· August, 2011

Stories about Human Rights from August, 2011

Trinidad & Tobago: More Questions on State of Emergency

  24 August 2011

As the State of Emergency continues in Trinidad and Tobago, the government's communication efforts about it continue to be muddled at best: Is it limited or national? Is there a solid strategy in place or not? Local bloggers are voicing their opinions, confusion and frustration online.

Cuba: Female Activists Detained

  24 August 2011

Four women who took to Havana's Capitol building to protest recent actions against The Ladies in White have reportedly been detained; Uncommon Sense has the details.

Mauritania: 13 Activists against Child Trafficking Arrested

  24 August 2011

Four advocacy organizations against human trafficking note that a peaceful sit-in outside the Bureau of juvenile affairs was organized [fr] by l’Initiative pour la Résurgence du mouvement Abolitionniste (Ira) to denounce the insufficient measures taken against child trafficking in Mauritania.  13 members of the association were arrested following the protest....

Haiti: Grim Housing Situation

  23 August 2011

Haiti Grassroots Watch investigates whether “the 634,000 people still living in Haiti’s 1,001 camps, and the undoubtedly tens of thousands of others living in unsafe and even condemned structures [will] soon move to safe housing” and discovers an upsetting answer.

Lessons Gaddafi Should Have Learnt from North Korea

  23 August 2011

Joshua from One Free Korea, in comparing the North Korean situation with the fall of Gaddafi, explains about the importance of the nuclear deterrent in sustaining the North Korean regime and its dictator, Kim Jong-il.

Trinidad and Tobago: Debating a State of Emergency

  22 August 2011

On Sunday 21 August, the government of Trinidad and Tobago declared a national state of emergency to deal with the violent crime that has afflicted the Caribbean nation in recent years. This legal move — which affects citizens' civil rights — triggered debate and concern among Trinidadians online.

Russia: “Democracy Without Balls”

RuNet Echo  21 August 2011

Oleg Klimov writes [ru] that Mikhail Gorbachev, speaking on the 20th anniversary of the Soviet Union's collapse, said that “Putin is no dictator – he has just castrated democracy by depriving citizens of the democratic right to choose.”

Brazil: Construction Starts on Controversial Belo Monte Dam

  20 August 2011

Despite the protesting voices of indigenous populations and traditional settlers of Volta Grande do Xingu region, construction on Brazil's Belo Monte hydroelectric plant has begun. Protests against the project will take place in 10 Brazilian cities and 16 countries on August 20.

Indonesia: Prison Situation

  20 August 2011

Leo Sudaryono identifies chronic corruption, threat of gang violence, over-crowding, poor quality water and sanitation, and an absence of basic health and education services as among the main problems facing Indonesia's prisons.

Costa Rica: Slut Walk Reactions, Religion and Women's Rights

  19 August 2011

Last Sunday 14 August, 2011, the Costa Rican Slut Walk took place in the capital city of San Jose causing both a media and religious backlash due to allegedly violent anti-church chants and performances. The ongoing debate has been covered on both citizen and mass media outlets as people react to the Costa Rican version of this worldwide protest.

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