Human Rights in the News: March 2024
/Welcome to the March 2024 edition of Human Rights in the News, Woven Teaching’s monthly collection of important human rights stories from around the world.
A sign reads "check door lock" on a gate inside Tochigi prison, Japan's largest women's prison (Credit: Yo Nagaya)
Japan Broadens Ban on Restraints of Jailed Women in Labor
Teppei Kasai | Human Rights Watch | 29 March 2024
Japan’s legislature has issued a directive banning the use of restraints on pregnant people inside delivery rooms. This brings the country closer in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners which states that, “[i]nstruments of restraint shall never be used on women during labour, during childbirth and immediately after childbirth.”
Women hold a sign reading “It’s our right to practice our religion” (Credit: Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP via Getty Images)
The Gambia is debating whether to repeal its ban on female genital mutilation
Diane Cole | NPR | 22 March 2024
In 2015, The Gambia passed a law criminalizing all acts of female genital mutilation (FGM). This month, the country’s national assembly is debating a bill to overturn the FGM ban. The custom is very entrenched in The Gambia, where many practioners believe that it is an essential part of Islam. "Respected Islamic leaders have refuted such links and justifications," says Nimco Ali, FGM survivor and anti-FGM activist. "But if more people become persuaded that there is a religious justification, more people from the religious right will also be attracted."
United Nations General Assembly hall
World’s first global AI resolution unanimously adopted by United Nations
Benj Adwards | Ars Technica | 21 March 2024
The UN General Assembly has unanimously consented to adopt a resolution to protect personal data and enhance privacy policies related to artificial intelligence (AI). Although the agreement is nonbinding, it establishes important guardrails for the use of AI.
La Oroya Metallurgical Complex (Credit: Mitchell Gilbert/AIDA)
International Court Issues First-Ever Decision Enforcing the Right to a Healthy Environment
Katie Surma | Inside Climate News | 29 March 2024
Residents of La Oroya, Peru have won a landmark case against their country’s government. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the government of Peru to provide free medical care and compensation to those affected by the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex. UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment David Boyd stated that the ruling is a watershed moment for the enforcement of the human right to a health enviroment.
A medical professional in black scrubs photographed from the neck down. They have an orange stethescope around their neck as well as a feminist patch on clipped to their clothing (Credit: Chandan Khanna / AFP/File)
After abortion ban, US state sees substandard pregnancy care
Agence France-Press | 20 March 2024
A fact-finding mission by four medical NGOs has found that pregnant people are receiving substandard care following Louisiana’s abortion ban. For example, prenatal appointments during the early stages of pregnancy are delayed, lest a miscarriage be misconstrued as an abortion. Doctors also perform C-section surgeries in place of abortions, which come with much higher risks of complications.
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