(2020-03-25). 'Imprisonment should be last resort…in crisis' — UN rights chief on prisoners' fates amid Covid-19 outbreak. rt.com 
UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, has called on governments around the world to reduce the number of prisoners amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, citing their particular vulnerability to the disease. | The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet urged the authorities to reduce the number of peopl…
(2020-03-25). SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.
(2020-03-25). Iran: Campaign to Lift US Sanctions Gets Around 100K Signatures. telesurenglish.net Iran's international RELATED: | The signatures of the campaign have passed 97,500 and will reach 100,000 in no time, Abolfazl Fateh, an Iranian media activist wh…
(2020-03-25). Rights of Nature Law Forces Pennsylvania to Revoke Industry Permit. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-03-25). Deflection: Pompeo Issues '5 Facts' Claiming Iran Exported COVID-19 To "At Least 5 Countries" iranian.com As even Britain is urging its close US ally to moderate its stance on Iran sanctions as the Mideast country's death toll surges from the coronavirus pandemic, the Washington-Tehran tit-for-tat exchanges and blame game over Covid-19 continues unabated. Yesterday Pompeo issued a new list of five allegations of how Iran's leaders have handled the outbreak. Notably, this featured the …
(2020-03-24). Technology of Death: The Not-So-Shocking Report on Israeli Weapons Exports. mintpressnews.com 
SIPRI and Amnesty International are right in exposing Israel's thriving weapons exports market while emphasizing the fact that much of these weapons proliferate freely among human rights violators.
(2020-03-24). "Humanitarian Solidarity": Even Under U.S. Sanctions, Cuba Sends Doctor Brigade to Italy and More. democracynow.org 
As Italy's death toll soars past 6,000, Cuba has sent medical brigades to combat COVID-19. Cuba has also deployed doctors to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada. "The arrival of a medical brigade from Cuba to Italy is pretty historic. You have a leading European nation accepting support in the form of a medical team from a small Caribbean island," says our guest, Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. "It just goes to the history of Cuba's deep and long-lasting commitment to humanitarian solidarity with other cou…
(2020-03-24). Exclusive: ICE Detainees Are Being Quarantined. thenation.com Exclusive: ICE Detainees Are Being Quarantined…
(2020-03-24). From Noncompliant Bodies to Civil Disobedience. thenation.com From Noncompliant Bodies to Civil Disobedience…
(2020-03-24). Ease sanctions against countries fighting COVID-19: UN human rights chief. news.un.org As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday called for an easing of sanctions against countries such as Iran to allow their medical systems to fight the disease and limit its global spread.
(2020-03-24). Even Under US Sanctions, Cuba Sends Doctor Brigade to Italy. truthout.org As Italy's death toll soars past 6,000, Cuba has sent medical brigades to combat COVID-19. Cuba has also deployed doctors to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada. "The arrival of a medical brigade from Cuba to Italy is pretty historic. You have a leading European nation accepting support in the form of a medical team from a small Caribbean island," says our guest, Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. "It just go…
(2020-03-24). Business as Usual: Coronavirus, Iran and US Sanctions. dissidentvoice.org Never discount the importance of venality in international relations. While pandemics should provide the glue for a unified front in response — we keep being told of fighting this horrendous "invisible enemy" — it's business as usual in other respects. The United States, with a disparate, confused medical system that risks being overwhelmed, remains committed …
(2020-03-24). Iran: Rouhani Dennounces US Blockade During COVID-19 Outbreak. telesurenglish.net Hasan Rohani, Iran's President, denounced the U.S. blockade against the Islamic Republic amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. | RELATED: | Rohani said the sanctions limit bank interactions, the import of medicines and medical equipment as well as the safety of the Iranian people during the worldwide pandemic due to Covid-19. The Iranian President requested the international community condemn the U.S.' policy towards Iran. Rohani…
(2020-03-24). UK, Europe & IMF Ramp Up Pressure For Trump To Ease Sanctions On Virus-Ravaged Iran. iranian.com Reports and in some cases video began emerging last week of mass shipments of humanitarian supplies being halted and grounded by skittish EU countries worried about violating US-led sanctions on Iran. This as Iranian leaders have lashed out at Washington for ensuring a worsening coronavirus death toll through its "inhuman" sanctions. But the White House has also …
(2020-03-24). Defectors Tell of Torture and Forced Sterilization in Militant Iranian Cult. iranian.com Interviews with defectors, including several who held senior positions, offer the most detailed account to date of what life was like inside the MEK. Read the full story here.
