Human Rights

Facts about Human Trafficking
Do you know what is human trafficking? If not, then let me tell you that human trafficking is a kind of forced slavery on human beings. These days, cases of human trafficking are increasingly coming into light. Let us read more to know the facts about human trafficking.

List of Human Rights Issues
Human rights are the fundamental necessities for human beings around the globe. Here is a list of human rights issues...

Human Rights Group Says Saddam’s Trial Was Flawed and Unfair
Human Rights Watch issued a report Monday saying that the trial of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was so flawed that the verdict is unfair and the death penalty sentence is "indefensible."

The New Weapons of War
Is the military creating a new, more compassionate form of war; or does it cross the boundaries of human rights?

Human rights: Dismal record of Pakistan
As one can expect, just have a look at the dismal record of Pakistan. The human rights situation in Pakistan, which remained dismal in the year 2002, saw further degradation after the launch of the international war against terrorism.

Human Rights: Issues, Acts and Treaties
Internet users can now access the World Wide Web to unleash the recent developments in world history that have deeply affected human rights.

Legal Loopholes 'allowing Mi5 to Collude in Torture'
Human rights group calls for inquiry into allegations of illegal detention and torture of British terror suspects in Pakistan

Young Girls Forced Into Living Nightmares
Millions of young girls around the world are made to enter into the living nightmare of a forced marriage, by their family. A horror that is given little publicity.

The Neocolonial Fabrication of Iraq – A Country Without Justice
This 42-page report documents how thousands of defendants in Iraq wait months or even years before facing a judge and hearing charges against them in the Central Criminal Court (CCCI), and cannot pursue a meaningful defense or challenge evidence against them.

Bangladeshi 'forced Marriage' Gp Due Back in Britain Tomorrow
Human rights group hopes case will set strong international precedent

Ruling Frees Asylum Seekers to Work
Laws preventing Eritrean man from taking job incompatible with European Convention on Human Rights

British Scholar Rails at Police Seizure of Anti-stalin Archive
Historian condemns seizure of human rights group's archive as an attempt to rewrite history

Police Violence Soaring, Says Report on Turkey
Complaints against brutality and excessive force have risen sharply since last year, say Human Rights Watch

Turkish Police Violence Rises Amid 'culture of Impunity', Say Campaigners
Human Rights Watch's damning report suggests Turkey is losing human rights battle

Jewish Settlers in Hebron Shoot Palestinian Men
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem releases graphic footage of shooting after yesterday's forced evictions

Tutu and De Klerk Plead With Eu Leaders to Send Force to Congo
Former world leaders and human rights activists call for reinforcements to help stop humanitarian catastrophe

Daughter Despairs As China Prepares to Execute Researcher for Spying
US and European governments and human rights groups say 59-year-old Wo Weihan has not received a fair trial

Woman Urges Beijing Not to Execute Father
Human rights groups claim medical researcher accused of spying for Taiwan has not received fair trial

UN Reports Murder, Rape and Torture By Congo Troops and Rebels
Government soldiers and rebels fighting in eastern Congo have committed serious human rights abuses, UN says

Israeli Policeman Headbutts Woman in Palestinian Demolition Clashes
An Israeli policeman wearing a hard helmet is shown head butting a Palestinian woman in a video released by a human rights group today

Reports Detail Congo Atrocities
Serious human rights abuses committed by both government soldiers and rebels, says Ban Ki-Moon

Fugitive Kills Himself on Argentinian Tv
Former police commander wanted for human rights abuses shoots himself in head while camera rolls

Maldives Human Rights Activist Wins Presidential Election
Mohamed 'Anni' Nasheed, an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, wins country's first democratic presidential poll

Hacker is 'too Sick' to Survive Us Extradition
Home secretary backs extradition of computer hacker despite possible breach of Human Rights

Evicted Chagos Islanders Have No Right to Return Home, Law Lords Rule
Case may now go to human rights court after 3-2 decision by law lords goes against islanders

Rights Law 'makes Uk Forces Shun Arrests'
US legal adviser claims European countries are reluctant to detain prisoners due to human rights laws

Give Prisoners Right to Vote, Says Un
Deprivation of voting rights may fail to meet standards of human rights covenant, government warned

Haemorrhaging of Western Influence at Un Wrecks Attempts to Push Human Rights Agenda
Succession of defeats on diplomatic issues demonstrates US and Europe power loss to emerging states

Western Influence at Un Wanes As Power Balance Shifts
Push to entrench human rights failing, trend shows• EU and US rifts exploited by China and Russia

Human Rights: Growing Clamour to Remove the Hague Prosecutor Who Wants Sudanese President Arrested
Move to hold Sudan leader over Darfur 'genocide' sparks outcry against Argentine prosecutor

Labour Warned Over Limits to Free Expression
Critical UN human rights report condemns use of Official Secrets Act for gagging of public servants

Kuwait's Inhuman Labor Practice
Kuwait expelled thousands of workers from Bangladesh who were protesting Labor abuse. While workers got deported for demonstrations, little or no action taken toward visa merchants and companies who violets human rights in Middle East.

