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Human Rights - Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for action in combating climate change ahead of a global climate summit in Scotland. “This is a human rights obligation and a matter of survival,” Bachelet said in a statement regarding climate change. “Without a healthy planet to live on, there will be no ... Read more The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for action in combating climate change ahead of a global climate summit in Scotland. “This is a human rights obligation and a matter of survival,” Bachelet said in a statement regarding climate change. “Without a healthy planet to live on, there will be no human rights ? and if we continue on our current path — there may be no humans.” Bachelet added in her statement that issues of pollution, climate change and a decline in biodiversity combine to create “the single greatest challenge to human rights in our era.” “Only urgent, priority action can mitigate or avert disasters that will have huge ? and in some cases lethal ? impacts on all of us, especially our children and grandchildren,” Bachelet, who is the U.N.’s most senior human rights official, added. The high commissioner official urged the countries that would be participating in the global climate conference to make good on their financial commitments to addressing environmental concerns “and indeed increase them ? not ignore them for the second year in a row.” Bachelet noted that some already vulnerable, poor communities bear the brunt of environmental issues and should be among the first to receive resources that address climate change. “We must change course now ? it is the only option if we want to safeguard humanity,” she also said. Bachelet’s remarks come just days before the COP26 summit is scheduled to begin in Glasgow on Sunday. President Biden along with world leaders from nearly 200 other countries will gather for the meeting to discuss climate change.
Human Rights - Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 On 10 July 2016, against a backdrop of escalating attacks on civil society and the political opposition in the country, Kem Ley was shot in a café at a petrol station in central Phnom Penh. Police quickly arrested Oeuth Ang – who inexplicably identified himself as ?Choub Samlab? or ?Meet to Kill? – as he ... Read more On 10 July 2016, against a backdrop of escalating attacks on civil society and the political opposition in the country, Kem Ley was shot in a café at a petrol station in central Phnom Penh. Police quickly arrested Oeuth Ang – who inexplicably identified himself as ?Choub Samlab? or ?Meet to Kill? – as he fled the scene. According to police, the suspect ?confessed? to the killing and claimed his motive was an unpaid debt of US$3000 Kem Ley owed him, a claim disputed by Kem Ley?s widow and Oeuth Ang?s wife. On 23 March 2017, after a half-day trial hearing, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Oeuth Ang guilty of the murder of Kem Ley and sentenced him to life imprisonment. To date, there has been no independent, impartial and effective investigation to establish whether anyone else was involved in the killing. On 24 May 2019, Cambodia?s Supreme Court rejected Oeuth Ang?s appeal to reduce sentence and upheld his life imprisonment term. The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have previously highlighted key aspects of the case that have not been adequately investigated and were not adequately addressed at trial. The failure to address such deficiencies raises concerns about prosecutors? priorities to secure a quick conviction rather than comprehensively investigating the case, including uncovering information about other possible conspirators who may have been involved. In light of these failings, the conduct of the investigation cannot credibly be said to have been thorough, independent, impartial or effective as required by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Cambodia is a party and the revised Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016).
Human Rights - Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 The Doctors for Human Rights organization (MEDU) pronounced concern at the alarming living and working conditions of foreign farm workers on the Gioia Tauro, Calabria, in Southern Italy. “Living and working conditions for foreign farm laborers, working on the citrus harvest on the Gioia Tauro plain in Calabria, appear more dramatic than ever,” says Doctors ... Read more The Doctors for Human Rights organization (MEDU) pronounced concern at the alarming living and working conditions of foreign farm workers on the Gioia Tauro, Calabria, in Southern Italy. “Living and working conditions for foreign farm laborers, working on the citrus harvest on the Gioia Tauro plain in Calabria, appear more dramatic than ever,” says Doctors for Human Rights, which assists migrants living in the area. MEDU’s statement is released over a decade past after violent clashes, known as the Rosarno revolt (after the town in Calabria where they started) took place between January 7 and 9. The unrest began after two African migrants were injured by unknown attackers using a compressed air rifle. MEDU says that nothing much has changed since then. MEDU points out that there is still the “the persistent phenomenon of serious work exploitation, and also the growing precariousness of the socio-economic housing conditions and health conditions,” to take into account. The NGO highlighted that “the coronavirus pandemic found fertile ground in precarious settlements where crowded housing and terrible health and hygiene conditions favored a rapid spread of infections.” The team from the MEDU mobile clinic went back to working in the plain for the seventh consecutive year in the month of October 2020; providing health assistance and legal support to farm workers who live in the official tent camp of San Ferdinando, the container camp of Rosarno, and the abandoned farmhouses dotted around the fields in the area. The organization estimates that there are more than 1,500 people present in the various structures, with numbers increasing in the last month. There are more than 700 people staying in the tent camp of San Ferdinando alone, both in official tents and new shacks built every day by new arrivals. The NGO said the population is also made up this year of young men, mainly asylum seekers and refugees from countries in western sub-Saharan Africa, with a median age of about 30 years. Of the 100 patients seen by MEDU in the first months of its work there (October to December), 88% had a legal stay permit, but just over half of the people who provided information on their working condition (54) said they had a work contract (55%), short-term in the majority of cases. Only a small percentage (13%) said they regularly received a pay packet. Informal work is, in fact, still the norm among workers with a contract. The employer often pays part of the salary under the table and officially declares on the pay stub fewer days than those actually worked. Original Source: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/29690/migrants-in-southern-italy-living-...
