Luxembourg’s LGBTIQ+ rights groups gathered yesterday to protest for the rights of queer people as the petition that demands LGBTIQA+ related topics to be scrapped from school education surpassed 6.000 signatures – one of the fastest growing petitions in recent history. Franziska comments on protest and the petition.
What's Right: Namibia decriminalises homosexuality
A high court in Namibia has deemed a law that criminalises same-sex marriage unconstitutional. This is a landmark ruling for LGBTIQ rights in southern Africa. Get all the details on today's What's Right with the World".
What's right: Climate protection is a human right, ECHR rules
The more than 2000 Swiss women, called KlimaSeniorinnen, won a climate case in the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled that Switzerland has failed to comply with its duties under the convention concerning climate change and violated the right to respect for private and family life.
What's right: Thailand allows same-sex marriage
Thailand is the first Southeast Asian country to allow same-sex marriage. Get all the details on today's "What's right with the world".
LM: The personal fight for the abolition of the death penalty
On Monday, the city of Esch organised a screening of the film "Seven winters in Teheran" which tells the story of Reyhaneh Jabbari's execution. Reyhaneh's mother Shole Pakravan, an activist for human rights and the abolition of the death penalty, in our interview on Local Matters, she tells about her fight.
What's right: ECHR strengthens victims of racial profiling
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Switzerland for racial profiling. A Swiss national of Kenyan origin filed a complaint in Switzerland in 2015. He was stopped and searched by police at the train station in Zurich. The ruling is a huge step forward and sets an example for future court decisions across the EU.
Activism abroad: Solmaz' voice for Iran
For years, Solmaz Jodairi Saber has been active for human rights in her home country Iran, even though living in Luxembourg she can't do a lot, even though for many years, little has moved in Iran. On Local Matters, she tells us about her fight against the Iranian regime.
Local Matters: Racial discrimination by law
We had Rhéa Ziadé on our microphone for Local Matters talking about racial discrimination in the laws of Luxembourg.
Local Matters: Human trafficking in Luxembourg
Luxembourg is a target country for human trafficking, victims work in forced labor in construction, restaurants, in prostitution and private households.
Local Matters: Olympics and Human Rights
This week on Local Matters, we focus on the Olympic Games in Beijing. Our guest for today was Olivier Pirot, General Director of Amnesty International Luxembourg who is more than concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.
In January, the organisers of the Olympic Wintergames in Beijing warned athletes not to violate the “Olympic spirit” or Chinese rules, after human rights advocates expressed concerns about the safety of the athletes. “Any behaviour or speeches that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are subject to certain punishment,” said Yang Shu, deputy director general of Beijing 2022’s International Relations Department, during a press conference in January.
While athlete teams from all over the world compete in the Games, other countries decided to boycott the Olympics sending a clear message: We don’t support nor tolerate the human rights violations in China. Luxembourg is not part of this movement and neither the human rights NGO Amnesty International Luxembourg voiced a call for boycott. General Director Olivier Pirot explains: “A boycott is not enough. If you are there as a partner, it is an opportunity. You should use this opportunity to remind China of its obligations. China is member of the United Nations. So, they have to respect the human rights declaration.”
Olivier Pirot is concerned about the lack of the freedom of expression in the country, and not least about the high number of executions due to the death penalty. “Every year, we launch a report on death penalty. China is not even mentioned in the report with figures because we’re talking about thousands of executions in China. We don’t even know how many.” But Pirot is hopeful: “If you look decades back, there were a lot of countries where death penalty was still ongoing and with this slow pressure, things are changing. Every year, we see improvements. It is long processes.”