Topic: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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The Daily Reckoning
Leave Facebook's Eduardo Saverin alone

Eduardo Saverin's timely renunciation of his American citizenship is no reason to keep him out of the US. People should be able to move where they want, when they want, for any reason.
Africa Monitor
Nokia publishes policy on African conflict minerals

Nokia says it will not buy mineral products that benefit armed groups or those engaging in human rights abuses. Guest blogger Curt Hopkins asks how they will implement their policy. 
Kofi Annan: Despite flaws, UN Human Rights Council can bring progress

As Human Rights Day 2011 approaches, skeptics say the new UN Human Rights Council has not lived up to its mandate. Some suggest democratic nations should abandon it. At a time when we should be making it stronger, forsaking the Council is the wrong way to advance human rights.
British riots: Cameron clashes with basic law

By proposing that rioters and their families be evicted from public housing, British Prime Minister Cameron is promoting collective punishment for the acts of an individual – an ancient injustice that the Old Testament rejected.
Cubans may no longer be stuck on Caribbean isle

President Raúl Castro's economic reforms in Cuba appear set to deliver long-sought freedom, even if few can afford to go anywhere.
World Press Freedom Day: Don't believe the numbers, the good guys are winning

Today, on World Press Freedom Day, many will rightly mourn the alarming rise in the number of journalists killed or incarcerated around the world. But the much-cited freedom of expression indices are misleading. The real story on press freedom is that our side is winning. Here's why.
Are human rights really in decline? Look how far we've come.

In the face of reported global abuses, it's tempting to bemoan the lack of human rights progress. But even before protesters in Egypt and the Middle East took a historic stand for freedom, human rights has actually made big gains. Here are four key developments from the last decade.
France finds a hero in former Nazi prisoner turned bestselling author

Former Nazi prisoner Stéphane Hessel argues that figures like Martin Luther King Jr. prove that hope mixed with an 'unwillingness to compromise on human rights' can defeat oppression.
By admitting its human rights problems, the US helps other nations admit theirs

When the US had its own human rights record reviewed by the UN, the usual repressive regimes took the opportunity to condemn others while glossing over their own abuses. But history shows that human rights reporting can and does advance the cause of human rights worldwide.
Global News Blog
Ban Ki-moon mum on human rights as he visits China

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a four-day visit to China, has not urged the release of Liu Xiaobo, this year's Nobel Peace Prizewinner. Rights groups are highly critical of his general silence on human rights.
Was China behind cyber attack on Nobel Peace Prize website?

Tuesday's cyber attack on the Nobel Peace Prize website came less than three weeks after Norway awarded the prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobao.
Liu Xiaobo and the West's naive beliefs about freedom in China

Since the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, the West has naively thought that economic prosperity would inevitably lead to democracy in China. The case of Liu Xiaobo, who just won the Nobel Peace Prize, shows it hasn't. Human rights are the prerequisite for the 'fraternity between nations.'
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo

Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and was jailed in 2008 for advocating human rights.
Locked out: The 12 million people without a country, and the need to become a citizen

The victims of shifting borders, politics, or the happenstance of birthplace, the world's 12 million stateless people and their need to become citizens are rising on the international human rights agenda.
Obama and Medvedev: Does Russia have the courage to change?

To become a truly prosperous and democratic nation, Russia must be willing to abandon cultural obstacles to progress. Based on a meeting I had with Russia's president last month, Moscow may not be ready to do that.
In the name of human rights, France should not ban the veil

The burqa is part of an individual’s religious beliefs. It’s strikingly contradictory therefore that France, in order to liberate women from perceived Islamic oppression, has to violate their universal human rights.
Stand up to the enemies of Internet freedom

If human rights and democracy advocates refused to compromise their principles and used the Internet to defend freedom of expression, repression would be much more difficult.
Clinton bluntly condemns China on Internet censorship

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered blunt condemnation of strict Internet censorship in China and pledged to help Chinese citizens jump the 'Great Fire Wall.'
Liu Xiaobo: China's top pro-democracy dissident goes on trial

The trial of leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo for 'state subversion' lasted just a few hours Wednesday as supporters and diplomats barred from attending thronged the courtroom in near-freezing cold. A verdict is expected Friday.
Global News Blog
Text of Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech

Written speech delivered by President Barack Obama when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Thursday.
Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo faces subversion case

Police have presented a subversion case against prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, raising the likelihood that he will face trial and then prison. The move furthers China's crackdown on democracy activists.
For former Khmer Rouge prisoners, reparations are key to justice

Chum Mey and Bou Meng are two of seven prisoners left alive in S-21 prison when the regime fell in 1979, out of more than 14,000 inmates. They testified this week against former leader .
The intensifying battle over Internet freedom

From China to Syria, repressive nations are cracking down hard on digital dissidents.
Clinton must press China on rights

A stable, open China is in America's best interests.
China's Communist Party cautiously celebrates its reforms

Its economy has broken records, and the country is a global player – but the financial crisis could threaten stability.