(2020-03-24). 'Take This Seriously': Digital Rights Group Urges Americans to Beat Back Attempts to Exploit Coronavirus Crisis to Erode Civil Liberties. commondreams.org Fight for the Future launched a campaign unequivocally urging supporters to help "flatten the curve" and slow the spread of the respiratory virus—while warning that government agencies are liable to undermine civil liberties and human rights. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-03-23). Justice Dept reassures Americans only judges can suspend their constitutional rights during coronavirus epidemic. rt.com 
The US Department of Justice has reassured Americans freaked out by a request to Congress for powers of indefinite detention without trial by explaining that only judges — not President Donald Trump — would be able to use it. | DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec lamented the "confusion" caused by a Politico report
(2020-03-23). Former ICE Director: Release Immigrants from Detention or COVID-19 Will Spread Like Wildfire Inside. democracynow.org 
Alarm is growing about the safety of more than 37,000 people held in immigrant detention centers and private jails that contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, where it is nearly impossible for them to avoid close contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Nearly half of those detained by ICE are accused of no crime other than civil immigration violations. Immigrants at three jails in New Jersey are now on hunger strikes over unsanitary conditions that put them at high risk during the pandemic.‚Ä®‚Ä® We hear from a detained person on hunger strike and speak wit…
(2020-03-23). COVID-19 Will Spread Like Wildfire in Migrant Jails If Detainees Aren't Released. truthout.org Alarm is growing about the safety of more than 37,000 people held in immigrant detention centers and private jails that contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, where it is nearly impossible for them to avoid close contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Nearly half of those detained by ICE are accused of no crime other than civil immigration violations. Immigrants at three jails in New Jersey are now on hunger strikes over unsanitary conditions that put them at high…
(2020-03-23). UN expert raises alarm over migrant, asylum seeker 'pushbacks' at Turkey-Greece border. news.un.org Greece must take immediate action to end the violence against migrants and asylum seekers at the border between Turkey and Greece, an independent UN human rights expert said on Monday, expressing alarm at reports of violence at the hands of some Greek security officers and unidentified armed men.
(2020-03-23). Car protest at Gov. Walz's mansion demands immediate release of immigrants in Minnesota jails. fightbacknews.org Saint Paul, MN – In one of the first known protests organized since the widespread implementation of 'social distancing' and 'shelter-in-place' with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, a car caravan lined Summit Avenue outside Governor Tim Walz's mansion in Saint Paul to demand immediate release of all immigrant detainees in Minnesota jails. | The protest participants stayed in their cars to avoid social spread of coronavirus. Cars were painted and adorned with posters with slogans like "Governor Walz: Free them all." People in some cars led chants with megaphones. Periodically, all the cars would honk at the…
(2020-03-23). Trump intensifies murderous Iran sanctions during COVID-19 crisis. thegrayzone.com As Iran struggles to contain COVID-19, the US has imposed new sanctions that further weaken the Iranian economy and health…
(2020-03-23). Israeli Colonists Attack A Young Man In Northern Plains, Homes In Nablus. imemc.org Several fanatic illegal Israeli colonists attacked, on Monday evening, a Palestinian shepherd in Ein al-Hilwa area, in the West Bank's Northern Plains, and attacked many homes in Madama village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian human rights activist, Aref Daraghma, said several colonists assaulted a young …
(2020-03-23). Arab League Demands Israel Release Palestinian Prisoners. imemc.org The League of Arab States, consisting of 22 Arab countries, addressed international human rights organizations and other relevant bodies, on Monday, what they describe as an imperative release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, from Israeli jails. A press release, issued by the Deputy-Secretary General of the Arab States' League for …