'He Has an Ability to Motivate and is Not Easily Cowed. If There is a Row With the Government He Will Fight His Corner'
Profile: Keir Starmer, the next director of public prosecutions is a QC with a passion for human rights

Homeland Insecurity
Peter Tatchell: As Noordin Mengal's experience shows, the US is now adding human rights defenders to its list of unwanted aliens

Security: Uk Phonetap Laws Breach Privacy
Government phone-tapping practices violate right to privacy, European court of human rights rules

The Undaunted Freedom Fighter
Profile: Shami Chakrabarti is not known for her retiring nature, particularly when defending human rights and - as last week showed - her authority and honor

Occupations Abroad Always Lead to the Erosion of Liberties at Home
Gary Younge: Guantánamo has exposed the Bush regime's disdain for human rights. But there's nothing uniquely American about this

The Undaunted Freedom Fighter
Profile: Shami Chakrabarti is not known for her retiring nature, particularly when defending human rights and - as last week showed - her authority and honor

Lawyers Urge Fo to Come Clean on Torture
Human rights group, Reprieve, demand release of details regarding 'dirty bomb' suspect's interrogation

Dossier Prepared for Un Details Grim Plight of Many Young People in Britain
Report details widespread flouting of human rights and states that attitudes to young 'have got worse'

WAN Conference: Newspapers Attack Un Human Rights Council
The World Association of Newspapers and World Editors Forum have condemned the UN Human Rights Council for its 'repeated efforts to undermine freedom of expression'. By Stephen Brook

US Accused of Holding Terror Suspects on Prison Ships
North America is operating 'floating prisons' to house suspected terrorists, say human rights lawyers

Beijing Athletes Urged to Speak Out on Human Rights
Amnesty sporting ambassador and NBA star John Amaechi urges olympians to take a moral stance

Tutu Calls for End to Blockade of Gaza
Nobel laureate sent by UN Human Rights Council to investigate deaths of 18 Palestinians

Lessons From History
Leader: Failings of International Criminal Court undermine true nature of justice for victims of genocide and human rights abuse

Saudi Women Treated Like Children, Says Human Rights Group
Watchdog says sex segregation and other 'grossly discriminatory' policies are denial of fundamental rights

Sending Troops Into Battle Without Proper Equipment Could Breach Rights, Says Judge
Deploying troops without adequate equipment could breach their human rights, high court rules

Mau Mau Veterans to Sue Britain Over Torture and Illegal Killings in Kenya
Action alleges human rights abuses in 1950s· Case runs risk of reviving internal divisions

Intellectuals Condemn Fatwa Against Writers
Arab human rights activists condemn Saudi religious edict calling for the execution of two writers for apostasy

Arab Rights Groups Condemn Saudi Death Fatwa on Writers
Arab human rights activists have condemned a Saudi religious edict calling for the execution of two writers for apostasy - giving a rare glimpse of tensions over Islam inside the conservative kingdom

Ogaden – the African Kosovo ready for Independence
It would suffice for the State Department to hire a pertinent replacement of Ass. Secretary Jendayi Frazer, a visionary American diplomat who would demand Peace, Freedom and Respect for Human Rights in Ogaden.

All You'll Ever Need to Know About the Arts
Fewer students are doing humanities degrees; one minister says it's 'no bad thing'. Too right, argues Stephen Moss - this brief primer should suffice.

Human Rights Group Accuses Bangladesh of Torture
Human Rights Watch today accused Bangladesh of beating and torturing a reporter employed by the New York-based group, forcing him and his family to flee the country

Ministerial Compromise Averts Backbench Revolt Over Repeal of Blasphemy Offence
· Consultation promise welcomed by Anglicans · Scrapping law 'will boost human rights stance'

Abuse Breaches Our Human Rights, Says Campbell
Footballers' human rights are being breached by fans who hurl verbal abuse at them, England's Sol Campbell said today, as he demanded action from the Football Association to deal with the problem.

Le Pen on Trial for Saying Nazis Not Inhumane
The French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen yesterday went on trial for condoning war crimes after he said the Nazi occupation of France during the second world war was 'not particularly inhumane'

Czechs Found Guilty of Bias in Roma Schooling
Roma activists across Europe were celebrating a landmark victory last night as Europe's leading human rights authority ruled that the Czech Republic had practiced racial discrimination by wrongly channeling Roma children into remedial education schools

Saudi King's State Visit to Britain Faces Protests and Boycotts
Anger over arms trade and human rights clouds trip · Lib Dem leader declares he will shun occasion

Syrian Human Rights Activists Under Siege, Watchdog Warns
Syria was accused today of "besieging" human rights activists by preventing them meeting and traveling abroad and forcing them to live in fear of repression.

