'Sri Lanka doesn't deserve seat on UN human rights council' - Desmond Tutu

From The Guardian :

It would seem self-evident that a country which tortures and kidnaps its own people has no place on the world's leading human rights body. Apparently not: Sri Lanka, despite repeated criticism for its human rights record, is running for re-election to the UN human rights council, with a vote to be held in New York on May 21.

Governments owe it to Sri Lankan human rights victims - and to victims of human rights abuses around the world - to ensure that the Sri Lankan bid fails. This will be an important test of the 47-member council, to show that the UN's standards for it will be honoured.

If Sri Lanka is defeated this year, that will be important not just for the Sri Lankan human rights leaders who, at great personal risk, have called for Sri Lanka's defeat, and for Sri Lankan civil society. In combination with the humiliating defeat last year of Belarus, it will send an important signal for the future: governments with track records of serious human rights abuses do not belong on a body set up to protect the victims of such abuses.

Sri Lanka has failed to honour its pledges of upholding human rights standards and cooperating with the UN since joining the council two years ago. Indeed, its human rights record has worsened during that time. The Sri Lankan idea of cooperation with the UN, meanwhile, has been to condemn senior UN officials (including the high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, and the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes) as "terrorists" or "terrorist sympathisers."

The systematic abuses by Sri Lankan government forces are among the most serious imaginable. Government security forces summarily remove their own citizens from their homes and families in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again. Torture and extrajudicial killings are widespread. When the human rights council was established, UN members required that states elected must themselves "uphold the highest standards" of human rights. On that count, Sri Lanka is clearly disqualified.

The separatist Tamil Tigers have used despicable tactics in their war against the government, including frequent suicide bombings. But that can in no way excuse the scale of government abuses.

Fortunately, the news from the council is not all bad. Countries running from other regions of the world have credible claims to be leaders in promoting human rights. Argentina and Chile, which suffered terribly from torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the past, have become leading supporters of human rights, and now seek to join the council. On the African slate, there are some true human rights leaders, and - thankfully - no candidacy from Zimbabwe or Sudan. In the entire world, Sri Lanka stands out as the most clearly unqualified state seeking election to the council this year, and the place where things are getting unambiguously worse.

Defeating the Sri Lankan candidacy would be a comfort to the people of Sri Lanka. It would place international pressure on the government to respect human rights, and to accept a UN human rights monitoring mission, which it has stubbornly refused. It would help make the council a place where true human rights leaders in all regions can help lead the world towards greater respect for human life and human dignity. An outcome, in short, that would benefit those who care about human rights in the world. Any other result would be a travesty.

UN Human Rights Council’s "Pretty Packed Schedule" Has No Time for Myanmar’s Starving Victims

At the initiative of the Cuban government, the UN Human Rights Council will convene on May 23, 2008 for an emergency “special session” to address rising food prices. Several EU states also added their names to the Cuban request.

The world food crisis is certainly an urgent issue, but few expect this meeting to achieve anything other than provide a platform for attacks against the West and free markets. All of which will distract the council from matters it could more suitably address, starting with violations that have a clear victim, perpetrator and remedy. But the countries that lock people up without fair trials prefer to change the subject.

And if “the right to food” were really their concern, why are council members failing to hold an emergency session on Myanmar's unconscionable denial of that right for millions of its starving, post-cyclone citizens?

When this question was posed yesterday to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the reply was that “the Council had a very full programme. . .so it was a pretty packed schedule at the moment and it would be difficult to fit it in.”

[ Source: UN Watch ]

Rights groups: Half of all executions by Saudis are foreigners

From the World Tribune :

At least 200 Syrians have reportedly been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.

Human rights groups said nearly half of all executions in Saudi Arabia during the past year were of foreigners. Some 158 people were executed in 2007.

On April 17, Saudi Arabia beheaded two Syrians in Tabouk prison. Both men, identified as Feras Al Aghbar and Feras Al Maktabi, were accused of drug offenses.

European human rights groups said 2,000 Syrians, including children, have been detained in Saudi Arabia, Middle East Newsline reported. The groups said about 10 percent of the detainees were awaiting execution in connection with illegal drug trafficking.

"Prisoners are usually sentenced to death after receiving insufficient, sometimes even inexistent, legal representation and consular assistance," the International Federation for Human Rights, the Euro-Mediterranean Human rights Network, the World Organisation against Torture and the Committees for the Defence of Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms in Syria said in a statement on May 1.

In late April, two other alleged drug traffickers were also executed in Saudi Arabia. One of them was a Jordanian citizen of Syrian origin.

Damascus has accused Saudi Arabia of beheading Syrians to highlight poor diplomatic relations between the once close allies. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz said the royal family did not intervene in court decisions.

