Archive for December 19th, 2012

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19/12/2012

One in Six People Worldwide Has No Religion – Study

By RIA Novosti*, 19 December 2012 – The religiously unaffiliated people make up the third largest group around the world after Christians and Muslims. This group estimates roughly 16 % of the world’s population and is heavily concentrated in Asia and the Pacific.

source: RIA Novosti

Source: RIA Novosti

­According to a report conducted by ‘The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’ the largest religious group is represented by Christians with 2.2 billion people (32% of the world’s population), second largest – Muslims with 1.6 billion people (23%), placing the religiously unaffiliated group in third place with 1.1 billion ( 16%) , followed by 1 billion Hindus (15%), nearly 500 million Buddhists (7%) and 14 million Jews (0.2%). The figures relate to 2010.

People who practice folk or traditional religions are estimated at 400 million (6%) , while approximately 58 million people (1%) belong to other religions, such as the Baha’i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

19/12/2012

Stop Criminalizing Irregular Migrants!

Human Wrongs Watch

On International Migrants Day on 18 December, United Nations independent experts have joined forces with regional counterparts to highlight the human rights of migrants, while expressing renewed concerns over the criminalization of irregular migration by some countries and calling for an end to the administrative detention of migrants.

Zimbabwean migrants at a temporary shelter in South Africa. Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN

Zimbabwean migrants at a temporary shelter in South Africa. Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN

“Crossing a border without the required documentation or overstaying a visa is not per se a crime, but rather at most, an administrative offence,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, François Crépeau, and the Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW), Abdelhamid El Jamri, in a joint statement with other human rights experts.

Adding their voices to the statement were the Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, Felipe Gonzalez, and the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights of the African Union, Maya Sahli Fadel.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | 3 Comments »

19/12/2012

Arabic Language Used by Over 1.5 Billion Muslims, Spoken By 422 Million Arabs

Human Wrongs Watch

“World Arabic Language Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the language of 22 Member States of UNESCO, a language with more than 422 million speakers in the Arab world and used by more than 1.5 billion Muslims, ” said Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO on the occasion of the first World Arabic Language Day 18 December 2012.

Photo: UNESCO

Photo: UNESCO

“World Arabic Language Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the language of 22 Member States of UNESCO, a language with more than 422 million speakers in the Arab world and used by more than 1.5 billion Muslims,” added Bokova, Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

“By celebrating the Arabic language, we are also acknowledging the tremendous contribution of its writers, scientists and artists to universal culture. These are the Arabic language authors who enabled the transmission of Greek knowledge to the Latin of medieval Europe, weaving indissoluble ties between cultures through time.”

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