Rancorous US Ass. Secretary Fraser and Cruel Dictator Zenawi force Somaliland to Extradite Refugees
The criminal Abyssinian dictator Meles Zenawi, wholeheartedly supported by the catastrophic for US interests in Africa Jendayi Fraser, forces the unrecognized government of Somaliland to extradite Ogadeni refugees in sheer violation of the most elementary Human Rights.

The Devastating Cost of Africa's Wars: £150bn and Millions of Lives
Loss is equivalent to total foreign aid since 1990· Economies, health and human rights all suffer

ON HUMAN RIGHTS: GW Bush and the Definition of Audacity
It is common for the president to us Orwellian doublespeak but his address at the opening ceremony of the United Nations was the penultimate in audacity. This president has done more harm to human rights than any other in history. A Jazzman Chronicle by Jack Random.

Ogaden Human Rights Committee Proposals for Peace in Ogaden
With the traditional tolerant African Islam prevailing among Ogadenis, one has to help fast achieve the independence of Ogaden, and its greater involvement in the Somali politics.

Continued Debate on Abyssinia / Ethiopia, History, and Human Rights
The outrageous and cannibalistic deeds of the cruel tyrants whom the entire population of the Amharas accepted and enjoyed, cheered and supported, these deeds fueled ‘ethnic hatred’ – as rightful reaction.

US Top Concern in Africa: the Ogaden Extrajudicial Killings
The comprehensive Report about Human Rights Violations in Ogaden, published on August 8th, by the Ogaden Human Rights Committee, offers plain evidence as regards the crimes perpetrated in Ogaden over the past year.

Tribal Dictator Zenawi’s Appalling Human Rights Violations in Ogaden
The Report on Human Rights Violations at Ogaden, issued by the Ogaden Human Rights Committee on August 8th, constitutes an undeniably long list of appalling violations that impose on the UN the formation of a Facts Finding Commission.

Ogaden Human Right Committee appeals to the International Community
In the Ogaden Human Right Committee, and in the ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) the Western diplomats and activists, statesmen and politicians can find the correct interlocutors and exit strategy partners, who are the only to help isolate the ominous and clandestine Islamic Courts of Justice.

Top US Concern in Africa: the Ogaden Human Right Committee Report
The Ogaden Human Right Committee has just published today a lengthy analytical report that sheds sufficient light on what happens these days in Ogaden.

De Klerk Denies Death Squad Role
FW de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid-era president, yesterday denied he knew about death squads and other human rights abuses.

Asma Jahangir, Pakistan's Human Rights Champion
Interview: She has been locked up and threatened for her political views. But Asma Jahangir isn't easily intimidated - which is why she is hailed as a new Aung San Suu Kyi. By Declan Walsh.

Iran to Hang 20 Criminals in Defiance of Human Rights Criticism
Condemned convicted of rape and violence - Decision follows stoning to death of adulterer

Kurdish Forces Accused of Human Rights Abuses
Security forces run by the two ruling parties in Iraq's Kurdistan region are holding up to 1,200 detainees without charge or access to lawyers and routinely use physical and psychological torture on them, Human Rights Watch reported today.

Human Rights Law Protects Prisoners of Uk Troops Abroad, Rule Lords in Landmark Case
Government arguments on Iraq death dismissed - Lawyer to seek payouts for other abuse by forces

Ruling Raises Hopes for Public Inquiry
The ruling yesterday that the death of Iraqi hotel worker Baha Mousa, who suffered 93 injuries at the hands of British soldiers, was in contravention of the Human Rights Act may lead to a public inquiry into the events surrounding his detention.

US Group Claims Hate Crime Rising in Europe
Hate crimes have increased sharply over the last decade throughout Europe, according to a lengthy report by a US-based human rights group.

Abyssinia’s Tyrannized Sidamas: a Blooming Nation fighting for Independence
The Sidamas consist in a population larger than that of Norway, and live a surface larger than that of Portugal’s at the southwestern confines of Abyssinia. They total approximately 5 million people and dwell in their outright majority in rural areas.

Leftwing Human Rights Champion Joins Sarkozy's Cabinet
Bernard Kouchner, the leftwing humanitarian crusader, was appointed France's foreign minister yesterday as Nicolas Sarkozy prepared a more pro-US and pro-Israeli approach to diplomacy.

Diary
This column is proud to be part of the fight to free Paris Hilton from her wrongful jail sentence for driving on a suspended licence. We will not stand by and allow an innocent halfwit hotel heiress to become the innocent victim of a major international human rights violation! Is there no justice? By Jon Henley

Court to Rule If Chimp Has Human Rights
Campaigners in Austria have taken to court the case of Hiasl, a 26-year-old chimpanzee. If he is granted human status - and the rights that go with it - it will signal a victory for other primate species and unleash a wave of similar cases.

