(2018-12-12). Huawei CFO Gets Bail; China Detains Canadian Ex-Diplomat. truthdig.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia—A Canadian court granted bail on Tuesday to a top Chinese executive arrested at the United States' request in a case that has set off a diplomatic furor among the three countries and complicated high-stakes U.S.-China trade talks. | Hours before the bail hearing in Vancouver, China detained a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing in apparent retaliation for the Dec. 1 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and daughter of the company's founder. | After three days of hearings, a British Columbia justice granted bail of $10 million…
(2018-12-12). Inequality at the Center of Chicago Charter School Strikes. zcomm.org Teachers won the first charter school strike in the U.S. by demanding everything from pay raises to sanctuary for students…
(2018-12-12). Argentina convicts two ex-Ford executives in torture case. aljazeera.com It is the first time ex-executives from a foreign company have been convicted for crimes during Argentina's Dirty War.
(2018-12-12). Illicit Financial Flows Thwart Human Rights in Africa. zcomm.org Corporate malfeasance saps the African continent of billions in badly needed funds each year — and the U.S. is a top destination…
(2018-12-12). Nicaragua Rejects US Congressional Passage of NICA Act. telesurenglish.net The United States Congress (U.S.) approved Tuesday the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (Nica Act) which seeks to sanction the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. | RELATED | US: Nicaragua is An 'Enemy to Regional Stability', 'Extraordinary Threat to National Security' | After the approval of Congress, U.S. President Donald Trump has a period of ten days to sign and formalize the law for the sanctions to come into effect. It's large…
(2018-12-12). Duterte's war on drugs to become 'killing field' if goes on: CHR. aljazeera.com Philippines' Commission on Human Rights urges government to follow 'due process' with suspects instead of shooting them.
(2018-12-12). Syrian state seizing opponents' property, rights activists say. aljazeera.com Government has been using 'anti-terrorism law' to seize properties of dissidents and their families.
(2018-12-12). A Dark Anniversary for Press Freedom in Myanmar. hrw.org 
| | Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo sit beside police officers as they leave Insein court in Yangon, Myanmar July 9, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | It's been one year since Myanmar police arrested Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on December 12, 2017. Over the past year, Myanmar's increasingly restricted state of press freedom has been laid bare for the world to see. | Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been impri…
(2018-12-12). UN: Act on Reprisals by Egypt. hrw.org 
| | Egyptians shout slogans against the government while on a ferry during the funeral of Syed Tafshan, who died in clashes with residents of the Nile island of al-Warraq island, when security forces attempted to demolish illegal buildings, in the south of Cairo, Egypt July 16, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | (Geneva) — The United Nations should ensure an urgent and robust system-wide response to credible reports that the Egyptian authorities have attacked pe…
(2018-12-12). Thailand: Lift Draconian Speech Restrictions. hrw.org 
| | Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha arrives at a weekly cabinet meeting at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, January 17, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters/Chaiwat Subprasom | (New York) — Thailand's junta should immediately end restrictions on the right to free expression so that credible national elections can be held on February 24, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. | On December 11, 2018, the ruling National Council for Pea…
(2018-12-12). Valentin Lopez Speaks on the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. indybay.org Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, spoke at an event in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, hosted by the United Nations Association: USA Santa Cruz, CA Chapter on December 8 at the Resource Center for Nonviolence.
(2018-12-12). Human Rights Groups Slam Google for "Aiding China's Censorship and Surveillance" theantimedia.com 
(CD) — In an open letter addressed to Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai, a coalition of human rights groups and advocates are raising alarm about the company "actively aiding China's censorship and surveillance regime" with its work on a search engine project called Dragonfly. The letter (pdf) came ahead of Pichai's Tuesday morning testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Google's data collection, …
(2018-12-12). Political warfare in Washington escalates to crisis of capitalist rule. wsws.org Trump's embrace of murder, his defense of fascists, his racist attacks on immigrants are blowing up an ideological pillar of US imperialist foreign policy—the pretense that the United States is a bulwark of human rights and democracy.
