18 Important Human Rights Developments in 2015

Can you believe 2015 is almost over (and that the last time we blogged was over a year ago)? We accomplished so much in the past year and half, but this post is going to focus on 2015. This year was a big year for human rights, with both major milestones and major setbacks. Here are 18 important human rights developments that have taken place, or will take place, in 2015:

January 9

Raif Badawi, a blogger and prisoner of conscience sentenced by Saudi Arabia to 10 years and 1,000 lashes is publicly flogged for the first time. While the immediate global outcry helps prevent additional floggings, he remains behind bars. Raif’s cruel and unjust sentence is upheld by the Saudi Arabian Supreme Court in June, casting a further stain on that country’s already bleak human rights record.

January 22

A young woman imprisoned after suffering a miscarriage is granted a pardon by El Salvador’s Parliamentary Assembly – giving hope to the other 15 women languishing in jail on similar charges.

Update: One of those 15 other women is Teodora del Carmen Vasquez, who suffered a still-birth in 2007 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for “aggravated homicide.” She’s one of Amnesty International’s Write for Rights cases this year.

March 10

Amnesty calls on Mexican authorities to investigate and address torture after the United Nations releases a scathing report detailing how this sickening practice is widespread among the country’ police and security forces.

April 28

Amnesty calls on Paraguay to repeal its draconian anti-abortion law after a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after she was repeatedly raped, allegedly by her stepfather, is denied the option of an abortion.

Update: The girl, now 11, gave birth in August.

May 6

The Chicago City Council passes landmark legislation providing reparations for torture committed by former Chicago Police commander Jon Burge and detectives under his command. The reparations package marks the first time that survivors of ractially motivated police torture in the United States have been given the reparations they are entitled to under international law.

May 21

Legendary folk singer Joan Baez and world -renowned artist Ai WeiWei are awarded the 2015 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, which recognizes those who have shown exceptional leadership in the fight for human rights through their life and work.

May 27

Nebraska becomes the 19th U.S. state to abolish the death penalty.

Update: Nebraska’s repeal is still in limbo. A petition drive to overturn the abolition succeeded in getting enough votes, so the state will vote on a statewide referendum in November 2016. It’s important to note that Gov. Pete Ricketts, whose veto of the death penalty was overturned by the unicameral legislature, spent $200,000 of his own money to fund the petition drive.

June 1

Amnesty declares the expiration of the USA Patriot Act a symbolic repudiation of the claim that “national security” justifies giving the government an indefinite license to commit systematic rights violations.

June 8

U.S. District Judge James Brady grants Louisiana prisoner Albert Woodfox unconditional release after he has languished in solitary confinement for more than four decades and had his conviction overturned three times. The State of Louisiana has appealed the ruling and Amnesty continues to advocate for Albert’s freedom.

June 26

The Supreme Court of the United States issues a historic ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples across the country to legally marry.

Amnesty marks International Day in Support of Victims of Torture with a global push for governments to respect the ban on torture and hold torturers accountable.

July 9

Amnesty calls on Chinese authorities to end their assault on human rights lawyers after more than 200 lawyers and activists were targeted by police in a nationwide crackdown.

August 7

Amnesty marks the one-year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by shining the spotlight on the use of lethal force and racially discriminatory conduct by law enforcement officers and calling for reforms at the local, state and national levels.

August 11

An Amnesty investigation on sexual abuse by UN peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic sends shock waves globally, leading UN Sec. General Ban Ki-moon to remove the head of the Peacekeeping Operation and triggering a call for reform of accountability measures for UN peacekeeping troops around the world.

September 8

A Union of Protection: Amnesty International’s Agenda for Refugee Protection in Europe is released, setting out the urgently needed changes in Europe’s approach to the escalating refugee crisis.

September 15

Amnesty USA brings Ensaf Haidar, wife of Raif Badawi, to Washington to lobby the U.S. government to do more to convince Saudi Arabia to free Raif and respect the rights of all people.

September 23

Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were pardoned by Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. In August, Amnesty International had said the guilty verdicts handed down against the two journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were an affront to justice that sounded the death knell for freedom of expression in Egypt. Journalist colleague Peter Greste, who had left Egypt, had also been convicted in his absence.

