President Obama’s meeting with Burma’s President Thein Sein at the White House today is a stark reminder of how far the Administration has come on Burma policy. In initiating the annual process for renewal of the ban on Burmese imports last week, Representative Joseph Crowley (D–NY) reiterated his desire that …
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a scathing new report focused on the crackdown on Russia’s civil society. Since December 2011, the Kremlin has committed to squashing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that promote democracy and are alleged conduits of Western influence, HRW says. The report, titled “Laws of Attrition,” focuses on …
Recent remarks by Spanish official Ángel Carromero in The Washington Post are shedding new light on the events that resulted in the death of Cuban dissident and human rights activist Oswaldo Payá. Carromero was driving the vehicle in which Payá was traveling along with two other passengers in July 2012 …
A group of populist Latin American states—led by Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela—hopes to reduce the role of an international human rights commission and watchdog. These radical states aim to weaken the commission because it goes against their political ambitions, as it entails scrutiny and judgments of human rights violations by …
Russian law enforcement agents have conducted hundreds of unannounced searches of Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Authorities have searched 600 organizations across the country since last week, according to media reports. An interagency law enforcement task force raided Amnesty International’s Moscow office in an unannounced inspection on Monday. Sergei Nikitin, the …
In Santiago, Chile, on January 28, the new regional body, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), passed its rotating presidency to Cuba’s dictator General Raul Castro. CELAC, according to prime backer Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, is part of a historic project to build a Latin American/Caribbean union …
Tomorrow, The Heritage Foundation will host a panel of experts for a very timely discussion on recent events in Burma and the proper responses to them. The distinguished panel will include Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch; Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma; Jared …
GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA – I was privileged to be one of six representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) invited by the Office of Military Commissions to observe the guilty plea of Ibrahim al Qosi here in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, yesterday. The other invitees were the ACLU, Human Rights First, Human Rights …
Yesterday, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee voted 4 – 2 to approve Senate Bill No. 399, which allows any prisoner to petition the sentencing court for “recall” (i.e., cancellation) if they have served at least 10 years of a life-without-parole sentence for any crime committed before turning 18 . These juvenile …
After months of lambasting staunch U.S. ally Colombia for its human rights record, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch has published a detailed 236-page report exposing the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez’ shabby record with regard to human rights in extensive detail. Describing everything from the marginalization of political …