Estonian Online Poll a World First
The tiny Baltic nation of Estonia, whose parliament once declared internet access a basic human right, has become the first country to allow voters in a general election to cast their ballots online.

Free Jailed Blogger, Human Rights Groups Urge Egypt
Human rights groups today called for the immediate release of Karim Amer, the first Egyptian blogger to be put on trial after he criticised the president, Hosni Mubarak, and Islam.

I Was Poisoned By Russians, Human Rights Judge Says
Legal chief fell violently ill after trip to Moscow - Kremlin dismisses claims but had attacked court

Army Accused of Collusion in Sri Lanka Child Abductions
The Sri Lankan army has been colluding in the abduction of hundreds of children to train and fight against Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the country's intensifying war, according to the independent monitoring group Human Rights Watch.

UN Warns of Looming Crisis in Kirkuk
Human rights situation deteriorating in oil-rich Iraqi city , report says.

Augusto Pinochet 1915-2006
Nation still divided over man who ruled for 17 years - Former dictator faced trial over human rights abuses

UN Condemns Massive Human Rights Abuses in Gaza Strip
High commissioner calls on leaders to stop violence - Militants continue to fire rockets into Israel

Governments Contest Human Rights Accountability of Troops in Kosovo
· European court to decide on actions of Nato forces · Warning over future of multinational operations

Turkey Human Rights Record Criticised in European Commission Report
Turkey was today strongly criticised by the European commission for undermining its EU membership talks by slowing the pace of reform on human rights, and for failing to open up its ports and airports to Greek Cypriots.

Chinese Appeal Court Orders Retrial for Human Rights Activist
Chinese civil rights lawyers hailed a rare victory yesterday when an appeal court ruled in favour of a blind peasant activist who exposed forced abortions, sterilisations and other abuses carried out in the name of the state's one-child policy.

Human Rights Concerns Fail to Staunch Flow of Uk Arms
The British government is exporting record levels of military equipment to 19 of the 20 states its own ministers and officials have just identified as 'major countries of concern' for human rights abuses.

FO's Human Rights Report Omits Attacks on Lebanon
· Beckett blames deadline as Israel escapes criticism · Lack of casualty figures to 'play badly' with Muslims

Diary
Speaking at the Taking Action for Animals conference in Washington, Wayne Pacelle, of the Humane Society of the United States, has told his audience that if the rights of the nation's dogs are to be properly respected, they must henceforth be referred to as Canine Americans. By Jon Henley

Wen Flies Into Human Rights Storm
The Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, flew into London today amid rising international criticism of his government's crackdown on lawyers, journalists, NGOs and civil liberties activists.

Diary
Three cheers for Mr Tony and his fine government for choosing Trevor Phillips to lead our exciting new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights. By Jon Henley

China Jails Human Rights Campaigner
· Blind activist's wife under house arrest during trial · Four-year sentence amid crackdown on dissent

Human Rights Take Front and Center for the New York City Schools
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child put forth that one primary purpose of schools is to develop respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms that all children should enjoy. They noted that to truly understand and promote human rights, one has to live them out in relation to others.

Reid Review Leaves Human Rights Act Unchanged
Nine years in government have transformed Labour's attitude to the Human Rights Act. Once heralded as the pride of a modern, optimistic new Labour government, it is now dismissed by the same politicians as an inconvenient relic.

Adidas 'fails to Act' Over Sacked Workers
Sportswear giant Adidas has reneged on its promise to demand the reinstatement of 33 workers dismissed from a major Indonesian supplier in a way the country's human rights commission has found to be illegal, Oxfam alleged today.

Oxfam Attacks Adidas Over Sacked Workers
The sportswear giant Adidas has reneged on its promise to demand the reinstatement of 33 workers dismissed from a big Indonesian supplier in a way the country's human rights commission has found to be illegal, Oxfam alleged yesterday.

Making a Fresh Start
The UN's new human rights council will need time to improve on the performance of its discredited predecessor, writes Ian Black.

This Dialogue of the Deaf is Corroding Our Human Rights
Our society is enhanced by an act that protects individual freedoms. We must defend it against this pernicious onslaught. By Martin Kettle

UN Watchdog Calls for Guantanamo Closure
The US should shut Guantanamo Bay and give detainees access to a fair trial or release them, a UN human rights watchdog said today.

EU Accused of Ignoring Human Rights Abuses in Rush for Gas Deal
· Trade agreement with Turkmenistan revived · Fate of gas-poor Belarus 'provides telling contrast'

Shoot-on-sight Curfew Declared to Foil Nepal Rally
· UN says five shot dead as protests against king go on · Human rights groups call for freeze on palace assets

Human Rights Concerns Threaten to Sour Us-china Summit
· Internet giant Yahoo! linked to dissident's jailing · Document fuels worries in Congress about Beijing

$60m Grant for Nepal Under Fire
The World Bank's programme in Nepal, a country racked by civil war, has come under fire from human rights campaigners who say pumping millions of dollars into the education system will only exacerbate the conflict.

