Human Rights

Joy for tens of thousands of same-sex couples The culmination of a five-decade struggle for LGBT equality Ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships must also be repealed “This is a resounding, historic victory for love and equality. It has bought joy…

19 Films Bear Witness, Challenge Viewers to Seek Justice The 17th edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival will be presented in London from March 13 to 22, 2013. The program this year is organized around four themes: traditional…

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday launched an appeal for US$130.4 million in 2013, telling donors that the UN Human Rights Office could respond to more of the many requests for assistance she receives if…

In a rare live interview, Mumia Abu-Jamal calls into Democracy Now! as the new film, “Long Distance Revolutionary,” about his life premieres in New York City this weekend. After 29 years on death row, he is now being held in…

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., thus launching the modern-day civil-rights movement. Monday, Feb. 4, is the 100th anniversary of her birth. After…

The euphoria of the Arab Spring has given way to the sobering challenge of creating rights-respecting democracies, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2013. The willingness of new governments to respect rights will determine whether those…

From the moment you arrive at the Dhaka airport, it’s clear that the apparel industry is vital to Bangladesh’s economy. Airport walls are lined with posters advertising local garment manufacturers, textile mills, and trims suppliers. Apparel accounts for between 70…

A new report proposing ways to tackle violence against women in India represents a groundbreaking basis for action, the United Nations human rights chief said today, urging the Government to follow through with its recommendations. The report was produced by…

Vicious attacks on gay rights protesters in Russia in recent days underscores the need for the Russian Duma to reject a draft law on “propaganda for homosexuality,” Human Rights Watch said today. Russian authorities should thoroughly investigate the violence and new…

A United Nations expert today urged the United Kingdom (UK) to revise a series of legal and policing measures that are having a negative impact on its citizens’ right of peaceful assembly and association. Measures such as the use of…