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A blog about human rights in their many forms.

Achieving progress? UN Rights Council looks at 20-year-old declaration

Guest Op-Ed: Phil Lynch discusses the need to maintain the human rights goals of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted in 1993.
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The head of the United Nations' Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (L) speaks with UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay during a session of the UN Human Right Council in Geneva. The Council meets again this week to discuss the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and assess future plans. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Phil Lynch is the Director of the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva. You can follow him on Twitter at @PhilALynch.

Twenty years ago the international community gathered in Vienna to discuss the global promotion and protection of human rights. With the Cold War thawing, the more than 170 governments and 800 non-government organizations in attendance saw an opportunity to effect a paradigm shift in the role of human rights in international relations.

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With Benedict’s resignation, LGBT Catholic group hopes for change

DignityUSA fights for the LGBT Catholic community, stressing the message: “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
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St. Matthew’s Church in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, a Lutheran church where the parishioners are members of the San Fernando Valley chapter of DignityUSA, the nation’s largest LGBT Catholic organization. (Sarah Parvini/GlobalPost)

LOS ANGELES — At first glance, the Catholic service held at St. Matthew’s Church is like any other—members of the congregation sing hymns, pray for those in need and send rings of hallelujah throughout the chapel.

But St. Matthew’s is a Lutheran church, not a Catholic one, and the parishioners are members of the San Fernando Valley chapter of DignityUSA, the nation’s largest LGBT Catholic organization that fights for change in the Vatican’s teachings on homosexuality.

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First Nations women abused by Canadian Mounties, HRW reports

A damning new Human Rights Watch report accuses Canadian police of systemic abuse and discrimination of indigenous women and girls.
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has failed to protect First Nations women and girls from violence, and have even physically and sexually abused them, Human Rights Watch said in a report released this week. (CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)

(This article references a report and the details therein that are at times gruesome and we should note here that its contents could trigger victims of rape or sexual assault.)

Human Rights Watch released a report on Wednesday detailing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's involvement in a number of cases of rape and abuse of indigenous women and girls, mostly in British Columbia.

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Will Haiti's 'Baby Doc' Duvalier escape justice?

The notorious Haitian dictator could be brought up on corruption charges, but a judge has announced he won't face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
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Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned to Haiti in January, and has been accused by the government of corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and association with known criminal elements. He has also been subject to numerous complaints filed against him for crimes against humanity, including arbitrary arrest, torture and illegal detention, but a judge ruled the statute of limitations on these crimes has expired. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

As if Haiti didn't have enough problems. The beleaguered country's former dictator, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier may not even face trial for what some rights organizations call crimes against humanity.

One of the most notorious dictators of the late 20th century, Duvalier succeeded his father Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, and ruled Haiti from 1971 to 1986. He returned to Haiti in 2010 from exile in France quickly following the devastating earthquake.

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Egypt's women revolt against mass sexual assaults

They've finally had enough. After years of women being raped and abused in Tahrir Square, the women of Egypt are pushing back — joined by supporters around the world.
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An Egyptian protester hold up his hand with a slogan reading in Arabic: "Egyptian girls are a red line" during a demonstration in Cairo against sexual harassment on February 12, 2013. Egyptian protesters took to the streets again to demand an end to sexual violence, as campaigns against the repeated attacks in central Cairo pick up steam. Sexual harassment has long been a problem in Egypt, but recently the violent nature and frequency of the attacks have raised the alarm. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

On Tuesday night, demonstrators around the world rose in solidarity to protest violence against women in Egypt.

The global movement, dubbed “Global Protest Feb. 12,” was scheduled in 24 cities throughout Egypt and outside Egyptian embassies in cities such as Khartoum, Melbourne, London, Amsterdam and New York, the Daily Star reports.

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4 human rights issues Obama should address tonight

Opinion: Here's hoping the president is upfront about the state of human rights in his administration during his fifth State of the Union tonight.
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Freedom of the internet, the pet cause of the late programmer Aaron Swartz, is a basic right the president should address in the State of the Union tonight. (Flickr Commons)

We can be pretty certain the president will glad-hand the Speaker of the House, smile gently at Michelle and the girls, and give a rousing oration that's softly critical — but ultimately uplifting and optimistic — when he addresses the nation tonight. 

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Drone debate enters new territory: US citizens targeted at home

Christopher Dorner, a fugitive ex-cop, is leading law enforcement on an epic chase using drone technology. But where's the oversight? Who's responsible? And where do we go from here?
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Domestic drone use is an ambiguous and ad hoc system with little oversight and no transparency. As law enforcement begin to use UAVs domestically, experts say we need to figure out a legal way to use them. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

US Customs and Border Patrol have confirmed the use of a remote-controlled drone in the hunt for Christopher Dorner, a fugitive ex-cop with a $1 million reward on his head.

Dorner is alleged to have murdered two people connected to a former LAPD captain and wrote a ranting Facebook manifesto on his hatred for the Los Angeles police and President Obama, as well as other notable politicians.

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China finds creative ways to address income inequality

With the rapidly expanding middle class demanding change, China's government is not only listening, but taking action.
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Migrant workers and the expanding middle class have increased political influence, and the government is looking to deal with rising income inequality in new ways. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

It's entirely possible that China is doing a better job of combating income inequality than some Western countries, including the United States.

Although their methods are often said to be questionable, Chinese authorities have clearly made it a priority to soften the growing divide between the classes and cut down on corruption in business and political circles.

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Sexual assault victims and journalists scared into silence in Somalia

The trial of a rape victim and the journalist who reported on her has wider implications in troubled Somalia.
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Somali journalists simulate being handcuffed and hold up pictures of their arrested colleague, Abdiaziz Abdinor Ibrahim, condemning his long term in jail on January, 27, 2013 in Mogadishu. (MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB HAJIABIKAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Activists anticipate that the recent jailing of a displaced rape victim and journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur will a impose a reign of terror on Somalian journalists and victims of sexual violence.

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UK Parliament votes in favor of marriage equality

Despite harsh conservative criticism, the House of Commons voted 400-175 on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron voiced his support for marriage equality in the UK as lawmakers in the House of Commons voted overwhelming in favor of passing a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Prime Minister David Cameron said that yesterday was "an important day" as MPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the UK, and allow those couples who were in civil partnerships to convert their unions into legal marriages. 

The House of Commons voted 400-175 in favor of the bill, after a heated debate that lasted nearly seven hours, according to the LA Times

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