Archive for February 1st, 2013

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01/02/2013

Greece Must Improve Detention Conditions for Migrants – UN Experts

Human Wrongs Watch

A group of United Nations independent experts stressed that Greece must improve the conditions of detention for migrants and effectively implement recent legislation to enhance screening procedures for asylum-seekers*.

Lines of people sleep rough on Petrou Ralli Street in Athens, Greece, hoping to get an interview date and a pink card in the morning. Photo: UNHCR/K. Kehayioy

Lines of people sleep rough on Petrou Ralli Street in Athens, Greece, hoping to get an interview date and a pink card in the morning. Photo: UNHCR/K. Kehayioy

“In most detention facilities visited by the Working Group, the conditions fall far below international human rights standards, including in terms of severe overcrowding,” stressed on 31 January 2013 one of the members of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Vladimir Tochilovsky.

The group, which just finished an 11-day visit to the Mediterranean country, found pre-trial and convicted detainees in the same cell, as well as irregular migrants mixed in with criminal detainees in violation of national and international standards.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | 1 Comment »

01/02/2013

Ethnic Minority Women Face Double Exclusion in Workplace Due to Their Race, Gender

Human Wrongs Watch

‘Ethnic minority women face double discrimination in the workplace because of their race and their gender. Many fail at the application stage simply because of their names’, says a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Ethnic minority women face double discrimination in the workplace because of their race and their gender. Many fail at the application stage simply because of their names. | ILO

Ethnic minority women face double discrimination in the workplace because of their race and their gender. Many fail at the application stage simply because of their names. | ILO

Geneva (ILO News*) – When university graduate Jorden Berkeley, 22, began applying for a job, she was surprised to have no responses. Born in the United Kingdom of Caribbean parentage, she never dreamed that her name might be a problem.

But a careers adviser suggested that she begin using her more English-sounding middle name – Elizabeth – in her applications.

“I was surprised by what she said but I put my middle name on the CV as well. I started to get back responses, not necessarily job offers but it went from nothing to getting interviews. It was quite an eye-opener. I spoke to friends and family and it’s a common occurrence. I’ve also read reports of Muslim women taking off their hijabs to get a job,” Berkeley told ILO News.

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01/02/2013

Human Rights Watch – World Report 2013

Human Wrongs Watch

Human Rights Watch 23rd annual World Report 2013 summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide in 2012. It reflects extensive investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff has undertaken during the year, often in close partnership with domestic human rights activists.

SYRIA - Homs province: One mother and her son cry the lost of the her other two sons, killed by a mortar attack launched by Al Asad forces, in Homs province on February 20, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI | Human Rights Watch

SYRIA – Homs province: One mother and her son cry the lost of the her other two sons, killed by a mortar attack launched by Al Asad forces, in Homs province on February 20, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI | Human Rights Watch

Two years into the Arab Spring, much of the excitement of the early days of protest has waned and frustration at the slow pace of change has set in. Those now in power face a daunting task: building rights-respecting democracies that uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of all citizens, even those who are unpopular and suppressed, it says.

“Governments that support human rights have an important role to play in this critical, transitional period by providing critical, principled support to post-authoritarian regimes to ensure that the promise of the Arab Spring is realized.”

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch wrote the following keynote:

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01/02/2013

Israel Urged to Ensure Accountability for Abuse of Palestinian Rights from Settlements – UN

Human Wrongs Watch

An independent inquiry mandated by the United Nations has called on Israel to halt all settlement activity and to ensure accountability for the violations of the human rights of the Palestinians resulting from the settlements.

West Bank Israeli settlement of Har Gilo, located near Jerusalem. Photo: IRIN/Erica Silverman

West Bank Israeli settlement of Har Gilo, located near Jerusalem. Photo: IRIN/Erica Silverman

The report of the International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) states that a multitude of the human rights of the Palestinians are violated in various forms and ways due to the existence of the settlements.

“These violations are all interrelated, forming part of an overall pattern of breaches that are characterized principally by the denial of the right to self-determination and systemic discrimination against the Palestinian people which occur on a daily basis,” said on 13 January 2013 a news release on the report.

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01/02/2013

Palestinians Face Growing Food Crisis

Human Wrongs Watch

Ramallah, (IRIN*), January 2013 – Fluctuating prices, poverty and border restrictions mean growing numbers of Palestinians are facing food insecurity this year – one of the key priorities in the humanitarian community’s annual appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

**Photo: Ahmed Dalloul/IRIN. Time to rebuild in OPT

**Photo: Ahmed Dalloul/IRIN. Time to rebuild in OPT

This year’s Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) is for US$401.6 million, a slight decrease on last year’s $416.7 million, only 68 percent of which was financed.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which helped coordinate the CAP, estimates that 1.3 million Palestinians do not have enough food.

The latest figures show the number of households without sufficient access to food has risen by 7 percent since 2011, a trend which – if continued – would have left an estimated 41 percent of Palestinians without the necessary resources to get sufficient, safe and nutritious food at the end of 2012.

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