Human Rights - Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 Ten years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights ?essential for the full enjoyment of the right to life.? Two months later, the UN Human Rights Council clarified that governments have the primary responsibility to deliver these new rights but called upon member ... Read more Ten years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights ?essential for the full enjoyment of the right to life.? Two months later, the UN Human Rights Council clarified that governments have the primary responsibility to deliver these new rights but called upon member states and international organizations to assist countries of the global South who might struggle to fulfil their new obligations. This was a historic development in the long search for water justice. Water was not included in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as it seemed to be a limitless resource available to all. But a perfect storm of global water depletion and destruction, growing poverty and inequality, and rising water rates for residents ? often the result of the privatization of water services ? led to a full blown human rights crisis by the turn of the 21st century. With billions living without access to clean water and sanitation, the call for water justice was born. The fight to recognize the human right to water was surprisingly fierce and bitter. It was opposed by the private water utilities and the bottled water industry, the World Bank that was promoting water privatization in developing countries, the World Water Council, and many wealthy countries of the North, including Great Britain, Canada and the United States. Food & Water Watch played an important role in achieving this pivotal mandate. Wenonah Hauter (Executive Director) and I attended many conferences around the world promoting the human right to water and stood up to the ?Lords of Water,? as I called them. I was in the balcony of the General Assembly on July 28, 2010, when it overwhelmingly adopted this historic resolution and I remember feeling that, in defining water and sanitation as an issue of justice rather than charity, the human family had just taken an evolutionary step forward. There have been real and tangible results. Over four dozen countries have either amended their constitutions or introduced new laws to guarantee the human right to water. Communities in the global South have used the UN resolution to fight foreign companies destroying their water sources and gone to court to gain access to local water supplies. The right to water has been used to fight water shutoffs around the world and is a pivotal argument that Food & Water Watch has made to stop water shutoffs in U.S. cities during the time of COVID-19 and beyond. The human right to water is also the foundation of the Water Act, which would ensure that every person has access to safe clean water in the United States. To fight water privatization, many towns and cities have become ?Blue Communities,? a Canadian initiative that is spreading around the world. Almost 25 million people now live in official Blue Communities that have pledged to protect water as a human right, public trust and public service and to phase out bottled water on municipal premises and at municipal events. These cities include Montreal, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin and Brussels. However, we are in a race against time as industries like fracking and bottled water divert, pollute, over-extract and mismanage the world?s dwindling water supplies. Massive drought is threatening lives and livelihoods around the world. The UN warns that two-thirds of the global population could be living in water-stressed countries in just five short years. Here in the U.S., drought is on the rise, as are water rates.At least 2 million Americans do not have access to running water and basic sanitation. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a huge spotlight on the water crisis as half the population of the world has no place to wash their hands with soap and warm water. As a result, some of the aid money coming from northern countries and the UN will provide clean water and sanitation to those most in peril. Perhaps this will lead to real change. Last year, almost 2 million children died from dirty water and poor sanitation. This is a travesty. Original Story : https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/our-race-against-clock-affirm-water-hu...
