16 February 2009

AFRICA:

• Africa = Human Rights Watch has issued a report about HIV/ AIDS related human rights abuses against women and girls in Africa. Available here. (HRW)
• Burundi = is debating a new criminal code that would—for the first time ever in Burundi’s history—criminalize consensual homosexual sex. No, no, no! (HRW)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo = Aid workers are accusing the Emergency Relief Coordinators of the UN of not protecting the people they are there to protect, and not stopping massacres they know are in progress. The UN says that they only have 300 peacekeepers – most of whom are engineers protecting the airports – for 6,000 square kilometers of rebel territory. So … shouldn’t the UN increase the number of peacekeepers in the area? Ask Alan Doss to do just that. (BBC)
• Ethiopia = Greater and greater numbers of people from Somalia are seeking refuge in Ethiopia. They are fleeing both general insecurity in Somalia as well as accusations that they are sympathetic with a foreign source and/ or that they have converted to Christianity. (AT, BBG)
• Ghana = Outgoing President Kufuor commuted all death sentences in the country before leaving office and encouraged the new President, John Atta Mills, to abolish the death penalty entirely in Ghana. (AI)
• Libya = is writing a new Constitution! Gaddafi’s son is apparently leading this effort. The new Constitution will allegedly adopt the system of direct democracy as a way of governance and will modernize the mechanisms of practicing this authority by the citizens without canceling previous documents like the Declaration of the People’s Power. The content of this new proposed Constitution is still largely unknown. Something to keep your eye on … (AT, TG)
• Nigeria = the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission, and other national, regional, and international bodies, including Human Rights Watch, urged legislators and the president to reject a bill before Nigeria's National Assembly to ban "same gender marriage." (HRW)
• South Africa = Dock workers in South Africa are refusing to unload Israeli goods – to show their solidarity with the Palestinians! Yay. (DN)
• Sudan = Human Rights Watch issued a report titled, “There is No Protection” about the current security situation for civilians in Sudan, and in Darfur in particular. You can read the HRW report here. (HRW)
• Zambia = President Banda commuted the death sentences of 53 prisoners, giving them life in prison instead. (AI)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Afghanistan = A former UN Human Rights Investigator, Cherif Bassiouni, was fired from the UN after releasing a report in the United States criticizing the US of committing human rights abuses upon Afghani people. He accused US troops of arbitrarily breaking into people’s homes, arresting the residents and torturing detainees. The torture allegedly consisted of sexual abuse, torture, beatings, and the use of force resulting in death, violating international treaties and the ideals of humanitarian law. Who is answerable for forcing out Mr. Bassiouni? Anyone know? It’d be great if we could all contact that person. (DN)
• Meanwhile, the US has signed a declaration with Afghanistan to attempt to reduce civilian casualties. (AJ)
• Israel = allegedly deported 10 passengers on a ship from Lebanon who were trying to deliver aid to Gaza. Israeli forces opened fire on the captain, crew and passengers and assaulted them after coming aboard. Another 18 passengers are still in Israeli custody. The ship carried 60 tons of supplies, including medical equipment. (DN)
• See previous posts for the US position on Israel-Palestine relations. It’s just not logical.
• Pakistan = the national government has agreed to restore Sharia (Islamic) law, in the Swat Valley and other areas in the country's northwest as part of a peace deal with local pro-Taliban fighters. How is this deal “promoting peace” if it ends up oppressing all of the ladies? (AJ, BBC)

CULTURAL:

• United Kingdom = The BBC has removed Margaret Thatcher’s daughter, Carol, from her position on “The One Show” for using an ethnically derogatory epithet. She used the offensive term during a private conversation she was having in a green room on BBC premises. She declined to apologize for her use of the remark. (BBC, GUA)
• The movie, “Waltz with Bashir,” has been banned in Lebanon. (PRI)
• So, apparently Fidel Castro has a blog. No kidding. Check it out here. (MSNBC)
• Sex ed via cell phone? (PRI)

AMERICAS:

• United States = The Senate Judiciary Committee leader, Senator Patrick Leahy, suggested that a Truth Commission be convened to investigate the Bush era. Leahy has said that the purpose of this is to assemble the facts, and “at least find out what happened … Those who testify will be offered immunity. Those who do not testify may be prosecuted based on evidence from others’ testimony … and, of course, anybody can be prosecuted for perjury. It may be the ONLY way to get the truth out.” President Obama is allegedly considering this proposal. (DN, MSNBC, NYT)
• United States = The 9^th Circuit Federal Court in San Francisco is considering the Motion to Dismiss filed by the Bush administration in the case regarding the transport and torture of 5 terrorism suspects who were picked up in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. This case came before the court during the Bush administration, which pleaded the State Secrets defense to get the case dismissed (State Secrets defense = it would jeopardize national security to even talk about this case in court). The Obama administration is repeating this blanket State Secrets defense. Kinda makes you wonder about the whole transparency issue. (MSNBC, ABC)
• United States = DirecTV has refused to air a pro-Palestinian advertisement on their channels. Click here to take action. (DN, AUPHR)
• US = More people in the military committed suicide in January 2009 than were killed in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. What will it take for us to recognize the reality and effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Currently in the US military, sufferers of PTSD are not eligible for the purple heart medal. Not cool. (DN, NPR)