Watchdog Hails Libya's Human Rights Progress
Libya won praise yesterday for taking "important steps" to improve human rights but was warned it will have to do more to meet international standards.

Khodorkovsky Put in Solitary Confinement for Rules Breach
First he lost his oil empire, then most of his money, then his freedom. Now prison officials have taken away Mikhail Khodorkovsky's right to human company by putting him in solitary confinement.

UK Support for Human Rights Groups Adds to Tensions
Russian non-governmental organisations yesterday expressed concern that spying allegations made against Britain were being used to justify a crackdown against their groups in an attempt to stifle dissent.

UK Accused of Complicity in Torture
· Human Rights Watch says Europe ignoring abuses · Business 'dominates EU approach to Russia'

Merkel Challenges Putin on Human Rights
Relations between Germany and Russia moved into a cooler phase yesterday when Angela Merkel used her inaugural trip to Moscow to raise the previously taboo subject of human rights abuses.

500 Detainees at Guantánamo Four Years on
The human rights group Amnesty International marked the "fourth anniversary" of the first detainees arriving at Guantánamo Bay today by publishing more allegations of torture at the US detention center.

Son to Appeal Against Cryogenic Freezing Ruling
A French man has vowed to take his 20-year battle to freeze his dead parents to the European court of human rights.

African Leaders Break Silence Over Mugabe's Human Rights Abuses
· Commission attacks lack of respect for rule of law · Zimbabwean leader under pressure to end evictions

Cambodia Arrests Human Rights Activists in Blow to Democracy
Two of Cambodia's most prominent human rights activists have been arrested and detained for defaming the government. The US ambassador warned yesterday that the arrests further tarnished the country's veneer of democracy.

Torben the Dane Demands a Very Social Service
Many people would agree with Torben Vegener Hansen's views on sex. 'It makes me feel good. It makes me more dynamic. Having sex is as important as food.' But it is his insistence that sex is 'a human right' that has led him into a legal battle with his government.

Britain Suspends Aid to Uganda Over Allegations of Human Rights Abuse
· Museveni defiant as direct donations switched to UN · £5m conditional on fair presidential election

How Planespotters Turned Into the Scourge of the Cia
The recording of flights by planespotters from places as far afield as Bournemouth and Karachi has unintentionally played a significant role in helping journalists and human rights groups expose the scale of the CIA's renditions system.

Rice Speaks Out Against Torture of Detainees
· Secretary's statement signals rhetorical shift · Human rights groups greet pledge with scepticism

Human Rights Group to Sue Cia
Condoleezza Rice met the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, today amid an international row over whether the CIA has used secret flights to transport prisoners around Europe.

UN Team Denied Free Access to Guantã¡namo Detainees
UN human rights investigators yesterday condemned the US for denying them free access on fact-finding visits to the Guantánamo Bay base, where hundreds of detainees are being held without trial.

EC Demands Action to End Torture of Prisoners
Turkish prisoners are still being tortured, the European Commission warned yesterday in a report which criticised Ankara for slowing the pace of human rights reforms.

EU Criticises Turkey on Human Rights
The European commission today pressed Turkey to do more to improve human rights and said it was still uncovering evidence of torture and ill-treatment of minorities.

We Need Bigger Opposition, Says Egypt's Ruling Party
· Elections to test Mubarak promises of reform · Human rights groups say evidence of violations

'The Cardinal Rule ... You Don't Target Civilians'
Brian Whitaker on a new Human Rights Watch report examining the aims and methods of the insurgency in Iraq.

'No End' to Chechnya Rights Abuses, Says Amnesty
Amnesty International today urged the EU to take a tough line with Russia on human rights as it claimed to have found new evidence of abuses in the North Caucasus region.

US Demands Action on Burma's Military Junta
· UN must demand end to human rights abuses · Country to be placed on security council agenda.

Gadafy's son sets up human rights hotline
A charity run by Colonel Gadafy's son, Saif al-Islam, has set up a hotline for Libyans to report rights violations.

Amnesty Accuses Oil Firms of Overriding Human Rights
A consortium of western oil companies, led by ExxonMobil, has drawn up legal agreements with African governments that potentially override the human rights of the local populations, according to a report published today by Amnesty International.

Blair Raises 'question Mark' on China's Human Rights
Tony Blair today told the Chinese prime minister the world held a "question mark" over China's human rights record, as he ended a two-day trip to Beijing.

Uzbek Activist Held in Mental Hospital
A leading human rights activist in Uzbekistan has been locked up in a psychiatric hospital in an echo of Soviet-style practices after distributing anti-government leaflets which prosecutors claimed insulted the country's emblem.

Irish Abortion Law in Human Rights Court
Three Irish women who travelled to the UK for abortions are taking Ireland to the European court of human rights for preventing them from terminating their pregnancies in their own country.

