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Update

Today, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to abolish the death penalty. The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate, which will debate and vote on it very soon.

January 7, 2011

Update

It’s 2011, a new year, a chance for new beginnings. But not everyone will have a get to experience the excitement of the new year. In the short time that has passed since we watched the ball drop in Times Square earlier this week, more than 5,000 women have died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth – one woman every 90 seconds, 1,000 women every day.

January 7, 2011

Update

I'm happy to share good news today: Qusay 'Abdel-Razaq Zabib, a former police officer detained without charge in Iraq for over two years, has been released. His case was detailed in Amnesty International's September 2010 report New Order, Same Abuses: Unlawful Detentions and Torture in Iraq.  According to the report: "Qusay ‘Abdel-Razaq Zabib, a 36-year-old police officer in ‘Uwaynat village near Tikrit, married with two children, was arrested on 17 July 2008 by US soldiers after he was summoned to attend a meeting at the police station where he worked. He was taken to a US military post in Tikrit and…

January 7, 2011

Update

It has been fantastic to hear about the Write for Rights activities that have taken place around the world! In coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, bookstores, theaters, markets, streets, schools, and homes, we came together, side-by-side, throughout the U.S. and the world to collectively take action to defend human rights. It is this action that will continue to lead to human rights victories, like that of the release of Femi Peters in Gambia. We want to share with you some of what happened during the 2010 Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon: In Austria, AI members and activists sent over 17,400 letters,…

January 7, 2011

Update

This posting is part of the Sudan Referendum Watch series While many observers are optimistic that the referendum in South Sudan this Sunday will go ahead peacefully, the last few months do not bode well for the future human rights situation in the country (no matter what the outcome of the referendum will be). Thousands have been displaced by the government's military offensive in Darfur, while the international community’s attention is focused on preparations for the referendum and the negotiation of a peace agreement for Darfur.  Since December 2010, more than 20,000 people in Darfur have been displaced during attacks…

January 7, 2011

Update

Yesterday, with the opening of the 112th Congress, Representative Peter King (R-NY) succeeded Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MI) as the Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.

January 6, 2011

Update

Join us in Washington DC on January 11th for a  march to close Guantanamo! We'll gather at the White House at 11AM for some short speeches and then march to the Department of Justice. We'll have orange jumpsuits for people to wear, "No Kangaroo Courts at Guantanamo" signs, and banners urging the government to either charge or release detainees, including Shaker Aamer, who has been held without charge over 8 years, despite the UK government requesting his return. Speakers at the rally will include: Tom Parker , Amnesty International USA's advocacy and policy director of terrorism, counterterrorism and human rights, Valerie…

January 5, 2011

Update

Last year, a couple was imprisoned for several months in Malawi following a traditional engagement ceremony based on a law criminalizing homosexuality. Similar laws exist in about 2/3 of African Union member nations. They were eventually pardoned by President Mutharika following loud international condemnation. Apparently, however, this incident served to bring to light a gap in Malawi's laws members of Parliament decided to address. Early last month, a bill was passed in Malawi's parliament criminalizing homosexuality between women. Evidently there was concern the prior law could be construed to only apply to men, and since Malawi is clearly dedicated to making all things equal,…

January 5, 2011

Update

As ECOWAS negotiators entered a second round of talks with incumbent president Gbagbo, security and justice for Ivorian citizens must remain the main concern. Any violators of human rights can and should be held accountable to the ICC.

January 4, 2011

Update

Salman Taseer the Governor of Punjab was brutally assasinated on Tuesday January 4, 2011. He was a vocal opponent of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws.

January 4, 2011

Update

A week after a New Year's Day attack on a Copt church left 21 Egyptians dead and 79 wounded, it’s still hard to express in words the kind of madness behind the assault. But it’s not hard to say this: The State of Emergency, which Egypt’s parliament just renewed, isn’t protecting anyone but the government.

January 4, 2011

Update

For continuous updates on human rights in South Asia, follow acharya_dude on twitter. I’ve been on vacation for the past two weeks so I’ve not been able to join the condemnation (until now) of the flawed conviction in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh of Dr. Binayak Sen, a pediatrician and human rights activist, of terrorism charges.  His conviction, if upheld on appeal, will mean a life sentence for a man who has passionately defended the rights of indigenous peoples in his state and has saved the lives of countless children in his medical practice. Dr. Sen is a recognized human rights…

January 3, 2011