16 January 2011

AFRICA:

• Tunisia = This week, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country amid massive protests and Prime Minister Mohammad Ghannouchi declared himself interim president on Friday. A curfew has been established, where “gatherings of more than 3 people will not be tolerated” and the security forces have permission to SHOOT ON SIGHT anyone breaking curfew. Already the government reports that 23 Tunisians have been killed. At this point, apparently 95% of Tunisian lawyers are on strike, with the support of their Bar Association. (AI, HRW, FPA)

• Clearly this is illegal under the ICCPR; how are Tunisia’s leaders justifying this? Thoughts? Comments?

AMERICAS:
• USA = The state legislature of Illinois this Tuesday passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in Illinois. It will become law only after Governor Pat Quinn signs the bill; (you can contact Governor Quinn here). The death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1977, despite the general international understanding that the death penalty is a human rights violation. Some US states are now making strides to once again abolish the death penalty and help bring their country within international judicial and human rights standards. (AI)

• Brazil = The Open Society Justice Initiative this week published a piece remarking on the December Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling on Brazil’s amnesty “for ‘political offenses’ committed during its 1970s military dictatorship.” The decision, Gomes Lund v. Brazil, essentially articulated that the public’s right to truth and information outweighs a government’s right to political amnesty for past offenses. (OSF)

ASIA:
• China = As always, you can check out the excellent China Human Rights Defenders Weekly Briefing here.
• Nepal = The International Center for Transitional Justice has published a new report entitled Across the Lines: the Impact of Nepal’s Conflict on Women. This report documents women’s roles in the conflict as well as the sexual violence perpetrated against women during this “people’s war.” (ICTJ)

• The report is available online here.

EUROPE:
• Hungary = On Friday evening, protestors demonstrated against Hungary’s new media law which came into effect on 1^st January this year. The law allows the government to penalize content which is not “in the ‘public interest.’” Protestors argue against both the vagueness of the law and its over-breadth: it includes “all public or privately owned media content, whether broadcast, print or web-based.” (AI)

• You can check out photos from Friday night’s protest here.

MIDDLE EAST:
• Iran = Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and mother of two young children was this week sentenced to 11 years in prison for “activities against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” She has also been prohibited from practicing law or for leaving Iran for 20 years. Meanwhile, Shirin Ebadi says that “Iran’s government routinely levels these charges against lawyers, journalists, NGO workers and others whose work it finds troublesome.” (NYT, WSJ)

CULTURAL:
• 6 Billion Ways 2011: This gathering is taking place on Saturday 5^th March 2011 in London to address the effect of large-scale human rights abuses on each of us individually. Its purpose is to inform and mobilize “a wide range of people on local and global justice issues” and it is billed as “a day that explores resistance.” This event is FREE and you can register online here.

ALSO OF INTEREST:
• HURIDOCS, Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems International, is calling for applications from disability rights organizations to receive free access to their Global Disability Rights Library. Check it out here.

9 January 2011

AFRICA:

• Tunisia = A protestor last month set himself on fire to campaign against unemployment measures. Since then, protests have continued across the country eliciting a violent reaction from police officers who have used live ammunition against the protestors, killing at least 20 people. (EGV)

• Sudan = Today is voting day; Sudanese are deciding whether to pass the Independence Referendum which will decide whether the South will gain independence from Sudan. (EGV)

• Congo = The Republic of Congo is on the brink of adopting a new law which would make it the first nation in Africa to ensure judicial protection for its indigenous peoples, as soon as President Denis Sassou Nguesso signs it. (IRIN)

MIDDLE EAST:
• Iran = Executions have reached a total of almost 70 people in one month, most recently including a public hanging in Tehran on January 5^th. Advocates are concerned that many of these deaths are the result of Iran’s political and free-speech repression. Karim Lahidji of the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights has called on the international community to adopt targeted sanctions per the UN General Assembly Resolution of 21^st December 2010 [Addendum 3, Draft resolution III]. (FIDH)

CULTURAL:
• The Human Rights World Affairs Blog Network has published a Human Rights Year in Review for 2010, which you can check out here. It also lists some issues to pay attention to in 2011; what do you think of these “predictions”? Do you agree? Did the author miss anything from 2010 you think should have been included?

• Kakenya is a short film about a young Kenyan girl who is trying to become a teacher; you can find an interview with the filmmaker here. Have you seen it? Feel free to post a review here.

ALSO OF INTEREST:
• US law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll is continuing their human rights advocacy work on behalf of foreign subcontractors working on US bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently Agnieszka Fryszman, a partner at the firm, initiated a case under the World War II era Defense Base Act, scoring a 7 figure settlement for the family of a Nepalese subcontractor who was killed while working in Iraq. According to Fryszman, the men they represent were hired by a subcontractor working for KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary. (NLJ) Do you know of any other law firms or big businesses doing good work? Let me know and I’ll highlight them on the HRRU.