UN Arms Trade Deal Toothless, Say Critics
A new UN agreement to track trade in arms is attacked today as toothless and riddled with loopholes by human rights groups which have seen a copy of the secret deal.

G8 Countries Defying Arms Embargoes, Says Report
Arms supplied by G8 countries are being used by regimes that violate human rights, impoverish their people and fight their neighbours, a report by leading development agencies and campaigners warns today.

Violence Hits Muslim Sect in Bangladesh
A minority Muslim sect in Bangladesh is living in fear after a campaign of violence and widespread intimidation organised by Islamists with close links to the government, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.

British Arms Supplies Fuelling Abuses in Nepal, Says Amnesty
Britain is among international arms suppliers fuelling serious human rights abuses in Nepal and the conflict there between the army and Maoist rebels, says Amnesty International.

Egypt Under Fire for Censorship
The Egyptian government is stifling academic freedom in universities by censoring course books, preventing research into controversial issues and intimidating student activists, Human Rights Watch says in a report published today.

'Tank Girl' Army Accused of Torture
Guardian and Human Rights Watch find evidence of abuse by Iranian revolutionaries under US protection.

Guantánamo is Gulag of Our Time, Says Amnesty
Britain and the US are betraying the cause of human rights in pursuit of their "war on terror", Amnesty International says in its annual report published yesterday.

Amnesty Condemns Us Example on Human Rights
The US abdicated its responsibility to set a global example in upholding human rights in 2004 and, with the UK, led a "dangerous new agenda" by sanctioning torture in a failed attempt to combat terrorism, Amnesty International warned today.

Caspian Oil Pipeline Opens
Officials today inaugurated the first section of a 1,100-mile pipeline bringing oil from the Caspian Sea to the west, a project that has sparked environmental and human rights concerns.

Oligarch's Prosecution May Be More Cock-up
The trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has raised questions about the judicial system in Russia, human rights, political persecution and future business confidence which have no comfortable answers. Simon Tisdall

'Hundreds Killed' in Uzbekistan Violence
A human rights campaigner today said that 500 people may have died in violent clashes in Uzbekistan in which government troops fired on protesters to put down an uprising.

Soldier lifts lid on Camp Delta
For the first time, an army insider blows the whistle on human rights abuses at Guantánamo.

Burma 'using Chemical Weapons'
A human rights group today said it had evidence the Burmese army was using chemical weapons against rebel fighters from the Karen ethnic minority.

US State Department Slams Iraqi Government's Human Rights Record
The US state department has criticised the Iraqi government for serious human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings, torture, rape and illegal detentions, with some of the worst violations committed in Basra.

UN Rules on Marking Guns Urged
Leading human rights groups are appealing to governments today to agree to track and mark small arms and ammunition to make exporting countries accountable for weapons reaching human rights abusers and war criminals.

Bush Under Fire Over Human Rights
America's human rights abuses have provided a rallying cry for terrorists and set a bad example to regimes seeking to justify their own poor rights records, a leading independent watchdog said yesterday.

Energy Giant Agrees Settlement With Burmese Villagers
A ground-breaking settlement thought to be worth millions of dollars has been reached in the long-running human rights case brought by Burmese villagers against the energy giant Unocal, it emerged yesterday.

Pinochet Indicted on Human Rights Charges
A Chilean judge has ordered the house arrest of the country's former dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, on human rights charges.

Human Rights Record Haunts Turkey's Eu Ambitions
European leaders this week are expected to give Turkey a date on which it can begin negotiations on joining the EU. One issue has been whether the country's record on human rights has improved.

UK Allies Among Worst Abusers of Human Rights
FO report praises suspended Tashkent ambassador.

Human rights shadow over Beijing games
At the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympic games last night Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, issued the traditional invitation to "the youth of the world" to reassemble in four years' time.

Rights Groups to See Guantánamo Trials
The United States is to allow human rights groups to enter Guantánamo Bay for the first time since detention camps were set up 2 years ago. The Pentagon has previously barred independent observers from the military base in Cuba, where more than 600 men are detained indefinitely as...

Another Indonesian General Cleared of Human Rights Abuse
Indonesia's reluctance to punish senior military officers for alleged human rights abuses was reinforced yesterday with the acquittal of the special forces commander for crimes against humanity when troops under his command killed at least 23 demonstrators in 1984. Justifying their...

Ethnic Violence May Explode in Kirkuk
Tension over unresolved property disputes in northern Iraq may soon explode into "open violence" between returning Kurds and Arab settlers, Human Rights Watch warned yesterday. It said that unless Iraq's interim government acted to resolve the disputes - the legacy of Saddam Hussein's...

Human Rights Call to Cut Off Colombian Military Aid
The Foreign Office has examined the possibility of cutting off military aid to Colombia in response to mounting political opposition among trade unions and backbench MPs. More than 210 MPs, predominantly Labour members but many from the other main parties, have signed an early day motion...