September 25

The U.K. government announces that Shaker Aamer, held for over a decade without charge at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, will be transferred to the U.K., where his family resides.

December 4 – 18

Amnesty International holds Write for Rights, the world’s largest human rights event, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people to send letters on behalf of 12 cases of individuals at risk, including prisoners of conscience.

Update: Join Amnesty STL for their own Write for Rights event on Dec. 12! We’ll be at Schafly Bottleworks from 4 – 9 p.m. writing letters and having a good time. If you want to take action against human rights abuses and help those in need, then please stop by on Dec. 12 to write some letters! Even just one letter would make a huge difference!

Save the Date: The 2014 Midwest Regional Conference

Mark your calendars to bring human rights home! The 2014 Amnesty International Midwest Regional Conference is in St. Louis this year! The three-day conference is scheduled for October 24-26 as the Sheraton St. Louis City Center in downtown St. Louis, right across the street from the Civic Center Metrolink station on 14th Street.

Pencil in the Dates Today

The registration page for the conference isn’t available yet, but if you are sure that you want to attend the conference, then make sure to book your rooms at the hotel now! Hotel rates for the conference are $85 per night, but the rate only lasts until Sept. 20 and are subject to availability. Besides the discounted room rate, conference attendees will also receive free Internet access in the room and discounted parking at the rate of $10 per day.

If you’re perhaps interested in volunteering, then we will be announcing when the volunteer sign-up page is live on the Facebook event page as well.

If you want to know when the registration page goes live, which should be before the end of the month, then please pledge your commitment to attend on our Facebook event page. This page will feature any and all updates regarding the conference, including when the registration page goes live and when we finalize speakers and sessions for the conference.

What to Expect from This Year’s Conference

Speaking of the sessions and workshops, the final agenda for the conference is still being determined. However, we already know of a few topics that will be covered, whether through a panel discussion, a workshop, a main speaker, or through a community action that will take place over the weekend. Those topics include:

• Gun Violence
• The Death Penalty
• Write for Rights and prisoners of conscience around the world
• Identity and Discrimination with women and/or the LGBT community
• Security and Human Rights, such as Guantanamo Bay, Torture, Drones or Surveillance (it’s possible more than one of these topics will be featured)
• Immigrants’ Rights, Criminal Justice, Environmental Justice or Worker’s Rights (it’s possible more than one of these topics will be featured)

Our Chapter is Participating!

Not only is the Amnesty International St. Louis chapter attending the conference, but many members of our chapter are also on the Planning Committee for the conference. This means the success of the conference rests with the local chapter, and we are proud of that responsibility. Our goal is to make this conference the best Midwest Regional Conference yet, and the best regional conference this year of all the regions. We believe we can achieve this goal, but reaching our goal won’t be possible unless you attend!

Please mark your calendars today for the last weekend in tomorrow! Please help us bring human rights home!

How to Use Pinterest to Promote Human Rights

Pinterest is the fourth largest traffic source and the third largest social network in the world, meaning that it’s a great to post content and to promote human rights in an effective, visual way. Pinning your favorite human rights pictures and infographics on the topics you’re most passionate about is a great way to start your board (or several). However, with a little more strategy, you can use Pinterest as an excellent way to promote your causes. Here’s how to use Pinterest to promote human rights.

Have More than Just the Big Issue Stuff

Yes, it’s important to pin powerful photos of the issues, whether you’re pinning the photos of victims, of war zones, or of those on the ground working to make a difference. But, pin something other than the big issues once in a while because the big stuff can be overwhelming. Part of building awareness for human rights violations is to make people feel they can do something about the issue, instead of just know about it. By pinning photos of your events, pictures that lead to petitions, and pictures relevant to success stories and to organizations that are making a difference, your Pinterest content accomplishes much more than making others feel sad or guilty about the issue.

Pin Vertically When Possible

Because of Pinterest’s layout, portrait pictures attract more eyes than landscape pictures. Another trick to attract more attention is to use dark borders or to add text to what you pin (and I mean text on the photo, not just text in the description). The latter characteristics are features of a meme photo, and I’m not suggesting that you turn human rights into a series of memes, but that style of presentation can attract attention even if your photos aren’t a meme or are covering a serious topic.