• Dutch lawmakers are questioning Royal Dutch Shell PLC this month about its oil sector activities in Nigeria. Amnesty International claims oil pollution is degrading locals’ water and food supplies, as well as their livelihoods. (WSJ)

• Columbia University’s Law School has put together an online Islamic Law Research Guide, a good resource for some basics on Islamic Law.

• UN Women, a United Nations agency focused on “gender equality and the empowerment of women,” officially began operating on 1^st January, 2011. (UNWomen)

As always, your comments, story suggestions and feedback are always welcome.

Here’s to a happy and human-rightsy 2011 for all!

7 September, 2010

ASIA:

• China = If you are not already following it, there is a great weekly briefing on human rights in China, available online here. This week's update includes stories on the detention of protesters in a village outside of Beijing and the release from a detention center of Fujian activist Fan Yanqiong. (CHRD)

CENTRAL ASIA:
• In Pakistan, the logistics of getting aid to flood victims is still a massive challenge. (IRIN)

AMERICAS:
• United States = A new social media and public education campaign (as a reaction to or a corollary of the American Apparel's Legalize Gay campaign), Legalize Trans, has launched with the goal of drawing increased attention to transgender people and their issues. (ADV)

• Find out more about Legalize Trans and its efforts at http://www.legalizetrans.com.

• Florida, United States = Why?? In a move likely never to be approved by Jesus, a Florida church allegedly led a "Burn a Koran Day." Not only does this engender hatred (a concept never promoted by religion), it also endangers US troops and citizens abroad. In fact, General David Petraeus, the top Commander in Afghanistan, said that the "Burn a Koran Day" puts our troops in danger and fuels extremist violence. (HRF)

ALSO OF INTEREST:
• Next week (14 September, 2010) the Managing Global Insecurity Project at the Brookings Institute will host a conversation on the Millennium Development Goals and their relationship with human rights, featuring remarks by Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International; Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and Professor Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown Law School. (BRK)

• I've been sayin' it for years: development is all about the ladies. Recent data now supports this knowledge: investments in women are the key behind progress on the Millennium Development Goals. (Change)

24 August 2010

AFRICA:
• Tanzania = women’s sexuality is being targeted, in the name of preventing the spread of HIV. A 21 year old woman was forced to strip naked in a public market and then was beaten up by a group of men for “dressing inappropriately” and therefore trying to spread the HIV. Community elders (male elders) are also using HIV as an excuse to “return to ancient cultural values” where women dressed “decently” and therefore did not entice men into sex, which spreads HIV. (IRIN)
o Thankfully community educators are challenging these ideas that HIV is not a personal responsibility and that the way women dress negates a man’s free will. In fact, Mkinga’s HIV/AIDS Committee has been facilitating educational workshops to educate community members about the legal consequences of perpetuating violence against women. (IRIN)
• South Africa = the currently proposed legislation, the Protection of Information Bill would severely restrict the independent press corps from reporting on governmental activity, as officials and state agencies would be given broad discretion to classify data as secret. The ANC is also proposing a special Media Appeals Tribunal to address complaints against the press. (CPJ)

CENTRAL ASIA:
• Pakistan = The effects of the massive flooding are obviously still being felt. For a Westerner’s take on what the past week has been like, click here to view UNICEF Regional Director Daniel Toole’s day-by-day diary. (UNICEF)
• Afghanistan = couple stoned to death (CNN, HRW)
• Bangladesh = Yay! In a move that supports the human right to freedom of religion and the practice thereof, a Bangladesh court has ruled that the wearing of religious clothing is a “personal choice” which may not be legally imposed upon anyone. (BBC)

AMERICAS:
• United States = Birthright Citizenship debates are the new racism (CAP)

EUROPE:
• Italy = Racism against people of the Roma and Sinti ethnicties has escalated again. Roberto Maroni, Italy’s interior minister, is continuing his lobbying efforts to be able to expel from Italy EU citizens who do not meet minimum income and housing requirements, despite the European Commission’s concerns about this racist plan. (AJ)
o France = Claiming that the repatriation was voluntary, France sent over 200 people of the Roma minority to Romania this week. (AJ, WP)

CULTURAL:
• A new musical compilation is out, entitled Yes We Can! Songs About Leaving Africa … it includes titles by K’Naan and Daara J Family among others.
o What do you think of this message? Its reference to Obama’s campaign?

ALSO OF INTEREST:
• The UN’s World Youth Conference is being held in Mexico this week and UNIFEM has organized a Young Women’s Forum for 24 August 2010 which will include a live webcast. Check it out here! (UNIFEM)
• Human Rights Watch and 95 other groups called upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to cancel the “Obiang Prize” to be rewarded in October because President Teodoro Obiang, for whom the prize is named and who donated $3million toward the prize, is widely criticized for his highly repressive regime, including his violation of the rights of his people to freedom of expression—one of the core rights recognized by UNESCO (HRW)