The Sri Lankan government should immediately lift its September order barring humanitarian agencies from the Vanni conflict area in northern Sri Lanka so they can assist thousands of persons displaced by flooding from Cyclone Nisha.
Experienced and impartial humanitarian agencies have offered to respond to the crisis, but face government obstruction. Only government-approved food convoys have [...]

Tags: Sri Lanka

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The Croatian authorities’ failure to address threats against journalists has led to a climate of intimidation, where the journalists work at a great risk to their lives, Amnesty International said today.
The organization’s call comes as Drago Hedl, one of the top journalists in the country, received new threats on his life following his investigation which [...]

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Every day, 40 women are raped in the Eastern Congo. It’s a well-known reality that has been documented and reported by media, NGOs, international institutions and States. But nothing changes, sexual violence is still widespread. So what more can be done?
The Congolese Women’s Campaign Against Sexual Violence in the DRC raises an enraged cry of [...]

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The Ethiopian government should immediately free 53 ethnic Oromos arrested several weeks ago on allegations of support for terrorism if it cannot credibly charge them. Human Rights Watch said that a court should not grant further police requests to extend their detention without charge past a December 1, 2008, deadline, in part because of serious [...]

Tags: Ethiopia

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Governments around the world should adopt and expand needle and syringe exchange programs and effective drug dependency treatment as part of their efforts to address HIV among people who use drugs, Human Rights Watch said , ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1.
“HIV epidemics around the world are being driven by lack of access [...]

Tags: Global, World AIDS Day

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The government of Haiti is failing to protect the country’s girls against rape and sexual violence, Amnesty International said today, as it launched a report calling for authorities to recognise the severity of the problem and to fulfil its duty to protect young women.
Fifty five per cent of the 105 rapes reported so far this [...]

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Thousands of Iraqis detained by US forces will be at risk of torture or even execution if they are handed over to the Iraqi authorities, Amnesty International today warned.
The warning came as the Iraqi Parliament ratified the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Iraqi governments. Under the agreement, which will take effect [...]

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Sudanese authorities have arrested and detained three human rights defenders in Khartoum, two of whom remain in detention. On November 24, 2008, Sudanese authorities in Khartoum summoned the three men to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) offices, where they were detained and questioned about their human rights activities.
One, Amir Suliman, was released the [...]

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The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said it was disappointed about the adoption earlier today by the Kazakh parliament of a new law on freedom of religion or belief, and expressed its hope that the President of Kazakhstan will not sign the law in its current form so that it can [...]

Tags: Kazakhstan

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Greece systematically rounds up and detains Iraqi asylum seekers and other migrants in dirty, overcrowded conditions and forcibly and secretly expels them to Turkey, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. Under EU rules, most Iraqis who enter the European Union through Greece must claim asylum there.
The 121-page report, “Stuck in a Revolving [...]

Tags: Greece

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