Corporate Human Rights Violations Overseas
Source: The New York Times

The Supreme Court may intervene as soon as this fall to determine whether corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for alleged human rights violations occurring as part of their overseas operations. The case involves accusations that Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp. played a role in human rights violations in Nigeria and Indonesia.
 

Commission Finds Law Enforcement Violations
Source: The Washington Post

The National Human Rights Commission released a report detailing regular violations committed by Mexican military and law enforcement officials, including illegal entry and searches, planting evidence, threatening or injuring suspects, and seizing property. The rights agency issued a non-binding recommendation urging authorities to adopt clear constitutional guidelines for executing searches.

Migrant Chinese Children Denied Education
Source: BBC

School officials in Beijing closed 24 schools for children of migrant workers this summer. The decision, which came just before the new school term, discriminates against migrant children, according to one aid group. Children of migrant workers cannot attend state-funded schools outside of their home cities due to China’s household registration laws.


Korean “Comfort Women” Await Apology 
Source: The Chosun Ilbo

Many Korean “comfort women,” women and girls enslaved for sexual services by the Japanese army in World War II, have yet to receive an official apology from the Japanese government. Over two-thirds of the women registered by the Korean government have died. Others fear they will never hear a sincere apology.

Challenging Chile’s Restrictions on Protesting
Source: The Santiago Times

Chilean students and teachers have commenced a lawsuit against the government, after authorities denied permission for two educational protests. The government’s ability to grant or deny permission for protests has been the law since Augusto Pinochet’s presidency in 1983. Students and teachers assert the law is unconstitutional because Chile’s constitution guarantees the right to peacefully gather.

Witnesses Threatened After Guatemalan Trial
Source:  CNN 

According to Amnesty International, forensic group members have received death threats for testifying against former Guatemalan soldiers, who were tried and convicted of crimes against humanity. These soldiers executed a massacre in 1982 that claimed 250 people’s lives. Amnesty International is urging the government to investigate these death threats and to protect the witnesses.

Training to Combat Gender-Based Violence
Source: AllAfrica.com

Police officers from across Africa completed a training program at the Rwanda Peace Academy aimed at combating sex- and gender-based crimes. The course focused on sex crimes, gender-based violence, mass rapes, investigating gender-based crimes, and genocide. Participants also asked for greater cooperation from governments and civil society groups.


Conflict Impedes Humanitarian Access
Source: Human Rights Watch

Parties involved in the conflict in Somalia have worsened the humanitarian crisis there, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. The paper, based in part on interviews with refugees, details human rights violations including the use of artillery in populated areas of Mogadishu. HRW is calling for an end to the conflict to permit humanitarian access.

Spain Bans Romanian Workers
Source: The News Poland

The European Commission will allow Spain to prevent new Romanian workers from entering the country amid concerns about the Spanish economy. Spain is grappling with an unemployment rate in excess of 20 percent and a growing debt crisis. The ban will prohibit Romanian workers from entering Spain until December 2012. 
 

Riot Arrests Overload British Courts
Source: The Guardian

More than eighteen hundred arrests have been made in England following riots earlier this month. Experts fear the nation’s legal system may be overwhelmed by the influx, making it difficult to give defendants full, individualized hearings. Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron has called for swift and harsh sentences for guilty rioters.

Qatar Study Urges Improved Conditions
Source: Gulf News

A report issued by Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee recommends an improvement in wage and housing conditions of unskilled laborers in the construction industry. Many laborers are housed in unsanitary conditions and receive a meager salary insufficient to support themselves and their families abroad. The study also urges a reform of the current sponsorship system.

Egypt’s Law to Help Christians
Source: Kuwaiti Times 

The Egyptian government has promulgated an anti-discrimination law prohibiting the discrimination of people according to gender, origin, language, religion or belief. The law is an effort to placate the Christian minority who have been caught in sectarian violence in recent months and have faced challenges with construction of their churches.

Rights Activist’s Office Destroyed
Source: The New York Times

The office of Leyla Yunus, a rights activist campaigning against forced evictions, was destroyed in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. Yunus has been fighting city officials for months against alleged forced evictions. Human Rights Watch reported that the city only pays half the value of the properties they condemn and destroy. 
 

Indian Group for LGBTs Formed
Source: Times of India

The Indian Institute for Technology–Bombay has created a safe group for the LGBT members of the school. The group, called Saathi, is likely the first LGBT group in any educational institution in India that aims to help students to accept their sexuality. Saathi’s founders hope the group will promote understanding and support for homosexuality.