Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 17, 2013 12:05

Mali detains child soldiers together with adults

As the U.N. releases 2012 Report of Children and Armed Conflict, Amnesty International condemns detention of child soldiers in adult facilities.

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February 26, 2013- Nine prisoners, comprising seven Malian, one Nigerois and one Mauritanian, are taken out of a jail at the gendarmerie in the northern Malian city of Gao to be transferred on a military flight to Bamako, where they are to be judged on charges of belonging to the main Islamist armed group, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), an Al-Qaeda offshoot. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

An Amnesty International statement released Friday said Mali’s child soldiers are now being detained and tortured by Malian forces together with adult detainees.

In many cases, these children were forcefully recruited by armed groups to be used in the Tuareg rebellion, a conflict that began in northern Mali in January 2012, led by the National Movement for the Liberization of Azawad.

The detained children are as young as 13 and have been used to fight, man checkpoints and conduct patrols.

Ruth TamJune 14, 2013 09:04

After shock: A Bangladesh labor activist’s journey from Tazreen to Savar

Saydia Gulrukh, an activist for garment workers in Bangladesh, aims to combat the “audacity and arrogance” of those in power.

DHAKA, Bangladesh — When labor rights activist Saydia Gulrukh closes her eyes, it isn’t the images of the ruined Rana Plaza building that haunt her. It’s the sounds.

“I can still hear people scratching on the inside of the walls, praying and reciting the Koran,” she says, her dark eyes downcast.

After the eight-story building collapsed in April, killing 1,127 people in the worst industrial disaster in the country’s history, Gulrukh rushed to Savar. She comforted gravely injured garment workers sandwiched between broken slabs of concrete before heading to the Savar Enam hospital to assess the damage.

Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 14, 2013 08:59

Russia's anti-gay bill reflects rising homophobia

What could become Russia’s first federal law directed at the LGBT community since 1993 begs the question, what is behind the sudden regressive attitude toward LGBT rights?

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June 11, 2013- Police officers detain gay rights activists protesting outside the State Duma in Moscow against a bill signed by Russia's parliament yesterday, banning homosexual "propaganda" among minors. The soon-to-be federal law introduces steep fines and jail terms for people who promote homosexual "propaganda" to minors, a measure critics fear will be used to justify the repression of gays amid rising homophobia in the country. (VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images) (Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images)

Approximately 74 percent of Russians still consider members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) community to be mentally ill, according to the Russian Levada Center.

The Russian Parliament reflected this sentiment on Tuesday when it passed legislation banning “the promotion of homosexuality,” or “homosexual propaganda,” among minors. The bill was passed by the State Duma in a vote of 436-0.

The legal definition of homosexual propaganda remains murky, as questions about Elton John’s stage attire, the use of a rainbow on one company’s dairy product packaging, and Madonna’s pro-gay remarks at a concert come up for debate.

“This bill is outrageous and incredibly dangerous for millions in Russia - both gay and straight,” said Andre Banks, executive director and co-founder of gay rights activist group All Out. “This is a dangerous crackdown on free speech. No one will be safe from the witch hunt that will ensue.”

Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 10, 2013 20:49

Days before election, Iranian Supreme Leader has quelled potential for dissent

In the months leading up to the vote, Iran has attempted to prevent unrest among a politically polarized population.

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Iranians sit next to electoral posters of Hassan Rowhani (L) and Mohsen Rezai (C) in the religious city of Qom some 130 kilometres south of the capital on June 9, 2013. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Four years after Iran’s last presidential election led millions of protesters onto the streets, the Islamic Republic has yet to fully recover. Two former candidates remain under house arrest, and preparations for Friday’s presidential election have been stern.

In the months leading up to the vote, Iran has attempted to prevent similar unrest among a politically polarized population.

Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 8, 2013 12:28

Bangladeshi labor rights activist calls out Walmart at annual investor meeting

Kalpona Akter challenged Walmart's Rob Walton to join a binding safety accord that would change the way his company does business in Bangladesh.

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A Bangladeshi family member of a missing garment worker places roses on the barbed wire fence as she pays tribute to the victims at the site of the April 2013 collapse in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka on May 24, 2013. Industrial disasters since November have killed at least 1,250 workers, highlighting the appalling safety problems in the plants where three million workers toil for a basic monthly wages of $40, among the world's lowest. (Munir uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images)

Bangladeshi labor rights activist Kalpona Akter silenced the crowd at Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting Friday in the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas.

The largely jubilant crowd was deflated when Akter presented a proposal demanding that Walmart commit to worker safety, just a day after Bangladesh’s finance minister promised to improve working conditions in the garment industry but rejected calls for public money to build safer buildings.

Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 6, 2013 21:28

Aung San Suu Kyi talks presidency, poverty and rule of law at World Economic Forum

Three years into government reform, Suu Kyi says it's time for Myanmar to see results.

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Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a press conference during the World Economic Forum on East Asia at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyidaw on June 6, 2013. Aung San Suu Kyi on June 6 declared her intention to run for president, calling for all of the country's people to share the fruits of its dramatic reforms. AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN (Photo credit should read Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images) (Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images)

Aung San Suu Kyi, chairman of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD), candidly reiterated her desire to hold presidential office earlier today, on the first day of the World Economic Forum, taking place in Myanmar’s capital city of Naypyidaw.

Released from house arrest in 2010 after serving 15 years for dissenting against the ruling military, she presently serves as a member of parliament from the Kawhmu constituency, and said the country’s constitution must be amended in order to create the possibility for a Suu Kyi presidency.

A clause in the current constitution bans anyone with a foreign spouse or child from running for office. Michael Aris, Suu Kyi’s late husband, was English and their two sons hold British passports. When asked about the likelihood of changes being made, she said she does not believe in indulging optimism, but rather will “work for the constitution to be amended.”

Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 6, 2013 11:43

Gang rape of US tourist in India brings arrests as legal reform moves slowly

Reported rapes are surging in India as "fast-track" courts to prosecute accused rapists come online.

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A member of India's 'Red Brigade' takes part in self defense classes at a martial arts academy in Lucknow in May 2013. India's 'Red Brigade' is a group of angry young women challenging deeply ingrained patriarchal mindsets with a message for the country's sexual predators: change your ways or be ready to accept vigilante justice. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)

The gang rape of an American woman in the northern Indian town of Manali is another reminder of the dangers of violent sexual assault in India — for Indians and travelers alike.

Three men were arrested Thursday for allegedly offering the 30-year-old traveler a ride Monday night, then bringing the woman to a remote area and raping her.

Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 5, 2013 15:05

Turkish protesters challenge authoritarian rule, Islamic law

How Gezi Park became the flashpoint for years of apprehension about government overreach under Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.

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A Turkish demonstrator is dozed by a police water cannon during clashes on Kizilay square in Ankara on June 5, 2013. Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds who joined mass demonstrations against the Islamic-rooted government. The latest violence in days of angry protests erupted after thousands of union workers filled the central Kizilay square in the Turkish capital, urging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign. ( Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)

Striking workers flooded into Istanbul's Taksim Square on day six of protests Wednesday as unions helped lead a major action in the capital of Ankara. Taksim demonstrators issued a list of six demands to the government, hoping that the involvement of hundreds of thousands of strikers across the country would apply pressure to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip and the government.

William WheelerJune 4, 2013 12:14

Libya's purge of former Gaddafi officials reveals growing power of militias

The new Political Isolation Law has been criticized as too broad — and as a political weapon for punishing dissent.

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Libyan protesters hold placards and banners during a demonstration in support of the Political Isolation Law in Libya's landmark Martyrs Square' on May 5, 2013 in Tripoli, Libya. Libya's General National Congress, under pressure from armed militias, voted through a controversial law to exclude former regime officials from government posts. Gunmen who had surrounded the foreign and justice ministries lifted the sieges when state television broke the news. (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)

EDITOR'S NOTE: William Wheeler, recipient of the first annual GroundTruth reporting fellowship in the Middle East, is now on assignment in Libya. This is the second in a series of guest posts for this blog and he will soon be filing a GlobalPost Special Report on Libya's struggle to forge a democracy in the smoldering aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Joshua Eaton June 3, 2013 10:20

Bahrain shows two sides of ambitious economic development

A continuing uprising shadows Bahrain's quest to become the "next Dubai."

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Bahraini women take a part in an anti-regime demonstration against the death of Sayed Omran Sayed Hameed on June 1, 2013, in the village of Karzakkan, south of Manama. Hameed, 26, died at hospital after developing respiratory complications and his relatives claim that his death is due to the inhalation of poisonous tear gas that riot police used during a protest in May 2013. (Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images)

Joshua Eaton is an American journalist who covers religion and politics, international human rights and social movements. He visited Manama, Bahrain between May 14 and May 20 to see the situation there first-hand.

MANAMA, Bahrain — "The name ‘Bahrain’ means ‘two seas,’” our tour guide explained as we walked away from the old Portuguese fort on the outskirts of Manama. “There’s the saltwater sea that surrounds Bahrain. Then there’s the fresh water that bubbles up in the middle of the sea to our north.”