16 April 2011

AFRICA:

• DR Congo = Representatives from civil society organizations from all 11 provinces of the DRC have agreed to terms for the creation of a special independent court within the national judicial system for the prosecution of international crimes against humanity committed in the DRC since 1990. (HRW)

• Libya = The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has instituted proceedings against the state of Libya in the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in response to the massive number of NGO communications imploring it to do so. Libya now “has 60 days to respond to … (the allegations of) serious and widespread violations of the African Charter, including the repression of peaceful demonstrations and the use of heavy weapons and machine guns against its population.” (FIDH)

AMERICAS:

• USA = Attention New Yorkers: the Human Rights Campaign wants you! If you support marriage equality and would like to say so in a video, show up between 11am and 4pm tomorrow (Sunday)at Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District and speak out for equal rights. (ADV)

• USA = OMG! WTF? The Red Cross just published a new survey … in which 60% of American teenagers support torture for POWs … and over half of American teenagers support murder of POWs who had killed an American citizen. (GOOD)

• How did this happen? What messages are these kiddos getting? These are the people who will making our policy decisions in the not-so-distant future. This does NOT make me wanna LMFAO.

• Venezuela = The Inter-American Commission's Friday report found that Venezuelan human rights activists are working in a “growing climate of hostility” including unjust arrests, assaults, and harassment. President Chavez denies these allegations, saying the claims are politically motivated. (CHRON, WP)

ASIA:

• Tibet = YAY for citizen action! Residents near the Kirti Monastery have gathered to block Chinese military access to the monastery, protecting the 2500 monks within from a forced re-education program led by Chinese security forces, despite the use of excessive force and attack dogs. (HRW)

EUROPE:

• Croatia = About time! Yesterday the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Croatian Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac for their crimes against ethnic Serbs in 1995. (AI)

• For more information on the ICTY's prosecution of war criminals, you can check out Amnesty International's report, Behind a Wall of Silence: prosecution of war crimes in Croatia here.

MIDDLE EAST:

• Iran = A proposed law before the Iranian parliament, the Bill on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Governmental Organisations, will seriously restrain independent activities of Iranian NGOs if passed. Rights at risk include the freedom of association and the freedom of assembly, which would be monitored by the newly created Supreme Committee Supervising NGO Activities, an “unaccountable body” requiring registration of every active NGO in Iran. (AWID)

ALSO OF INTEREST:

• FREE conference in the Hague next month! On May 5-6, a short conference on Post-Conflict Justice and “Local Ownership” will be offered for free at the University of Leiden Campus. Register BEFORE 29 April by emailing pcj @ cdh.leidenuniv.nl

6 March 2011

AFRICA:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo = The “world capital of rape” continues to earn its title. Since January of this year, more than 200 civilians—women, men and children—have been treated for sexual assault by Doctors Without Borders in just one region of South Kivu Province. Rape has been used as a weapon of war fairly consistently since 2004 by the Rwandan Liberation group FDLR which is now based in Eastern DRC, just across the Rwandan border. However, this is largest scale of mass rape victims in years. (IRIN, OHCHR)

• Ivory Coast = Political conflict is fueling a humanitarian crisis. Current but outgoing President Gbagbo allegedly cut off water and electricity to the Central, Northern and Western areas of the country for “national security” reasons. These areas voted principally for Presidential hopeful Allassane Outtara, the “internationally recognized winner of the November 2010 presidential elections” and fighting has broken out between groups loyal to Gbagbo and to Outtara. The conflict, combined with the lack of water and electricity has resulted in terrible sanitation issues as well as limited medical resources, as surgeries, for example, require both clean water and electricity. As the death toll rises, civilians are having to unceremoniously burn dead bodies to help prevent the spread of disease. (AI, IRIN)

• Libya = I'm sure those of you who follow this blog are well aware of most of the actions in Libya this past week. Here are some additional doozies to consider:

• Paramedics have been attacked by al-Gaddafi's Security Forces, despite the fact that the medical workers were wearing “full medical uniform” and arrived at the hospital in Red Crescent-marked vehicles. (AI)

• A video “roundup” showing what has been happening on the ground is available online here.

• BP is still doing business in Libya, engaging in offshore activities, despite the UN's imposition of sanctions on the current government. (CHNG)

ASIA:

• China = Since local bloggers and activists have been calling for an extension of the Jasmine Revolution in China, authorities have cracked down on the media – including the foreign media. This past week, more than a dozen foreign journalists were attacked by Chinese police officers and “plainclothes thugs.” Despite China's agreed-upon October 2008 regulations regarding rights of media correspondents, officials have warned reporters that they must now apply for and “obtain government permission before any newsgathering within the city center.” (HRW, NPR)

• If this is how the foreign media are being treated, what about the locals??

MIDDLE EAST:

• United Arab Emirates = The government this week announced its candidacy for a spot on the UN Human Rights Council. The Council is currently meeting in its 16^th regular session in Geneva until 25^th March. (UAEI)

•Yemen = This week has seen more protestors attacked and fired upon by Yemeni officials, including during prayer time. (HRW)

ALSO OF INTEREST:

• A group of representatives of the apparel industry have formed a sustainable apparel coalition in conjunction with the US Environmental Protection Agency. (BHR)

• The Brookings Institute has published a new (and very comprehensive) report on Education and Displacement: Assessing Conditions for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Affected by Conflict. You can find it online here.

• March is International Women's Month – more on this topic on Wednesday, 8 March, International Women's Day.

