Full Coverage: Human rights

30.05.2008 Burma should accept all aid unconditionally, says Human Rights Watch. The military government’s response to emergency relief as a matter of national security reflects the state’s oppression over its people. The UN estimates that less than half of those affected by the cyclone have received any form of aid.

29.05.2008 International leaders including China, Russia, and the United States must apologize for "decades" of injustices and lead a global, unified effort to revitalize human rights, says Amnesty International's annual report

29.05.2008 As a national conference to end solitary confinement in U.S. prisons gets underway this week, activists offer a wealth of resources on the subject, including prisoner testimonies.

29.05.2008 On Day 5 of an international treaty negotiation, U.S. officials are being charged with spreading "false accusations" to slow down the effort to ban bombs that spread their destruction indiscriminately over a large area.
From: Cluster Munition Coalition via AlertNet

28.05.2008 NEW YORK, May 28 (OneWorld) - Thirty-five anti-torture activists charged with minor crimes after a protest at the U.S. Supreme Court have entered their names before a Washington, DC court as those of Guantanamo Bay detainees.

27.05.2008 Sexual abuse by aid workers and peacekeepers goes widely unreported as victims decline to speak out for fear of negative repercussions, says report released today by Save the Children.

27.05.2008 A center for street children in Pattaya, Thailand serves as the first caring community setting that many of these exploited youth have ever experienced.

23.05.2008 The hunger crisis and climate change present global peace and security challenges that require global solutions and take into account the needs of all peoples in all countries of the world, writes UN Representative Vicente García-Delgado.

23.05.2008 The Indian government has announced an $ 80 million relief package for the 2002 victims of anti-Muslim riots in the western state of Gujarat. More than a thousand people, mostly Muslims, died in the state-backed violence sparked by an attack on a train carrying Hindu pilgrims.

23.05.2008 WASHINGTON, May 22 (OneWorld) - A unique new index takes a business-like approach to promoting global peace by ranking 140 countries and identifying the factors that place some countries higher than others on the list.

22.05.2008 Activists are welcoming Wednesday's vote to remove Sri Lanka from a key UN body, saying the country has been a prime violator of human rights and used its position on the Human Rights Council "to protect itself and other violator states from scrutiny."
From: Human Rights Watch

22.05.2008 A recent agreement between licensed labour recruiters in Sri Lanka and Kuwait may not safeguard the rights of migrant workers, says a Sri Lanka based organisation. Lacking social and legal protection, over one million Sri Lankan women work as domestic help in the Gulf states and face numerous human rights violations.

22.05.2008 Child soldiering is driven by power imbalance between adults and children, says Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, head of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, one of Sri Lanka’s biggest charitable organisations. He feels that spirituality and religion can play a vital role in child development and well-being.

21.05.2008 International Permanent Secretariat for Human Rights and Local Governments is organising the 3rd World Forum on Human Rights from June 30 to July 3, 2008 at Nantes, France. The Forum will provide a thought-provoking venue for discussions and promotion of good practices on human rights.

21.05.2008 WASHINGTON, May 20 (OneWorld) - Re-electing Sri Lanka to serve a second term on the UN Human Rights Council would represent a severe blow to human rights and the United Nations itself, according to an impressive array of world leaders and human rights watchdog groups.

16.05.2008 South Asia has been a hotspot of the most stubborn conflicts. While many other societies have managed to resolve their discords, the conflicts in this region remain unresolved because of the inflexibility and dogmatism of the contending parties, says historian and columnist Ramachandra Guha.

15.05.2008 At a recent review meeting of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held in Geneva after 17 years, India was adjudged a poor performer. A panel of observers found the progress in critical human development areas such as food, health, housing and education as ‘unsatisfactory’.

14.05.2008 Recent military operations by US and NATO forces have displaced thousands of families in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, forcing them to live without shelter, food and medical assistance. UN agencies and other international aid groups have been asked to provide humanitarian relief to the unfortunate victims.

14.05.2008 A documentary film titled My Daughter the Terrorist chronicles the lives of two female Tamil Tigers, taking a close look at war and its tragic consequences. The film has been acclaimed globally but the Sri Lankan government is upset saying it glorifies the act.

13.05.2008 UN Secretary General has described the adoption of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as 'a new dawn'. Though the Convention does not enlist new rights for the estimated 650 million disabled persons worldwide, it certainly paves the way for abolition of discriminatory laws and better implementation of existing rights.