human rights news stories on Newser

Syrian Rebels Accused of Kidnapping, Torture

Kevin Spak — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:44:45 CDT

It's tempting to paint the conflict in Syria as a brutal regime fighting virtuous rebels, but Human Rights Watch today issued an open letter to the Free Syrian Army accusing insurgents of a variety of brutalities, including kidnapping and torturing security forces and government supporters. "The Syrian government's brutal tactics...

Germany Advised to Stop Castrating Sex Offenders

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:58:05 CST

Germany doesn't mess around when it comes to sex offenders—serious offenders can volunteer to be surgically castrated—but now an anti-torture committee says the country should put an end to that practice, Reuters reports. The panel at the Strasbourg Council, Europe's top human rights watchdog, called the practice "degrading"...

Human Rights Groups Need Drones

Kevin Spak — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:11:36 CST

Drones have transformed warfare, but they're "not just for firing missiles in Pakistan," anti-genocide activists Andrew Sniderman and Mark Hanis argue in the New York Times . Their radical proposal: Human rights groups should be buying drones, and using them to keep an eye on brutal governments. Imagine using a drone...

Internet Is a Tool, Not a Right

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:42:43 CST

With Facebook and Twitter fueling protests across the Arab world, many wonder: Is the Internet a human or civil right? No, declares Google VP Vinton G. Cerf firmly. Courts in various countries have declared it so, but the UN stopped short, calling the Internet "an indispensable tool for realizing a...

China Jails 2nd Writer for Subversion

Kate Schwartz — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:16:32 CST

China handed yet another dissident yet another long sentence today: Chen Xi was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being charged with "incitement to subvert state power" following the online publication of 36 essays he had written. His wife called the verdict "utterly absurd," explaining that "Chen Xi told...

Nursing Mom Accused of Indecent Exposure at Court

Mary Papenfuss — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:37:17 CST

A shocked mom was told by security guards outside a DC courtroom that nursing her baby son was "indecent exposure." This is "a government building, and you can't breastfeed in a public corridor of a government building," said one of the guards, the woman recounted in the Washington Post . Unfortunately...

Perry Smacks Obama's Push for Gay Rights Abroad

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:51:32 CST

Rick Perry was quick to jump on President Obama's decision yesterday to use foreign aid to fight for gay rights , calling it "not in America's interests," ABC News reports. "Just when you thought Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’s values," this news breaks, Perry complained...

US Will Use Foreign Aid to Push Gay Rights

Matt Cantor — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:53:29 CST

President Obama has ordered US agencies abroad to use foreign aid to fight for gay rights. "I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world," Obama wrote in a memorandum, calling the effort "central to the United States' commitment to promoting human rights," the...

PETA Sues SeaWorld for Whale 'Slaves'

Matt Cantor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:17:19 CDT

Never known for half-measures , PETA is suing SeaWorld—for violating the 13th Amendment. You know, the one that outlawed slavery. In a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of killer whales Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises, the animal rights group contends that SeaWorld keeps its orcas in conditions that violate...