Human Rights at a 50-year Nadir
Human rights last year came under the most sustained attack for 50 years, according to the annual report of Amnesty International.

War on Terror Leaves Human Rights at 50-year Low, Claims Amnesty
Human rights last year came under the most sustained attack for 50 years, according to the annual report of Amnesty International.

Cruelty to Child Migrants
Australia's immigration detention system is "cruel, inhumane and degrading" and breaches UN conventions on the rights of children, a report by the country's human rights watchdog has found. The report by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (Hreoc) said that detention risked...

Blair to Discuss Human Rights With Chinese Premier
Tony Blair will raise concerns about democracy in Hong Kong and human rights in Tibet when he meets the Chinese president, Wen Jiabao, this afternoon, a Foreign Office minister said today. Mr Wen's arrival in London for a three-day visit yesterday was greeted with a protest by Free Tibet...

Human Rights Record Costs China Eu Deal
The European Union yesterday refused to lift its ban on arms sales to China amid ongoing concerns about human rights abuses and a crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong. But the Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, and the president of the European commission, Romano Prodi, did sign new...

John Aglionby on the Treatment of the Montagnard Minority in Vietnam
The treatment of the indigenous Montagnard minority in Vietnam has alarmed human rights groups, writes John Aglionby.

Mother Takes 'baby X' Law to Human Rights Court
An Irish woman plans to take France to the European court of human rights for refusing her the right to reclaim a baby she willingly gave to the French state for adoption more than two years ago. Karen Taher, a 37-year-old businesswoman from Dublin, travelled to France in February 2002 to...

EU's 'safe Country' Asylum Plans Attacked
Plans by the EU to tighten asylum procedures by sending people back to 'safe countries' came under fire yesterday from the UN and human rights groups.

A Charter to Intervene
Human rights interventions can only be divorced from imperialism with new UN rules. The survey that the BBC conducted in Iraq last week is shocking to those of us who opposed the war. Most respondents say that life is now better than it was before the invasion. Those who thought the US was wrong to attack are outnumbered by those who thought it was right.

Two Eu States Uphold Human Rights
The EU must improve human rights in its member states as it expands to the former communist countries of eastern Europe, Amnesty International warned yesterday. Amnesty told Ireland, which took over the union's rotating presidency on January 1, that only two of the 15 current member...

Human Rights Award for Zimbabwe Lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa, a fearless Zimbabwean lawyer who has defended those arrested by President Robert Mugabe's government, including a Guardian journalist, was named Human Rights Lawyer of the Year last night. Judges at the Human Rights Awards in London paid tribute to her courage in fighting...

Exxon Seeks Clean-up of Global Villain Image
ExxonMobil has been holding a series of secret meetings with environmental and human rights groups worldwide in an effort to change its hard-nosed public image. The moves have been seized on by the Stop Esso campaign as a sign that its boycott activities aimed at changing the company's...

'High turnout' as Chechens vote for new president
War-torn Chechnya voted for a new president yesterday in an election held under martial law, prompting a boycott from observers and accusations of "a farce" from human rights groups.

Boys Jailed for Lingering in Stairwell
The first convictions under a draconian new French law that makes hanging around in the hallway of an apartment block a crime punishable by prison yesterday drew an angry response from social workers and human rights groups. "This is an utterly absurd law that holds out every prospect of...

Saudi King Agrees to Human Rights Panel
Saudi Arabia - noted for its floggings, public executions and one of the least transparent justice systems - is to have its first independent human rights organisation. King Fahd has given permission for a private human rights committee to be set up, the foreign minister, Prince Saud...

Olonga Urges Test Protests
The bowler-in-exile says Zimbabwe's tour keeps the human rights issue on the public agenda.

Britain and US accused over cluster bombs
The lives of Iraqi civilians are being endangered because Britain and the United States are failing to provide adequate information about their forces' use of cluster bombs, says the New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch.

Why Hoey is Wrong
Kevin Mitchell disagrees with Kate Hoey's disparagement of the imminent Zimbabwe tour - what about all the other countries with far worse human rights records?

Children held at Guantanamo Bay
Children younger than 16 are being held as "enemy combatants" in the American detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, the US military admitted yesterday, a practice human rights groups condemned as repugnant and illegal.

Anger at Un Role for Rights Violators
Human rights organisations are protesting at the inclusion of countries with some of the worst records of abuses on a list of candidates for election to the main United Nations watchdog.

Burmese detentions 'absurd'
A UN human rights envoy accused the Burmese military junta yesterday of making "absurd" excuses to detain more than 1,200 political opponents.

De Klerk 'lied to Cover Up Human Rights Abuses'
Apartheid era president condemned by report.

