Full Coverage: Human rights

31.10.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 31 (OneWorld) - The murder of a well-known peace activist in Colombia has highlighted endemic violence in the Latin American country, and the vulnerability of people trying to resist it, despite high-profile steps toward ending civil war.

31.10.2005 The International Criminal Court, which the Bush administration refuses to join, reached a key milestone recently as Mexico--one of the U.S.'s closest allies and trading partners--became the 100th country to consent to its jurisdiction.

30.10.2005 SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 28 (OneWorld) - Echoing recent comments by White House officials, a U.S. government report submitted to the United Nations last Friday bears a message that the brutal treatment of people held in U.S. military custody abroad is and should be legal.

28.10.2005 A season of public art, film, music, theatre, poetry and debate is being held in London, 21 October-10 November to mark the 10th anniversary of the executions of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight colleagues.

28.10.2005 The Philippines government is being urged to stop the murders of church people, human rights advocates, journalists, trade unionists and political activists - said to total 100 this year alone.

27.10.2005 Three activists have won the prestigious Human Rights Defender Award: Omid Memarian, a journalist and web-blogger from Iran, Salih Mahmoud Osman, lawyer and human rights activist from Darfur, and Beatrice Were, an advocate for the rights of women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
* The "ladies in white", wives and mothers of imprisoned dissidents in Cuba, this week received the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, along with Nigerian lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim and Reporters Without Borders.

26.10.2005 The PeopleÂ’s Caravan for Justice, Dignity and Sovereignty, which was launched on October 24 in New Delhi has issued a press release with their demands, an action plan and a list of the organisations campaigning against the trinity of the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

26.10.2005 Amnesty International today published a briefing expressing serious concern at the continued high levels of killings by police officers, widespread use of torture and ill-treatment as well as attacks against human rights defenders in Brazil.

25.10.2005 Torture, killings by police, and ill-treatment remain widespread and unpunished in Brazil nearly 10 years after the creation of a National Human Rights Plan, according to a new Amnesty International report, citing a lack of political will and financial investement as contributing factors.

25.10.2005 O caso do desaparecimento da nora do poeta argentino Juan Gelman, María Claudia García de Gelman, durante a ditadura uruguaia, continua sem solução. Além dos restos mortais ainda não terem sido encontrados, como prometeu o presidente uruguaio Tabaré Vázquez, agora o governo argentino decidiu pedir a extradição dos militares acusados pelo seqüestro.

21.10.2005 In the Uzbek governmentÂ’s most recent effort to silence human rights defenders, a court in Tashkent ordered a prominent human rights activist to undergo forcible psychiatric treatment.

19.10.2005 Bosfam has helped provide psychological support for displaced women in Bosnia for over 10 years, and now the members of its weaving co-operative have scored a major coup, securing a contract with Worldstock.com to sell their hand-made carpets online this holiday season.

19.10.2005 SAN FRANCISCO, October 18 (OneWorld) - In an unprecedented move, a UN committee has asked human and civil rights groups to submit reports and testify on U.S. breaches of international law, filling a gap left by the U.S. government's failure to submit its own report.

17.10.2005 "There is no place for torture anywhere in the world," says Amnesty International, but the Court of Appeals for England and Wales has disagreed, declaring evidence derived from torture--so long as it wasn't committed or connived at by British agents--to be admissible in U.K. courts. That ruling is now under review.

17.10.2005 The Colombian government has failed to protect the basic human rights of millions by the countryÂ’s armed conflict, a leading human rights organisation reports.

17.10.2005 The editor of a women's rights magazine has been accused of publishing anti-Islamic articles and faces a 10-15 year prison sentence. Write the U.S. State Department and urge them to take action on behalf of women's rights and freedom of speech in Afghanistan, urges the Feminist Majority Foundation.

13.10.2005 Help end child labor and support livable wages by purchasing Fair Trade Chocolate to hand out this Halloween. You can send a message urging companies to act responsibly too, and spread the word with a Fair Trade Trick or Treat Kit.

13.10.2005 The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative will launch a report Police Accountability: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay on October 13th at 6:30 pm at the British Council, Accra, Ghana.

12.10.2005 UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12 (OneWorld) - Rights groups have hailed the news that Ugandan rebels responsible for years of brutal attacks and child abductions are likely to be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC), while urging the international community to work with the Ugandan government to ensure that indictments don't spark fresh attacks against innocent civilians.

10.10.2005 Despite the numerous human rights problems that beset the region, recent developments show a growing trend among African countries towards abolishing the death penalty, says Amnesty International, leading anti-death penalty mobilizations worldwide Monday.