News

In the midst of worldwide heated debate raging across about the fate of returning women and children, the families of individuals who fought among the ranks of ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria, the International Observatory of Human Rights introduces the story of a London family trying to find their 3-year-old grandson amongst the chaos of the last ISIS stronghold. Ashfaq (Ash) and Mahfooz Khurshid are a typical British … Read more →

On Friday 15 February, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to secure funding for a wall along the southern border with Mexico. Within hours, several organisations had filed lawsuits against the decision, including Public Citizen and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. Trying to regain momentum after losing a grinding two-month battle with lawmakers over funding the wall, Trump asserted that the flow of drugs, criminals and illegal immigrants from … Read more →

Maria Ressa, a high-profile Philippine journalist and vocal critic of the country’s president, was arrested on Wednesday 13 February in connection with “cyber libel” charges against Rappler, the news site she founded and oversees. Instead of attending an event on press freedom at the University of the Philippines, she spent the night in jail and arrived in court for bail proceedings on Thursday morning in Manila. After posting bail of … Read more →

Seventeen Australian Uyghurs have reportedly been detained in China, as the nation continues its crackdown on ethnic minority Muslims. The Australians, it is believed, are being kept under house arrest, in prison, or in the country’s infamous detention camps, which Beijing claims are “re-education” centres in Xinjiang. The detention came to light after family members of these 17 people – 15 permanent Australian residents and two on spouse visas – … Read more →

A petition has been issued to the government of Canada on the case of Saeed Malekpour, the unjustly detained Iranian-Canadian permanent resident. Saeed has now been imprisoned in Iran for over 10 years on trumped up charges. Initiated by Maryam Malekpour, Saeed’s sister, now a Canadian citizen, the petition calls for his release and reaffirms the Canadian government’s recognition of Iranian human rights violations. Saeed has been unjustly detained in … Read more →

With less than four years until the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar, a new report published by Amnesty International on 5 February highlights the country’s record on migrant workers’ rights. While Qatar has finally begun a reform process promising to tackle widespread labour exploitation and align its laws and practices with international labour standards, workers continue to be vulnerable to serious abuses including forced labour and restrictions … Read more →