(2018-12-12). Washington And Baghdad In Talks To Find Solution For Iraq's Reliance On Iran Gas. iranian.com The United States and Iraq continued efforts on Tuesday to find a solution to Iraq's need for a waiver from U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran. U,S, Energy Secretary Rick Perry met Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad and discussed economic, trade and investment issues, but the urgent matter to solve was the sanctions […]
(2018-12-12). This year's epic human rights wins. amnesty.org …
(2018-12-12). A message from Kumi Naidoo on human rights in 2018. amnesty.org …
(2018-12-12). The Not Enough Impact Report 2018. amnesty.org …
(2018-12-12). Rights Today in Africa – 2018. amnesty.org …
(2018-12-12). Rights Today in Europe and Central Asia – 2018. amnesty.org …
(2018-12-11). ACTION ALERT: CNN Must Rehire Pundit Who Defended Democratic Rights. fair.org 
Marc Lamont Hill appearing as a political commentator on CNN | As Marc Lamont Hill delivered his widely discussed speech at the United Nations on November 28, in which he expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and emphasized the need to protect the human rights and self-determination of all who lived "from the river to the sea," he probably expected some critical response. What he likely didn't expect was to be fired from his position as a CNN commentator, and to have his job as a professor at Temple University threatened. | Pro-Israel partisans and commentato…
(2018-12-11). How Reuters Slandered Venezuela's Social Benefits Card. counterpunch.org The Venezuelan government has promoted a Social Benefits Card to facilitate the distribution of goods and services at a time when the country is beset by a pernicious financial blockade that makes it difficult to access food and medicine. The sanctions applied against Venezuela by the USA, Canada and European allies are ILLEGAL. They violate More
(2018-12-11). US Has No Moral Standing to Preach Human Rights: Diaz-Canel. telesurenglish.net "The United States has no morals where human rights are concerned", Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel quipped Tuesday after Washington's demanded the release of U.S. prisoners in Cuba. | RELATED: | US Jeopardizes Cuban Relations by Denying Diplomatic Visas | On Monday, Diaz-Canel received a letter from U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Monday request…
(2018-12-11). US & Canada Violate International Law with the Arrest of Chinese Huawei Exec. therealnews.com 
Col. Larry Wilkerson explains that it's not the Chinese Huawei executive that violated law when circumventing US sanctions, but it is the US that violates them by imposing sanctions that were never agreed to on an international level
(2018-12-11). Why World War II, Not the New Deal, Ended the Great Depression. counterpunch.org 
On November 27th, I wrote an article on how FDR's long-standing racism accounted for the detention of Japanese-Americans rather than security concerns following Pearl Harbor. I also noted in brief that it was WWII rather than the New Deal that ended the Great Depression. That prompted an email to CounterPunch editors taking exception to this More
(2018-12-11). Extradition of Bahraini Football Player Moves Ahead. hrw.org 
This week Bahraini soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi was taken to Bangkok Criminal Court, where bail was denied and his detention was extended for 60 days so Thailand can prepare his extradition to Bahrain, a country where he has said he was tortured. | | | Hakeem Ali Mohamed Ali al-Araibi in detention at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. | © 2018 Private | Al-Araibi is a former member of Bahrain's national team who was detained follo…
(2018-12-11). Protecting Your Security and Rights Online. hrw.org 
| (New York) — Human Rights Watch released an interactive online game today to help people understand how important strong encryption is to everyone's security in the digital age. The interactive feature, " Everyday Encryption," shows how encryption protects people in their daily lives. | Technology companies and nongovernmental groups rely on encryption to secure sensitive data from malicious actors. At the same time, governments contend that encryption will limit their surveillance capabilities, saying that…
(2018-12-11). Thailand: Don't Return Cambodian Dissident. hrw.org 
