Tag: Human Rights Defenders
Myanmar: Suu Kyi to collect EU human rights prize
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is to finally receive the EU Sakharov human rights prize she won in 1990 at the height of the Myanmar military crackdown, the European Parliament has revealed.
Suu Kyi, now leader of the opposition in Myanmar and aiming to run in presidential polls in...
Lao PDR: Where is Sombath Somphone?
Oct 10, — Today, Thursday, 10 Oct 2013, marks 300 days of the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, one of Lao PDR’s most prominent activists. Sombath is a long-time and good friend. In the late 1970s, he and I were part of a small group of human rights activists and...
Myanmar: 56 Political Prisoners Freed, but Section 18 Law Stays in Place
In a move praised by local and international rights groups, Burma’s government, led by ex-general Thein Sein, has released 56 political prisoners.
However, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) noted in a statement to the media that 133 political prisoners were still languishing in the country’s prisons.
“Their release does...
Burma’s Suu Kyi Finally Collects 1990 Human Rights Prize
STRASBOURG, France— Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate and long-time political prisoner, has finally collected the European Union’s 1990 Sakharov Prize for human rights. (Burma is officially called “Myanmar.”)
In Tuesday’s stirring ceremony, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said that “23 years later, we welcome you here...
Thailand: Human rights activist ready to face jail on return to Thailand
Consumers in Spalding have the power to change the plight of migrant workers in Thailand who “work at gunpoint” to bring cheap food to our tables.
That is the message from human rights activist Andy Hall, who is visiting his home town while renewing his visa.
Speaking to the Free Press...
The Philippines: Group urges CA to junk AFP appeal on Panesa
MANILA, Philippines—A group of human rights lawyers asked the Court of Appeals to dismiss the appeal of the military to re-arrest security guard Rolly Panesa who was ordered released after almost a year in detention.
The appeals court ordered Panesa’s release last Aug. 27 saying he was a victim of...
Philippine Wartime Sexual Abuse Victim Promoting Human Rights
A Philippine survivor of wartime rape and human trafficking is in Winnipeg to share her story with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Lola Fidencia David, 86, was accompanied Thursday by Cristina Lope Rosello, a Filipina therapist who helps former comfort women deal with the trauma of their past.
David was...
Malaysia: As peer review nears, NGOs hopeful Putrajaya will meet rights pledges
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Putrajaya will be under the spotlight tonight, when its human rights track record will be scrutinised by the United Nations (UN) in the country’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
As one of the parties that submitted a stakeholders’ report on Malaysia to the UN Human...
UK supports Suu Kyi’s call for democratic reform in Myanmar
London: Britain has assured democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi that it will help to build international pressure on Myanmar for further reforms to ensure that the 2015 elections are fully democratic.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, Foreign Minister William Hague and the Development Secretary met with Suu Kyi in...
Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Internet Activist
(Bangkok) – Vietnam’s government should unconditionally release the social campaigner Dinh Nhat Uy, Human Rights Watch said today. He is scheduled for trial in Long An provincial court on October 29, 2013, for “abuse of democratic freedoms.”
Vietnam should revoke penal code article 258, under which he was charged, and...