Human Rights - Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 The way governments decide to respond to the pandemic will impact the human rights of millions of people. Amnesty International is closely monitoring government responses to the crisis. These are extraordinary times, but it?s important to remember that human rights law still applies. Indeed, it will help us get through this together. Here?s a quick ... Read more The way governments decide to respond to the pandemic will impact the human rights of millions of people. Amnesty International is closely monitoring government responses to the crisis. These are extraordinary times, but it?s important to remember that human rights law still applies. Indeed, it will help us get through this together. Here?s a quick look at how human rights can help protect us, and what the obligations of governments are in relation to the pandemic. The right to healthMost governments have ratified at least one human rights treaty which requires them to guarantee the right to health. Among other things, this means they have an obligation to take all steps necessary for the prevention, treatment and control of diseases. In the context of a spreading epidemic, this means ensuring that preventive care, goods and services are available to everybody. In Hong Kong, one of the first places to be hit, a local NGO noted that nearly 70% of low-income families could not afford to buy the protective equipment the government was recommending, including masks and disinfectant. If states are endorsing the use of such items, they must ensure that everyone can access them. Access to informationThis is a key aspect of the right to health, but we have already seen governments ignoring it. In December 2019, doctors in Wuhan, China, where the virus was first reported, shared with colleagues their fears about patients with respiratory symptoms. They were immediately silenced and reprimanded by the local authorities for ?spreading rumours?. Rights to and at workPeople in precarious forms of labour are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic, which is already starting to have a massive impact on people and the economy. Migrant workers, people who work in the ?gig? economy, and people in the informal sector are more likely to see their rights to and at work adversely impacted, as a result and the measures to control it. Governments must ensure that everyone has access to social security ? including sick pay, health care and parental leave ? where they are unable to work because of the virus. These measures are also essential to help people stick to the public health measures states put in place. Health workers are at the frontline of this pandemic, continuing to deliver services despite the personal risks to them and their families, and governments must protect them. This includes providing suitable, good quality personal protective equipment, information, training and psycho-social support to all response staff. People in other jobs, including prison staff, are also at higher risk of exposure, and should be protected. Disproportionate impact on certain groupsAnyone can get it, but certain groups appear to be at greater risk of severe illness and death. This includes older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions. It?s also likely that other marginalized groups, including people living in poverty, people with disabilities and people in detention, including migrants and asylum seekers, will face additional challenges in protecting themselves and accessing treatment. For example, homeless people will find it more difficult to self-isolate, and people who do not have access to adequate sanitation will be at greater risk of contracting the virus. In designing responses, states must ensure that the needs and experiences of specific groups are fully addressed. Stigma and discriminationAccording to media reports, people from Wuhan have faced widespread discrimination and harassment in China. This includes being rejected from hotels or barricaded in their own flats, and having their personal information leaked online. There have also been widespread reports of anti-Chinese or anti-Asian xenophobia in other countries, including US President Trump repeatedly calling it a ?Chinese virus?. In London, a student from Singapore was badly beaten up in a racially aggravated attack. There is no excuse for racism or discrimination. Governments around the world must take a zero-tolerance approach to the racist targeting of all people. Meanwhile President Trump has used the pandemic to justify racist and discriminatory policies, and is reportedly planning a blanket ban on asylum-seekers crossing from Mexico. Such an outright asylum ban would go against the government?s domestic and international legal obligations, and would serve only to demonize people seeking safety. A similar 2018 ban was swiftly declared unlawful by every court to have considered it
Human Rights - Wed Mar 04, 2020 17:58 Turkish president called on Greece and other EU countries to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the Syrian refugee issue. “We call on, notably, Greece and all EU countries to respectfully treat the refugees, which came to their territories, in line with Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at ... Read more Turkish president called on Greece and other EU countries to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the Syrian refugee issue. “We call on, notably, Greece and all EU countries to respectfully treat the refugees, which came to their territories, in line with Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at his party’s parliamentary group meeting in the capital Ankara. Erdogan slammed Greece by showing a photo displaying the help extended to the Greek people who fled Nazi attacks and took refuge in Syria during the World War II. “One of the Greek boys or girls in this photo is maybe the grandparent of [Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos] Mitsotakis,” Erdogan said. “A Greek, who tries every way possible to not accept refugees in its country […] should not forget that one day he could need that compassion,” he added. Last week, Turkish officials announced that they would no longer try to stop irregular migrants reaching Europe. Since then, thousands of irregular migrants flocked to Edirne to make their way into Europe. Ankara has repeatedly complained that Europe has failed to keep its promises under the 2016 migration deal with Turkey to help migrants and stem further migrant waves. Turkey, which already hosts some 3.7 million Syrian migrants, more than any country in the world, says it cannot absorb another refugee wave. The decision was made after 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred by the regime forces in Idlib, northwestern Syrian late February. The Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under a 2018 deal with Russia, which prohibits acts of aggression in the region. Erdogan said that Turkey would not leave its territory to the mercy of terror groups or the blood-stained hands of the Syrian regime, nor would it abandon the oppressed Syrians alone. “With our latest operation [Spring Shield], I believe we have demonstrated once again that we are a country that knows how to fight but one that does not want to fight,” he said, referring to the fresh Syria operation announced on Sunday.
