Stories about Human Rights from January, 2014
GV Face: Social Media and the Meteoric Rise of India's Aam Aadmi Party
"Indians are demanding accountability today." This Friday in our weekly Hangout series, we discuss the role of social media in the Aam Aadmi Party's meteoric rise in India.
Citizen Journalists Expose Police Brutality During Protests in Algeria
Protests, which shook El Guerrara town, exposed violent practices by the police in Algeria. Netizens filmed and denounced these practices. Abou Semmar reports.
Ecuador's Indigenous People: “We believe in development that respects Mother Earth”
“The Government is appropriating our spiritual values of the Amazon region, it’s seeking to deconceptualize our cultural concepts”, says [Carlos Pérez, President of ECUARUNARI (Confederation of Kichwa Peoples of Ecuador)]. “It doesn’t know what Pachamama is. It doesn’t understand the rights of nature. It doesn’t understand Sumak Kawsay (good living),...
Putting Faces on the Mysterious Disease Killing Nicaraguan Sugar Cane Workers
A fatal disease is killing sugar cane workers in Nicaragua. Photojournalist Ed Kashi wants to raise awareness about this mysterious epidemic through a documentary project that is looking for funding.
Child Artists in Syria's Largest Refugee Camp ‘Zaatari’
Syria children at the Zaatari refugee camp, on the Syrian-Jordanian border, was showing off their artistic skills, writes Syria Untold.
Prominent Kenyan Writer Binyavanga Wainaina Comes Out as Gay
Wainaina said that the recent passage of an anti-gay law in Nigeria was one of the things that made him decide to come out.
Ukrainian #DigitalMaidan Activism Takes Twitter's Trending Topics by Storm
As Euromaidan protests enter their third month, Ukrainian social media users and activists are finding new ways of using Internet tools to explain their plight and seek international support.
Russian Conspiracy Theories about Maidan's First Blood
Given the lack of eyewitnesses, the murder of Serhiy Nigoyan, Maidan’s first shooting fatality, has naturally attracted lots of speculation about who was responsible.
Cries of Discrimination as Israel Detains Undocumented African Immigrants
Many have fled their home countries for Israel and are seeking refugee status. The detentions have unleashed a wave of demonstrations in Tel-Aviv.
Bangladesh Gets Its First LGBT Magazine, ‘Roopbaan’
"Finally Bangladesh is prospering. I had to leave Bangladesh for being gay, now I feel like going back and do[ing] something there."
China Sentences Citizens’ Movement Icon Xu Zhiyong to Four Years in Prison
His imprisonment is part of a crackdown by new Chinese Communist Party leadership under President Xi Jinping against political liberals who have been trying to advocate for constitutional reform.
Four Biggest Misconceptions About #Euromaidan Protests in Ukraine
Ucrainica Marginalis published an overview of the four largest misconceptions about #Euromaidan, written by scholars Sofiya Grachova & Stephen A. Walsh. What this overview points out is the vast gap between how international media and outside spectators view what is happening and the message that Ukrainians involved in Euromaidan protests...
Independent Ukrainian Filmmakers Create #Euromaidan Documentaries
In Ukraine, several filmmakers united to produce a video chronology of the events that came to be known as the Euromaidan protests. “BABYLON'13”, named after a bar in which the filmmakers came up with the idea for the project, is a collection of short documentaries reflecting the development of the...
Indonesia Apology Urged Over Massacre of a Million Citizens in 1965
Human rights groups Tapol and East Timor and Indonesia Action Network have launched a campaign called ‘Say Sorry for '65’ addressed to the Indonesian government in relation to the reported killing of a million citizens during the anti-communist campaign of the government in the 1960s: In 1965/66, up to a...
“Find and Support all the Mandelas in the Villages” for Reconciliation in the Central African Republic
Residents of Bangui were asked about the current escalation of violence in the Central African Republic. Here are some of their thoughts as collected by ATD Fourth World : It’s a question of dialogue, because there are two parties, the Seleka and the Anti-balaka. If there isn’t dialogue, it will...
VIDEO: Memories of the Violent Eviction of Brazil's Pinheirinho Community
The documentary Somos Todos (We Are All), now available online, gives a voice to the former residents of the Pinheirinho community who lost their homes in January 2012.
Minister Stabbed to Death by Mob as Violence Escalates in Central African Republic
Several sources report that a Muslim minister was attacked and killed with knives by mob in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR) today (24/01). This recent twitter update by Peter Bouckaert, Emergency Director at Human Rights Watch confirms the identity of the minister: x-Patasse Min of Health welcomed and hosted Seleka when they...
Chinese Billionaire Activist's Confession and Release
Chinese billionaire activist Wang Gongquan, who was arrested and detained for more than 4 months, was released on bail after making “confessions” that he and another citizen right activist Xu Zhiyong had organized and incited criminal activities to assemble a crowd to disrupt order in public space. Offbeat China has...
GV Face: Live from the Arab Bloggers Meeting #AB14
GVers Advox Director Hisham Almiraat, GV MENA Region Editor Amira Al Hussaini, SMEX Co-Director Mohammed Najem and Berkman Fellow Dalia Othman share with us their insights from this remarkable event.
The Online Presence of Puerto Rican Women: Gender, Creativity, and Equality
Angel Carrión features some of the online spaces Puerto Rican women have created to express ideas, creativity, exchange information, or provide resources that further education on women's issues and equality.
Rule of Law Overturned in Nauru
The government of the tiny pacific island nation of Nauru has caused a legal and political storm by getting rid of its senior judiciary.
