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| A woman walks home from work in Kijumba, Uganda, January 14, 2023. © 2023 Arlette Bashizi/New York Times |
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Land, Livelihoods Lost to Disastrous Oil Pipeline ProjectIt’s one of the largest fossil fuel infrastructure projects under construction in the world: a massive oil pipeline connecting oilfields in western Uganda with a shipping port on the coast of Tanzania. But the project’s development will displace 100,000 people. And it’s well underway. The planned pipeline is being constructed by French fossil fuel giant TotalEnergies, which posted a 2022 profit of $20.5 billion. Yet as the company builds its site in western Uganda, thousands of people have seen their livelihoods devastated. The project has caused food insecurity and household debt, and has forced children to drop out of school when their families can’t pay school fees. A new HRW report documents the project’s land acquisition process and details the disaster it has been for people who depended on their land for food and shelter. Although 90 percent of people who will lose land to the project have received compensation from TotalEnergies, the project has suffered from multiyear delays in paying compensation, which has often been inadequate in the first place. Farmers we spoke with described pressure and intimidation by officials from TotalEnergies EP Uganda and its subcontractors to take low levels of compensation that was inadequate to buy replacement land. Farmers also said they felt pressured to sign compensation agreements in English, a language many of them cannot read. Those who refused to sign faced harassment and even threats of court action. Many described being offered cash instead of the option of replacement land, in line with international standards. The project poses grave environmental risks and will contribute to the global climate crisis. In addition to the environmental harm caused by burning fossil fuels, the planned pipeline route traverses protected areas and wetlands, posing threats to biodiversity and ecosystems that local communities depend on for their sustenance. “They come here promising us everything,” one resident said. “We believed them. Now we are landless, the compensation money is gone, what fields we have left are flooded, and dust fills the air.” Read More |
| Bangladesh authorities are failing to adequately protect Rohingya refugees from surging violence by armed groups and criminal gangs, including with layers of barriers to police, legal, and medical assistance. Read More |
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| The mass killing of civilians and the total destruction of the town of Misterei on May 28 demonstrates the immediate need for a stronger international response to Sudan’s widening conflict. Read More |
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| Liu once wrote, “there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme.” In the six years since his death, Chinese activists have proven this time and again. Read More |
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Victory for People with Disabilities and Older People in Mexico |
| Marite Fernández and disability rights adovocates demonstrate before the Mexican Senate demanding the right to full legal capacity, Mexico City, Mexico, 2007. © 2007 Carlos Ríos-Espinosa |
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In June, Mexican President Manuel López Obrador signed into law a new bill finally establishing full legal capacity and the right to supported decision making for everyone 18 years and older. It was a massive victory. At the forefront of this success was Deciding Is My Right, a coalition of organizations of people with disabilities and older persons, other human rights organizations, and academia. In a new interview, HRW Disability Rights Associate Director Carlos Ríos Espinosa speaks with one of the coalition’s leaders, María Teresa Fernández, about her passion for this work, the impact of the reform bill, and the road ahead for disability rights in Mexico. Read It Here |
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