ALSO OF INTEREST:

• ACTIVIST HIGHLIGHT: Kumi Naidoo
• This South African activist completed a 3-week hunger strike to draw attention to Zimbabwe’s human rights and humanitarian crises, including the cholera epidemic, financial collapse, failure of basic services, and human rights abuses against both civilians and opposing party politicians. (BBC, HFP)
• ACTIVIST HIGHLIGHT: Alison Des Forges
• Activist for the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region and genocide expert, Alison Des Forges was killed in a plane crash this week. You can read Human Rights Watch’s tribute to her here. (HRW)
• Cambodia = is finally trying leaders of the Khmer Rouge for human rights abuses committed 30 years ago. In this instance, the revolution WILL be televised. (AJ, NYT)
• Hungary = A Hungarian woman appealed to international law – in the form of CEDAW (The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) -to stop her abusive partner from further harming her. This remedy is not available to American women because our great nation has not yet ratified CEDAW. (HRW)
• Sri Lanka = is threatening to expel foreign aid workers and journalists in this 3^rd year of war between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers, now that the military is capturing the last of the rebel bases. The Sri Lankan government has accused reporters from CNN, the BBC, and Al Jazeera of being sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers. Independent journalists are not allowed in the conflict zone. The current humanitarian situation is poor—250,000 civilians are trapped in the midst of the fighting in the Mullaitivu district. Meanwhile the foreign minister says, “there are no human rights abuses in our country.” (DN, AI)
• Russia = Human Rights Watch has issued a report of the status of migrant workers in Russia. People who are migrant workers face many challenges, including being denied wages, threats of violence and police abuse. Check out the report here.

Take Action Today For Girls in Zambia

Equality Now, a leading international women's human rights group, has just issued an urgent action to support the prosecution of schoolteachers who rape their students in Zambia. Having lived there myself, I can attest to the fact that this problem is rampant. This issue is really near and dear to my heart and it is super easy for you to take action! I hope you will.