"Foreign nationals are often more exposed to miscarriages of justice and unfair trials than nationals," the statement by the human rights groups said. "As a result of their origins, they have little chance of escaping capital punishment."

HRW, Two Israeli Rights Groups Call On Bush To Condemn Blockade Of Gaza

American President George W. Bush should call on Israel to end its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and two other rights groups said in a letter to the president. The international rights organization said that Bush's visit to the Middle East must be productive in light the current tensions plaguing the region.

The two Israeli human rights organizations, Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said that Bush should "dissociate the United States from the closure policy, which is causing grave harm to Gaza's civilian population."

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RIGHTS-INDIA: Top Activist's Detention Blot on Democracy

Protests are mounting all over the world against the year-long detention of Dr. Binayak Sen, a distinguished Indian human rights and health activist, under draconian laws in the central state of Chhattisgarh.

Sen, national vice president and Chhattisgarh general secretary of the well-known People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), was arrested under allegations of helping left-wing extremists, known in this country as Naxalites.

The charges shocked human rights organisations and citizens' groups, which on independent investigation, have found them totally fictitious. They believe that the Chhattisgarh government filed them to harass Sen and set a horribly negative example for all civil liberties activists and intimidate them.

Sen is probably India's first human rights defender to have faced such prolonged detention.

Sen's detention raises serious questions about the content and quality of democracy in India, and the state's failure to respect liberties and fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. It also points to links between human rights violations and the government's social and economic policies.

The protestors are demanding Sen's unconditional release, repeal of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005, (PSA), and the disbanding of a state-sponsored right-wing militia called Salwa Judum, which has been rampaging through the state killing and maiming people in the guise of fighting Naxalites.

On Sunday, when Sen's detention completed one full year, poets, artists, musicians, theatre personalities, social scientists and writers, including the award-winning novelist Arundhati Roy, joined hands with social activists in 15 Indian cities, including Raipur, Sen's hometown and Chhattisgarh's capital.

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AFGHANISTAN: Unlawful killings must cease immediately - UN rapporteur

A special rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights has said hundreds of civilians have been unlawfully killed by the Afghan police, militias, international forces, foreign intelligence agents and Taliban insurgents in the past four months.

Philip Alston - UN rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary execution, who visited different parts of Afghanistan and held extensive talks with commanders of the international forces based in Afghanistan, Afghan government officials, tribal elders and other actors - said at least 300 civilians had been killed by insurgents and about 200 others had been killed by international forces in 2008.

Alston said Afghan women also suffered from the impact of war when they lost fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, and received no sympathy or support. Furthermore, women are the victims of illegal “honour killings”, he said, adding that he was an independent rapporteur and did not reflect the UN view.

He demanded that extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings in Afghanistan must stop immediately.

“In a nutshell: police killings must cease; widespread impunity within the legal system for killing must be rejected; the killing of women and girls must end; the international military forces must ensure real accountability for their actions; and the UN should give greater prominence to the role of human rights in its activities,” Alston said.

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Islamic influence on UN Human Rights Council worries humanists

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has written to Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown about the activities of the Organisation of Islamic Conference.
 
It is concerned that the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council is being undermined by the presence of Islamic nations on the council.

Last year 54 member states of the UN Human Rights Council asked the council to act against violations of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. 

GALHA highlighted a resolution passed in March on the defamation of religions as evidence of theocratic states undermining human rights principles.
 
56 countries are members of the OIC.
 
"As you may know, 17th May marks the International Day Against Homophobia," wrote David Christmas, secretary of GALHA.
 
"We are taking the opportunity offered by this global spirit of action to urge you to take action on what many now regard as the subversion of the UN Human Rights Council by nations associated with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
 
"Along with countless others, we are gravely concerned by these developments and our concerns our greatly increased by the fact that the nations making up the OIC are responsible for the most flagrant abuses of the human rights of LGBT people, persecuting and executing LGBT Muslims and non-Muslims within their own borders.

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Imprisoned Uzbek woman wins human rights award

An Uzbek woman imprisoned for criticising the government over its armed response to a protest in the town of Andizhan three years ago has won a prestigious international human rights award, organisers said on Thursday.

Mutabar Tadjibaeva, laureate of the 2008 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, is in declining health and her life is in danger, according to a statement by 10 leading human rights groups that form the prize's jury.

They demanded Tadjibaeva's immediate release and praised her as an "an exceptionally brave woman in a country where standing up for human rights is a dangerous activity which can lead to imprisonment and death, where human rights defenders often have to choose between prison or exile."

Uzbekistan has put pressure on activists since its troops quashed an uprising in the eastern town of Andizhan in May 2005. The government says that 187 people died during a police action against Islamist extremists, and that all the dead were either government troops or "terrorists".

