<p>GENEVA &ndash; Two independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council -the Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge A. Bustamante- expressed their grave concern at reports that the forcible return of large numbers of Hmong from Thailand to the Lao People&rsquo;s Democratic Republic is on-going despite numerous international protests.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On the occasion of the United Nations' (UN) Human Rights Day, this is annually observed on December 10 to mark the anniversary of the presentation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) calls for a greater recognition and respect of workers&rsquo; rights in Malaysia. This year the theme determined by the United Nations is &nbsp;non-discrimination.</p>

<p>The concept of non-discrimination lies at the heart of human rights.</p> <p>For this reason, it has been designated the official theme of this Human Rights Day, which occurs every year on the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And for this and many other reasons it should be an unofficial theme every day, every year, for everyone.&nbsp;</p>

<p>MANILA, Philippines&mdash;People cannot live with dignity if they are jobless, hungry, homeless, and without access to basic services like potable water, the Asia-Europe People&rsquo;s Forum said in a statement on the observance of the International Human Rights Day Thursday. &nbsp;</p>

<p>(Bangkok, 10 December 2009) The Asian region is lagging behind other regions in promoting and protecting human rights. It must catch up with others on this front if it is going to ensure human dignity, long lasting peace and sustainable development in the region, says Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day on December 10.</p>

<p>Rumours about some activists trying to scotch a sexual harassment case reveals double standards at NGOs.</p>

<p>Phnom Penh, Geneva, 2 December 2009 - The first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Cambodia was conducted by the UN Human Rights Council in its Working Group session held on Tuesday 1 December 2009 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The UPR is a new mechanism that allows a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member States once every four years. During yesterday&rsquo;s 3-hour proceedings, the Cambodian delegation led by Mr.</p>

<p>Since December 2008, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) has increasingly stressed its policy that migrant workers from Burma currently in Thailand must enter a nationality verification process (NV). NV is apparently required to change migrant&rsquo;s status from persons who illegally entered Thailand to persons who are legally resident here, as well as to allow migrants to legally work and receive legal protection equal to Thai persons.</p>

<p>A young blogger, Win Zaw Naing, is facing a possibly 15-year jail sentence just for posting pictures and reports about the September 2007 protests, known as the Saffron Revolution. Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association call for his release and the release of all the other detained bloggers.</p>

<p>In response to <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/1467">Awzar Thi's criticism</a> of human rights advocates in Thailand, Danthong Breen, chairman of the Union for Civil Liberty, a leading human rights organization based in Bangkok, has sent an email to a group of activists. &nbsp;Prachatai sees this as a valuable contribution to the debate on the roles of human rights activists in Thailand, and has translated and published his email on <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/journal/2009/11/26469">Prachatai (Thai version)</a> with the kind permission of Mr Breen. &nbsp;Here is his email and a response from Thongchai Winichakul, Thai academic at the University of Wisconsin in the US.</p>

<p>In a landmark rights victory in Thailand, the Department of Transport (DoT) has announced that migrants from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, as well as a number of other minority groups, can now register ownership of vehicles and will soon be able to apply for driving licenses. The decision overturns a 15-year old discriminatory National Security Council (NSC) policy denying these rights on vague national security grounds. The positive impact will be felt by well over 1 million registered migrants and other minority persons in the country.</p>

<p>The Thai Government recently reiterated its policy to formalise the status of around 2 million migrants from Burma working here - <em>nationality verification (NV)</em>.&nbsp;</p>