25 January, 2009

AFRICA:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo = Rwandan Troops Enter Eastern Congo to Pursue the FDLR Hutu Group (AT)
• Congolese troops are denying Red Cross workers and other aid groups to cross the check point north of Goma into the area where Rwandan and Congolese forces are operating. Their alleged objective is to disarm the FDLR Hutu rebels in 2 weeks.
• Democratic Republic of the Congo = The International Criminal Court in the Hague has accused Jen-Pierre Bemba of ordering mass rapes while he was serving as a rebel leader of the Congolese Liberation Movement. He allegedly ordered rape as a tool to terrorize the populace to prevent them from supporting any resistance to Ange-Felix Patasse, the Central African Republic president. He faces counts of crimes against humanity as well as war crimes. (AJ)
• Nigeria = A group of divorced women who planned a protest have been ordered by authorities to cancel the event. Authorities claim that street protests are “un-Islamic” and morally wrong. Additionally, the Director General of the Hisbah, the police force, stated that “never in the history of Islam have women taken to the streets to press for their demands.” Hmm. I imagine lots of women’s human rights activists would disagree with that comment … and even if the comment were true, wouldn’t the international community rally around these gutsy ladies? I hardly think a lack of historical precedent would be a deterrent for these activists. (AWID)
• Somalia = Check out this Amnesty Int’l interview with women’s human rights activist Zam Zam Abdullahi Abdi (AI)
• Sudan = 16 civilians killed in Darfur when Sudanese government planes bombed a “rebel town” (AJ)
• Uganda = Supreme Court Keeps Death Penalty, claiming it is a deterrent to murder (all evidence to the contrary), but the Court did commute the death sentences of people who have been on death row for greater than 3 years, changing their sentences to life in prison, after ruling that mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional. This overrules a 2005 Ugandan Constitutional Court ruling which found the death penalty unconstitutional. It is now up to the Parliament to decide the fate of the death penalty in Uganda, as well as the particulars of it if they keep it (i.e. death by hanging is still legal, though the Constitutional Court has previously deemed it unconstitutional). (AT, AI)
• Zambia = Chipata, the Provincial Capital of Eastern Province has seen at least 4 deaths by drowning so far this rainy season. Authorities from the local Council blame the recent landslides and floods on hillside cultivation. To address this problem, authorities, in full riot gear, destroyed many local maize fields. Many of these had already been fertilized and planted, prompting local residents to protest. Some threw stones at the officers, who fired warning shots into the air and tear gas into the crowd. (JHR)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Iraq = 14 of Iraq’s 18 Provinces will be voting on January 31^st. The 2005 elections were largely boycotted by voters who are Sunni. This time, a dramatic increase in Sunni voting is expected, which puts into doubt whether the Islamic Party that took power in 2005 will win these elections as well. (WPWB)
• Palestine, Gaza Strip
• After a 22-day assault on Gaza, Israel called for a unilateral cease-fire. During those 22 days, Israel bombed 4 United Nations schools, among many other civilian targets. (DN)
• The United Nations compound in Gaza is essentially destroyed, prompting harsh words from the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who calls the destruction “outrageous and totally unacceptable.” He has also called for Israel’s attack upon the UN compund to be investigated as a war crime. (DN)
• Amer Shurrab, a Washington, DC resident and graduate of Middlebury College, told Democracy Now his heartbreaking story of his brothers’ deaths in Gaza and his father’s distress at not being able to get his wounded son an ambulance. This is worth a listen by you. Really. (DN)
• Dr. Mousa al Hadad, in an interview with World Vision, described his impressions of the current situation in Gaza. He is a retired doctor living in Gaza City. Dr. al Hadad estimates there have been greater than 4,000 injuries, greater than 60% of which he guesses to be women and children. He has been staying in his home which currently has no electricity and hardly any running water. He says that a pregnant woman and three of her friends who were helping her to the hospital were killed by an Israeli missile. (WVR)
• White Phosphorous = was used as a weapon by Israel against Palestinian civilians. White phosphorous causes 3^rd degree burns, eating away one’s skin down to the bone, and attempting to wash it off with water only makes it worse. (WVR, DN, HRW, AI)
• What will the effect of this be on the kiddos?
• President Obama of the US called the leaders of the PLO, Israel, Jordan, and Syria … but not Hamas. George Mitchell has been appointed by Obama as the United States’ Special Envoy to the Middle East; seems like a good guy for the job based on his Ireland experience … (DN)

CULTURAL:

• Zimbabwe = New Album: Rebel Woman by Chiwoniso released and getting great reviews (WVR)
• United States = Bishop Eugene Robinson’s invocation at the Be The Change concert at the National Mall on January 17^th was not included in the HBO coverage of the event, but is available online here. He is the first openly gay Episcopal Bishop and censorship and bigotry are suspected in the neglectful coverage of his invocation. (DN)

AMERICAS:

• United States = Barack Hussein Obama is the new Prez. JOY! Needless to say, as a human rights advocate, I am feeling invigorated with the possibility of having a leader who may actually care about constitutional as well as international legal obligations. With cautious optimism, I’m waiting to see how this all shakes out.
• In his first week, Obama ordered a 4 month suspension of all Guantanamo cases (but no word on other US prisons abroad – Bagram anyone?), instituted a pay freeze for all top White House staff members, and unveiled new White House ethics rules for lobbyists, among other things. (DN)
• United States = The Meridian Star newspaper in Meridian, Mississippi offered an apology for its coverage of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, stating that they had “acted with gross neglect” in their coverage of the movement. (DN)
• United States = The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture stated that Bush and Rumsfeld should be prosecuted for sanctioning abuse and torture at Guantanamo Bay. (DN)
• United States = Before ending his tenure as President, George Bush pardoned 2 US Border Patrol agents (Ignatio Ramos and Jose Campion) who were imprisoned for killing an unarmed Mexican civilian. (DN)
• The International Court of Justice ruled that the US’ killing of a Mexican citizen in Texas breached US obligations under international law. (DN)
• United States = Leonard Peltier, in jail since 1975 for his participation in a shootout at the Pine Ridge Reservation was transferred to the Canaan Federal Prison in Pennsylvania. He is considered by many to be a political prisoner within the US. Upon his transfer, he was put into the general population and severely beaten, likely with the implicit consent of the guards. Mr. Peltier suffers from diabetes and was placed in solitary confinement after being beaten. (DN)

ALSO OF INTEREST:

• Nepal = Uma Singh, a Nepalese journalist, has been assassinated for voicing her human rights convictions. (WVR)
• Russia = human rights lawyer Stanislav Markilov was assassinated after protesting the release of a Russian officer convicted of atrocities during the Chechen war. (DN)
• Denmark = Is the happiest country on earth. Denmark. Happiest Country. Who knew? (60M)