BP Panel Warns of Risk to Human Rights in Indonesia
BP has been warned by a panel of experts led by the US senator, George Mitchell, that it could trigger human rights abuses if it proceeds with a $2bn gas scheme in Indonesia. Concern centres on the role of the military which could be brought in to guard the Tangguh LNG facilities to be...

Protestors claim a victory - and so do Australia
Australia v Zimbabwe: On the field, Australia beat Zimbabwe. In the stands, human rights campaigners beat "the cruel yoke of oppression".

Bridging Whitefella Law and Clan Justice
Australians wonder if traditional Aboriginal customs can be allied to European notions of human rights and due process.

Iraq human rights dossier: main points
A summary of the Foreign Office's evidence of human rights abuses in Iraq, compiled from information collected by human rights groups, government sources and the UN.

MoD makes it easier to sell weapons
The government has loosened controls on arms exports since the September 11 attacks, supplying weapons to countries seen as "on side" in the "war on terror" even if they have poor human rights records, a new report claims.

BP Pipe Plan to Pour Oil on Conflict
Plans by the British oil company BP to construct a 1,100-mile pipeline from the Caspian sea to the Mediterranean will reignite regional conflicts and deliver few benefits to communities, a coalition of more than 60 environmental and human rights groups has warned.

Crime Crackdown Outrages Civil Rights Groups
For many, the centre-right government's plans for zero tolerance go too far, writes Jon Henley. Human rights and civil liberties groups have united in outrage against a radical crackdown on crime announced by France's centre-right government.

Premier Oil Gets Out of Burma
UK group caves in to rights campaigners but claims quitting was expedient. Human rights activists were celebrating last night after a long campaign to oust Premier Oil from Burma appeared to have finally paid off.

US Pledge on Human Rights and Tolerance
Eighteen years after withdrawing from Unesco in protest at its alleged mismanagement, America is to rejoin the United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural organisation, President Bush announced in New York yesterday.

Human Rights Row Over Bp Plan to Lay Turkish Pipeline
BP and a consortium of oil companies stand accused of ignoring the rights of Turkish villagers and environmental fears to lay a 1,300-mile pipeline from the Caspian sea to the Mediterranean. In a special deal with the Turkish government, the consortium has been granted exemption from...

Catherine Bennett: Gadafy - Human Rights Crusader
The nomination of Libya as the country in charge of the UN's human rights business next year has not pleased everyone.

US to Block Un Convention on Torture
The United States intends to block a UN vote today on a plan to enforce an international convention on torture, US diplomats and human rights campaigners have claimed. US qualms about the convention are said to focus on language which could be interpreted as allowing independent observers...

Human Rights Fears at Dutch Inquiry Into Muslim Population
Concerned that the country may have become a hotbed of Islamist fundamentalism, the Netherlands is to investigate the activities of its 800,000 Muslims. The survey of beliefs and activities called for by the lower house of parliament has alarmed human rights groups. It will...

Human Rights 'sidelined' Since September 11
Amnesty International today condemned the very governments which had set up human rights statutes for undermining them in the name of anti-terrorism measures after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Launching its annual report on human rights around the world, the...

Protesters Disrupt Bae Systems' Annual Meeting
BAE Systems' annual meeting was brought to a temporary halt yesterday after campaigners against the arms trade drowned out a statement by chairman Sir Richard Evans with noisy protests about the sale of weapons to countries with poor human rights records. Security guards struggled for...

Outrage As Saudis Jail Bomb Britons
International human rights groups and MPs expressed outrage last night after two Britons accused of masterminding a Saudi bombing campaign were given jail sentences.

Kissinger: Mistakes May Have Been Made
As human rights campaigners demonstrated outside the Royal Albert Hall in London, the target of their protest, Henry Kissinger, today admitted inside it was possible that "mistakes were made" by the US administrations he served in. But the former secretary of state questioned whether a...

Human rights abuses and horror stories
The Israeli reoccupation of Palestinian cities and towns has seen a rise in incidents of alleged human rights abuses in the West Bank.

Shock at lack of rescue efforts in Jenin
Human rights groups protested yesterday at the lack of rescue efforts in the Jenin refugee camp amid claims that a family buried for several days in the rubble had pleaded for help by phone.

Human rights, US style
The scene is a battered old green and white bungalow in the heart of South Central, Los Angeles, which serves as the local Quakers' meeting house. There are around 20 people here, heads bowed and holding hands as one of their number, Carmen Ewell, asks the Lord for his help in the mighty task...

Human rights protest as PoWs arrive at US base
The first group of 20 al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners were expected to arrive yesterday at a US military base in Cuba, amid controversy over their treatment and the military tribunals they are expected to face. Amnesty International expressed concern over reports that the prisoners had...

Milosevic launches human rights action
Slobodan Milosevic is asking a court to declare that his human rights have been violated. The former Yugoslav president, charged with genocide and other atrocities, has filed an application against the Netherlands with the European court of human rights in Strasbourg. He is seeking a...