Stories about Human Rights from September, 2019
29 September 2019
Press freedom watchdog dismisses China’s '70 Years of Progress on Human Rights’ as ‘smokescreen’
Reporters Without Borders slams China's white paper on human rights as "a smokescreen" to mask the country's "horrendous record" with regard to human rights and press freedom.
28 September 2019
Global rally to urge U.S. congress to vote for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act
'This is a plea for universal human rights, for democracy and for the freedom to choose…'
Cameroon’s amputee football team set to miss first international debut
The Cameroon amputee team was formed in March last year and needs international participation to get recognized by the World Amputee Football Federation. Their journey has been daunting.
26 September 2019
Netizen Report: Anti-corruption protests across Egypt trigger internet blockages, arrests
Censorship spikes as protests mount in Egypt, Twitter censors hundreds of pro-state accounts and a Pakistani court delivers a win for free speech online.
25 September 2019
Altamira: the Amazonian city enduring forest fires, prison violence, and anti-indigenous threats
Brazil's champion city in deforestation is also one of its most violent
A snapshot of climate strikes across Southeast Asia
The protest actions in Southeast Asia highlighted various issues such as the impact of large-scale mining, haze pollution, and continuing dependence on fossil fuels.
24 September 2019
Russia's return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Diplomacy or defeat?
Amending the Council of Europe’s (CoE) sanctioning rules to restore Russia’s voting rights in its Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has divided democracy and human rights advocates.
22 September 2019
Broken bones, internal bleeding: Hong Kong police used ‘reckless, indiscriminate’ tactics during protests, says Amnesty
"...police officers meted out violence prior to and during arrests, even when the individual had been restrained. The use of force was clearly excessive, violating international human rights law."
20 September 2019
Netizen Report: Pro-government doxxing campaigns rock Hong Kong, Serbia
Doxxing is all the rage in Hong Kong and Serbia, an Indian judge delivers a win for internet rights, and Facebook debuts plans for its oversight board.
19 September 2019
Azerbaijanis wary of new ‘morality police’
Progressive Baku residents see "morality police" as immoral, and experts say the move will ultimately be ineffective.
In a Pakistani town, Hindu-Muslim relations are tested after a Hindu temple is vandalised
"[The] government ought to arrest those ruined the Temple and school, no one has the right to harm other religious places."
18 September 2019
Cameroon on a path to ‘national dialogue’ as Anglophone crisis continues
Cameroon's national dialogues were announced amidst ongoing violence and a new surge of refugees fleeing insecurity — including intimidation, lockdowns and school closures — in the Anglophone northwest and southwest...
16 September 2019
Internet shutdowns and the right to access in Sudan: A post-revolution perspective
In response to a five-week long shutdown, a court ordered telecommunications companies to apologise to customers.
15 September 2019
Filipino community radio stations struggle to survive amid attacks and difficulties
"If the marginalized are underserved by the mass media establishment, they must be allowed to be their own voice."
14 September 2019
Muharram in Pakistan: Daring to observe Ashura
Sectarian violence against Shia Muslims and Shia Hazara communities are common in Pakistan. Yet people came out in their numbers once again this year for Muharram, amidst tight security.
13 September 2019
Netizen Report: Malicious attack takes Wikipedia offline
This week, Wikipedia went dark, Raul Castro got kicked off Twitter and the internet finally came back to Papua.
Locked down in Kashmir: A traveler's view
It's been more than a month since the Indian government placed the state of Kashmir on lockdown. A Bangladeshi traveller shares her experience of visiting the region during that period.
12 September 2019
As Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners, the RuNet reacted
The return of Ukrainian political prisoners might be a win for president Zelensky. But the decision to hand a key witness to the MH17 tragedy to Russia attracted fierce criticism.
Hong Kong protesters vandalize the city’s subway amid rumours that three protesters are ‘missing’
For over a week, Hong Kong protesters have been vandalizing the city’s subway stations amid rumours that three protesters are missing after clashes with the police.
Cameroonians with HIV face ‘a death sentence’ as Global Fund threatens to pull antiretroviral drugs
HIV-positive Cameroonians fear a shortage of free ARV drugs as the Global Fund threatens to pull supplies due to Cameroon's growing $47 million dollar debt.
