The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for action in combating climate change ahead of a global climate summit in Scotland. “This is a human rights obligation and a matter of survival,” Bachelet said in a statement regarding climate change. “Without a healthy planet to live on, there will be no human rights – and if we continue on our current path — there may be no humans.” Bachelet added in her statement that issues of pollution, climate change and a decline in biodiversity combine to create “the single greatest challenge to human rights in our era.” “O ..read more

On 10 July 2016, against a backdrop of escalating attacks on civil society and the political opposition in the country, Kem Ley was shot in a café at a petrol station in central Phnom Penh. Police quickly arrested Oeuth Ang – who inexplicably identified himself as “Choub Samlab” or “Meet to Kill” – as he fled the scene. According to police, the suspect “confessed” to the killing and claimed his motive was an unpaid debt of US$3000 Kem Ley owed him, a claim disputed by Kem Ley’s widow and Oeuth Ang’s wife. On 23 March 2017, after a half-day trial hearing, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Oe ..read more

The Doctors for Human Rights organization  (MEDU) pronounced concern at the alarming living and working conditions of foreign farm workers on the Gioia Tauro,  Calabria, in Southern Italy. “Living and working conditions for foreign farm laborers, working on the citrus harvest on the Gioia Tauro plain in Calabria, appear more dramatic than ever,” says Doctors for Human Rights, which assists migrants living in the area. MEDU’s statement is released over a decade past after violent clashes, known as the Rosarno revolt (after the town in Calabria where they started) took place between Ja ..read more

Ten years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights “essential for the full enjoyment of the right to life.” Two months later, the UN Human Rights Council clarified that governments have the primary responsibility to deliver these new rights but called upon member states and international organizations to assist countries of the global South who might struggle to fulfill their new obligations. This was an historic development in the long search for water justice. Water was not included in the 1948 Univer ..read more

The way governments decide to respond to the pandemic will impact the human rights of millions of people. Amnesty International is closely monitoring government responses to the crisis. These are extraordinary times, but it’s important to remember that human rights law still applies. Indeed, it will help us get through this together. Here’s a quick look at how human rights can help protect us, and what the obligations of governments are in relation to the pandemic. The right to health Most governments have ratified at least one human rights treaty which requires them to guarantee the right to ..read more

Turkish president called on Greece and other EU countries to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the Syrian refugee issue. “We call on, notably, Greece and all EU countries to respectfully treat the refugees, which came to their territories, in line with Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at his party’s parliamentary group meeting in the capital Ankara. Erdogan slammed Greece by showing a photo displaying the help extended to the Greek people who fled Nazi attacks and took refuge in Syria during the World War II. “One of the Greek boys or gir ..read more

Over the past few weeks amidst escalating trade war tension the United States has taken aim at numerous Chinese entities citing their involvement in alleged human rights violations occurring throughout China’s Xinjiang province. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the measures target those “who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention and abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs, or other members of Muslim minority groups” in Xinjiang, China. The Trump administration has denounced China’s actions in Xinjiang for a little over a year, but no official action had been taken t ..read more

The undersigned civil society organizations, representing groups working within and outside Cambodia to advance human rights, rule of law, and democracy, are writing to alert your government to an ongoing human rights crisis in Cambodia and to request your support for a resolution ensuring strengthened scrutiny of the human rights situation in the country at the upcoming 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (the “Council”). National elections in July 2018 were conducted after the Supreme Court, which lacks independence, dissolved the major opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue ..read more

Girls and women empowerment is fundamental in achieving equality in all segments of society. Minister for women Mereseini Vuniwaqa says Fiji has made huge strides in the area of women’s development and gender equality. Despite the ongoing empowerment programs in the country, Vuniwaqa highlighted that Fijian women are still faced with great violations of their human rights. “Especially in the form of gender-based violence and this will remain an area of priority for Government so that we can fully realize the essence of Women’s Equality Day. This will need the participation and commitment of ea ..read more

As millions of Muslims don robes and flock to Mecca for hajj, a small counter movement to boycott the pilgrimage in protest at Saudi Arabia’s politics has won limited support online. Although the numbers are dwarfed by the 1.8 million who have arrived in Mecca for Friday’s hajj, more than 100 Muslims from Australia to Tanzania are contributing to a Twitter hashtag #boycotthajj in response to Saudi Arabia’s political record. They cite its role in the war in Yemen, stance on human rights and unequal treatment of women among top concerns. “#BoycottHajj is an important discussion for Muslims to ha ..read more