News Clips – May 5, 2017

May 05, 2017

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The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
Credit: UN Photo/Cia Pak

Hundreds of people protested in Belarus on Monday in opposition to the current government, despite officials banning the demonstration. [Washington Post]
On Tuesday, an estimated 2,000 students demonstrated outside of the West Rand campus in Johannesburg, South Africa in protest of alleged nepotism, racism, and intimidation tactics on campus. [IOL]
On Monday, May Day marches took place all over the world – including in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey – to demand improved pay and working conditions. [Washington Post]
Protesters continued to demonstrate in Venezuela in opposition to President Nicolas Maduro. [Washington Post]

On Sunday, Sri Lanka’s navy captured and transferred to police 32 people thought to be Rohingya refugees. [Al Jazeera]
On Thursday, the United Nations Children’s Fund reported that 75,000 refugees and migrants in Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the Western Balkans are at risk of psychosocial distress due to a “protracted state of limbo.” [UN News Centre]

On Sunday, farmers and landowners in Brazil allegedly attacked indigenous peoples of the Gamela tribe, severely injuring the tribespeople. [BBC News]
On Wednesday, ISIS used a car bomb to target a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing eight civilians. [Washington Post]
Russia, Iran, and Turkey signed an agreement establishing “de-escalation zones” in Syria to limit where Syria’s air force is permitted to fly. [AP News]

This week, the government of Azerbaijan called for the blocking of several independent and opposition news sites; a court in the country will consider the demand. [Washington Post]
On Thursday, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism accused Saudi Arabia of using anti-terror laws for the purpose of suppressing free speech. [OHCHR Press Release]

On Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey will consider a Brexit-like referendum to decide whether it will continue its membership in the European Union. [Washington Post]
The European Commission recently adopted the European Pillar of Social Rights, which is designed to promote fair labor markets and welfare systems in the region. [Council of Europe Press Release]