| | Rath Rott Mony | © Private | (New York) — The Thai government should not forcibly return the dissident Rath Rott Mony to Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today. There are strong reasons to believe that Mony would face politically motivated prosecution, wrongful detention, and ill-treatment in Cambodia. | "Thailand should not do Cambodia's bidding by forcibly returning an out…
(2018-12-11). Croatia: Migrants Pushed Back to Bosnia and Herzegovina. hrw.org 
| | Migrants including asylum seekers in a dilapidated building in Borici camp, Bihac, Bosnia Herzegovina. November 19, 2018. | © 2018 Human Rights Watch | (Budapest) — Croatian police are pushing migrants and asylum seekers back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some cases violently, and without giving them the possibility to seek asylum, Human Rights Watch said. | Human Rights…
(2018-12-11). Russia: 'Gay Propaganda' Law Endangers Children. hrw.org 
| | Russian blogger, Zhenya Svetski, wearing a rainbow scarf in Moscow, December 2018. | © 2018 Dmitry Belyakov for Human Rights Watch | (New York) — Russia's "gay propaganda" law is having a negative impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 2013 law exacerbated the hostility LGBT people in Russia have long suffered, and also stifled access to LGBT-inclusive education and support services, with harmful consequences for children. | The…
(2018-12-11). Activists Found Guilty of Terrorism-Related Offense for Stopping U.K. Migrant Deportations. theintercept.com The guilty verdict arrived around lunchtime on December 10 — Human Rights Day, which this year marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It signaled the end of a nine-week trial and three days of jury deliberations in Chelmsford Crown Court, about 30 miles northeast of London. More than a year and a half after the 15 defendants had locked themselves around a deportation charter flight at London's Stansted Airport, successfully stopping it from taking off, the defendants were convicted of intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome, a terrorism-related offense with a po…
(2018-12-11). Google CEO Hammered by Members of Congress on China Censorship Plan. theintercept.com Google CEO Sundar Pichai came under fire from lawmakers on Tuesday over the company's secretive plan to launch a censored search engine in China. | During a hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee, Pichai faced sustained questions over the China plan, known as Dragonfly, which would blacklist broad categories of information about democracy, human rights, and peaceful protest. | The hearing began with an opening statement from Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who said launching a censored search engine in China would "strengthen China's system of surveillance and repression." McCarthy questioned whether it was…
(2018-12-11). Rights Groups Turn Up Pressure on Google Over China Censorship Ahead of Congressional Hearing. theintercept.com Google risks being "complicit in human rights violations" if it brings censored search back to China, said a global coalition of over 60 groups.
(2018-12-10). Marc Lamont Hill Was Arguing for the Rights of Humans, Not of States. thenation.com Phyllis Bennis, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II Marc Lamont Hill Was Arguing for the Rights of Humans, Not of States…
(2018-12-10). African-American North Carolina voting rights activist dies. peoplesworld.org 
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(2018-12-10). NRA: You Can No Longer Stay Silent. naacp.org NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization released the following statement to the National Rifle Association (NRA): "The senseless killing of Emantic J. Bradford and the silence from the NRA has confirmed that the 2nd amendment does not apply to legally licensed Black gun owners. Instead of standing by their principles, the NRA continues to demonize and […]
(2018-12-10). 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. peoplesworld.org 
Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 10 December 2018, Marrakesh, Morocco Seventy years ago today, the world's States recognized, for the first time, that all people have universal human rights and they promised to promote and protect those rights. The right to equal protection of the law. The right to life, …
(2018-12-10). At 70, the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights Is Still Making a 'Critical Difference'. progressive.org In the current age of authoritarian-leaning governments, politicians and activists see this declaration as more important than ever.
