Tag - rights

 
 

RIGHTS

Women attend a protest in 2018 against the rape of three girls, an 8-year-old, an 11-year-old and a teenager, in different parts of India. The country experiences alarming rates of sexual violence against women.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2024
Why is India failing to protect its women?
India is plagued by sexual violence, with many horrific cases in the spotlight over the years. Despite reforms, cultural norms are hindering progress.
A Zara clothing store in Brussels on November 2022. Inditex is an outlier among big clothing retailers in not publishing details of the factories from which it sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2024
Zara owner Inditex faces pressure from investors on supply chain disclosure
Regulators and investors want transparency from clothing retailers, to prove supply chains are free of forced labor and workers are paid decent wages.
Protesters spell out "No CAA" using candles during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in New Delhi on Dec. 29, 2019. The law grants Indian nationality to people who fled to India due to religious persecution from neighboring Muslim-majority countries before Dec. 31, 2014.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024
India implements citizenship law opposed by Muslims before election
Rights groups say the law could discriminate against the 200 million Muslims in the Hindu-majority South Asian country.
The upcoming election is set to secure Vladimir Putin's long-term leadership and is raising questions about the direction of Russia's political landscape.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 10, 2024
'Generation Putin' — young Russians reflect on his 24 years in power
Vladimir Putin's legacy through young eyes: Insights from Russia's youth on the only president most have known and their hopes for the future.
Former Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters in November 2021, when he was named Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's special adviser on human rights issues.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2024
Japan PM's human rights initiative stalls as adviser post left vacant
With no progress on the post in sight, Kishida has been accused by critics of "shelving" steps to address global humanitarian concerns.
From left: Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, Chief Executive John Lee and Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung hold a news conference regarding national security laws, in Hong Kong on Jan. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2024
Hong Kong fast-tracks new security law at Beijing’s urging
The legislation would impose life sentences for crimes such as treason and give police expanded powers.
Displaced Palestinians wait to receive United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024
UNRWA report says Israel coerced some agency employees to falsely admit Hamas links
The assertions are contained in a report by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency dated February 2024.
A march calling for gender equality in London in 2019. Women are still paid less than men for the same work, but real equality means more than just eliminating wage disparities.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2024
A zero gender pay gap is the goal. But what happens next?
Eliminating the gender pay gap is vital, but it isn't the be-all and end-all. So much more needs to be done to achieve true equality at work and beyond.
Research from the International Monetary Fund suggests that gains from fully closing the gender gap in labor markets could increase gross domestic product in developing economies by 23% on average.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024
The economic power of gender equality
There is ample empirical research demonstrating that gender equality delivers better results for people, for the planet and for profits.
Plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit over Japan's separate surname rule head into the Tokyo District Court on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 8, 2024
Group files lawsuit over Japan law that mandates couples share a surname
Similar lawsuits have been filed before, but public opinion appears to be shifting in favor of allowing couples to have separate surnames.
The Hong Kong flag and surveillance cameras outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 8, 2024
Hong Kong government issues draft of new national security law
It includes sentences of up to life imprisonment for treason, 20 years for espionage and 10 years for state secrets offenses.
An event for female coders in New York in 2013. Women’s full participation is key to ensure technologies like AI help bridge the gender gap.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2024
Now is our chance to govern AI for women’s empowerment
The pace of AI development may seem relentless, but there's still time to create safeguards to ensure that innovation doesn't perpetuate gender inequality.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said that he recognized China's advances in development and in alleviating poverty, but urged that such policies be accompanied by reforms "to align relevant laws and policies with international human rights standards."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2024
U.N. says China violating 'fundamental rights' in Xinjiang, Tibet
The U.N. human rights chief also asked Beijing to release rights defenders arrested under the "vague" offense of "picking quarrels and making trouble."
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendants' cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pre-trial detention, at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on Feb. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 1, 2024
'How much time he's lost': Jailed U.S. reporter's family waits for his return
The parents of Evan Gershkovich are counting on a promise from U.S. President Joe Biden to bring their son home.
Vietnam's National Assembly (Parliament) building in Hanoi.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 1, 2024
Report says Vietnam to crackdown on workers' rights and foreign aid
The 88 Project couldn't confirm the document's authenticity but acknowledged its partial coverage in state media.
Maurice Shelton (left) and his lawyer Motoki Taniguchi spoke about alleged racial bias on behalf of the police at a recent press conference.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Feb 29, 2024
Making Japanese history by being Black history
Three individuals have stepped up to try and make a difference in the country we live in. They should be applauded.
The flags of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) behind security cameras in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee formally proposed the new security legislation on Jan. 30, with a one-month consultation period, to pass the city's own security law, including stepped-up efforts to ward against foreign interference.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
U.K. and U.S. blast Hong Kong's proposed new security law
Pro-democracy protests in 2019 prompted Beijing to impose harsher with sentences ranging up to life in prison.
The new national security law will target crimes including treason, theft of state secrets, espionage, sabotage, sedition and "external interference" including from foreign governments. The Hong Kong legislature, which is dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers, is expected to approve it.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024
Hong Kong moves toward enacting tougher security law amid concerns about freedoms
Lawyers and activists say the law criminalizes basic human rights such as freedom of expression, but Hong Kong authorities say the new law is necessary.
Protesters hold a Palestinian flag as they gather outside the International Court of Justice as judges rule on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague on Jan 24.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024
U.N. court to weigh consequences of Israel occupation
Nations including the United States, Russia and China will address judges in a weeklong session at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
Shoppers walk past an ID Hub, a Volkswagen showroom for electric cars, at a mall in Shanghai on Dec. 3, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2024
Firms with deep roots in China reconsider their Xinjiang ties
Volkswagen Group is reviewing the future of its joint venture in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world