Human Rights in the News: June 2021
/Welcome to the June 2021 edition of Human Rights in the News, Woven Teaching’s monthly collection of important human rights stories from around the world.
A white, black, red, and green totem pole in Vancouver B.C.’s Stanley Park (Credit: ArtTower via Pixabay)
Canada law recognizing UN declaration on Indigenous rights receives royal assent
Ananaya Agrawal | Jurist | June 23, 2021
The Canadian Parliament recently passed a law recognizing the 2007 UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Under the new bill, Canada must align its laws with UNDRIP. The recognition follows the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried at a residential school in British Columbia. Learn more >
A Venezuelan refugee with grey hair and a white face mask receives a vaccine from a person wearing a blue medical gown, gloves, and a face shield (Credit: UNHCR/Santiago Arcos Veintimilla)
91 countries now offer COVID-19 vaccinations to refugees, says UNHCR
UN News | June 24, 2021
Refugees in 91 of the 162 countries monitored by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, have received COVID-19 vaccinations. The UNHCR urges countries to continue to remove barriers the limit access for the world’s refugees. Learn more >
A person wearing a long light color top and dark pants, visible from the chest down, waves a rainbow flag at a pride event in Mumbai (Credit: REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas)
Indian court calls for sweeping reforms to respect LGBT rights
Sudarshan Varadhan | Reuters | June 7, 2021
A judge in India has ordered state and federal officials to draw up plans for sweeping reforms to laws concerning LGBTQ+ rights. “‘Ignorance is no justification for normalizing any form of discrimination,’" [the judge] wrote in his order. Educators should reach out to parents, to help ‘sensitize parents on issues of LGBTQIA+ community and gender nonconforming students, to ensure supportive families.’” Learn more >
A person wearing a black cap in a crowd of people, photographed from behind, carries a sign which reads, “Black Lives Matter, Smash racism by any means necessary” (Credit: Frank Augstein/AP)
U.N. human rights chief calls for reparations to address systemic racism around the world
Sammy Westfall | The Washington Post | June 28, 2021
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council has published a report calling on countries to adopt a “transformative agenda” to fight systemic racism. The Council’s report makes a broad case for reparations, both financial and systemic. Learn more >
A ballet dancer in a white top and long white skirt jumps while holding a Colombian flag on a pole (Credit: Ernesto Guzmán Jr/EPA)
Hungary’s LGBT protests and Juneteenth Day: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
Sarah Johnson, compiled by Eric Hilaire | The Guardian | June 21, 2021
Check out this stunning collection of photos from around the world. View the pictures >
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