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A blog about human rights in their many forms.

Palestinians say Kerry's $4 billion aid offer a 'bribe' to give up on statehood

The Palestinian Authority is seen as likely to accept the aid even though many say the issue of Israeli occupation should come before economic concerns.
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A Palestinian youth burns tires during a protest against the high cost of living at Al-Amari refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah on September 8, 2012. (Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images)

RAMALLAH, West Bank – On a recent drive through this city at the heart of the Palestinian Authority, I was in shock to see all the shiny, towering office buildings, the new apartment blocks and store fronts. There was a vibrant nightlife with cafes and discos. On the surface, it looked like things were better these days in the West Bank.

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Victimized migrants try to change reform conversation on 'Caravan of Hope'

Father Alejandro Solalinde and a resourceful team of organizers expand their international network while speaking up for human dignity.
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Pedro Aguilar at St. Peter's Church in New York City. (Kevin Douglas Grant/GlobalPost)

NEW YORK — The stump of his left leg wrapped neatly in a beige elastic bandage, his aluminum crutches propped against a pew in the elegant sanctuary of a Manhattan church, immigration reform activist Pedro Aguilar was farther from home than he had ever been.

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El Salvador Supreme Court denies woman's appeal for life-saving abortion

El Salvador’s ban on abortion is one of the most extreme in the world, with no exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother.
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Members of Amnesty International protest in front of the El Salvador embassy in Mexico city, on May 29, 2013. One protestor holds a sign that says, "Beatriz has the right to live." (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images)

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — El Salvador’s Supreme Court shot down an appeal by a 22-year-old mother to terminate a pregnancy that has exacerbated her declining health and threatens her life, a decision that has drawn criticism from lawyers and rights groups.

Known by a pseudonym to protect her identity, Beatriz suffers from lupus and kidney disease, ailments which have been aggravated by a 26-week-old anencephalic fetus which she has been carrying and that will likely die shortly after birth.

Her doctors said after her 13th week of pregnancy that the best way for Beatriz to avoid further health problems, and possibly death, is to have a therapeutic abortion.

But the Supreme Court ruled this week that medics at the public maternity hospital attending to Beatriz have already complied with all medical standards, given sufficient treatment and that abortion cannot be allowed.

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El Salvador's strict abortion laws a 'form of torture,' say rights groups

The country prohibits abortion without exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother.
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Members of feminist organizations demonstrate in favour of abortion outside the Courthouse of San Salvador on May 15, 2013. Feminist organizations are asking the Court to authorize a woman known as Beatriz (pseudonym) to have an abortion in order to preserve her life. (Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Rights groups are urging El Salvador’s Supreme Court to authorize an emergency abortion for a 22-year-old mother whose life depends on terminating her pregnancy.

Known to the world by a pseudonym to protect her identity, Beatriz suffers from lupus and kidney disease, ailments which have been aggravated by a five-month-old anencephalic fetus that she has been carrying.

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Why child mining in Africa deserves American attention

Opinion: How hundreds of thousands of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo give up much of childhood so modern electronics can be made.
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A child works at a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An estimated 800,000 children mine coltan, cobalt and copper for use in modern technologies. (Roger-Claude Liwanga/GlobalPost)

KATANGA PROVINCE, Democratic Republic of Congo — One year after adopting the National Action Plan for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are still struggling to stop the growing scourge of child labor in small-scale mines.

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Detained immigrants increasingly hit with criminal charges, says Human Rights Watch

As Congress moves ahead with comprehensive immigration reform legislation, US criminal policy may have already disqualified thousands of nonviolent deportees.
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Male undocumented immigrants rest at the US Border Patrol detainee processing center on April 11, 2013 in McAllen, Texas. In the last month the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector has seen a spike in the number of immigrants crossing the river from Mexico into Texas. With more apprehensions, they have struggled to deal with overcrowding while undocumented immigrants are processed for deportation. (John Moore/AFP/Getty Images)

The US government now brings federal criminal charges against undocumented immigrants at an exponentially higher rate than it did 10 years ago, finds a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.

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Aboard the Riveira, Chile's artisan fishermen hunt for what remains

Comparably high wages and open waters lure thousands of Chileans to a difficult profession.
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Crewmen stacking boxes of fish in San Vicente, Talcahuano, in the Bio Bio region of Chile. (Fernando Rodriguez Chancks/GlobalPost)

In this three-part blog series, GlobalPost Special Reports explores what's at stake for Chile's embattled artisan fishermen following the passage of major new federal legislation governing one of the largest fishing industries in the world.

TALCAHUANO, Chile — Captain Patricio Gomez guided the L/M Riveira out of Talcahuano Harbor in south central Chile, trailing dozens of fishing boats making way to a fertile stretch of coastal waters, four miles out and reportedly teeming with anchovy and sardine.

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Chile's indie fishermen say new law favors big business

About 85,000 artisans are grappling with what they see as corporate privatization of one of the world's largest fishing industries.

In this three-part blog series, GlobalPost Special Reports explores what's at stake for Chile's embattled artisan fishermen following the passage of major new federal legislation governing one of the largest fishing industries in the world.

QUEULE, Chile — One beautiful morning in late spring, the ocean’s bounty had been especially plentiful, yet Luis Baez was in a foul mood.

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Sex change operations legal in Iran but still perilous

Some Iranians who identify as gay, lesbian or transgender feel desire — and pressure — to change genders to fit in.
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Artin, 23, arrived in Turkey 14 in 2007 and was going to Toronto. He was one of about 15 transgender women and 75 gay men at a party in Isfahan, Iran in April 2007 that was busted by morals police. Trans women were separated and jailed, beaten, questioned and humiliated for two weeks. Finally all faced punishments of $1300 fine and 80 lashes. Artin asked for an appeal and fled by train to Kayseri. (Kate Brooks/GlobalPost)

On this International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, GlobalPost Special Reports launches a continuing series about gay, lesbian and transgendered refugees, following upon our extensive reporting on LGBT rights around the world, "The Rainbow Struggle."

NEVSHEHIR, Turkey — Amin, a 33-year-old female-to-male transgender refugee, never doubted he was born into the wrong body.

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Iranian LGBTs flee persecution via 'underground railroad'

Two Canadian organizations have helped hundreds of gay, lesbian and transgender refugees win asylum and start new lives.

On this International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, GlobalPost Special Reports launches a continuing series about gay, lesbian and transgendered refugees, following upon our extensive reporting on LGBT rights around the world, "The Rainbow Struggle."

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