Free Talk Live

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights has accused the international community of complicity in Israeli settlement policies and says Israel is implementing an apartheid system.

The award-winning new documentary, "Five Broken Cameras," tells the story of a Palestinian farmer who got a video camera to record his son’s childhood, but ended up documenting the growth of the resistance movement to the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. The film shows the non-violent tactics used by residents of Bil’in as they join with international and Israeli activists to protest the wall’s construction and confront Israeli soldiers. We speak with the film’s directors Emad Burnat, a Palestinian, and Guy Davidi, an Israeli.

Massachusetts special-needs facility is believed to be the only one in the world that uses 'aversive therapy' in treating children - The UN's special rapporteur on torture has made a formal approach to the US government over a special-needs school near Boston that inflicts electric shocks on autistic children as a form of behavioural control. Juan Mendez has told the Guardian that he has opened discussions with the US mission to the UN in Geneva as a first step towards investigating the school.

China hits back on U.S. human rights

Beijing, China (CNN) -- China criticized a "woeful" human rights record in the United States on Friday, a day after a U.S. report said Beijing's own record is getting worse, with harsh crackdowns on dissidents.

"The United States' tarnished human rights record has left it in no state -- whether on a moral, political or legal basis -- to act as the world's 'human rights justice,' " China said in an annual report on U.S. human rights.

NRA: Stop Helping Human Rights Abusers Get Weapons!

Children -- no matter where they live -- must be kept safe from gun violence. The United Nations is preparing to finalize a treaty that would help to do just that by helping to stem the flow of weapons to human rights abusers. The National Rifle Association (NRA) leadership is standing in the way of these efforts by waging a campaign of misinformation and lies to force the U.S. government to oppose the treaty.

A Canadian woman has launched a human rights complaint against the city of Ottawa for refusing to let her to park in front of her home in a historic district, a court spokeswoman said Wednesday. Property rights are human rights, so she's got that much right, right?

The National Gun Victims Action Council:a anti gun group, have called for a boycott of Starbucks on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. They've targeted Starbucks because the popular coffee shop chain has steadfastly refused to impose firearms restrictions above and beyond the gun laws that already exist at their 18,890 locations.
To ensure that the boycott gains no traction, many blogs serving the gun-rights community have designated Feb. 14 as Starbucks Appreciation Day. Please visit Starbucks on Valentine's Day and buy the fanciest item you can. They serve a lot more than coffee.

Book interview provides a history of 'human rights'. Who made up the definitive list, who is the keeper of the list, where does the concept come from?

You will be surprised to know that the concept of 'human rights' is a very young one, what started in the 1970's and re-emerged in the 1990's has deep historical, religious and legal roots. Samuel also weighs in on current events in North Africa and Europe from his perspective as a historian.

Full Text of Human Rights Record of the United States in 2009.