Archive for December, 2012

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11/12/2012

Obama II: Business as Usual or a 21st Century Lincoln?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Jayantha Dhanapala*, IDN-InDepthNews, Washington DC – The US Presidential Inauguration ceremony will be held in Washington DC on Monday, January 21, 2013. The official theme for the 2013 inauguration is “Faith in America’s Future”. For many Americans, and indeed for many international observers, that faith is in desperate need of reaffirmation not only because of the domestic economic crisis, and the political paralysis in the US Congress over its solution, but also because of the decline of the US’s political power and influence internationally.

Lincoln presents the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. Painted by Francis Bicknell Carpenter in 1864 | Wikimedia Commons

**Lincoln presents the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. Painted by Francis Bicknell Carpenter in 1864 | Wikimedia Commons

Obama’s second Inauguration Day falls in the same month as the 150th anniversary of the US Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War.

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11/12/2012

‘Liberated’ Afghanistan: Women Sold and Bought Despite Protection Laws

Human Wrongs Watch

Afghan women continue to be targeted by acts of gender-based violence despite specific laws designed to protect them, a new report released by the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has warned*.

Afghan women bargain with a rickshaw driver in the city of Herat. Photo: UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Afghan women bargain with a rickshaw driver in the city of Herat. Photo: UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Enacted in 2009, Afghanistan’s Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law criminalized numerous forms of violence, including child marriage, forced marriage, the selling and buying of women for the purpose or under the pretext of marriage, the traditional practice of ba’ad which requires the giving away of a woman or a girl to settle a dispute, forced self-immolation and 17 other acts of violence including rape and physical abuse, while also specifying punishment for the perpetrators.

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11/12/2012

Big Gender Gaps Remain in Global Economy, Labour Markets

Human Wrongs Watch

Women face higher unemployment rates than men globally, and the situation is not likely to improve in the near future, says a United Nations report released today that calls for social protection measures, investments in education and policies to promote access to employment, says a new UN report*. 

A female employee at a garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh. UN Photo/Kibae Park

A female employee at a garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh. UN Photo/Kibae Park

Global Employment Trends for Women 2012, produced by the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), looks at gender gaps in unemployment, employment, labour force participation, vulnerability, and segregation in jobs and economic sectors.

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10/12/2012

Is Israel Always Right?

Human Wrongs Watch

“To label public intellectuals like Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Richard Falk, Günter Grass, Judith Butler, Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, Richard Dawkins, Mairead McGuire, Noam Chomsky and others “anti-Semitic” is false libel of persons in no way anti-Semitic, with important perspectives. The “correct” speech carries us nowhere: [1] Israel is always right; [2] Israel’s critics are always wrong.”

Johan Galtung

Johan Galtung

By Johan Galtung, TRANSCEND*

From Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany

Anti-Semitism, AS, is to be against Jews as such; pre-judging all based on some, pars pro toto.

Being anti any category humans are born into–woman-man, black-white–is a fatal disease, with prejudice escalating to hatred, leading to discrimination, escalating to war, even genocide.

There is linearity; perpetrators to victims.

To prevent and cure this disease we must understand its causes, roots, and learn what, and what not, to do.

To be against disease is not good enough.

With the open mind provided by academic freedom, and freedom of speech as a basic human right, we have explored diseases like cancer to identify the roots, the carcinogens.

Smoking, active and passive, is among them; saying so is not “blaming the victim”.

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10/12/2012

Human Rights Day: “Write for Rights”

Human Wrongs Watch

By Amnesty International*, 10 December 2012 – From 7-16 December hundreds of thousands of people will be writing letters, sending SMS messages and taking action online as part of an Amnesty International day of action to mark International Human Rights Day.

Write for Rights takes place from 7-16 December © Amnesty International

Write for Rights takes place from 7-16 December © Amnesty International

The residents of BodoAmong those who could benefit from the Write for Rights campaign this year are the residents of Bodo in Nigeria who made a living from fishing and farming for generations until their serene way of life was changed by two major oil spills from a Shell pipeline in 2008.

