Amnesty International: Five Human Rights stories you probably didn’t know about, including a story from Macedonia

Amnesty International: Five Human Rights stories you probably didn’t know about, including a story from Macedonia

Over the past year, thousands of civilians were brutally murdered during confrontations in Syria, people in Mali fell victim to an escalation in human rights abuses and women in Afghanistan and Pakistan continued to suffer great discrimination.

But underneath the radar, away from international attention, governments and armed groups are also abusing the rights of men, women and children in many other countries. Besides Bolivia, Guinea Bissau , United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Amnesty International also included a story from Macedonia on this list.

“Being Roma in Macedonia is not easy, and for Romani women, the situation is even harder as they face high levels of discrimination when trying to access education, find a job or receive health care.

The female student drop-out rate is very high, which Amnesty International believes is due to, amongst other things, the fact that stereotypes about how Romani parents fail to value girls’ education weigh heavily on teaching staff’s expectations of Roma schoolchildren.

The authorities have done very little to improve the situation – international pressure has only led to half-hearted measures that have never been effectively implemented.

In January 2013, Amnesty International published a briefing on the Macedonian government’s failure to take special measures to guarantee the rights of Romani women and girls. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is reviewing its findings.”