Human rights group sending delegation to Honduras to investigate alleged abuses

October 2nd, 2009 Lamborn visits Honduras despite US coup policyDENVER — Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn is returning from Honduras on a trip that angered the administration.

October 1st, 2009 UN rights council condemns abuses in Honduras coupGENEVA — The U.N. top rights body is condemning abuses following the June 28 coup in Honduras.

September 21st, 2009 Rights groups want UN Iran envoyNEW YORK — Human rights groups are urging the United Nations to appoint a special envoy to investigate continuing abuses in Iran following the disputed presidential elections there. Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran say that at least 72 people have died in the crackdown that followed opposition protests against the ballot, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election.

September 21st, 2009 Rights groups: UN must name special envoy for IranNEW YORK — Human rights groups urged the United Nations on Monday to appoint a special envoy to investigate continuing abuses in Iran following the disputed presidential elections there. "The United Nations should use President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the U.N.

September 10th, 2009 European envoy asks Russia about NGO killingMOSCOW — The Council of Europe's commissioner on human rights says Russia must prosecute the killers of a human rights activist in Chechnya this year, if it is to break a cycle of violence in the region. Thomas Hammarberg said Thursday that bringing the killers of Natalya Estemirova to justice will help dissipate the atmosphere of impunity that pervades Russia's violent southern fringe.

August 18th, 2009 Honduras interim gov't: OAS mission won't be fairTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras' coup-installed government said it does not expect to be judged fairly by an international panel that arrived Monday to investigate allegations of human rights abuses. The visit by Inter-American Commission of Human Rights monitors comes a week after the interim government charged 24 supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya with sedition in an intensifying crackdown on protests that have sometimes turned violent.

August 10th, 2009 Obama says drug cartels violate human rightsGUADALAJARA, Mexico —President Barack Obama says drug cartels are the largest violators of human rights in Mexico and he has confidence Mexican President Felipe Calderon is cracking down without violating human rights. Obama on Monday, however, did not say whether his State Department would certify that Mexico is protecting human rights in its efforts to fight the drug traders.

August 7th, 2009 OAS announces delegation to HondurasWASHINGTON — The Organization of American States has named a delegation to try to persuade the interim government in Honduras to return ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The OAS says foreign ministers from Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic will travel to Honduras on Tuesday.

August 6th, 2009 OAS agrees to send delegation to HondurasWASHINGTON — The Organization of American States agreed Wednesday to send a delegation to Honduras to try to persuade its interim government to negotiate with international mediators seeking the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said that the organization had not decided in Wednesday's meeting who would represent the delegation.

July 23rd, 2009 Rights group urges Sri Lanka aid rethinkCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's government should be forced to rectify serious human rights abuses before it receives an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund, a human rights group said Thursday. The IMF has given initial approval for a $2.5 billion loan to help Sri Lanka with reconstruction after the end of its 25-year civil war with ethnic Tamil rebels.

July 2nd, 2009 OAS: No negotiations on Honduras president returnGEORGETOWN, Guyana — The No. 2 official with the Organization of American States says the group is seeking the "unconditional" return of the ousted president of Honduras.

June 16th, 2009 Sri Lanka rights abuse probe ends abruptlyCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A Sri Lankan government investigation into human rights abuses during its war with Tamil Tiger rebels has been disbanded with more than half of its cases unresolved, an official said Tuesday. The decision came as the government brushed off demands for an international investigation into the final ferocious battles of the war, which ended last month after the military routed the rebels in an offensive the U.N.

June 12th, 2009 Human Rights Watch: Mexican military abuses risingMEXICO CITY — Abuses by the Mexican military have surged since the government deployed troops to fight drug cartels more than two years ago, and too little is done to investigate allegations of rapes, killing and torture, a rights group said Thursday. Mexico's government disputed the charges made by Human Rights Watch in a report to the United Nations, insisting it takes abuse allegations seriously.

June 11th, 2009 Amnesty says Sri Lanka fails to probe abusesCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government has never seriously investigated human rights abuses allegedly committed during 25 years of civil war and needs to rapidly overhaul its justice system to bring peace to the country, Amnesty International said Thursday. The London-based rights group said the problem was even more urgent in the wake of the government's defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last month in a bloody offensive that left more than 7,000 civilians dead, according to the United Nations.

June 11th, 2009 Amnesty says Sri Lanka fails to probe war abusesCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government never seriously investigated reports of human rights abuses during 25 years of civil war and needs to rapidly overhaul its justice system to bring peace to the country, Amnesty International said Thursday. The London-based rights group said the problem is even more urgent in the wake of the government's defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last month in a bloody offensive that the United Nations says left more than 7,000 civilians dead.