Human Rights in the News: October 2021

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Welcome to the October 2021 edition of Human Rights in the News, Woven Teaching’s monthly collection of important human rights stories from around the world.

A yellow protest flag reading “no mining” in Navajo

Credit: Pamela Peters/Reuters


‘Ignored for 70 years’: human rights group to investigate uranium contamination on Navajo Nation
Cody Nelson | The Guardian | October 27, 2021

More than 500 abandoned uranium mines are located on Navajo Nation land. “On the Navajo Nation, most uranium deposits sit in aquifers. Drilling into these aquifers can cause radioactive uranium to leach into the water, contaminating both the underground supply and the water absorbed from the surface.” Learn more >

A smiling Navalny smirks and shows his handcuffed hands to the press

Credit: STR/AP


Europe is giving its top human rights prize to Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic
The Associated Press  |  NPR  |  October 20, 2021

The European Union recently awarded Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny its top human rights award. the Sakharov Prize. “The European Parliament praised his ‘immense personal bravery.’ The 45-year-old activist was poisoned with a nerve agent last year and promptly arrested upon his return to Moscow from treatment in Germany and later imprisoned.” Learn more >

Women wearing colorful clothing and head coverings walk through a haze on the Indonesian island of Sumatra

Credit: REUTERS/Beawiharta


Clean environment could become U.N. human right. Not so fast, say U.S., Britain
Emma Farge and Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici | Reuters | October 5, 2021

“Britain and the United States are among a few countries withholding support for a proposal brought at the United Nations that would recognise access to a safe and healthy environment as a human right, prompting criticism that they are undermining their own pledges ahead of the Glasgow climate conference.” The World Health Organization estimated that 13.7 million deaths are caused by environmental dangers each year. Learn more >

Two children watch as police evict an encampment

Credit: Abdul Saboor


France: Degrading Treatment of Migrants Around Calais
Human Rights Watch | October 7, 2021

A new report by Human Rights Watch details the mass evictions, police harassment, and restrictions on access to humanitarian assistance faced by refugees near Calais, France. An estimated 2,000 migrants–including unaccompanied children–currently live in encampments in Calais. Learn more >

Wooden stakes outside of the Polish embassy in the Hague, Netherlands. The stakes were erected in memory of the refugees who have died at the border of Belarus and Poland

Credit: Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock


Turkey’s border wall and deported Haitians: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

The Guardian | October 9, 2021

Check out this incredible collection of photos from around the world. View the pictures >

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