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World Human Rights Day: A look at 10 Countries with least free places on Earth

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark the upcoming 69th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being; regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages.
What is Human Rights Day? Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark
What is Human Rights Day? Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark
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Freedom House, an independent watchdog organisation says that countries such as Syria, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Libya, Cuba and Saudi Arabia are places where people suffer from some of the most severe, systematic abuses of human rigts on planet. The countries on the list are those that have received the lowest rankings on political rights and civil liberties. The report notes that unfortunately, the same countries keep appearing on this hit parade of violators year after year. IN PIC: Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of former US President Roosevelt, holding a Declaration of Human Rights (Image Courtesy UN photo)
Freedom House, an independent watchdog organisation says that countries such as Syria, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Libya, Cuba and Saudi Arabia are places where people suffer from some of the most severe, systematic abuses of human rigts on planet. The countries on the list are those that have received the lowest rankings on political rights and civil liberties. The report notes that unfortunately, the same countries keep appearing on this hit parade of violators year after year. IN PIC: Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of former US President Roosevelt, holding a Declaration of Human Rights (Image Courtesy UN photo)
The director of advocacy at Freedom House, Paula Schriefer says in the past few months Burma, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and North Korea have been the focus of the resolutions or special session by the council. According to the reports of the study, seven African countries figure among the list of the world's worst violators. These are the countries with top worst Human Rights Abusers.(Image Courtesy Freedomhouse.org)
The director of advocacy at Freedom House, Paula Schriefer says in the past few months Burma, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and North Korea have been the focus of the resolutions or special session by the council. According to the reports of the study, seven African countries figure among the list of the world's worst violators. These are the countries with top worst Human Rights Abusers.(Image Courtesy Freedomhouse.org)
North Korea: According to the Freedom House study, North Korea enjoys the lowest levels of freedom in the world. When Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011, the young Kim Jong Un inherited the world's fourth-largest military, a nuclear arsenal, and absolute control over North Korea. The regime maintains a network of prison camps in which thousands of political prisoners are subjected to brutal conditions. (Photo | AP)
North Korea: According to the Freedom House study, North Korea enjoys the lowest levels of freedom in the world. When Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011, the young Kim Jong Un inherited the world's fourth-largest military, a nuclear arsenal, and absolute control over North Korea. The regime maintains a network of prison camps in which thousands of political prisoners are subjected to brutal conditions. (Photo | AP)
Somalia: According to the report, Somalia's current government is highly regarded as anarchic which is largely driven by clan loyalty. The country is plagued by lawlessness: though technically illegal, female genital mutilation is still widely practised on all young Somali girls. (Photo | AP)
Somalia: According to the report, Somalia's current government is highly regarded as anarchic which is largely driven by clan loyalty. The country is plagued by lawlessness: though technically illegal, female genital mutilation is still widely practised on all young Somali girls. (Photo | AP)
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with a legal system based on Sharia law. Journalists and activists have been jailed for expressing dissent online. According to the law of the country all Saudis are required to be Muslims, and the public practice of any religion other than Islam is strictly forbidden. Women are not permitted to drive or leave home without a male relative accompanying them. (Photo | AP)
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with a legal system based on Sharia law. Journalists and activists have been jailed for expressing dissent online. According to the law of the country all Saudis are required to be Muslims, and the public practice of any religion other than Islam is strictly forbidden. Women are not permitted to drive or leave home without a male relative accompanying them. (Photo | AP)
South Sudan: After attaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan still thrives with political violence and mass killings along with ethnic lines threatened to make it a failed state, according to the Freedom House report. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has sweeping powers and cannot be impeached. In 2013, Kiir dismissed his entire cabinet and the vice president, while opposition parties still have virtually no real political power. (Photo | AP)