Consider the Interests of Your Audience

Many who are interested in human rights are also interested in other things, and people interested in other things or specific political issues are also interested in human rights. Pinterest just added a new “interests” feature to make it easier for users to find pins relevant to your interests. When promoting human rights, you can take advantage of this feature by creating boards and pinning pins on “interests” other than human rights. For example, if you know eating organic or eating healthy is an interest among those you know that like human rights (that’s at least the case with our chapter), then creating a board with organic recipes or pictures of healthy foods isn’t a bad idea. It engages those who may like human rights but haven’t heard you or your issue yet.

Pin as Well as Repin

Most pins on Pinterest are actually repins. Although repinning is important to this network because it showcases the great work of others and encourages them to follow you on Pinterest, creating original pins is critical to positioning yourself as the go-to person on human rights or your specific human rights issue. Granted, repinning helps to do that also, but you don’t want everything you pin to be repins.

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Inalienable Human Rights, Human Rights Victories, and Other News

Happy Halloween! The human rights world, unfortunately, is full of tricks and treats. We make breakthroughs and suffer setbacks. Activists have made great progress on many issues this year, but there is plenty more work to be done. Below are the latest human rights news and articles from the past month, covering both our successes and our failures.

UN Commission: ‘Gross Human Rights Violations’ Take Place in North Korea – Voice of America – It’s almost common knowledge that North Korea has human rights violations, but the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea reveals that the problem is much more extensive and horrific than we imagined. One of these issues are the political prison camps. Not only are there four fully-functional prisons, but there is evidence that one has been scaled back and that another has been closed. No one knows what happened to the prisoners who populated those prisons. This is just one of the many human rights abuses documented in the country.

30 Inalienable Human Rights that No One Can Take Away – International Political Forum – United Nations Day was last week, but the work of the UN continues beyond this one day and it’s message carries beyond the day of its founding. The 65th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights is coming up, and this awesome video by Armenian artist Ani Boghossian highlights the 30 articles in the declaration and what they mean. It’s a beautifully artistic perspective on human rights.

Solitary Confinement’s Invisible Scars – The Guardian – Amnesty International USA just finished working on the case of Herman Wallace, who spent 41 years in solitary confinement and only became a free man two-and-a-half days before his death from liver cancer. In Wallace’s case, solitary confinement was cruel and unusual punishment because there wasn’t any justified reason for the lengthy sentence to solitude. This article argues that solitary confinement itself is torture and an egregious violation of human rights.

5 Human Rights Victories in Iran You Helped Make Possible – Amnesty International Blog – If there’s ever any doubt that our activism works, that our letters on behalf of prisoners of conscience make any difference, then these five human rights victories in Iran show otherwise. It takes a lot of hard work and persistence to make these changes, and although a change in leadership helps a great deal, it’s not the only thing necessary toward progress and toward the realization of inalienable human rights. The things needed most are lots of people contributing their voices.

Human Rights Groups Criticize U.S Drone Program – Huffington Post – It’s about time that the American people know the U.S drone program and drone strikes aren’t as lawful as the governments claims them to be. There is too much evidence that shows that civilians have been killed in these strikes, with no reparations for the victim’s families or further investigation to prevent them from happening. Although the administration says that it takes steps to prevent civilian casualties from happening in the first place, there’s no way to know what these steps are or if all of them are taken in every single planned drone strike. These drone strikes also aren’t strongly supported by the countries in which they take place, as the public is also led to believe.

Amnesty’s New Executive Director, and Other Human Rights News

September has quickly come and gone, and a lot has happened in the past month. Here are the latest and greatest human rights news articles from the past month.

Bringing Human Rights Home: A Message from Amnesty USA Executive Director Steven W. Hawkins – Human Rights Now – “We have to view human rights abuses as a call to action to do everything in our power to improve the world,” as Hawkins said. Amnesty International has a new leader, and so far, things seem hopeful. We, as Americans part of Amnesty International, are in a unique place to connect human rights abuses in our country with abuses around the world. We are in a unique place to use our voices and to fight injustice in ways that others can’t.

Where There’s No Emergency Phone Number, Kenya Tweets for Help – Global Voices – This is a neat article on how social media facilitates human rights advocacy. It’s also a nice reminder on how we can take things, like calling 911, for granted. In Kenya, since there isn’t such a number, people can tweet the Kenyan Red Cross with information about an incident. The Kenyan Red Cross gathers additional information, such as location, and then sends security forces or first responders to the scene. Because the recent shooting in Nairobi, the Twitter account now reaches over 50 million people around the world.

