Stories about Human Rights from February, 2020
What kind of rumours were circulating during the 2020 Taiwan presidential election?
"...a majority of the rumors were aimed at dividing the Taiwanese society. They provoke people’s emotions and split the community into two political camps."
‘Delhi is burning': 17 dead and hundreds injured in clashes over anti-citizenship law protests
In North East Delhi, violent clashes between pro and anti-citizenship law protesters have resulted in the death of at least 17 civilians. Over 150 people have been injured.
Justice for Tanzanian journalist Erick Kabendera comes at a steep price
Tanzanian freelance journalist Erick Kabendera was released from prison but faces hefty fines on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
Migrant workers in Thailand organize against exploitation by the country's fishing industry
Off the shores of Thailand, a seafood industry flourishes. Here, debt-bondage and slavery are standard workplace practices. But workers are organizing unions to fight back against exploitation.
“Parental pin”: the Spanish far-right's fight to control public education
The Spanish political party Vox is demanding the right to prevent their children from being educated about feminism, equality or sexual diversity.
Argentine NGO documenting human rights violations nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
"Every recovered bone and identified remain is a triumph of truth and justice that is essential to nourish the memories people carry with them throughout the rest of their lives."
Rising attacks against journalists for reporting about the conflict in north Mozambique
There has been an alarming increase in the number of threats made against journalists who are covering the armed attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Journalists seek justice as attacks continue in Colombia
"...when journalists are silenced, the whole of society is attacked.”
Macedonians shocked over discovery of child ‘fight clubs’ in Skopje
Videos show dozens of adult spectators cheering as boys of school age fight on.
Despite calls to move, a women-led protest in India challenges the Citizenship Amendment Act
"If we can sacrifice so much for this protest, can’t people tolerate a slight inconvenience?"
Chinese censorship demonstrates it can afford the cost of ‘the death of media’
A massive number of groups and user accounts were removed by platforms following the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, which set social media on fire.
Pipeline problems for indigenous peoples on Russia's Yamal Peninsula
As gas pipelines creep across Russia's Yamal Peninsula, the lives of local reindeer herders are changing radically. Russia's energy companies say it's for the best — indigenous rights activists are sceptical.
Two Iranian rights activists revisit the November 2019 internet shutdown
“Hundreds of protestors were killed in a matter of three days and most of the world was not aware of what happened.’’
Life on the margins: The Lyuli people of Uzbekistan
Aleksandr Barkovsky, a photographer who has worked with the community, says that ordinary Uzbeks still know little to nothing about their Lyuli neighbours.
For Rohingya refugees, ID systems have brought coercion, violence and denial of ethnic identity
"They told us they would withhold rations and that we couldn’t stay in the camps. So we had no choice."
Pakistan's draconian rules on social media take activists by surprise
The new rules require social media companies to hand over user information and remove content deemed unlawful when requested by the authorities.
Groundbreaking film on Russia's HIV epidemic goes viral
Nearly one percent of Russia's population is HIV positive, but the authorities have remained silent about the epidemic. It looks like Yury Dud's latest YouTube documentary has broken that silence.
#MarginalizedAadhaar: Is India's Aadhaar enabling more exclusion in social welfare for marginalized communities?
India's biometric-based digital ID Aadhaar seems to bring more exclusion to marginalized communities rather than solving it.
Hong Kong's labor laws aid and abet the abuse of foreign domestic workers
Hong Kong immigration rules such as the one that requires foreign domestic workers to live with their employers are putting women's safety at risk, activists say.
India's forgotten persecution of Chinese migrants
"If this episode destroyed so many lives, what kind of chaos, let alone wholesale injustice, can we expect with citizenship laws and tests applied much more widely than in 1962?"
Coronavirus-related xenophobia spreads to Central and Eastern Europe
Incidents of hostility towards Asian people reported in North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Belarus and ...social networks across the region