23 February 2009

AFRICA:

• Opportunity to TAKE ACTION:
• Sign the “Africa for Women’s Rights” Declaration here! This campaign's aim is to call on African states to ratify international and regional women's human rights protection instruments and to respect them in law and practice. (AWID)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo = Activists call for the UN to take action to stop rebel massacres in Eastern DRC by deploying more troops there. (AT, HRW)
• Egypt = Opposition leader Nour has been released from jail (after being held for 3 years) and plans to continue his political career. (AT, AJ, DN)
• Egypt = Dia' el Din Gad, a 23 year old student blogger critical of Egypt’s policy towards Gaza is at risk of torture since his February 6^th arrest. (AI)
• Ethiopia = introduces a law against marriage under the age of 18, as part of new family planning laws. Yay! (BBC)
• World Vision Ethiopia’s Amhara province office advocated for this law and explains the need for it thus: girls = economic burden = married off early = not ready for childbirth physically = fistula = pain, shame, death. You can listen to the BBC-World Vision interview here. (BBC, WVR)
• Swaziland = Yay! Attorney Mary-Joyce Doo Aphane has filed a lawsuit to compel the government to overturn a discriminatory law which prohibits women from registering property under their own name. This case will challenge whether the courts will uphold the Constitutional provisions guaranteeing equality for women. (AWID)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Afghanistan = Detainees at Bagram will not have the Constitutional right to challenge their imprisonment in any US court. Boo! (MSNBC)
• Iran = The government is targeting Iranian activists … perhaps with the goal of forestalling a larger human and/or civil rights movement in Iran.
• Shirin Ebadi, a human rights activist and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been harassed, and two Iranian doctors focusing on HIV have been imprisoned and sentenced to prison terms of 3 and 6 years (see previous posts for more info on them). This is extending beyond these well-known advocates, however, and it is unclear how far-reaching this oppression will broaden or how long it will continue. It’s clearly a situation to keep our eyes on. (NPR)

CULTURAL:

• American author Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea is now volunteering for the US military to do cultural sensitivity training in Afghanistan. You can listen to his interview with PRI here. (PRI)
• Iraq = Nadje al-Ali has written a book entitled, What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq. She examines how Iraqi women have managed since the US invasion of March 2003. It’s not a pretty picture. (GUA)
• Sudan = Jerry Fowler of Save Darfur, an alliance of 180 orgs, gave a comprehensive 15 minute interview—including the background of the current conflict in Darfur, as well as the current nature of the conflict. You may want to check this out because the ICC is deliberating issuing an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president, al Bashir. Fowler discusses the politics behind the fighting and looks forward to what activists can and will achieve in Darfur. "Need a peace surge." - JP (USHMM)
• You can listen here.

1st February 2009

AFRICA:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo = General Laurent Nkunda was arrested while on a recent trip to Rwanda. He is wanted for war crimes in Congo, and it is still unclear whether his Rwandadn captord will turn him over to Congolese forces or not. Refugees at camps in Rwanda have called for his release, calling his arrest illegal and citing entrapment. This prompted Rwandan forces to tighten security in the camps. (AT, BBC, 702)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo = There is concern about ongoing military operations to disarm the Rwandan Hutus in Eastern DRC. Rwandan and Congolese militia are forcibly “disarming” FDLR rebels. Rwanda sees this group as THE major threat to its security. These military operations will almost certainly create massive displacement of civilians in North Kivu. (UNHCR)
• Somalia = There have been explosions and gunfire in Mogadishu, killing at least 5 people. This prompted Parliament to move to Djibouti for their presidential vote, where they extended the time for elections by five days. (AT, DN, BBC)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Iran = Two doctors focused on HIV prevention, Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei, who talk to their clients about sex, along with other methods of infection, were arrested in 2008 and charged with seeking to overthrow the Iranian government. They are currently awaiting a verdict in their case. The World Health Organization, btw, says that their efforts helped to give Iran one of the best HIV prevention programs in the world. (PHR)
• *TO TAKE ACTION = Sign the online petition to the Government of Iran on behalf of Doctors Arash and Kamiar Alaei HERE.
• Pakistan = the United States launched 2 airstrikes into Pakistan, with new President Obama’s approval. 20 people were killed, including 3 kiddos. (DN, GUA)
• Gaza, Palestine = 8 Israeli human rights groups are calling for an investigation into Israel’s use of white phosphorous in its recent 22-day attack on Gaza Strip, accusing the Israeli military of war crimes. The human rights groups calls the number of women and children killed “terrifying” in its enormity. (DN, AI)

CULTURAL:

• For a good mini-history lesson, check out John Prendergast’s podcast on the Eastern Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo, that is) for the United States Holocaust Museum. It’s 12 minutes of great background info for those of you who are new to this conflict area.
• The BBC and SkyNews are refusing to broadcast an Oxfam appeal for Gaza, calling the recent attacks by Israel a “political crisis” and citing fears of being seen as endorsing one side over the other. Why suddenly quash this issue with political rhetoric? C’mon BBC. It seems pretty clear that—from a strictly human rights perspective—an Oxfam appeal certainly makes sense. Gaza’s resources were overstretched before the attacks – now there is even less food, water, and medical supplies available for Gazan civilians. And FYI: The BBC HAS aired politically charged Oxfam appeals before, including one for Darfur. You can find others here.(DN, PRI, BBC)

ALSO OF INTEREST:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo = Tomas Lubanga, a former militia leader in Eastern DRC is being tried at the International Criminal Court, in its first trial ever, for conscription and use of child soldiers. This is being prosecuted exclusively as a war crime for the first time. (AT, DN)