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Human rights

Human rights
Latest news, features and analysis on human rights, with a focus on civil liberties in Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the Trump administration did not "speak up for human rights in China because of commercial interests". Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

China hawks join forces in US Congress to pressure Trump ahead of Xi’s visit

Trump administration criticised for focusing on achieving economic gains from Beijing while neglecting political and human rights issues.

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Rodrigo Duterte

Video | Rodrigo Duterte appears in ICC courtroom for first time

Malaysia

Malaysia to invite Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing for Rohingya repatriation talks

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Crime

Former Kosovo president Thaci gets 25 years in prison for war crimes

A tribunal said Thaci was guilty of the murder of 96 political opponents during the 1990s conflict with Serbia.

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci. Photo: EPA-EFE
Singapore

Singapore is open to chemical castration, but what are ethical, health concerns?

Experts point to considerations on who receives the treatment, duration of the process and whether it is proportional to the offence.

France

France apologises for criticising US’ human rights record after backlash

France’s permanent mission to the UN expressed regret over a social media post questioning Washington’s commitment to human rights.

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Syria

Alarm as Syria plans private jet hub on former torture site

Rights groups warn turning Mezzeh airbase into a VIP airport could destroy mass graves and evidence of Assad-era atrocities.

Abandoned tanks are seen parked in an aircraft hangar at a military airport in the suburb of Mezzeh, Syria. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK lawmakers reject bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales

The bill had proposed allowing adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval.

Italy

Emma Bonino, Italy’s activist politician, dies aged 78

Bonino was a passionate advocate for social justice and gender equality who deliberately courted controversy to advance her many causes.

Israel-Gaza war

Lives ‘at serious risk’ as Gaza’s hospitals, homes battle fuel shortages

Doctors say hospitals have resorted to rotating power cuts between buildings, putting patients in ‘severe danger’.

A Palestinian man walks near damaged ambulances and vehicles, amid shortages of fuel and oil needed to run the generators, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 3. Photo: Reuters
European Union

Nicaragua accuses Germany of ‘multiple violations’ of law in Gaza genocide case

Nicaragua says Germany has breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention with its support, notably arms shipments, for Israel.

The Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the International Court of Justice, on Monday on the opening day of public hearings in the case of Nicaragua v. Germany. Photo: AP
United States

UN demands accountability over deaths in US immigration custody

Human rights chief voices alarm over rising detention fatalities and reported ICE plans to deploy electric shock gear.

Israel-Gaza war

Evidence of Israel’s ‘atrocity crimes’ risks being removed, UN expert warns

Francesca Albanese says rubble in Gaza is ‘material record’ of war, and implications of Israel’s large-scale debris removal are ‘profound’.

Britain

UK minister slams ‘thuggish’ anti-migrant protests in Portsmouth

The gathering was the second anti-migrant demonstration in two days, after masked men disrupted traffic in the port of Dover ‌on Saturday.

Police officers form a line to block protesters near Eastney Beach, in Portsmouth, England, on Sunday. Photo: PA via AP
Serbia

Commemoration held for late Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic

The ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ will be buried in Belgrade on Monday in a ceremony expected to draw thousands despite international condemnation.

A photo of Ratko Mladic is displayed during a commemoration ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday. Photo: Darko Vojinovic / AP
Israel-Gaza war

US ambassador calls violent Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’ after West Bank unrest

Mike Huckabee on Saturday met Palestinian American residents who described the impact of the violence on their lives and properties.

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France

Students slam ‘mini-dictatorship’ at Argentina-run residence in Paris

Residents allege surveillance and far-right meetings as they claim Argentina House at Cite Universitaire has become ‘a space of fear’.

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European Union

5 EU nations plan to send rejected migrants to non-EU ‘return hubs’, target 2027

Rights groups have criticised the plan, arguing that European nations cannot guarantee the rights of migrants would be respected.

Ministers from Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Greece attend a press conference after a meeting of the Ministers for Immigration and Integration in Copenhagen on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Donald Trump

White House video games depict migrant captures, building border wall

Five online games promote President Donald Trump’s agenda, drawing sharp criticism from rights groups.

US-China relations

Another Chinese national dies in US immigration custody, raising profiling fears

Wei Lianyong, 51, reportedly died in Northern Mariana Islands on August 23, after he was found unresponsive at a local detention facility.

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Israel

Israel ready to remove Palestinians in Gaza once US approves, minister says

Defence Minister Israel Katz says there is ‘no real solution’ without migration and that Trump’s displacement plan is ‘frozen’.

Displaced Palestinian children gather to receive food from a charity kitchen in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday. Photo: APA Images/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Hong Kong courts

Joshua Wong admits instigating sanctions against Beijing, Hong Kong governments

Jailed activist could face longer term after admitting he urged foreign firms to avoid investing in mainland China, providing tech to city police.

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Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow appear at Eastern Court in August 2019. Photo: Edmond So
Thailand

Thailand jails activist over royal motorcade livestream

She had questioned the conduct of police who dispersed farmers protesting along the route of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s motorcade in Bangkok.

Spain

Spain PM blames Russia, Israel for Ceuta migrant crisis’ disinformation

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also dismisses speculation on the involvement of Moroccan authorities in the crisis.

Malaysia

Malaysian state’s cash handouts for teen weddings trigger backlash

Perak’s plan to offer money to newlyweds as young as 15 risks endorsing child marriage, rights groups warn.

Children aged 15 to 17 “should be in school, not thinking about marriage”, one local politician said in response to the proposal. Photo: Shutterstock
Vietnam

Vietnam’s move to end executions for drug trafficking sparks debate in region

The proposal has put a spotlight on the different legal approaches against drug trafficking offences in the region.

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Defendants (in blue) stand during their trial for drug trafficking in Ho Chi Minh on November 12, 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency/AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

In Focus | Can Beijing’s gateway plan for Tibet survive geopolitics and natural disasters?

Beijing hopes trade will stabilise Tibet, but friction with India and the looming Dalai Lama succession are hampering its efforts.

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The Netherlands

Dutch court jails man for life over role in Rwanda genocide

He had prevented Tutsis from escaping and threw a grenade into the crowd.

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