Human Rights in the News: August 2020
/Curated by Nikki Bambauer
Welcome to the August 2020 edition of Human Rights in the News, Woven Teaching’s monthly collection of important human rights stories from around the world.
Protesters in Minsk hold red and white flags, August 18, 2020 (Credit: AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky via CTV.tv)
Belarus election: 'Widespread torture' inflicted on jailed protesters
BBC News | August 14, 2020
Earlier this month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, declared victory in a contested election. In the time since, Lukashenko’s opponent has fled to Lithuania and protests have rocked the eastern European country. Several news outlets have reported on the widespread torture and beatings of protesters by state security forces. Learn more >
A security officer speaks into a megaphone outdoors, surrounded by mask-wearing detainees sitting on the ground. (Credit: Adriana Loureiro Fernandez / The New York Times)
Venezuela Deploys Security Forces in Coronavirus Crackdown
Anatoly Kurmanaev, Isayen Herrera, and Sheyla Urdaneta | The New York Times | August 19, 2020
Under direction of the Venezuelan government, security forces have detained thousands of Venezuelans who have breaking curfew rules or who are suspected of having COVID. Additionally, the country’s armed forces have referred to migrants returning home to Venezuela as “bioterrorists.” Learn more >
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with furrowed brow in front of a blue backdrop (Credit: David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Facebook Wanted to Be a Force for Good in Myanmar. Now It Is Rejecting a Request to Help With a Genocide Investigation
Matthew Smith | Time | August 18, 2020
Facebook has blocked a request for archived pages related to the genocide of the Rohingya by Burmese state forces. In June, The Gambia filed an application for information from Facebook that would help its case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, but Facebook has refused to provide the relevant documents. The Gambia is leading the movement to hold Myanmar accountable for the crimes against the Rohingya. Learn more >
Illustration of a mask-wearing Black woman with white hair purchasing fresh foods (Credit: Angelica Alzona)
New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward Is a Food Desert—But Residents Are Bringing It Back to Life
Yessenia Funes | Gizmodo | August 29, 2020
“Food deserts” are poor neighborhoods without access to a large grocery store or supermarket. Some residents of the Lower Ninth Ward, a predominantly Black neighborhood of New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago, hope to bring fresh foods to their community. Learn more >
Players from the Washington Mystics WNBA team stand in a line with arms behind each other’s backs. Each has a letter on their t-shirt, which together spell out “JACOB BLAKE”
NBA, players say games will resume on Saturday and arenas can be used for voting
Ben Morse and Jill Martin | CNN | August 28, 2020
Nine NBA games were postponed the last week of August, when teams opted not to play in response to the murder of Jacob Blake by police in Wisconsin on August 23. The league and the players have since agreed to establish a social justice coalition and will resume playing on Saturday. The NBA will also work with cities to open local sports arenas for voting in the 2020 general election. Learn more >
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