March 14, 2013 |  |  Follow us on: |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
Mercury Treaty Designed to Save Lives
 Photo © 2011 Juliane Kippenberg/Human Rights Watch
Suzanne, an 11-year-old who lives in Mali, eagerly explained how she handles deadly mercury to mine gold to help support her family.
“Once the ore is panned, you put a bit of mercury in. You rub the ore and the mercury with your two hands,” Suzanne told Human Rights Watch Researcher Juliane Kippenberg. “Then, when the mercury has attracted the gold, you put it on a metal box and burn it. When I have finished, I sell the gold to a trader. I do this daily… I know mercury is dangerous, but I don’t know how. I do not protect myself.”
Now, there is a new treaty designed to limit mercury exposure. Human Rights Watch played a key role in pushing for measures in the treaty that could protect tens of thousands of children across Africa, Asia, and Latin America who, like Suzanne, mine gold using mercury.
 | What Rules Should Govern US Drone Attacks?
by Kenneth Roth, Executive Director
New York Review of Books
As bits and pieces of the Obama administration’s legal justifications for its drone attacks trickle out, what is most striking is their deliberate ambiguity. That is obviously troubling for people who believe that the United States should conduct its counterterrorism operations in accordance with international law. It also sets a worrying precedent as other governments inevitably develop their own drone programs.
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 | Fleeing Rohingya Shot in Sea by Thailand’s Navy
Rohingya fleeing Burma should be given protection, not shot at. The Thai government should urgently investigate why sailors opened fire at boat people helpless in the sea and prosecute all those found responsible.
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 | In Hungary, Constitution Changes Warrant EU Action
The government’s willingness to bypass the constitutional court and subvert the constitution for its own political ends underscores the need for a concerted EU response. These latest changes leave no doubt about the Hungarian government’s contempt for the rule of law.
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