Tag - human-rights

 
 

HUMAN RIGHTS

Discussions on greater rights for same-sex couples have not deepened at the national level despite recent court rulings saying that said Japan's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 28, 2024
Tokyo ward mayors call for greater rights for same-sex couples
Among the wards, Setagaya and Nakano launched initiatives in November to register the relationships of same-sex couples in the same way as for common-law couples.
World leaders meet at the United Nations in New York in September to adopt the Pact for the Future. One of its key annexes is the Global Digital Compact, a framework to secure an open and human-centered digital future for all.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024
To serve humankind, AI must be shaped by U.N. values
The U.N.'s Global Digital Compact is the first universal agreement on the international governance of AI. It seeks to ensure an open and equitable digital future for all.
In the health ministry's report, customer harassment is defined as "behavior by customers, business partners, facility users and others that goes beyond what is socially acceptable and harms the environment for workers."
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2024
Japan eyes law requiring measures against harassment by customers
A new health ministry report urges companies to create an environment in which employees can work without major mental or physical concerns.
Then-Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (left) and then-U.S. President Bill Clinton meet for talks at the White House on April 16, 1993.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 26, 2024
Ex-PM Miyazawa aired doubts about China's democratization to Clinton in '93
In a summit with the then-U.S. president, then-Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said he was skeptical about democracy taking root in China as living standards improve.
People walk past Jemaa el-Fnaa square, in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Oct. 22.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2024
Morocco presents new women's rights legislation
The proposals include raising the legal marriage age and expanding women's custody rights.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 24, 2024
Under Cambodia’s new leader, room for dissent narrows
While Prime Minister Hun Manet has often spoken of the need for independent media and civil society in Cambodia, his government has moved in the opposite direction.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Chris Tang speaks to the media over the landmark national security trial, in Hong Kong on Nov. 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 24, 2024
Hong Kong offers bounties for six more democrats in security squeeze
The move to add more names to Hong Kong's wanted list comes as the city strives to revive its economic growth and international reputation.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses against Uyghurs, including forced labor in camps, and condemn its alleged oppressive rule in Tibetan areas.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 22, 2024
China takes steps against Canada institutions and individuals over Uyghurs and Tibet
For the two institutions, China said it is freezing their "movable property, immovable property and other types of property within the territory of China."
The neon lights of a casino are reflected on a bus window as a passenger looks on, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to mark the 25th anniversary of Macao’s handover, in Macao, China, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 18, 2024
Macao's civil society 'falls silent' after 25 years of Chinese rule
Public protests in Macao are just a memory after Beijing launched sweeping measures that ousted opposition lawmakers and chilled free speech.
The three Cambodian women are seeking compensation for damages over alleged sexual abuse and unpaid overtime wages.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 17, 2024
Cambodian interns accuse farmer of sexual abuse and wage theft
One woman was raped nearly every day and endured conditions “akin to sexual slavery,” the three women's lawyer said in a statement.
An Apple logo is seen in Brussels, Belgium, in 2016.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 17, 2024
Congo files criminal complaints against Apple over conflict minerals
International lawyers representing Congo argue that Apple uses minerals pillaged from the country and laundered through international supply chains.
Ghazi Mohammed al-Mohammed, a former detainee in a Damascus prison, poses for a picture with his mother at their home in Sarmada, in the northern Syrian Idlib province, on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2024
Bashar Assad's prisoner #3006 tells his story
When Syrian military intelligence officers detained Ghazi Mohammed al-Mohammed, they told him to forget his name and who he was.
Indian activists angered over the jailing of a leading Hindu monk in Bangladesh try to break a police barricade during a protest in Kolkata on Nov. 28 demanding his release.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024
Bangladesh’s descent into Islamist violence
An unstable Bangladesh mired in radical Islamism and political violence has long been India’s geopolitical nightmare
An Afghan midwife prepares a report in the nursery section at a private hospital in Kabul on Dec. 10.  The Taliban's supreme leader is reportedly behind a ban on women studying midwifery and nursing at training institutes across the country, already among the worst in the world for deaths in childbirth.
WORLD / Society
Dec 16, 2024
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban block last hopes of a job
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have barred women from university and most jobs, and imposed tight restrictions on their lives.
A rebel fighter inspects writings on a jail cell wall at the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Branch 251, also known as Al-Khatib branch, in the capital Damascus on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2024
'Torture after torture': Turkish inmate recalls time in Syria's jails
The man said he paid the price for the hatred Syria's authorities bore for Turkey's president, who early in the war urged the Syrian president to leave.
Members of the Orthodox community of Latakia attend a Sunday Mass at St. George's Cathedral in Latakia, Syria, on Sunday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2024
Syrian Christians attend services, schools reopen a week after Assad's overthrow
Some Syrian Christians remain jittery at the prospect of an Islamist government.
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Japan's same-sex marriage ban, along with their lawyers and supporters, hold signs saying the court ruled the ban as unconstitutional on Friday in front of the Fukuoka High Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024
Fukuoka High Court rules ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional
It is the third such high court ruling so far in Japan after the Sapporo High Court in March and the Tokyo High Court in October.
A man checks a tunnel found under a mosque in Tadamon district, which is littered with bones, in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors and seek answers
After Bashar Assad's ouster, residents hope the site in Damascus' Tadamon district can be cordoned off for those responsible to be held accountable.
Fans in Saudi Arabia celebrate after the nation was confirmed as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 12, 2024
Saudi Arabia awarded 2034 FIFA World Cup despite human rights concerns
FIFA also confirmed that Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup, in which three games will also be played in South America.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says he will urge a stepped up debate on  allowing the option of dual surnames for married couples.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 10, 2024
Ishiba vows to spur LDP debate on dual surname option
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will urge a working group within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party "to increase the frequency and maturity of discussions."

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?