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10/12/2012

International Day: ‘Corruption Is Not Inevitable’

Human Wrongs Watch

Marking International Anti-Corruption Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for full global acceptance of an international convention aimed at ending corrupt practices around the world. “Corruption is not inevitable,” Ban said in his message for the Day. “It flows from greed, and the triumph of the undemocratic few over the expectations of the many.”*

No country, region or community is immune to corruption, a serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all societies

No country, region or community is immune to corruption, a serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all societies | UN

In 2003, the General Assembly designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day to raise awareness of both corruption and the role of the UN Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it. 

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10/12/2012

Italy Heads for Snap Poll as Markets Watch

By EurActiv* – Italy is heading for early elections amid growing international concern over the political crisis, prompted by the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s withdrawal of support for Mario Monti’s technocratic  government last week. Monti announced on Saturday (8 December) that he intends to resign once the next budget is approved.

Silvio Berlusconi | EurActiv

Silvio Berlusconi | EurActiv

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Italy remained at risk of renewed financial upheaval, despite months of improving market confidence.

“The next elections must not serve as a pretext for putting in doubt how indispensable these measures are,” he said. “The relative calm on the markets does not mean we are out of the crisis.”

Monti, a 69-year-old former European commissioner, unexpectedly struck back against Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PDL), after meeting Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. He said he would resign after the 2013 budget is passed.

The vote was already scheduled by April’s end and Monti’s move will likely bring it forward to February. But the move may unnerve markets, especially as Berlusconi has announced his intention to seek a fifth term as prime minister.

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09/12/2012

Mr. Ban ‘Welcomes’ Failure of Climate Change Talks in Doha

Human Wrongs Watch

While scientists and environmentists expressed alarm at the failure of the Qatari capital’s meeting to reach a new binding agreement to save the Earth from the catastrophic impact of climate change, the UN secretary general welcomed the outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, saying it paves the way to a comprehensive, legally binding agreement by 2015

Climate change is a growing cause of displacement in Africa, where some areas have been devastated by drought. Photo: UNHCR/B. Bannon

Climate change is a growing cause of displacement in Africa, where some areas have been devastated by drought. Photo: UNHCR/B. Bannon

The two-week meeting of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, wrapped up on 8 December 2012 in the Qatari capital, with delegates reportedly agreeing to extend the Protocol, whose first commitment period expires at the end of this year, until 2020.

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09/12/2012

Human Rights Day: Does Your Voice Count … Really?

Millions of people have gone on to the streets over the past few years, in countries all across the world, emboldened by what is happening elsewhere, some demanding civil and political rights, others demanding economic, social and cultural rights, says top UN human rights official, marking the Human Rights Day on 10 December 2012.

Human Rights Day 2012: participation in public life is fundamental to democracy and an effective human rights protection system© UN DPI New York

Human Rights Day 2012: participation in public life is fundamental to democracy and an effective human rights protection system © UN DPI New York

This groundswell is not simply a question of people demanding freedom of expression and freedom to say what they think and make clear what they want, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Navi Pillay.

“They are asking for much more than that. They are asking for an end to a situation where governments simply decide what is best for their populations without even consulting them.”

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09/12/2012

Economic Growth in Mongolia Not Benefiting the Poor

Human Wrongs Watch

While the Mongolian economy has experienced continued growth, this has not benefited the country’s poor, a United Nations independent expert warned, urging the Government to adopt poverty reduction strategies based on human rights approaches.
Mongolian women laying out milk curds | By Steven Burt from Portland, USA | Wikimedia Commons

Mongolian women laying out milk curds | By Steven Burt from Portland, USA | Wikimedia Commons

“While some parts of the country are being transformed, poverty remains very high and is becoming entrenched not only in rural areas but also in urban centres as the income gap widens and inequality increases” said the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda.

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