HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH : THE WEEK IN RIGHTS - June 19 2014

THE WEEK IN RIGHTS June 19, 2014 Follow us on: Abuses in Syria’s Kurdish-run Enclaves Photo © 2013 Mani for Human Rights Watch  The Kurdish-run areas of Syria are quieter than war-torn parts of the country, but serious abuses are still taking place. Kurdish authorities running three enclaves in northern Syria have committed arbitrary arrests, due process violations, and failed to address unsolved killings and disappearances.  The Democratic Union Party (PYD) has effectively ruled the three predominantly-Kurdish enclaves since Syrian government forces withdrew from the areas in 2012, running a local administration with courts, prisons, and police. A new Human Rights Watch report documents the arbitrary arrests of the PYD’s political opponents, abuse in detention, and unsolved abductions and murders. It also documents the use of children in the PYD’s police force and armed wing. Read more >> share on:   China Should Free Lawyer, Drop Charges The Chinese government should immediately release the prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, whose “crime” appears to be nothing more than peacefully pushing the legal system to follow its own laws.  See the Latest News in Asia >> share on:   Dispatches: A Desperate Flight From ISIS’s Advance By Letta Tayler The sweltering tent housing Hussein, his wife, and five young children contained almost nothing but foam mattresses and dust. Aid workers had dropped off a giant bag of laundry detergent, but there was no water for drinking, much less for washing. The family also had received a grill, but had no food to cook on it or fuel to fire it up. See the Latest News in the Middle East/North Africa >> share on:   Dispatches: Film and Freedom of Expression in Burma By David Scott Mathieson Burmese movie theatres crackle while the audience munches on sunflower seeds, a human soundtrack I’ve been hearing all week as a jury member for Rangoon’s Human Rights and Dignity Film Festival. But one film that won’t be playing is a Burmese production, The Open Sky, which depicts a friendship between Buddhist and Muslim women. See the Latest News in Asia >> share on:   A Soccer Fan with a Conscience  By Iain Levine Foreign Policy  After weeks of anticipation, the World Cup finally kicks off in São Paulo. And while most sports fans are gleefully anticipating the chance to watch Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, and many of the other great players, we human rights activists are more than a little nervous. After all, given the presence in the competition of any number of rights-abusing countries, how can we balance our love of the game with our commitment to human rights?  Read more >> share on:   PUBLICATION All You Can Do is Pray. Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State. Download Now >> TWEET of the WEEK Nigerian military mustn't adopt a Sri-Lankan model that's under UN ordered investigation for wartime atrocities http://ow.ly/yem4m  Follow Mausi Segun >> TAKE ACTION! Tell Canada to Investigate Violence against Indigenous Women.  Take Action >>