Tag: Freedom of Expression / Information / Speech
Amid Cambodia protests, UN rights expert appeals for calm, urges meaningful talks’
Dec 30, 2013 (Menafn - M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- An independent United Nations human rights expert today urged Cambodian authorities to continue to exercise restraint amid daily demonstrations in the capital of Phnom Penh, while also praising the increasing democratic space allowing people to comfortably express themselves in...
U.N. Human Rights Council fails to protect religious freedom
Human Rights Without Frontiers International, a non-profit advocacy organization based in Brussels, released a report on Monday highlighting what we’ve long known to be true: The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a joke.
Eight of the UNHRC’s 47 member states, including newly elected Morocco, China and Saudi Arabia (their three-year terms begin Wednesday), imprisoned...
Thailand: Australian journalist Alan Morison says he’s prepared for prison over Thai navy row
Bangkok: Australian journalist Alan Morison has declared he is prepared to go to jail to defend media freedom in Thailand where defamation laws are being increasingly used to silence criticism.
‘‘This is a clear issue of freedom of media and the military exceeding its role in using an onerous law...
Myanmar Announces Year-End Prisoner Amnesty
Myanmar announced a sweeping prisoner amnesty on Monday in an apparent bid to fulfill President Thein Sein’s vow to free all political inmates by the end of the year.
The release is expected to begin Tuesday and include most of the 240 people rights groups say are held or...
BURMA: UN Rights Boss Urges Thailand to Drop Charges Against Journalists
(GENEVA The Irrawaddy) - The top UN human rights official urged Thailand on Thursday to drop criminal charges against two journalists accused of defamation for citing a Reuters investigation into the role of Thai naval security forces in smuggling Rohingya asylum seekers.
A Reuters investigation, based on interviews with people...
Cambodia: Detainees In Crackdown Denied Rights, Claims HRW
The Cambodian authorities should protect the rights of 23 people arrested after a violent crackdown by security forces on striking garment workers in Phnom Penh on January 2- 3, 2014, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities detained the group incommunicado and without medical care at the remote CC3 prison...
Cambodia: UN Rights Envoy Plans Visit in Wake of Deadly Shootings
PHNOM PENH — The UN’s human rights envoy to Cambodia will make a six-day visit to the country, following deadly shootings last week on striking workers.
The envoy, Surya Subedi, said in a statement the upcoming visit was part of his ongoing assessment of Cambodia’s rights environment.
Subedi said he hopes...
UN wants inquiry into strikers’ deaths in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH (REUTERS) — The U.N. human rights agency urged Cambodia to launch an investigation into the "disproportionate" use of force by security forces last week against garment factory workers striking over pay.
Military police opened fire on workers protesting outside a factory in Phnom Penh on Jan. 3 and...
What’s Happening in Cambodia? VOA Speaks with Activist and Analyst Ou Virak
PHNOM PENH — In recent weeks the Cambodia government has cracked down on striking garment workers demanding a doubling of the minimum wage, as well as political opposition groups who accuse the ruling party of rigging the last election. Gatherings of protesters are now banned after clashes with police...
Press Freedom Comes Under Threat in Southeast Asia
Dec 30, 2013 (Menafn - Federal Government Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) --Press Freedom Comes Under Threat in Southeast Asia
By Parameswaran Ponnudurai
2013-12-28
Two weeks after a Myanmar newspaper ran a story headlined "When bags of money replace judges in court" - highlighting corruption in the judicial system - one of...