South Sudan: After attaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan still thrives with political violence and mass killings along with ethnic lines threatened to make it a failed state, according to the Freedom House report. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has sweeping powers and cannot be impeached. In 2013, Kiir dismissed his entire cabinet and the vice president, while opposition parties still have virtually no real political power. (Photo | AP)
China: China's president Xi Jingping launched an aggressive anti-graft campaign in 2013, promising to crack down on corrupt officials and business leaders both at home and abroad. This campaign has come at the expense of civil and political liberties, according to Freedom House, and judicial oversight of party actions has been notably absent since the campaign began. Civil society organizations, labour leaders, and academics are regularly investigated and often harassed by government officials. (Photo | AP)
China: China's president Xi Jingping launched an aggressive anti-graft campaign in 2013, promising to crack down on corrupt officials and business leaders both at home and abroad. This campaign has come at the expense of civil and political liberties, according to Freedom House, and judicial oversight of party actions has been notably absent since the campaign began. Civil society organizations, labour leaders, and academics are regularly investigated and often harassed by government officials. (Photo | AP)
Belarus: The Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko heads an authoritarian regime notorious for crushing any and all forms of political dissent. Social networking sites are blocked, and online opposition activists are regularly harassed and threatened. (Photo | AP)
Belarus: The Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko heads an authoritarian regime notorious for crushing any and all forms of political dissent. Social networking sites are blocked, and online opposition activists are regularly harassed and threatened. (Photo | AP)
Equatorial Guinea: Political opposition in Equatorial Guinea is limited and kept under strict control by the regime, according to Freedom House. The ruling party has almost complete control over the media, judiciary, police, and military. Corruption is rampant. Press censorship by the government is authorized under a 1992 law, Facebook is blocked, and libel is a criminal offense. The government engages in arbitrary arrests and frequently detains its political opponents on charges of 'destabilization.' (Photo | AP)
Equatorial Guinea: Political opposition in Equatorial Guinea is limited and kept under strict control by the regime, according to Freedom House. The ruling party has almost complete control over the media, judiciary, police, and military. Corruption is rampant. Press censorship by the government is authorized under a 1992 law, Facebook is blocked, and libel is a criminal offense. The government engages in arbitrary arrests and frequently detains its political opponents on charges of 'destabilization.' (Photo | AP)
Eritrea: For the 16th consecutive year, Eritrea, a small east African nation has been designated 'not free' by Freedom House. The country has only one political party i.e People's Front for Democracy and Justice' the longtime President Isaias Afwerki, is not democratically elected according to Freedom House. He has been in power since 2000. Independent media is prohibited from operating in Eritrea and the government currently controls all broadcasting outlets. (Image Courtesy Freedomhouse.org)
Eritrea: For the 16th consecutive year, Eritrea, a small east African nation has been designated 'not free' by Freedom House. The country has only one political party i.e People's Front for Democracy and Justice' the longtime President Isaias Afwerki, is not democratically elected according to Freedom House. He has been in power since 2000. Independent media is prohibited from operating in Eritrea and the government currently controls all broadcasting outlets. (Image Courtesy Freedomhouse.org)
Syria: President Bashar al-Assad's attempts to defeat Syria's armed factions have resulted in the indiscriminate killing of civilians using air strikes, artillery bombardments, and chemical weapons. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested and tortured since the uprising began in 2011 and Syrian journalists are frequently kidnapped and executed. (Photo | AP)
Syria: President Bashar al-Assad's attempts to defeat Syria's armed factions have resulted in the indiscriminate killing of civilians using air strikes, artillery bombardments, and chemical weapons. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested and tortured since the uprising began in 2011 and Syrian journalists are frequently kidnapped and executed. (Photo | AP)
Turkmenistan: Since the country achieved its independence in 1991, Turkmenistan never had a free and fair election according to the report of Freedom House. The government controls nearly all broadcast and print media. The country's main internet service provider is also run by the government, which routinely blocks websites it deems undesirable. (Photo | AP)
Turkmenistan: Since the country achieved its independence in 1991, Turkmenistan never had a free and fair election according to the report of Freedom House. The government controls nearly all broadcast and print media. The country's main internet service provider is also run by the government, which routinely blocks websites it deems undesirable. (Photo | AP)
'Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.' -- Eleanor Roosevelt. (Image Courtesy Freedomhouse.org)
'Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.' -- Eleanor Roosevelt. (Image Courtesy Freedomhouse.org)
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