Twenty years after it came to international attention that parts of Bangladesh have arsenic-tainted drinking water, the problem has yet to be resolved, according to a new report released by Human Rights Watch. An estimated twenty million people, largely in rural areas, are exposed to excessive levels of arsenic, and the government response has been minimal.
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Bangladesh Government Unresponsive to Arsenic Exposure
Peace Talks to Occur Between Colombian Government and Rebel Group
The Colombian government announced last week plans to hold peace talks with the ELN, Colombia's second largest rebel group. A peace agreement would mark significant progress for Colombia, which has struggled for decades with political violence, displacement, and human rights abuses on both sides of the conflict. Human rights groups warn, however, that talks will need to address human rights... Read more
Amnesty International: Encryption is a Human Rights Issue
New Report Analyzes How Crypto Backdoors, Interference with Crypto, and Compelled Disclosure of Encryption Keys All Impact Free Expression and Privacy Defending encryption is a human rights issue, according to a new Amnesty International report. The report calls on nation-states to promote the use of encryption tools as part of their international human rights obligations to protect the... Read more
The World Cup and Workers’ Human Rights in Qatar. “The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game”
A new report from Amnesty International slams Qatar for not living up to promises to improve workers’ rights and adds to a growing international criticism of Qatar’s inability to properly implement adopted policies. World Cup host Qatar and FIFA are in public diplomacy terms back to square one with a just published Amnesty International report that takes the Gulf state to task for failing to... Read more
El Clásico Soccer Match Is Embroiled in a Human Rights Scandal
This year’s El Clásico is being played during the same week Amnesty International released a scathing report on human rights violations in Qatar. According to the report, migrant workers have endured major human rights violations while building stadiums for the FIFA 2022 World Cup.
Are 'democracy' and 'human rights' Western colonial exports? No. Here's why.
In September 2014, students in Hong Kong gathered in a public square to protest some of the Beijing government’s legislative initiatives. One of their slogans was, “When dictatorship becomes a reality, revolution is a duty,” a declaration attributed to Victor Hugo. During the Arab Spring, protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria raised such slogans as: “The people want the overthrow... Read more
The costs of inequality: A goal of justice, a reality of unfairness
Colleen Walsh’s write-up “The costs of inequality: A goal of justice, a reality of unfairness,” (fifth in a series on inequality) published in Harvard Gazette is an eye-opener in that it has exposed the US criminal justice system imprisoning millions of people of which the black population occupies a stark portion. According the article, the US puts 2.2 million people behind the bar, which is... Read more
Anders Behring Breivik constitutes Human Rights violations while making Nazi salute
Mass murderer, racist and rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik was recently constituting a violation of his human rights as a prisoner after being incarcerated for committing a 77 people killing spree in Norway. Not only, is he responsible for the shameful death of innocent adults and children, in addition, he has got the incredible audacity of suing the state of Norway for impinging... Read more
How the refugee crisis changed German politics
The refugee crisis has brought a radical change within the German political system. There is high frustration within the German population and in times of the elections, the right-wing poulist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) uses this disaffection to gain electoral votes. The article illustrates the political situation in Germany and explains that Germany's two largest parties (the 'CDU' and '... Read more