Canadian and Chinese mining companies are profiting from Myanmar’s Monywa copper mining complex, which is linked to serious human rights abuse, Amnesty International (AI) said Tuesday in a new report . The 162-page report, entitled “Open for Business? Corporate Crime and Abuses at Myanmar Copper Mine,” details evidence of illegal activity conducted by the copper [...]
After same-sex couples were turned away from some marriage license offices in Alabama Monday, attorneys sought a declaration from a federal judge on Tuesday to order local officials to issue the marriage licenses. The request was made on behalf of more than 10 couples after a majority of probate judges in the state closed their [...]
The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday voted to dismiss General Prosecutor Vitaliy Yarema from office for his failure to bring reform and justice in light of last year’s revolution. The proposal stemmed from President Petro Poroshenko and received 291 votes. Significant government reform is one of the terms of Ukraine’s agreements with the International Monetary Fund [...]
Spain’s lower house of parliament, the Congress of Deputies debated proposed amendments to the Spanish criminal code on Tuesday that Amnesty International (AI) alleges will infringe on individual human rights in the country. The new bill expands the range of crimes defined as terrorism. AI argues the proposed expansion threatens an individual’s right to freedom [...]
A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Tuesday that a report , produced jointly with the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) , “paints a bleak picture” of the human rights situation in Libya during 2014. The report, to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday urged the Taiwanese authorities to “drop criminal charges against people solely for participating in or organizing peaceful demonstrations … after more than 100 people were charged for protesting during the so called “Sunflower Movement.” AI claims that while the students and activists involved in the movement are being charged, the [...]
Labor abuses persist in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) despite attempts at reform, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday. The report details the exploitation of migrant workers building a high-profile cultural complex in the UAE that includes branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim museums. In the report, HRW acknowledged that governmental authorities have taken [...]
Nepal created two commissions Tuesday to investigate allegations of war crimes and disappearances that occurred during the nation’s 10-year civil war, said Nepali Law Minister Narahari Acharya . The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will investigate abuses committed during the conflict, and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances will investigate the disappearances of more than 1,300 people [...]
The Malaysian Federal Court on Tuesday upheld the sodomy conviction and five-year prison sentence of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim , a decision rights groups are calling unjust and political. Anwar was accused of sodomizing an aide in the opposition campaign office in 2008 in violation of Section 377B of the Malaysian Penal Code. The Federal [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday that UK prisoners who had been prevented from voting are not entitled to receive compensation for their legal costs. The 1,015 petitioners are current or ex-prisoners whom the Representation of the People Act of 1983 prevented from voting in all elections held in 2009, 2010 and [...]