Does the US Meet Its Own International Human Rights Standards? – MSNBC – The U.S Human Rights Network says it’s doesn’t, and has filed a joint submission to the United Nations to ask the Obama administration to meet it’s own international human rights standards. The filing particularly details concerns regarding racial profiling, gun violence, and stop-and-frisk policies, although it includes information on a series of issues, and that these concerning laws violate international treaties such as the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights.

Snowden Among Nominees for a European Human Rights Prize – The New York Times – Edward Snowden, along with Malala Yousafzai,  Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, Erdem Gunduz, and others, has been nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Previous winners of this prize include Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. The winner will be announced later on this month, and is meant to honor to individuals or organizations who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery is the only other American, and the only organization, nominated this year.

Updates in Syria, and Other Human Rights News

The biggest human rights story of the past few days is the chemical attack in Syria, and this month’s human rights news roundup includes a few recent developments. However, it’s not the only thing from the past month, and we have those issues covered as well. Here is our roundup of the most important human rights news stories:

Two Protests Against US Intervention in Syria

This isn’t human rights news from the past month, but news of an upcoming event. If you are in the St. Louis area, and are against a U.S invasion into Syria, then Tuesday is the chance to voice your opinion. There will be a protest on Tuesday fro 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in front of Claire McCaskill’s office on 5850 Delmar. This is a protest against U.S military intervention and it is hosted by the St. Louis Instead of War Coalition. Make it out there if you can!

If you can’t make this one on Tuesday, then there is a Syria intervention march starting at 11 a.m. on Art Hill (if you can’t make it that early, then you can meet everyone at 2 p.m. at Kiener Plaza). August 31 is the chosen day for global rallies against war in Syria, so this one is projected to be the bigger of the two events and is part of an international movement. This one’s hosted by Veterans for Peace. Keep in mind that this one is a six mile march through St. Louis, while the first one is just a rally/protest. If marching six miles isn’t your style, then try and make it to the one on Tuesday.

Obama Administration Refused to Provide Gas Masks to Syrian Opposition

It turns out that there wasn’t just one request, and it was just requests before this most recent attack near Damascus. The Syrian opposition has been requesting gas masks and other chemical-weapons gear for over a year, with no reply from the Obama Administration or the State Department. On top of that, chemical weapons were actually used in an attack earlier this year, an attack that was not only projected to happen but one that Syrian rebels suspected would include chemical weapons. The administration has yet to answer for this problem and this lack of U.S assistance.

Today is International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

An enforced disappearance is detention by state authorities for no apparent reason, with no knowledge of the person’s status and/or whereabouts. In 2012, enforced disappearances were documented in 30 countries, 11 of them in sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and South Sudan. In Sri Lanka, it’s suspected that over 30,000 people have been forcibly disappeared since 1994.

Things are Getting More Draconian for the 2014 Winter Olympics

As most of us are well aware, the anti-gay sentiment is controversial as Russia’s “gay propaganda” law has become a cause for concern. Wentworth Miller, the star of Prison Break, came out while declining an invitation to the St Petersburg international film festival, saying he could not “participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.” International athletes have done what they could to protest the laws, but have been scolded by the International Olympic Committee for making political gestures. Most recently, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning all meetings, protests, demonstrations, and free assembly during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

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Syria: UN Must Get Full Access to Investigate ‘Chemical Weapons’ Claim

This press release is reposted from the Amnesty International website.

In response to the publication of a series of videos apparently showing that chemical weapons have killed scores of civilians, including many children, on the outskirts of Syria’s capital Damascus, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said:

“The allegations of use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, which Amnesty International has not been able to verify independently, underscore the urgent need for the United Nations team currently in Syria to have a full mandate and unimpeded access to all locations to investigate these and any other incidents of alleged use of chemical weapons.”

“What would be the point of having a UN team of experts in the country if they are not allowed to access the sites of the alleged attacks, collect samples and investigate?.”

“The Syrian authorities who claim no responsibility should immediately facilitate the visit of the UN team to Eastern Ghouta and other locations”.