Human Rights - Sun Oct 13, 2019 19:12 Over the past few weeks amidst escalating trade war tension the United States has taken aim at numerous Chinese entities citing their involvement in alleged human rights violations occurring throughout China’s Xinjiang province. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the measures target those ?who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the ... Read more Over the past few weeks amidst escalating trade war tension the United States has taken aim at numerous Chinese entities citing their involvement in alleged human rights violations occurring throughout China’s Xinjiang province. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the measures target those ?who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the detention and abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs, or other members of Muslim minority groups? in Xinjiang, China. The Trump administration has denounced China’s actions in Xinjiang for a little over a year, but no official action had been taken till now. Last week, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) issued a detention order against a Chinese apparel company with ties to the United States, claiming the company produced its products using forced labor in Xinjiang. On Monday, U.S. Department of Commerce announced export restrictions on 28 Chinese entities, including regional government agencies, local police and security technology companies. The State Department announced on Wednesday it would ban certain Chinese officials and their immediate family members from obtaining U.S. visas, citing their ties to human rights violations in Xinjiang. The Chinese government is accused of turning Xinjiang into a mass-surveillance state — where the U.N. says it has detained over a million Muslims, some of whom are allegedly subject to forced labor according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The re-education camps Located throughout Xinjiang are what the Chinese government calls “vocational centers.” These centers were established “to eradicate the breeding soil of extremism and terrorism,” according to the Chinese government. Contrary to their title, human rights experts refer to these centers as “re-education camps,” while others call them “internment” or “concentration” camps. These camps currently house over a million Muslim people, according to the United Nations. “These are truly internment camps where these people are being treated in ways that are fundamentally inconsistent with what China would have you believe, and in ways that ? when the world finds out ? we will all regret,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told ABC News earlier this year. ABC News has spoken to several sources who claimed to have been in the camps. Each described different forms of torture — ranging from sleep deprivation to starvation. The Chinese government has denied all allegations of torture within these facilities. Forced labor CBP issued detention orders on goods imported from five countries based on allegations that people producing those items might be children or adults subjected to forced labor. The orders are used to hold shipping containers at U.S. ports of entry until CBP can investigate the claims of wrongdoing. Heitan Taida, a Chinese apparel company, was one of the companies slapped with detention orders. Last year, The Associated Press reported that Heitan Taida was forcing Muslims to sew garments for U.S. importers inside a Chinese re-education camp. Hetian Taida did not respond to emails from ABC News Wednesday. In a previous conversation with the AP, Wu Hongbo, the company?s chairman, said that although Hetian Taida was located in a compound shared by a camp, Hetian Taida was not involved in the camp?s activities. See Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-holds-china-accountable-human-rights-viola...
Human Rights - Sat Aug 31, 2019 13:41 The undersigned civil society organizations, representing groups working within and outside Cambodia to advance human rights, rule of law, and democracy, are writing to alert your government to an ongoing human rights crisis in Cambodia and to request your support for a resolution ensuring strengthened scrutiny of the human rights situation in the country at ... Read more The undersigned civil society organizations, representing groups working within and outside Cambodia to advance human rights, rule of law, and democracy, are writing to alert your government to an ongoing human rights crisis in Cambodia and to request your support for a resolution ensuring strengthened scrutiny of the human rights situation in the country at the upcoming 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (the ?Council?). National elections in July 2018 were conducted after the Supreme Court, which lacks independence, dissolved the major opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Many believe that this allowed the ruling Cambodian People?s Party (CPP) under Prime Minister Hun Sen to secure all 125 seats in the National Assembly and effectively establish one-party rule. Since the election, respect for human rights in Cambodia has further declined. Key opposition figures remain either in detention ? such as CNRP leader Kem Sokha, who is under de facto house arrest ? or in self-imposed exile out of fear of being arrested. The CNRP is considered illegal and 111 senior CNRP politicians remain banned from engaging in politics. Many others have continued to flee the country to avoid arbitrary arrest and persecution. Government authorities have increasingly harassed opposition party members still in the country, with more than 147 former CNRP members summoned to court or police stations. Local authorities have continued to arrest opposition members and activists on spurious charges. The number of prisoners facing politically motivated charges in the country has remained steady since the election. The government has shuttered almost all independent media outlets, and totally controls national TV and radio stations. Repressive laws ? including the amendments to the Law on Political Parties, the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations, and the Law on Trade Unions ? have resulted in severe restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. It is expected that a resolution will be presented at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council in September to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia for another two years. We strongly urge your delegation to ensure that the resolution reflects the gravity of the situation in the country and requests additional monitoring and reporting by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Mandated OHCHR monitoring of the situation and reporting to the Council, in consultation with the Special Rapporteur, would enable a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in Cambodia, identification of concrete actions that the government needs to take to comply with Cambodia?s international human rights obligations, and would allow the Council further opportunities to address the situation.
