersing family members protesting the detention of opposition political activists, Human Rights Watch said today. Relatives of detained Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) activists have protested in front of the Phnom Penh municipal court for seven Fridays in a row, since June 19, 2020. They have handed in petitions to Phnom Penh-based foreign embassies and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia.
Bangladesh
“Are We Not Human?” say, Refugee children
In response to the flight of Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh opened its borders and has been providing them with refuge from grave abuses since August 2017. It already provides refuge to roughly 300,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled previous waves of persecution in Myanmar. The Bangladesh government has made clear that the Rohingya will not be able to remain in the country. To that end, it is deliberately preventing them from integrating into the local Bangladeshi society. In furtherance of this policy, the government is violating the right to education of nearly 400,000 school-age Rohingya children.
AFRICA
Malawi
‘Human trafficking’
Malawi is a transit country for victims of trafficking who are taken to other African countries, including South Africa, Tanzania and other parts of Europe.
Teenage boys forced to work as farm labourers and young women to sexual exploitation in nightclubs or bars.
The on-site coaching took place in Blantyre, Phalombe and Mchinji. These are the regions of the country with the highest prevalence of trafficking.
Nigeria
‘Forcefully recruitment of children by terrorist group Boko Haram’
Boys and girls in northeast Nigeria continued to suffer extremely unpleasant violations at the hands of Boko Haram (Nigerian militant Islamist group led by Abubakar Shekau ).
One particular and especially despicable practice of Boko Haram was to use children, mainly girls, as carriers of personnel-borne improvised explosive devices, also known as “human bombs.”
The recruitment and use of children accounted for the greatest number of verified violations, with a total of 3,601 boys and girls affected.
Nigeria
‘multiple killings in Nigeria’s Kaduna state’
Recently in the southern part of Nigeria’s Kaduna state, there was a deadly attack which seems to be a never-ending cycle of communal violence and impunity in the state.
The recent attacks led to an outcry against the failure of the authorities to take necessary steps to protect communities and deter violence, including a protest by women calling for justice.
According to Nigeria’s federal government, the recent attacks in southern Kaduna were a result of politically motivated banditry, revenge killings, and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.
Zimbabwe
‘prisoners in Zimbabwe at grave risk of COVID -19 spread’
Due to the increasing number of cases of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe, there is a major risk to the country’s prisons and detention centres.
These facilities are often unsanitary, overcrowded, and have no running water in cells for detainees to comply with hygiene practices recommended to stem the spread of the disease.
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules) states that prisoners should enjoy the same standards of health care available in the community.
Burundi
‘Fear, Repression in Covid-19 response’
Burundi’s government is failing to communicate fact-based information on the Covid-19 pandemic and preventing doctors and nurses from responding adequately.
The government’s response is fueling fear and rumours about the spread of the disease. Burundi’s new leadership should ensure that people have access to accurate, scientific, and evidence-based information essential to protecting their health.
Burundi’s new president should make Covid-19 a priority and should check the testing to know the true extent of Covid-19 outbreak.
Cameroon
‘Civilians forced to do guard duty’
In a country, in Central Africa, Cameroon(Mozogo), civilians were forced to perform local night guard duty by the soldiers of mozogo to protect against attacks by the armed Islamist group Boko Haram said by Human Rights Watch.
Soldiers beat or threatened those who refused to perform the duty.
Cameroonian authorities should investigate the reported beatings, threats, and forced labour and members of the security forces found to be responsible should be brought to justice.
Kenya
‘Women’s rights’
The supreme court order of division of matrimonial property may provide clarity to Kenya’s but still divorced women struggle a lot to claim the property in their own name.
A new Human Rights Watch and Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya report details about the hurdles women encounters when claiming property they jointly contributed to during marriage – both in the judicial system and due to social and traditional norms.
Ensuring justice and rights for women doesn’t have to be so difficult.
NORTH AMERICA
Alaska, USA
‘Covid-19 Abortion ban’
Under the guise of fighting Covid-19, Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy declared surgical abortions “non-urgent,” ordering them postponed unless the pregnancy endangered the woman’s “life or physical health.”
Too often people needing abortion care in Alaska are survivors of sexual violence. Rape occurs in the state at 2.5 times – and child sexual assault at 6 times – the national average.
USA
‘Law enforcement violates the human rights of Black lives matters protestors’
The Black Lives Matter Grows Into the Largest Social Movement in U.S. History
The unnecessary and sometimes excessive use of force by police against protesters exhibits systemic racism and impunity. Amnesty International has reported up to 125 cases where human rights of medics, journalists and protestors have been compromised since the movement first began. The law enforcement agencies are being asked to revise their policies and practices for the policing of protests, and comply with international human rights standards.
Mexico
‘ABUSE OF POLICE POWER’
In June 2020, protesters gathered in cities across Mexico in response to a series of high-profile killings of unarmed civilians by local and municipal police. In some cases, the authorities beat and detained protesters.
The protests began after a video circulated on social media showing the violent arrest of a 30-year-old construction worker, Giovanni López Ramírez, who later died in police custody. He was allegedly detained for not wearing a mask – a requirement under state pandemic measures.
Recent police abuses across Mexico should act as a wake-up call to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to lead a national process to professionalize police forces and hold them accountable, Human Rights Watch said today.
Honduras
‘Authorities deployed to locate 5 victims of enforced disappearance’.
Witnesses state that on 18 July, individuals dressed in police investigations branch uniforms took four members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), Alberth Snider Centeno Tomás, Suami Aparicio Mejía García, Gerardo Mizael Rochez Cálix and Milton Joel Martínez Álvarez from their homes; along with a fifth person, Junior Rafael Juárez Mejía.
In a report published on 29 July, the international organization Global Witness named Honduras the country the fifth most lethal country in the world for people defending the rights to land and the environment, and the first per capita.
SOUTH AMERICA
Trinidad and Tobago
‘REFUGEES’
Trinidad and Tobago’s authorities have deported at least 165 Venezuelans in recent weeks. It’s known that irregular entry is a criminal offence in the country contrary to international human rights. Yet the authorities have deported the Venezuelans back to the human rights and humanitarian emergency that they were fleeing, in the middle of a pandemic.
Colombia
‘RIGHT TO HEALTH’
Decision of Colombia’s Ministry of Defense to begin ground-spraying operations could lead to human rights violations in the Campesino farming communities that depend on coca (an important food source) for their livelihoods. According to some sources, this could also result in making these parts of the population more vulnerable to the contagion (COVID-19).
Brazil
‘ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS’
Illegal commercial cattle ranching drives land seizures, violence and threats against Indigenous peoples and traditional residents of Reserves. JBS contributes to human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples and residents of Reserves by participating in the economic incentives for cattle illegally grazed in protected areas under the UN guiding principles of Business and Human rights. JBS has been urged to implement an effective monitoring system by the end of 2020.