· October, 2011

Stories about Human Rights from October, 2011

Cuba: Off-Colour Remark in Red Light District

  31 October 2011

babalu is appalled by a remark that Mariela Castro (director of Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education) makes in an interview with Radio Netherlands during a visit to the red light district in Amsterdam, saying: “[She] enjoys a hearty laugh at the expense of Cuban women who are forced to...

Cuba: Members of “Las Damas” Detained

  31 October 2011

Uncommon Sense learns that “ten members of the Laura Pollan Damas De Blanco…were among severa dissidents arrested in Santiago de Cuba as they tried to gather for Mass” yesterday morning.

Trinidad & Tobago: Role of the Telecommunications Authority

  31 October 2011

Plain Talk suggests that the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is abdicating its responsibility in light of the recent national broadcast of the rape of a child and the release of a soca song that “glorif[ies] and promote[s] human trafficking and sexual slavery”, saying: “Much of what is being...

China: Open letter to Relativity Media

  31 October 2011

C Custer wrote an open letter to Relativity Media, a Hollywood Film Producer, criticizing its plan to cooperate with the Linyi government to shoot a movie there. Linyi government has illegally detained Blind activist Chen Guangchen from leaving his house and stopped others from visiting him since his release in...

Brazil: Mobilization Against Racism Towards Indigenous Peoples

  30 October 2011

Following the occupation of the Belo Monte construction site, socio-environmental student Robson Fernando, from the blog Consciência, denounces [pt] racist comments left ​​by readers of Folha de São Paulo on the newspaper's website against the Brazilian indigenous population. On another post, Fernando calls those who propagate prejudice and hatred to...

Yemen: VP Hadi Leaves to the US for Treatment!

  29 October 2011

Today's main headline in Yemen was the sudden departure of Vice President Abdu Rabbu Mansoor Hadi to the US for medical treatment. Hadi's absence adds a new snag to the signing of the unpopular GCC deal, which Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has been putting off for months. Noon Arabia has more.

Myanmar Netizens to BBC: Apologize Now

  29 October 2011

Some Myanmar netizens are asking BBC to apologize for publishing an ‘inaccurate' map of Myanmar's ethnic groups. BBC has already updated the map but netizens still want a formal apology

D.R. of Congo/U.S.A: Conflict-Free: A Growing Movement

  29 October 2011

Alex Hellmuth and Tracy Fehr looks the growing conflict-free minerals movement in the US: “The progress made by Congo activists earlier this month in the state of California, the city of St. Petersburg, FL, and most recently at the University of Colorado-Boulder, is part of a dynamic conflict-free movement that...

Africa: On Cutting Aid to Countries Violating LGBTI Rights

  29 October 2011

Statement of African social justice activists on the decision of the British government to “cut aid” to African countries that violate the rights of LGBTI people in Africa: “We, the undersigned African social justice activists, working to advance societies that affirm peoples’ differences, choice and agency throughout Africa, express the...

Ukraine: “We Are Europeans”

  29 October 2011

Ordinary Ukrainians are using citizen media and social networks to voice their commitment to European values and organize rallies in support of Ukraine's European orientation. Veronica Khokhlova reports.

Angola: Voice of America Correspondent in Cabinda Threatened

  29 October 2011

Voice of America reported that three armed men broke into the backyard of its correspondent in the Angola enclave Cabinda, saying they were looking for José Manuel. He was not present and later sought guarantees from police that he would be protected. Angolan authorities are very sensitive about protest and...

Cuba: Internet & Human Rights

  28 October 2011

“2011 will hopefully be looked back as the year when both the right to internet access and the threat to internet freedom were both recognized and tech companies collaborating with human rights organizations set out standards to address the problem and uphold a fundamental right”: Notes from the Cuban Exile...