Foreign Policy Blogs

Human Rights Round Up

Few links to human rights stories that other people have been following:

Rape in the DRC

Cassandra Clifford over at the FPB Children Blog has posted story highlighting the seemingly never-ending crisis concerning rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although this issue has gained more attention recently, her coverage illustrates how much further we have to go until it is no longer an issue of concern.

Oil in Burma

The involvement of foreign oil companies in military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) is nothing new, nor is the concern that such involvement aids in the crimes that the Burmese government freely commits against its own citizens. However the UN seems to be paying more attention now with a new report issued last month that recommended creating a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma. Part of that report singled out the role that oil companies play in the human rights abuses taking place in the country. For more information, check out this article penned by Matthew Smith of EarthRights International.

The UN in Central Asia

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made headlines last week with his trip through Central Asia where he called for greater respect for human rights in countries notorious for abusing them. Four days after his stop in autocratic Kyrgyzstan, the government was overthrown (for more info on those developments, check out our blog on Central Asia). But Patrick Worsnip over on the Reuters India blog makes an interesting point about what such events can possibly tell us about the effectiveness of the UN when it comes to human rights.

 

Author

Kimberly J. Curtis

Kimberly Curtis has a Master's degree in International Affairs and a Juris Doctor from American University in Washington, DC. She is a co-founder of The Women's Empowerment Institute of Cameroon and has worked for human rights organizations in Rwanda and the United States. You can follow her on Twitter at @curtiskj

Areas of Focus: Transitional justice; Women's rights; Africa