Human Rights

Violation of human rights: NHRC takes cognizance of Ashoka professor arrest

Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was arrested earlier this week for his social media post over India's 'Operation Sindoor'

HRW urges new Pope to review 2018 China deal to protect religious freedom

Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch, said the new Pope should push for fresh negotiations with Beijing to protect the religious freedom of Catholics in China

Prisons at double their capacity as amnesty law takes effect: Iraq minister

As a general amnesty law takes effect in Iraq, the country's prisons are facing a crisis of overcrowding, housing more than double their intended capacity, the country's justice minister said in an interview. Justice Minister Khaled Shwani told The Associated Press on Saturday that Iraq's 31 prisons currently hold approximately 65,000 inmates, despite the system being built to accommodate only half that number. He acknowledged that the overcrowding has put a severe strain on prison healthcare and human rights standards. When we took office, overcrowding stood at 300%," he said. "After two years of reform, we've reduced it to 200%. Our goal is to bring that down to 100% by next year in line with international standards. Thousands more detainees remain in the custody of security agencies but have not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Justice due to lack of prison capacity. Four new prisons are under construction, Shwani said, while three have been closed in recent years. Two ..

Hungary set to ban LGBTQ+ pride, raise fears of broader rights rollback

Hungarian lawmakers are preparing to vote on a constitutional amendment viewed by many critics as both a crackdown on the freedoms of assembly and expression and the most recent move by the populist government to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ communities. The amendment, which will almost certainly be passed on Monday by the two-thirds majority of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist Fidesz party, would permanently codify a ban on public events held by LGBTQ+ communities including the popular Pride event that draws thousands annually in the capital, Budapest. It will also provide a constitutional basis for denying the gender identities or sexual characteristics of minority groups, and allow for some Hungarians to have their citizenship suspended if they are deemed to pose a threat to Hungary's security or sovereignty. Here's what the amendment will do, what it entails for LGBTQ+ Hungarians, and for some of the basic rights of all citizens in the Central European nation. A ban

NHRC issues notices to states, UTs; seeks reports on prisoner's issue

Taking suo motu cognisance of difficulties being faced by prisoners including women inmates in various jails across the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to chief secretaries of all the states and Union Territories, seeking reports within four weeks. These problems include overcrowding, lack of basic amenities and healthcare facilities in jails, the NHRC said in a statement. "The issues have been brought to its notice by its Special Monitors and Rapporteurs, through their reports after visiting various jails across the country, as well as the complaints," it said. The Commission said it has issued notices to the chief secretaries of all the states and Union Territories (UTs) seeking a report from them in four weeks, which should include various details. These include the number of women prisoners lodged in jails in a state, the number of women prisoners whose babies are lodged in jails on account of the mothers being incarcerated, the number of

Human rights defenders praise India's progress at UN event in Geneva

Organised by the ECO FAWN Society, the event also countered misleading narratives about India often propagated by certain foreign NGOs

ICE violated rights of US citizen, 21 others during arrests: Activists

Federal immigration agents violated the rights of 22 people, including a US citizen, in immigration enforcement arrests during the first weeks of President Donald Trump's second term, Chicago activists and attorneys alleged Monday. The arrests allegedly violate a 2022 agreement between Chicago groups and the federal government detailing how US Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers can make collateral arrests, where agents detain others besides those being targeted. The agreement, following a lawsuit over 2018 immigration sweeps, covers Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Wisconsin, which are under the ICE office in Chicago. Every time you hear from this administration about how they're rounding up gang members, terrorists, the worst of the worst, you need to take a dose of reality," said Mark Fleming, an attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center, said at a news conference. "You need to dig deeper to understand who exactly they are arresting. The NIJC

Bangladesh experienced 'paroxysm of violence' last year: UN rights chief

The anti-government protests, led by students, ended Hasina's over 15-year-old rule in August last year. Hasina fled to India following her ouster

UN rights chief concerned over 'fundamental shift' in US under Trump

Turk's speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva are his strongest remarks so far on the impact of the new US administration's policies

India will always advocate 'zero tolerance' for terrorism: Jaishankar

There is a clear and urgent need for a new multilateral system that reflects contemporary global realities as past few years "exposed" the "stark inadequacies" of the existing structures, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. In a virtual address at the 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, he also asserted that India will always advocate "zero tolerance" for terrorism and call out any effort to normalise it. Delving into geo-political turmoils in various geographies, Jaishankar said the world continues to grapple with conflicts and it is growing more fractured, uncertain, and unstable in the face of emerging challenges. "There is a clear and urgent need for a multilateral system that reflects contemporary global realities, one that is better equipped to respond to modern challenges, and, in essence, one that is fit for purpose," he said. "The past few years have exposed the stark inadequacies of existing multilateral structures. When the world needed th

