CategoriesStatements

WCHR urges the US government accelerate the SIV program for Afghan interpreters

As the Taliban advances, 200 Afghan interpreters and their families have arrived in the United States, the first of 2,500 Afghans being evacuated. The translators are being relocated as part of a visa program for people who worked with the US during the Taliban’s 20-year conflict, which concluded recently. They arrived early Friday morning and […]

CategoriesAdvocacy

An Open Letter to the United States Congress on China’s treatment of the Uyghur

This year was marked by violent persecution of human rights campaigners and suspected dissidents, as well as systematic ethnic minorities suppression. Despite the criticism from the UN, restrictions on freedom of expression remained in place unchanged. Foreign journalists were subjected to detention and expulsion, as well as visa renewal delays and denials. Outside of China, […]

CategoriesAdvocacy

Open letter: the White House must harshly act on Russia’s suppression of freedoms

The Covid-19 pandemic offered an excuse for Russian authorities to limit human rights in a variety of ways, as well as to impose additional restrictions, particularly in the area of privacy rights and Freedom of political participation. In 2020, constitutional changes were a major development. Several oppressive laws have been strengthened through constitutional amendments. Authorities […]

CategoriesTopics

Zambia: Killings and brutal crackdown against dissent set the tone for August election

In a new report, “Ruling by fear and repression”, the organization details how the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have come under increasing attack particularly over the past five years, with opposition leaders and activists jailed, independent media outlets shut down, and at least five people killed by police since 2016. Zambia’s ruling […]

CategoriesCountry Profile

China issues furious response after Canada condemns human rights record

Canada has led more than 40 countries in expressing serious concerns over Beijing’s repressive actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, prompting a furious response from Beijing over Canada’s colonial history. The exchange at the UN human rights council on Tuesday marks the latest downturn in relations between Canada and China, which have deteriorated steadily […]

CategoriesCountry Profile Topics

US sanctions Chinese solar firms for Uighur human rights abuses

The United States on Wednesday restricted exports to five Chinese companies that it said were implicated in Chinese human rights violations, including large producers of polysilicon for the solar panel industry. The companies were listed over human rights violations and abuses of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, according to a US government filing on Wednesday. The […]

CategoriesBriefs Country Profile Topics

UN Envoy Accuses Russian Mercenaries Of Human Rights Abuses In C.A.R.

The UN envoy to the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), as well as diplomats from the United States and France, has accused the national security forces and their Russian paramilitary allies of wide-ranging human rights abuses. Russia helps President Faustin Archange Touadera combat rebel groups in the resource-rich country’s ongoing civil war, including fielding Russian mercenaries […]

CategoriesAdvocacy Topics

Human rights groups raise concerns about Harris’s Latin America trip

Several human rights organizations are worried that Vice President Harris’s upcoming trip to Mexico and Guatemala risks focusing too much on immigration and not other issues such as rule of law and government corruption. The Washington Office on Latin America, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Latin America Working Group, Due Process of Law Foundation and […]

CategoriesTopics

The New Environmental and Human Rights Treaty in Latin America

The Escazú Agreement came into force in April 2021 with 12 ratifications (out of a possible 33) from Latin American and Caribbean countries. Guided by a secretariat at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, it is the first environmental treaty in the region, and affirms Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, resting […]

CategoriesAdvocacy

Open Letter to the UN on Venezuela

May 14, 2021 Dear Mr. Secretary-General,  We strongly support the United Nations and the resolutions on human rights protection, as nongovernmental organizations continue working to alleviate humanitarian sufferings in different regions around the world.   Throughout the year, there were reports of extrajudicial executions, excessive use of force, and unlawful killings by security forces in […]

CategoriesStatements

WCHR: Decisive actions required in Myanmar

Washington Center For Human Rights expresses grave concern about the situation in Myanmar following the removal of civilian authorities from government and the arbitrary detention of dozens of political leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, activists and others by the military. On January 31, the Myanmar military seized  power in the country, consolidated its control over the […]

CategoriesStatements

WCHR: EU’s resolution a great step, other international bodies must follow

The European Parliament adopted a joint resolution called “forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region”.  The resolution expressed its strong condemnation of the Chinese government’s policy of forcing the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Muslim minorities to work in closed factories and camps in Xinjiang The resolution called […]