Read More At: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/30/un-human-rights-council-should-address-hu...
Human Rights - Mon Aug 26, 2019 18:49 Girls and women empowerment is fundamental in achieving equality in all segments of society. Minister for women Mereseini Vuniwaqa says Fiji has made huge strides in the area of women?s development and gender equality. Despite the ongoing empowerment programs in the country, Vuniwaqa highlighted that Fijian women are still faced with great violations of their ... Read more Girls and women empowerment is fundamental in achieving equality in all segments of society. Minister for women Mereseini Vuniwaqa says Fiji has made huge strides in the area of women?s development and gender equality. Despite the ongoing empowerment programs in the country, Vuniwaqa highlighted that Fijian women are still faced with great violations of their human rights. ?Especially in the form of gender-based violence and this will remain an area of priority for Government so that we can fully realize the essence of Women?s Equality Day. This will need the participation and commitment of each and every one of us to break the silence on violence against women so that they can fully enjoy their human rights as they deserve to.? Vuniwaqa says Fijian women are achieving great levels of educational attainment and breaking barriers informal sector employment, parliamentary representation, and entrepreneurship. ?This day is an important time to reflect on our achievements as a nation but also recognize the challenges and gaps and unite to work towards achieving women?s equality in all spheres.? She adds the Government has a mechanism in the form of laws, international obligations, local policies, and government-led programs to achieve gender equality and for the empowerment of women. Original Story: https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fijian-women-still-face-human-rights-violatio...
Human Rights - Fri Aug 09, 2019 20:41 As millions of Muslims don robes and flock to Mecca for hajj, a small counter movement to boycott the pilgrimage in protest at Saudi Arabia’s politics has won limited support online. Although the numbers are dwarfed by the 1.8 million who have arrived in Mecca for Friday’s hajj, more than 100 Muslims from Australia to ... Read more As millions of Muslims don robes and flock to Mecca for hajj, a small counter movement to boycott the pilgrimage in protest at Saudi Arabia’s politics has won limited support online. Although the numbers are dwarfed by the 1.8 million who have arrived in Mecca for Friday’s hajj, more than 100 Muslims from Australia to Tanzania are contributing to a Twitter hashtag #boycotthajj in response to Saudi Arabia’s political record. They cite its role in the war in Yemen, stance on human rights and unequal treatment of women among top concerns. “#BoycottHajj is an important discussion for Muslims to have. It is about being critical and recognizing the atrocities that the Saudi regime commits against fellow Muslims,” Mariam Parwaiz, a public health doctor in New Zealand, said on Twitter. For Ella, attending hajj now would be incompatible with Islam’s wider obligations to stand up to injustice. “It’s Saudi foreign policy and the oppressive nature of Saudi society that’s stopping me,” the 28-year-old British academic told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It’s not me saying I don’t want to go – I would love to be able to fulfill my religious obligation. But for as long as that would mean being complicit in violence, I won’t do it.” A Saudi-backed coalition has waged war in Yemen since 2015 and aid workers say some 24 million people – almost 80% of the population – will likely need humanitarian assistance in 2019. The Gulf kingdom also faces heightened scrutiny over its human rights record after last year’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. And women – who have won some high-profile rights – face a barrage of male controls in this socially conservative kingdom. Riyadh has urged Muslims to focus on worship, not politics. A Saudi official dismissed the boycott as “unwise” and said its small number of backers stood in sharp contrast to the fact that more pilgrims chose to visit Mecca each year, with countries seeking ever larger hajj quotas. Source: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/muslims-call-to-boycotthajj-in-prote... |
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