Newsroom

Update

The December 2005 deliberate destruction of the medieval Djulfa cemetery is not a mere manifestation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. It reflects wider oppression of cultural rights in Azerbaijan.

December 21, 2010

Update

The unworkable and degrading nature of capital punishment in the U.S. continued to reveal itself throughout 2010. The pace of executions slowed considerably as the year progressed, and the last two months of the year saw only two executions total. Four major themes emerged in 2010.

December 21, 2010

Update

In the past week we have been treated to the unedifying spectacle of U.S. Senators blocking the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (H.R.847) until the Bush tax cut debate was concluded to their satisfaction.

December 21, 2010

Update

Jafar Panahi is one of the most acclaimed film directors in the world. Admirers like myself were horrified and astonished at the news, announced yesterday, that Jafar Panahi had been sentenced not only to six years in prison, but to an unimaginable twenty-year total ban on all his artistic activities—including film making, script writing, traveling outside the country and speaking with the media.

December 21, 2010

Update

UPDATE: For more stuff about human rights in South Asia (Bangladesh and India, in particular), follow acharya_dude on Twitter! In the days around Bangladesh’s Liberation Day (Bijoy Dibosh) celebrations, the country has been convulsed by a number of protests and human rights violations that will have grave implications for the future direction of the country if the government does not immediately take steps change course. The government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has taken a number of important steps in ensuring the protection of human rights.  But, the recent crackdown against opposition protests and the pettiness of a squabble…

December 20, 2010

Update

In the last 15 years the Internet has become the most democratic communications tool ever created. But today, the Internet as we know it is at risk.

December 20, 2010

Update

As Christmas draws closer, Amnesty International calls on the Iraqi government to protect the country’s Christians who have been threatened, bombed, and displaced since the US invasion in 2003. In February this year Christian families were killed in their homes in Mosul by unidentified armed groups. Later this year, on October 31, gunmen held worshippers hostage at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad. After the Iraqi army stormed in, the gunmen detonated their explosive belts, killing more than 40 worshippers, including a priest. Other places of worship have been bombed as part of the rampant sectarian violence since 2003,…

December 20, 2010

Update

This posting is part of the Sudan Referendum Watch series Lately, there’s been no shortage of news about Sudan. On January 9th, the people of South Sudan will vote in a referendum that will determine whether or not South Sudan becomes independent. Thousands of southern Sudanese who have been living in the north for decades are making their way back to South Sudan to participate in what is sure to a historic event. But as we wait with impatience for the referendum and as we plan ahead for what is likely to be an independent South Sudan, let’s not forget…

December 17, 2010

Update

On December 16 Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said in an interview that Iraq will execute 37 people who have exhausted all legal remedies and their death sentences have been approved by the Presidential Council. He also said that Iraq has executed 257 people, including six women, since 2005. Last Monday Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said that 835 people are presently on death row in Iraq. Amnesty International and the United Nations have repeatedly called on Iraq to abolish the death penalty, to give fair trials to prisoners, and to investigate allegations of torture. UN envoy Ad Melkert said…

December 17, 2010

Update

The global Right for Writes write-a-thon may have ended last week, but Filep Karma still needs your help more than ever.

December 16, 2010

Update

In emails that have come out during the appeal of New Hampshire’s one and only death sentence, we have learned that former New Hampshire Attorney General (and current U.S. Senator-elect) Kelly A Ayotte began plans to run for election just days after announcing she was seeking the death penalty in the case.  As the New Hampshire Union Leader reports (in a special “print-only” article): In one e-mail exchange between Ayotte and Robert Varsalone, her friend and future political advisor, under the subject "Get ready to run....," Varsalone discussed Republican campaign chances and possible candidates. "Have you been following the last…

December 16, 2010

Update

Kicking off the second annual White House Tribal Nations Conference this morning, President Obama announced that the U.S. would finally endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)! The UNDRIP is a non-legally binding human rights instrument which affirms universal standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of all Indigenous Peoples. It provides a framework for addressing indigenous issues and was adopted by the United Nations in 2007, with the United States as one of only four countries, along with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, that voted against the Declaration. Australia and New Zealand reversed their…

December 16, 2010