Human Rights Watch has called on the current leader of Europe’s leading human rights body, Azerbaijan, to end persecution of government critics and independent groups. Azerbaijan took over the leadership of the Council of Europe in Early May amid much criticism due to the country’s human rights record and ongoing human rights violations, which have been documented by international rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In particular, Azerbaijan is criticized for its treatment of news media, government critics and independent groups. Abuse of over 40 activists, journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders has been documented by Amnesty and Human Rights
Human Rights Watch
Azerbaijan, Leader of Council of Europe, Called on to Address Its Human Rights Abuses
Caste-Based Rape Addressed at UN
Answering a global outcry for urgently desired action against caste-based rape and violence against women, the UN Human Rights Council held a side-event Tuesday dedicated to the issue. Many human rights organizations, policy makers and India’s UN representative had asked rights groups to address the problem after it received attention following the gang-rape and hanging of two girls in India May 27. The event, “Caste-based Violence against Women: The role of the UN in combating caste-based violence and discrimination,” was co-sponsored by Human Rights Watch, the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Minority Rights Group, Franciscan
Uganda to Lead United Nations General Assembly
Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa is set to become President of the UN’s General Assembly on June 11. The election of Kutesa has caused some criticism because the Ugandan government–for which Kutesa forms foreign policy–has been under the 28-year rule of President Yoweri Museveni, and has been accused and found guilty by international courts of international and humanitarian crimes. Kutesa himself has been accused by the UN, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of crimes. Kutesa was indicted for corruption several times, and was censured by the Ugandan Parliament in 1999 for corruption–in the form of diverting millions of
Human Rights Watch Releases New Report Calling USA “A Nation Behind Bars” and Says to Reform Criminal Sentencing
Human Rights Watch has just released a report finding that too many US laws violate basic principles of justice. The report, released today, entitled “Nation Behind Bars: A Human Rights Solution,” finds that the US has the highest reported rate of incarceration in the world because punishments are far more severe than are necessary to meet their purposes. A co-author of the report and US Program at Human Rights Watch senior advisory, Jamie Fellner, stated, “The ‘land of the free’ has become a country of prisons. Too many men and women are serving harsh prison sentences for nonviolent and
