By Huiyu Yin

Human Rights Watch reported that in recent weeks, there has been an increase in arbitrary arrests and violence against journalists by Ansar Allah, the Zaidi Shia armed group known as the Houthis that now control the capital, Sanaa. Headquarters of three media outlets were crushed. A supporter and critic of the former government was killed near his home.

Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East and North Africa director, called all sides in Yemen to send a clear message to their forces to stop threats and attacks against journalists.

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April 17, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

The updated “VotesCount” website published the voting records of United Nations Human Rights Council members, organized by their votes on situations in individual countries during 2014.

“Countries often hide behind their regional groups or the political dynamics at the Human Rights Council, but each has a role in the council's successes and failures,” said John Fisher, the Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. “Each council member should be held accountable for its votes and for its leadership, which our VotesCount website makes easily accessible.”

Journalists in Yemen need support and protection.

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April 16, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

Earlier this month, a documentary called Under the Dome garnered more than 100 million views in less than 48 hours (available on YouTube with English subtitles).  It was financed by Chai Jing, a former China Central Television journalist and put the long-debated issue of air pollution in China in the spotlight again.

The documentary is a combination of scientific lectures, descriptions of an investigation she conducted, and the personal story of Ms. Chai and her daughter. Considering the Chinese government’s strict censorship laws, many were surprised that this documentary was not blocked since it is somewhat critical of the government.

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April 15, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

Every year in March, the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (the NPC) opens in Beijing. It is the largest legislative body in the world, with about three thousand representatives from all over the country. During this meeting, the NPC passes laws, and approves the government budget and appointment of senior government officials. For the rest of the year, the NPC’s 175-member standing committee in Beijing is in charge of legislative issues.

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference’s (the CPPCC) annual meeting is held simultaneously. This advising body with no legislative power is composed of independent representatives and members of political parties other than the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP). Its role is somewhat analogous to a top advisory legislature.

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April 14, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

This year, the National People’s Congress (NPC) will meet in Beijing on March 2. Under China’s Constitution, the NPC is the “supreme organ of state power” and “supervises the enforcement of the Constitution” (art.62).

Though traditionally thought to be a “rubber stamp parliament” that has no authority over the real power-holding institution, the Communist Party of China (CPC), the NPC has been increasingly influential in proposing and passing legislation. Human Rights Watch urges the NPC to exercise its power to strengthen the rule of law and protection of human rights in China.

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March 18, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

During wartime, normal people suffer the most. After four years of civil conflict in Syria, 3.8 million refugees fled from their homeland to neighboring countries, but now the neighbors have reached their limit. Turkey alone hosts 1.7 million refugees, while Lebanon is under the weight of 1.2 million. It is time for other countries in the region and around the world to share that burden.

From January 2012 through December 2014, the United States admitted only 335 Syrian refugees. The European countries also admitted very few . With no legal routs to seek protection in Europe, the refugees are increasingly willing to take the risk of illegal smuggling. An article on the Daily Beast urges the United States and the Europeans to take on more responsibility.

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March 17, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

Thousands of Arabs in “security zones” in areas of northern Iraq have been confined by Iraqi Kurdish forces since August 2014, when they were captured from ISIS. Local Kurds told Human Rights Watch that dozens of Arab homes had been destroyed in the area. Moreover, Kurdish forces for months barred these Arabs from returning to their homes in Ninewa and Erbil provinces, while permitting Kurds to return to those areas.

Human Rights Watch raises its concerns about ethnic discrimination under the guise of counter terrorism with KRG authorities in communities in Sheikhan and Tilkaif districts and Zumar subdistrict, all in Ninewa province, and Makhmur district in Erbil province.

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March 16, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a well-known lawyer and human rights activist in Iran. Iranian security forces arrested her and several others on their way back from a protest in October 2014. The protest was against a spate of acid attacks targeting women in the central city of Esfahan. Authorities released the others shortly after their arrest but detained Sotoudeh in an Intelligence Ministry facility in Tehran for an additional seven hours and threated to charge her with the crime of Moharebeh, or “enmity against God.” 

This was not her first arrest. In 2010, Iran’s revolutionary court sentenced her to six years in prison and a 10-year ban on practicing law. Human Rights Watch and other international press believed that the national security charges against her arose solely from her peaceful exercise of fundamental rights and zealous defense of her clients, including many human rights activists. The Iranian Bar Association’s disciplinary committee revoked her law license in 2014 to enforce the revolutionary court’s conviction. Sotoudeh believed that the ban was imposed under pressure from security, intelligence and judiciary officials.

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February 05, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

“Foreign agent” in Russia is a term of art – widely and unambiguously understood to mean “spy” or “traitor.” The “foreign agent” law was first introduced in 2012, and authorizes the Russian Justice Ministry to label groups as “foreign agents.” Thirty groups have been branded so far, including the country’s most expert and authoritative human rights organizations. At least six groups have chosen to close rather be labeled as such. Other groups have been hit with steep fines.

On Jan 19, 2015, a new draft of the “foreign agent” law passed a first reading in the Russian parliament. According to Human Rights Watch, if adopted, it would further marginalize “foreign agent” groups by forbidding public officials from participating in them, and would sanction anyone involved with a group that the authorities deem “undesirable.”

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February 05, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

Human Rights Watch recently published its 656-page World Report 2015 to review human rights practices in more than 90 countries. This report highlights that governments worldwide tend to ignore human rights in the face of security challenges. This has been illustrated by incidents in Syria, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, China and the United States.

In Syria, the government’s army has deliberately attacked civilians in areas held by the opposing armed groups. Nigeria’s army has responded to terrorism by detaining hundreds of civilians suspected of supporting Boko Haram.

Executive Director Kenneth Roth said, “some governments make the mistake of seeing human rights as a luxury for less trying times, instead of an essential compass for political action. Rather than treating human rights as a chafing restraint, policymakers worldwide would do better to recognize them as moral guides offering a path out of crisis and chaos.”

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February 03, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

If you are visiting Hong Kong for the first time, get prepared for this scene: foreign housekeepers in Hong Kong, known as “helpers” or “maids,” crowd the city’s parks, underpasses, overpasses and any public area every Sunday, which is their only day off. All the women dress up, bring food to share, play music, sing and dance. Despite sitting on cardboards and newspapers, they are truly celebrating a holiday of their own.

Foreign domestic workers make up around 3 percent of Hong Kong’s population. In 2013, there were about 320,000 maids in Hong Kong, of which 50 per cent were from the Philippines and 47 per cent from Indonesia. Incidents of abuse and torture at the hands of their employers are frequently reported and revealed in high-profile court proceedings. However, many more are hidden from public view. According to a survey conducted by Mission for Migrant Workers, a HK-based charity, in April 2013, of more than 3,00 maids, 58% reported suffering verbal abuse, 18% physical abuse and 6% sexual abuse.

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February 03, 2015

By Huiyu Yin

The US President Barack Obama recently announced his decision to suspend the deportation of nearly 5 million unauthorized immigrants. Besides the political and legal aspects of the debate, Human Rights Watch suggests that the plan is deficient in key respects. It is true that the plan “to keep immigrants and their families from being broken apart by deportation is a strike against arbitrary cruelty”, said by Antonio Ginatta, a US advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. Other abusive practices against immigrants are unaddressed. For instance, the plan did not provide protection against deportation to immediate relatives of young US citizens with deferred deportation status. Human Rights Watch has recently documented how significant numbers of parents of US citizen children – 100,000 in the years 2011 and 2012 – are apprehended, summarily deported and criminalized at the border. The plan is a first step in the right direction, but the need for a more lasting and comprehensive solution remains.

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January 30, 2015