(2020-03-23). PHRI calls on the Israeli authorities to provide Gaza with missing equipment and assist patients needing treatment. imemc.org Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) has called on the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to provide Gaza with the equipment it urgently needs to combat COVID-19, including basic antiseptics, intensive care beds, and ventilators. PHRI's further urged COGAT and the …
(2020-03-23). This is No Time to Play Politics with our Democracy. aclu.org To ensure elections proceed and eligible Americans can vote, any federal legislative package addressing the impact of COVID-19 on our elections must include an immediate, substantial infusion of federal funding and federal requirements for no-excuse mail-in absentee voting and early in-person voting. While the coronavirus pandemic should not be a political issue, with presidential primaries and the general election coming up, it could soon directly impact our politics. It is simply not an option for Congress to fail to act on these basic issues to protect American elections while the pandemic is ongoing. , , F…
(2020-03-23). Punishing sanctions against Iran are turning the coronavirus pandemic into a massacre. iranian.com Coronavirus is a crisis. In Iran, it's a massacre – because of Trump's sanctions. Even before COVID-19, these sanctions were recognised by Human Rights Watch as undermining access to healthcare. The virus has taken lives globally but in Iran it has been particularly shocking, with hospital beds in parking lots and mass graves visible from space. Hundreds of lives have been …
(2020-03-22). Pakistan PM once again asks Trump to lift Iran sanctions. iranian.com Prime Minister of Pakistan who believes that US sanctions against Iran are cruel and unfair has once again called upon Donald Trump to lift economic sanctions from the Islamic Republic. Imran Khan in a tweet on Sunday said the people of Iran are facing untold suffering as sanctions are crippling Iran's efforts to fight COVID19. …
(2020-03-21). [Comment] UN General Assembly tuberculosis targets: are we on track? thelancet.com The 2018 UN General Assembly (UNGA) Political Declaration on Tuberculosis was a turning point in global efforts to end the tuberculosis epidemic.1,2 Ambitious targets were set for scale-up and roll-out of diagnostic, treatment, and prevention services, political commitments, principles of equity and human rights, and financing, implementation, and research. Targets included diagnosing and treating an additional 40 million people with tuberculosis by 2022 and generating US$13 billion per year for tuberculosis care and prevention and $2 billion per year for research and development.
(2020-03-20). How the ACLU Organized to end Racial Profiling on Greyhound Buses. aclu.org Two years ago, the ACLU set a clear goal: push Greyhound to refuse Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers access to their buses to conduct warrantless searches. As part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, CBP officers were targeting bus passengers around the country, boarding their buses to racially profile, harass, and too often, detain people who they suspected of being undocumented. Of course, you can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound — this practice is unconstitutional and blatantly racist. By pushing aggressively with the help of our membership and…
(2020-03-20). Headlines for March 20, 2020. democracynow.org Worldwide COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 10,000 as Italian Nurses "Stop Counting the Dead", Refugee Groups Warn of COVID-19 "Carnage" in Camps Housing Millions, Coronavirus Multiplies Across Australia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East, California Gov. Gavin Newsom Issues Statewide "Stay at Home" Order for 40 Million, New York Mayor Calls on Trump to Mobilize Military to Aid Overwhelmed Hospitals, Georgia State Legislators Urged to Self-Quarantine; Spring Break Revelers Party On in Florida, Demands Grow to Empty ICE Jails as NJ Detention Center Worker Tests Positive, Trump Blasts "Corrupt" Media at Rambling Coronav…
(2020-03-20). Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal. thegrayzone.com Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
(2020-03-20). Grassroots effort sponsored by SPLC protects voting rights for hundreds across South Florida. splcenter.org Clutching a clipboard full of voter registration forms under his arm, Marq Mitchell knocked on the front door of a small, beige, stucco house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
(2020-03-20). Fight To Vote: Florida man's voting rights restored by Amendment 4. splcenter.org Abdul Yaw Akachi was talking to his neighbors one sunny day in Florida when a voting rights advocate walked up to him.
