Full Coverage: Human rights

30.04.2008 A first batch of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal has landed in America. Described as one of the largest resettlement programmes in the world, the US has agreed to take in 60,000 refugees. Away from sub-human conditions in the camps, they are finding their new life both strange and full of prospects.

29.04.2008 A new UN report released less than two weeks after the MaoistsÂ’ victory in the Nepal polls, says children are still being recruited by armed groups and used for political demonstrations. The report calls for enhanced legal protection of minors, in line with international standards.

28.04.2008

23.04.2008 Come May 10 and Burmese citizens will vote to endorse a constitution that took a decade and a half to be drafted. The military junta, however, seems to have its own plans to swing the tide in its favour.

22.04.2008 To counter human trafficking, Indian government with support from UN agency on drugs and crime has released a manual for Delhi Police. The manual guides policemen to deal strictly with the crime and also talks of bringing about an attitudinal change so as not to subject the victims to further indignities.

22.04.2008 Frail but fierce Irom Sharmila has been on hunger strike for the last eight years demanding a repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Manipur. The Act empowering armed forces to shoot and kill insurgents continues to be grossly misused in the north-eastern Indian state.

22.04.2008 WomenÂ’s contribution to the economy and society remains largely unrecognised, underpaid and unpaid in most cases. The need for women to secure land and property is even more critical now, writes Dr Vibhuti Patel of SNDT WomenÂ’s University, Mumbai, India.

18.04.2008 BBC World is showing seven-part investigative series: Women on the Frontline, focusing on gender violence. The films have been made with the support of several UN agencies. One in three women worldwide suffer from brutalities often at the hands of their own family members and threaten them more than cancer, malaria or war.

17.04.2008 There has been a sharp rise in attacks on NGOs by Taliban rebels and criminals in Afghanistan from January to March this year, says a report. This dangerous situation is forcing international aid organisations to recruit locals to change their profile and refrain from visibility.

11.04.2008 Even in his criticism of the Chinese authorities in handling the current standoff in Tibet, the Dalai Lama never lost his composure. In a recent interview, the Tibetan spiritual leader has reiterated his stand that he wants a ‘meaningful autonomy’ for the protection and preservation of Tibetan ecology and culture.

08.04.2008 Asian Development Bank withdrawing from controversial Phulbari coal mining project in Bangladesh is being seen as a major victory for human rights movement. Drawing inspiration from this success, national and international civil society groups are now urging other financial institutions to pull the rug from under the British mining company.

07.04.2008 An Indian NGO has tied up with educational institutes for a postgraduate diploma in gender, sexuality and human rights with a view to enhance understanding on these vital subjects. The idea for a separate course came after a survey revealed poor awareness among college youth.

04.04.2008 When recently Bhutan took its first steps towards democracy, the international community and media showered praise on its monarch. But for those living in exile for past 17 years and more, will this herald a new chapter in their lives and will they be able to return to the land that they consider their own?

03.04.2008 For people running from bullets and shells their whole lives, the idea of a peaceful future is like a mirage. With peace returning in Sri Lanka the internally displaced population are being resettled. But will they be able to live a normal life? The question lingers.

02.04.2008 Amnesty International has released details of prison sentences handed out by the Myanmar junta to 40 protestors. Three have been sentenced for giving water to monks on streets. The action is politically motivated and negates peopleÂ’s peaceful exercise of their human rights, says the international rights body.

02.04.2008 NEW YORK, Apr 1 (OneWorld) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has drawn fire from one of the world's most prominent rights advocacy groups for not speaking out about the human rights situation in China.

01.04.2008 In line with the policy of closing down all refugee camps in Pakistan by December next year, the government continues to send back Afghan nationals back to their country. In March alone, over 10,000 of them were repatriated. Currently, over three million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan.

01.04.2008 The Jan Haq Yatra, covering 16 Indian states, was recently organised to sensitise people on pressing social and economic issues. Faisal Anurag and Eknath Awad, spokespersons of NAFRE spoke to OneWorld South Asia in New Delhi and shared their viewpoints on the need and objectives of the peopleÂ’s march.

01.04.2008 The walls around McLeod Ganj, the northern Indian town in Himachal Pradesh, home to Dalai Lama, are drawing crowds of exiled Tibetans hungry for news. The community bulletin boards are the latest source of news from home as posters, banners, newspaper cuttings and letters fight the spaces for equal billing.