Author: Injusticeto Team

(Bangkok) – The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which took office on September 23, 2024, has promised to address longstanding human rights issues that have plunged Sri Lanka into repeated crises, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2025. Dissanayake has pledged to introduce more equitable economic policies and to repeal the notoriously abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act, but he has not backed accountability for widespread rights violations during Sri Lanka’s 1983-2009 civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human…

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Five Massachusetts college students made their first appearances in court Thursday, accused of plotting to lure a man to their campus through a dating app and then seizing him as part of a “Catch a Predator” trend on TikTok. The students, all teens at Assumption University, a private, Roman Catholic school in Worcester, were arraigned on conspiracy and kidnapping charges in Worcester District Court. Automatic not guilty pleas were entered for all of them, and they are due back in court March 28 for a pre-trial conference.The defendants in the case are Kelsy Brainard, 18; Easton…

(Nairobi) – Armed groups and government forces in West Africa have committed atrocities with impunity in 2024, with thousands of dead and injured, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025.For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists. Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, drove many from their homes, and blocked access to humanitarian aid. In many of…

(Washington, DC) – Guatemala’s Congress should ensure a transparent, merit-based selection process for Supreme Court and appellate court judges, Human Rights Watch said today.On September 23, 2024, nominating commissions submitted to Congress a list of candidates for all 13 Supreme Court and 156 Court of Appeals positions for the 2024-2029 term. Under Guatemalan law, Congress must elect the judges by October 13, with an absolute majority vote. “The selection of judges for Guatemala’s high courts offers a crucial opportunity to begin restoring the integrity and independence of the country’s judiciary,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Lawmakers should prioritize candidates with unimpeachable…

Image credit: Getty Images on Unsplash As I waited on hold for my insurance company, Progressive, I watched images of house siding flying across the TV screen. Thousands of miles away, Hurricane Helene was taking homes apart. At least insurance companies give you advance notice before they hit you with a catastrophe, unlike many of the emergency alert systems during the hurricane, which failed or were not activated, giving those in the disaster’s path little to no warning. Very few homes necessitate flood insurance that far from the ocean. Or so we thought before Hurricane Helene. Progressive had called me…

Following the High Court of Australia’s landmark ruling against indefinite detention of illegal migrants, reversing its 2004 decision, Shaharyaar Shahardar explores the vital role the judiciary must play in scrutinising immigration laws globally, ensuring adherence to human rights despite populist pressures. On 9 November 2023, the High Court of Australia delivered a landmark judgement ruling against the indefinite detention of illegal migrants, some of whom have remained in prison for years. The decision overturned an earlier verdict passed in 2004 which justified the indefinite detention as long as the government intended to remove illegal immigrants as soon as reasonably practicable.…

On January 10, Israeli forces attacked a power station and two ports in Yemen, reportedly killing at least one person and wounding nine others. Israeli authorities say the attacks came in response to continued Houthi attacks against Israel.In the attacks, Israeli forces targeted Ras Issa and Hodeidah ports as well as Hezyaz power station in Sanaa, which are all located within areas under Houthi control. Israeli defense minister Isreal Katz stated, “The Hodeidah port is paralyzed, and the Ras Isa port is on fire – there will be no immunity for anyone.”The Israeli military said it had struck military targets. The Hodeidah and Ras…

What started out as a reported sighting of a pair of Eurasian lynx in the Scottish Highlands has turned out to be an alleged case of “guerrilla rewilding” or, at the very least, illegal release of four individuals of a species long extinct in the area, media reports say. A pair of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) were first seen in snow-covered Cairngorms National Park on Jan. 8, then caught the next day by staff from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) along with Scottish police and park rangers. On Jan. 10, camera traps placed by RZSS spotted…

(Brussels, January 16, 2025) – The Kremlin intensified its crackdown on any form of dissent inside Russia in the third year of its abusive full-scale war against Ukraine, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. Russian authorities continued their harmful “traditional values” crusade, further expanded the toxic legislation on “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations,” and actively used their vast arsenal of repressive tools, including war censorship laws, to stifle critics, including those in exile.For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world,…

By Climate Champions | August 1, 2024 An interview with: Judith Castro, the voice of Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo Country & Region: Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico Breakthrough: Coral Reefs, Aqua Food, Coastal Tourism, Marine Conservation Beneficiaries / Impact: Twenty nine years ago, the small community of Cabo Pulmo on the southeastern edge of the Baja California Peninsula recognized their reefs were no longer healthy and their fish populations had dwindled. They decided to protect the 70 sq km area, now known as Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo. This protection led to a remarkable ecological recovery: corals grew, fish populations…