“If the latest allegations are corroborated, the attacks would amount to war crimes. The only way to deal with the endless catalog of abuses we have witnessed in Syria is for the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, as Amnesty International has been urging since 2011.”

“It is a violation of international law to manufacture, stockpile, transfer or use chemical weapons, which cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants.”

Amnesty International has also sent the videos to medical and other experts to verify their authenticity and to establish if the symptoms shown by those affected are congruent with the use of chemical weapons. In addition, the organization is in contact with individuals and organizations in Syria to try and gather further information about the current medical condition of people in the area.

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Obama’s Human Rights Record, Shaker Aamer, and Other Human Rights News

A lot happened this month! The federal government recognizes gay marriage while rolling back provisions on the Voting Rights Act. Both are big news, but they aren’t the only things that happened in recent weeks. Below are some the most interesting and most noteworthy human rights news articles from the past month:

Samantha Powers: Human rights advocate no more? – The Hill’s Congress Blog – As Samantha Powers is up for nomination for U.S Representative to the United Nations, this article does a great job of covering the Obama administration’s human rights record. It questions whether Powers would actually challenge the country’s human rights record, hold the necessary parties accountable, and do what it takes to pressure other countries to clean up their act.

US: Ratify Disability Rights Treaty – Human Rights Watch – Over 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year olds will become disabled before they retire. It’s a shame that as we celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we refused to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities just a year or two earlier. This is especially weird since the CRPD was modeled after the ADA, so ratifying the treaty simply means that we want disabled people around the world to have the same rights and to abide by the same laws as we have.

New Threat Posed to Shaker Aamer – The Guardian – Amnesty International has been worked on Aamer’s case for some time, as the former United Kingdom resident has been at Guantanamo for over 11 years. He hasn’t been charged with any crime, and he was cleared for release back to the UK in 2007. However, Aamer is not being threatened with forcible release back to Saudi Arabia, a country he fled over 30 years ago. Aamer has been told that he faces prison time if he were to return to Saudi Arabia.

UN Launches Unprecedented Global Campaign for LGBT Equality – The Huffington Post – The United Nations announced last week to launch a global education campaign about homophobic violence and discrimination and the promotion of respect of LGBTI rights. Called “Free & Equal”, the campaign’s message is three-fold: human rights are really universal, LGBT people are just that: people, and that things are getting better.

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DOMA is Unconstitutional, and Other Human Rights News

The big news of yesterday is that the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional! The victory means the federal government must recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples married in the 12 states that allow same-sex marriage, plus the District of Columbia, and give them the same benefits that they had been previously denied under DOMA. With this in mind, here are the other big human rights stories of the month, including the impact this ruling has on human rights:

What Do Today’s Supreme Court Decisions Mean for LGBT Human Rights? – Human Rights Now Blog – Not only was DOMA ruled unconstitutional, but Proposition 8 from California was also ruled unconstitutional. The Court said that those who brought the case to defend the amendment “lacked standing” to do so. Even though every state doesn’t allow same-sex marriage, at least not yet, these rulings mean that federal law recognizes these marriages. It also means that Californians may get the right to marry whomever they want any day now.

Force-Feeding Guantanamo Detainees is Unethical and Inhumane – The Guardian – As the U.S. takes one leap forward in human rights, we take a few steps back also. The hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay is still happening, and force-feeding is being used because “Guantánamo prisoners are irrational and approaching death”. Force-feeding is actually awful, as previously victims of force-feeding (from other prison hunger strikes) have said that it hurts a great deal and produces intense vomiting. It’s surprising this has fallen off the radar in American media, even as the situation has intensified.

Kimberly McCarthy Executed: Texas Carries Out 500th Execution – Huffington Post – While much hullabaloo was happening over other issues, Texas executed its 500th inmate this week since it resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. McCarthy was also the 13th woman executed in the United States, and the fourth in Texas history. It was a sad day for death penalty abolitionists everywhere. Although it doesn’t look like McCarthy was innocent, or that there was strong evidence of improprieties, capital punishment is a gross human rights violation because of its disproportional application.

