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Sidi Mohammed Daddach, a Sahrawi political activist, former political prisoner and the 2002 Rafto Prize laureate, calls on UN and EU to supervise the human rights situation in Western Sahara. He also calls on the embassies of European countries to visit Western Sahara to see the real situation for Sahrawis, who are oppressed by the Moroccan regime.

Amnesty International has condemned the trial and conviction of three Uyghur website managers on state security charges. Dilshat Perhat, web manager and owner of the Diyarim website was sentenced to five years by an Urumqi court in a closed trial on 21 July; Nureli, web manager of Salkin was sentenced to three years; and Nijat Azat, web manager of Shabnam was sentenced to 10 years, according to Dilmurat Perhat, Dishat’s brother.

In the beginning of 2010 India marked the 60th anniversary of its constitution that sets the legal framework for protection of human rights and forbids discrimination. However, 60 years later, caste discrimination still prevails, particularly with regard to Dalits, the so called “untouchables”.

Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uyghur Congress and the Rafto Prize laureate, says she “felt terrible” after hearing that an Uyghur had been arrested on terrorism charges in Norway. Therefore, she asks the international community to refrain from using the possible terrorist activity of this single man to ascertain the aspirations of the broader Uyghur population and their peaceful struggle for freedom.

Demolitions and tighter security spark fears of a new backlash in Xinjiang. A year after deadly ethnic violence rocked the city of Urumqi, authorities in China’s troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang have begun demolishing a part of the city that traditionally housed hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uyghurs, Radio Free Asia reported.

The Western Sahara conflict is now in the 35th year, with no sign of resolution. While the United Nations is ostensibly responsible for its resolution and defending the human rights, some states provide implicit support for Moroccan occupation of the territory, failing to support a referendum which might include the option of independence. The issue also continues to poison relations between Algeria and Morocco, blocking hopes of regional economic integration in the Maghrib.

Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities not to execute by any method a 43-year-old woman convicted of adultery, following an official statement that she will not be executed by stoning. The Iranian Embassy in London announced on 8 July that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani would not be stoned to death. However, fears remain that the mother-of-two could be hanged, as she has been convicted of “adultery while married”.

The Azerbaijani authorities ignore pressure from the international community. Most recently, few days after the visit to Republic of Azerbaijan of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the editor Eynulla Fatullaeyv has been sentenced to 2,5 years imprisonment despite appeals from the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

Doctor Unni Krishnan Karunakara has been chosen to lead the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) over the next three years. He was elected on June 29 in Geneva. He takes over from Dr. Christophe Fournier. According to new president, MSF will remain relevant for the survival of large numbers of people, if the it manages to constantly adapt to new realities.