(2018-12-10). Iran: Solidarity with tortured trade unionists as strike action spreads. peoplesworld.org 
Iranian communists have called for international solidarity following the arrest and torture of leading trade unionists as strike action spreads across the province of Khuzestan. Tudeh Party international secretary Navid Shomali said that the clerical regime is in a fragile position and that support for striking workers in Iran was vital. Workers at the Iranian …
(2018-12-10). Doctors Who Facilitate Torture Must Be Held to Account. aclu.org To prevent further stains on the medical profession, the names of those involved in torture and executions need to be made public. | Physicians hold a special position in U.S. society. They are given a place of honor in return for the expectation that they will use their knowledge and skills in the public interest and adhere to a clear set of ethical standards. | Under pressure from the government to misuse their expertise, though, some doctors have been willing to rationalize cooperation in unethical behavior. In recent years, nowhere has such ethical deviation been so starkly on display as in the case of the pa…
(2018-12-10). US: Deregulating Mountaintop Removal Threatens Drinking Water and Public Health. hrw.org 
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(2018-12-10). 5 Questions for Google About Controversial China Search Project. hrw.org 
| | A Chinese national flag sways in front of Google China's headquarters in Beijing on January 14, 2010. | © 2010 Reuters | Google CEO Sundar Pichai will be in the hot seat tomorrow when he testifies before the United States House Judiciary Committee f…
(2018-12-10). Human Rights are Key to Success at Climate Talks. hrw.org 
| | Woman holds sign during March for Climate at UN Climate Talks in Katowice, Poland. | © 2018 Cara Schulte/Human Rights Watch | Today, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, governments at the climate summit COP24 in Poland are working around the clock to finalize the Paris "Rulebook" — the regulations that will guide the implementation of the Paris Agreement to…
(2018-12-10). Civil Society Organisations Call for national debate on UN Committee recommendations to South African Government on social and economic transformation. hrw.org 
| | The United Nations' Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in session during South Africa's first review. (C) 2018 Elin Martínez/Human Rights Watch | (Johannesburg) – South Africa's Constitution contains a wide range of socio-economic rights. In 2015, expanding and deepening South Africa's commitment to the realization of socio-economic rights, the South African Government ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). On international human rights day today we draw atte…
(2018-12-10). 'Parties resolved the matter': Court documents in 'foreign agent' Butina case suggest deal made. rt.com 
Maria Butina, a Russian national detained in the US and accused of failing to register as a foreign lobbyist under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), appears to have reached a deal with prosecutors.
(2018-12-10). EU's Top Diplomat: EU-Iran Trade Vehicle Could Be Ready By Year-End. iranian.com The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Monday a system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent U.S. sanctions could be in place by year's end. The European Union wants the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to help preserve the economic benefits for Iran deriving from the curbs it placed on its nuclear […]
(2018-12-09). A Tribute to Ludmila Mikhailovna Alexeeva. hrw.org 
(Moscow) — Human Rights Watch bids farewell to Ludmila Alexeeva, the doyenne of Russia's human rights movement, who died on December 8 in Moscow. She will forever be a towering figure for human rights activists everywhere: a clear, moral voice for freedom and dignity. | | | Lyudmila Alexeyeva. | © Platon, Moscow 2011 | Ludmila gave her energy and her soul to many cases and issues, from the persecution of ordinary people, to civilian carnage in the war in Chechnya, to the Kremlin's crackdown on civil society that gat…
(2018-12-09). Indonesia: Papuan Militants Kill 17. hrw.org 
| | Cartoonist's depiction of Indonesian government restrictions on media freedom and rights monitoring in Papua. | © 2015 Toni Malakian for Human Rights Watch | (Jakarta) — Indonesian police should investigate a Papuan armed group's killing of at least 17 people, including a soldier, at a construction are…
(2018-12-09). Giving North Korea Abuses a Free Pass. hrw.org 
| | Kim Jong-Un watches a performance in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 23, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters/KCNA | It is a bitter irony that on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Security Council will give North Korea's atrocious human rights record a free pass. | In 2014, a blistering UN commission of inquiry report found the North Korean government responsible for a laundry…
(2018-12-08). German Court Confirms BDS Advocacy is Protected Freedom of Expression and Assembly. bdsmovement.net 
German Court Confirms BDS Advocacy is Protected Freedom of Expression and Assembly: In the NewsA German court confirms that advocating for BDS and Palestinian rights constitutes freedom of expression and assembly, rights that are protected by the German constitution and are essential for democracy. The court ruled that the German city of Oldenburg unlawfully violated these fundamental rights when it revoked a perm…
(2018-12-08). Myanmar: Quash Conviction of Kachin Activists. hrw.org 
| | People displaced in the conflict between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Army are seen at a church in Tanai Township, Kachin State, June 14, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | (Bangkok) — Myanmar authorities should quash the convictions of three ethnic Kachin activists found guilty of defaming the military, Human Rights Watch said today. Zau Jat, Lum Zawng, and Nang Pu were each sentenced to six months in prison and a 500,000 kyat…