Human Rights in the news
Daily round up from CHRI UK on 05/02/2016
Today’s top news:
· UN panel urges UK and Sweden to end Julian Assange’s ‘deprivation of liberty’
· Commonwealth Delegation To Visit Maldives, Stress Need For Political Dialogue
· Rights Groups Decry Decrepit Conditions in Cameroon Prisons
· India violating human rights of Kashmiris, says Pak
· Lismore rally to protest return of asylum seekers to Nauru
United Kingdom
Terms of Cameron’s EU deal could tear continent apart
The Herald Scotland
AN early referendum on whether to remain in the European Union (EU) now looks inevitable, after David Cameron and European Council President Donald Tusk reached agreement. The terms agreed to for continued UK membership confirm both the reactionary character of the EU and the failure of its stated mission of uniting the continent. Amongst demands by Cameron is to exempt the UK from what little remains of the EU’s human rights and workplace legislation.
UK co-sponsors new UN stamps promoting LGBT equality worldwide
New Kerala
The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) on Thursday unveiled a set of six commemorative stamps to promote UN Free & Equal — a global UN campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality launched and led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Milton Keynes killer to be deported to Jamaica
Milton Keynes Citizen
A killer who stabbed his friend with a knuckle duster knife is to be deported back to his native Jamaica after a costly battle over his human rights.
The Commonwealth
Commonwealth Delegation To Visit Maldives, Stress Need For Political Dialogue
NDTV
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) that includes Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will visit Male from tomorrow to send a strong message to the Maldivian government on the need for political dialogue with all stakeholders and build strong democratic institutions. It acts on behalf of Commonwealth Heads of Government as the custodian of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values including democracy, the rule of law and human rights.
Commonwealth Countries
Africa
Rights Groups Decry Decrepit Conditions in Cameroon Prisons
Voice of America
Human rights groups are calling on Cameroon to improve the conditions at its poor and chronically overcrowded prisons. Rights advocates say inadequate sanitation, food, water, as well as torture are rife in the prisons.
ICJ monitors mutiny trial in Lesotho
International Commission of Jurists
The ICJ is monitoring the ongoing trial under court martial of the 23 members of the Lesotho Defence Forces in the case The King vs Brigadier Mareka and 22 others. The court martial raises issues around observance of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Lesotho.
Namibia seeks help from the US on human rights
All Africa
The Namibian cabinet has directed the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation to ask the United States government for money to fund the country’s campaign against human trafficking.
President Buhari Assures EU of Nigeria’s Commitment to Protection of Human Rights
Africa Independent Television
President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, assured the European Union that his administration was doing its utmost best to protect the fundamental human rights of persons in the theatre of operations against Boko Haram.
Amnesty International Wants Buhari to Investigate Suspected War Crimes
All Africa
Ahead of this Thursday’s visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Kingdom, the Amnesty International has urged the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron to insist that Buhari should “stop side-stepping justice and start independent investigations into war crimes and possible crimes against humanity by the Nigerian military.”
Global Human Rights Groups Call on President Koroma to Sign Abortion Bill
Sierra Leone Telegraph
On the 4th of February, 2016, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and five Sierra Leonean rights groups sent a letter to the President of Sierra Leone, urging him to sign the abortion bill passed by Parliament in December 2015. This new law when signed by president Koroma, would permit access to abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or up to 24 weeks for cases of incest, rape and fetal impairment.
Human Rights in South Africa continues to be problematic as farm murders and genocide ignored
Inquistr
While the focus in South Africa over the last few weeks has been over the racist remarks of real estate agent Penny Sparrow and the questionable remarks of Standard Bank economist Chris Hart, the real human rights violations in South Africa have been largely ignored.
Human Rights NGO issued report with fears of violence ahead of Ugandan elections
DW
A local NGO, the Human Rights Network-Uganda (HRINET-U) has issued a report citing cases of members from opposition parties who have gone missing, while others who have been arrested have not been charged or been brought before the courts.
Tanzanian house demolitions are a violation of human rights
All Africa
House demolitions in some parts of the country’s commercial City of Dar es Salaam which has left hundreds of residents homeless and helpless is carried out in accordance with the law. The Deputy Minister was responding to Halima Mdee (Kawe Chadema), who claimed that the government was violating human rights in the course of pulling down houses in some parts of Dar es Salaam City.
Asia
Bangladesh trials violate international law
Daily Pakistan Global
Bangladesh war crimes trials violate various provisions of international human rights treaties, according to a Pakistan’s leading legal think-tank.
India violating human rights of Kashmiris, says Pak
Greater Kashmir
Pakistan on Thursday said it is in touch with India on finalising dates for the postponed Foreign Secretary-level talks. “Both sides are in touch regarding the date of Foreign Secretary-level talks. We will let you know when it is finalised,” Foreign Office spokesman QaziKhalilullah said today during weekly briefing.
India’s gay rights activists start all over again
USA Today
India’s Supreme Court sent a ripple of hope through the LGBT community and its supporters this week by agreeing to reconsider their campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.
Sri Lanka and Maldives priorities for human rights for the UK
Colombo Gazette
Sri Lanka and Maldives are priorities for human rights for the UK, the Deputy British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Laura Davies said.
Caribbean and Americas
Majority of Canadians rank human rights above job creation in Saudi arms deal
The Globe and Mail
A significant majority of Canadians believe human rights should trump job creation when it comes to the federal government’s controversial $15-billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
Human rights commission joins case of man who says Toronto police carded, then beat him
National Post
The Ontario Human Rights Commission is asking for Toronto police to make systemic changes and record race-based data, after intervening in the Human Rights Tribunal case of a black man who claims he was carded and then severely beaten.
Jamaican-Canadian gay activist persists in ground-breaking case
Daily Xtra
A landmark legal challenge underway in Jamaica could set a precedent for discrimination law in the Caribbean island nation, bypassing politicians who have proven reluctant to take up the cause of LGBT rights in what has been dubbed by some as “the most homophobic nation on earth.”
Europe
Cyprus Not Tackling Russian Money-Laundering
TOL
The U.S. State Department announced 1 February it had added five names to its blacklist tied to human rights abuses in Russia that include the detention of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was allegedly beaten to death by prison guards. The release of the expanded blacklist, which includes a former Russian deputy interior minister, comes on the heels of charges by Dutch lawmaker Pieter Omtzigt (pictured) that Cyprus has failed to go after stolen Russian money in its banks, and is only paying “lip service” to international money laundering laws.
Pacific
NT News
Children at Darwin’s Wickham Point detention centre are at high risk of serious mental health disorders — including one “highly traumatised” seven-year-old who drew a picture of her own suicide — according to a report.
Australia resists pressure to allow asylum seekers to stay
The Guam Daily Post
Whilst it goes again international human rights law, Australia is resisting mounting international pressure not to deport child asylum seekers, with a minister warning Thursday that allowing them to stay could attract more refugees to come by boat.
Lismore rally to protest return of asylum seekers to Nauru
Echo Net Daily
A rally to protest the Federal Government’s ‘inhumane treatment’ of asylum seekers held in offshore detention centres is being held in Lismore, and other centres across Australia, today following a ruling by Australia’s High Court that the government is legally allowed to return 267 vulnerable asylum seekers to Nauru.
UN
UN panel urges UK and Sweden to end Julian Assange’s ‘deprivation of liberty’
The Guardian
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained by the UK and Sweden for more than five years and should be released immediately with compensation, according to a United Nations report accusing the states’ of restrictions to his human rights.