KIIT row: Nepal human rights panel asks India counterpart to ensure justice

The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal has urged its Indian counterpart to investigate the unnatural death of a 20-year-old student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) here and ensure justice for her. The alleged death by suicide of B Tech student Prakriti Lamsal and the subsequent attack on protesting Nepalese pupils at KIIT and their eviction from the campus created a furore, prompting the Nepal government to intervene in the matter. Nepal NHRC, in a press release, said it has written to the National Human Rights Commission of India requesting it to probe the suspicious death of the woman, who hailed from Kathmandu, and provide speedy justice to the students who were allegedly beaten up and mistreated at KIIT. It urged India's NHRC to ensure security for the Nepalese students and ensure that they can study in a fear-free environment, besides bringing the university officials and individuals involved in the incident to book. Based on the complaints received

Protecting privacy as a human right in digital age crucial: NHRC chief

NHRC chairperson Justice (retd) V Ramasubramanian emphasised that safeguarding "privacy as a human right" in the digital world is necessary, even as he pointed out that there is a "significant decline" in value systems and one must bear its consequences. The National Human Rights Commission chief's remarks came during an open house discussion on 'Ensuring privacy and human rights in the digital era: A focus on corporate digital responsibility' held at its premises, with some participants joining virtually, according to an NHRC statement on Wednesday. Some of the important suggestions that emanated from the discussion include simplifying user agreements and policy frameworks to enhance consumer understanding and control over personal data; establishing "clear accountability" structures for data breaches, especially for research institutions and third-party data processors; and strengthening user consent frameworks for greater transparency and informed decision-making. Having "explic

China rights monitor NGOs suspend work, lay off staff after US aid freeze

The groups are key to documenting a years-long crackdown by President Xi Jinping on minorities, rights defenders and lawyers

Sheikh Hasina's ousted regime carried out extrajudicial killings: UN report

The findings, drawn from a probe into events between July and August 15, estimate that approximately 1,400 demonstrators were fatally shot, with children accounting for 12-to-13% of casualties

NHRC launches new probe into discriminatory hiring at Foxconn's India plant

Foxconn, which manufactures iPhones in India, was accused of excluding married women from assembly line jobs at its Tamil Nadu plant

Pakistan's Peshawar HC suspends deportation of 100 Afghan musicians

A high court in Peshawar has stopped the forcible deportation of over 100 Afghan musicians seeking political asylum in Pakistan and directed the federal government to decide their cases in two months. A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) disposed of the case after hearing arguments on Friday and instructed security agencies not to take any action against them during the two months. The bench headed by Justice Waqar Ahmad gave the judgement during the hearing of the petition filed by Hashmatullah who argued they belonged to Afghanistan but migrated to Pakistan after the establishment of the Taliban government as their lives were under threat. The petitioner argued they had already lost their livelihoods and in Pakistan, they faced further harassment and threats of forced deportation, which they asserted is a violation of human rights. They argued that under international laws, the Pakistani government cannot forcibly deport them. The petitioner's lawyer Mumtaz Ahmad

India, EU discuss protecting human rights in 11th dialogue meet in Delhi

India and the European Union (EU) on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to principles and values of democracy, rule of law and human rights and agreed on the need to safeguard freedom and diversity of civil society actors. The issues were extensively discussed at the 11th India-EU Human Rights Dialogue held in Delhi. The two sides discussed the issues related to civil and political rights, social, economic, and cultural rights, countering religious hatred, elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and opinion, both online and offline, a joint readout said. While the EU reiterated its opposition to capital punishment, India reiterated its stand on recognition of the right to development as a "distinct, universal, inalienable and fundamental human right," it said. India is among few countries that still have death penalty. "During the dialogue, India and the EU reiterated their commitment to the shared principles

Mozambique faces chaos as Frelimo's 49-yr rule, disputed polls spark row

The death toll has risen to more than 200 since the unrest began on Oct. 21, according to data from Decide Platform, a local monitoring group, and local authorities

Basic human rights must be respected: US State Department on Bangladesh

When asked about the USA's reaction to recent protests by thousands of Hindus around the US, India and Bangladesh, Patel said that this issue is vital to the US

PM-led panel meets to select new NHRC chair; Kharge, Rahul attend

A high-powered committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met here on Wednesday to select the next chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), sources said. They also said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting as leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively. The sources said the two LoPs are likely to submit a dissent note on the selection process, as the names were not shared with them in advance. The post of NHRC chairperson has been lying vacant since Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra completed his tenure on June 1. A former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mishra served as the eighth chairperson of the rights panel and was appointed to its top post in June 2021. According to the law governing NHRC, while the committee which selects the NHRC chief is headed by the prime minister, it has the Lok Sabha Speaker, home minister, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, leader of opposition in