Gov. Perry Scolds Teen-Mom Senator for Not Heeding ‘Her Own Example’ – ABC News – Gov. Perry also called the pro-life agenda a “human rights issue” as he once again called for a special session to look at SB 5. Texas legislators will now be back in Austin to work on passing (or not passing) the legislation again. This issue has taken center state this week as Sen. Wendy Davis filibustered the bill for over nine hours on Tuesday. The Republicans almost managed to pass the bill, but after a lot of confusion, the record showed that the vote started after midnight and after the legislative session was over. That night was a huge demonstration of democracy, and we should expect nothing less as, essentially, the whole process happens all over again.

Sudan: 14 Women Released, 20 Still Detained – Association for Women’s Rights in Development – Very rarely do we post an urgent action, but this is one that I came across that requires attention. Thirty-four women were arrested in November 2012. Although 14 have been released, 20 are still detained, and none of these women were charged with any crime. Five of the 34 women were detained with their children, ages ranging from six months to 18 months. This urgent action is to ensure that the remaining 20 women are released, or charged with a recognizably criminal offense. We also want to ensure that they are given medical treatment and are given access to legal representation.

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15 Human Rights Violations Happening Right Now

Photo by Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Human rights violations are prevalent around the world, but often receive little attention in the mainstream media. On top of that, in some countries, reporting on human rights violations puts you at risk for enforced disappearance, arrest, and/or provocation from the government, law enforcement, or the military. This only highlights the need to talk about these issues and to be aware of their existence, at the very least. Here are 15 human rights violations happening in the world now:

India

Every 21 minutes, a woman is raped in India. Most rapes go unreported and even those rapes that are reported often go unpunished. Recently, a college student in New Delhi, India was attacked in a speeding private minibus with iron rods, which punctured her intestines. She and her friend were tossed from the minibus and, despite begin dumped on a crowded street, it took 40 minutes for a passerby to contact the police. The victim died.

Somalia

Somali authorities had unlawfully detained a journalist and three others linked to the case of a woman who reported being raped by state security forces. They were arrested solely because of the increasing media attention given to high levels of rape and other sexual violence in southern and central Somalia.

Myanmar

Many political prisoners are still imprisoned in Myanmar, having been falsely charged or convicted of a serious offense, arbitrarily detained, or imprisoned solely for their peaceful political activities. The formation of a government committee to review political prisoner cases is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough to end these abuses.

Rwanda

The recent clampdown on freedom of associate and unfair trial of Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire that led to a sentence of eight years in prison have effectively created a repressive environment where people dare not speak out.

Vietnam

At the beginning of 2013, Vietnamese authorities convicted 14 pro-democracy activists for “plotting to overthrow the government.” The sentences range from three to thirteen years.

Zimbabwe

Human rights defenders and political activists in Zimbabwe have been arrested, detained, harassed, tortured, or even killed for exercising their rights to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly and association.

Bangladesh

Continued challenges face human rights activists as protestors demand the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah for his role in “beheading a poet, raping an 11-year-old girl, and shooting 344 people” during the 1971 Liberation War. As we demand justice for crimes, we cannot accept calls for the death penalty for convicted war criminals.

South Africa

Last year in South Africa, police attacks on protesting miners led to the deaths of 34 miners and more than 70 injuries.

North Korea

New satellite images raise fears that the North Korean government is starting to blur the line between the country’s horrendous political prison camps and regular villages.

Central African Republic

A precarious human rights tragedy is unfolding in the Central African Republic since the alliance of armed opposition groups, Seleka, has topped the CAR government, sending the president into exile and citizens into crisis yet again.

China

2010 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo is serving an 11-year prison sentence for co-authoring a proposal for political and legal reform in China.

Mali

The human rights situation in Mali is grave. Findings from an Amnesty International mission tell of executions and disappearances of civilians, arbitrary arrests, beatings, and other horrors reminiscent of the crimes committed in Darfur.

Sierra Leone

While stability and security have increased in Sierra Leone since 2002 with the end of the country’s decade-long war, civilians face grinding poverty, female genital mutilation is prevalent, and the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world.

Gambia

The human rights situation in Gambia is dire. Government opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists have been arbitrarily arrested and detained. Torture is widely used by security forces, and prison conditions are appalling.

Liberia

Victims of mass executions, mass rapes, and mutilations throughout the Liberian civilian war have yet to see all of those responsible for those abuses held accountable, as the justice system struggles to provide access to justice for all Liberian citizens.

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