(2020-03-19). Headlines for March 19, 2020. democracynow.org Italy Records Record 475 Coronavirus Deaths as Infections Continue Climbing, British PM Boris Johnson Closes Schools After Reversing Lax Virus Containment Plan, Millions of Brazilians Protest from Windows and Balconies Demanding President's Ouster, World Health Organization Warns Critical Lack of Testing Is Costing Lives, Egypt Arrests Protesters Calling for Release of Prisoners at Risk of COVID-19, Yemen, Already Wracked by U.S.-Supported, Saudi-Led War, Braces for Coronavirus, Trump Admin Tightens Sanctions That Have Devastated Iran's Public Health System, Trump Signs Coronavirus Relief Bill Providing Paid Leav…
(2020-03-19). We Know Prisons Need COVID-19 Plans, but our Arizona Prison Tour Suggests it's not Happening. aclu.org Earlier this month, the
(2020-03-18). Delay or Hold Primaries: Can the 2020 Election Be Safeguarded Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic? democracynow.org 
Tuesday night's primary election for the Democratic presidential nomination was marred by chaos, confusion and fears over the spread of coronavirus at polling places as former Vice President Joe Biden consolidated his lead as he won Florida and Illinois by a wide margin and scored a victory in Arizona. We are joined by Vanita Gupta, former head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in the Obama administration, now president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights coalition. They issued a call with 100 voting rights groups for states to proce…
(2020-03-18). The Military Should not be Searching Cars or Checking Documents at the Border. aclu.org There's an old saying that goes, "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." This adage is especially applicable to the Trump administration's approach toward border policy, which is ever more militarized. On March 6th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials
(2020-03-17). Italy and UK rely on help from Cuba, China, Venezuela to fight coronavirus — as US steps up brutal sanctions. thegrayzone.com Italy requested doctors from China, Cuba, and Venezuela to contain the coronavirus, while Cuba rescued a ship of British citizens….
(2020-03-17). US ramps up sanctions devastating Venezuela's health sector as coronavirus spreads. thegrayzone.com Promising to "smash" Venezuela's government during a "maximum pressure March," Trump has imposed crushing sanctions that force Venezuela to spend…
(2020-03-17). Spain Locks Down & Nationalizes Private Healthcare as Coronavirus Deaths Double & Cases Skyrocket. democracynow.org 
Europe is the epicenter of coronavirus, and Spain now has the second most cases in Europe, with more than 2,000 new cases in 24 hours and the number of deaths doubled. We'll go to Madrid for an update, where more than half of the country's cases have been reported. This comes as the Spanish government announced it is nationalizing hospitals and private healthcare companies to better manage the pandemic. We are joined by María Carrión, a freelance journalist and former Democracy Now! producer who is also executive director of FiSahara and co-founder of Nomads HRC, which focus on human rights in Western Sahara.
(2020-03-16). Headlines for March 16, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Pandemic Death Toll Tops 6,500 Worldwide, About 170,000 Confirmed Cases, U.S. Coronavirus Cases Reach 3,600 as True Number of Infections Continues to be Unknown, Trump Tests Negative for Coronavirus After Being in Contact with Brazilian Official Infected with COVID-19, States Across U.S. Ramp Up Measures to Control Spread of Coronavirus, Including Massive School, Business Closures, Federal Judge Blocks Trump Rule That Would Have Thrown 700,000 People Off Food Stamps, AOC Confronts ICE Agent at LaGuardia Airport as 6 Migrant Children Detained in Texas Were Relocated to New York, Sanders, Biden Faced Of…
(2020-03-14). SPLC offices, Civil Rights Memorial Center close. splcenter.org Our work continues with fervor and is needed more now than ever.
(2020-03-13). No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy. zcomm.org I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump's financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela with military action,
(2020-03-13). Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group Presents "Make the Family Great Again" Petition to U.S. State Department Commission. splcenter.org Anti-LGBTQ hate group Ruth Institute presented a "Make the Family Great Again" petition to the State Department at its Commission on Unalienable Rights meeting Feb. 21.
(2020-03-12). This Law Makes Voting Nearly Impossible for Native Americans in Montana. aclu.org Voting has never been easy for In a state where the majority of individuals vote | by mail, rural tribal communities often work with get-out-the-vote organizer…
(2020-03-11). Keep Calm and Carry on Voting: How to Vote By Mail During the Coronavirus Outbreak. aclu.org Coronavirus should not be a political issue, but with presidential primaries and the general election coming up, it could soon directly impact our politics. We should protect not only our health, but our civil liberties at this time — and one of those civil liberties is our fundamental right to vote. , , For many, the best way to vote while safeguarding your health during this time may be to vote by mail. It's easy to request an absentee ballot and there's still enough time to do so for most states with upcoming primaries. While some states limit who can vote absentee — for example, to people with…
(2020-03-04). [Commentary] Women and girls' health agency: Operationalizing the "Can-Act-Resist" of the women's empowerment process. thelancet.com This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bejing Declaration and Platform for Action — which committed to the improvement of human rights for women and girls, as well as the 5th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly ratifying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG5- to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Unfortunately, despite advancements made in some areas of gender equality and empowerment, such as reductions in child marriage and female genital mutilation, we have seen minimal improvements in either the health indicators related to women and girls' e…
(2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.