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'Sky-high gas prices have more commuters switching to employer-subsidized transportation—and loving it'

The surge in oil prices has accelerated the trend. So have new corporate tax deductions for employer-subsidized transportation. Consider what's happening at insurer Safeco. When the company moved to Seattle last year, it installed commuting concierges to help employees figure out how best to use the company's vouchers for mass transit, shuttles, car pools, and ferries. Free rentals from Zipcar await those who need to run errands during the day. Safeco also encourages its staff to skip the commute altogether by offering free phone and broadband service for their home offices, as well as a furniture stipend with which to decorate. Today, 90% of employees are out of their cars, up from 50% in 2006. The company is aiming for zero-car status. Says Safeco transportation analyst Brady Clark: "We're still working on that 10%."

A Permanent Shift?

Some companies can't meet the demand fast enough. After Microsoft rolled out a new shuttle-bus service last fall, employees immediately howled for more routes. The plush, Wi-Fi-equipped coaches have become so wildly popular—strategy chief Craig Mundie is a big fan—that when word leaked recently that Microsoft was adding to the service, a group of Microserfs hacked into the reservation system and filled up the new routes before they were even announced. Employee Bryan Keller used to commute alone in his 20-mpg Honda Pilot. "I've regained two hours of my day," he says. Using Microsoft's online "carbon calculator," Keller estimates he's saved $150 on gas and dropped 1,000 pounds of CO2 from his carbon footprint since he began using the service in October.

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'Did someone declare martial law?'

Americans Are Living (And Dying) In A Militarized Police State

by Dave Gibson

May 05, 2008

 

Today, police departments across the United States more closely resemble an occupying army than they do public servants responding to calls for help. Police officers can now be seen wearing helmets and body armor and carrying AR-15's, just to deliver simple warrants. The militarization of our police departments not only gives the appearance of a military dictatorship but places the public at great risk.

No less than 70 percent of U.S. cities now have SWAT teams. In cities with a population of 50,000 or more, 90 percent have SWAT teams.

Eastern Kentucky University professor Peter Kraska told the Washington Post that SWAT teams are currently sent out 40,000 times a year in the U.S. During the 1980's, SWAT teams were only used 3,000 times a year. Most of the time, SWAT teams are being sent out to simply serve warrants on non-violent drug offenders.

Many municipalities are using Homeland Security grants to even purchase large armored vehicles. The Pittsburgh Police Department now uses their 20-ton armored truck complete with rotating turret and gun ports to deliver many of their warrants. Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Barry Budd recently told the Associate Press: "We live on being prepared for 'what if'."

Our police departments now regularly receive free surplus equipment from the U.S. military, which they readily accept. The training being given at many police academies appears to be the type of tactics one would use in Baghdad, rather than Baltimore. It would seem that our police officers are being readied for war, with the American public as the enemy. In the last several years, there has been a transformation from community policing to pre-emptive assaults

[ ... ]

Cheryl Lynn Noel, a mom who was shot by police for picking up her legally registered handgun. She went for her gun to defend herself after a SWAT team in the middle of the night, broke into her Baltimore, MD home. Police stormed her house that night because they claim to have found marijuana seeds in the family's trash can.

Rev. Acelyne Williams, 75 of Boston, died of a heart attack as a SWAT team broke into his home. Police actually had the wrong address.

92 year old Kathryn Johnston who was so fearful that she never left her home and would only open her door after friends who placed her groceries on the front porch had left, was killed by an Atlanta SWAT team last year. An erroneous tip from an informant was enough for the Atlanta Police Department to invade her home. Police have since admitted to lying to obtain a search warrant and to planting drugs in her home after killing her.

In 2006, a 52 member SWAT team stormed into a Denver home in search of a friendly small-stakes poker game. The same thing happened a few months later when SWAT and K-9 units barged in on a charity poker game in Baltimore.

When someone straps on body armor and large caliber weapons, their adrenalin levels begin to surge. As they arrive at the scene, those levels increase. When these now militarized police officers actually break into a dark home and begin shouting at terrified citizens, severe injury and death is likely to occur. It is beyond reason to employ these tactics on anyone other than hardened, violent criminals.

SWAT teams were created in the wake of the 1966 University of Texas sniper shooting spree by ex-marine Charles Whitman. Police did not have the firepower to reach Whitman, who was perched atop the 27-story clock tower. Civilians with hunting rifles came to the scene and joined with police in the effort to stop Whitman. Eventually, police officers and a well-armed citizen scaled the stairs of the tower and killed Whitman, but not before he killed 17 people and injured another 31. As a result of the incident, police departments began to assemble small teams of highly trained officers with equipment specific to sniper shootings, hostage situations, bank robberies, etc.

SWAT teams were designed to deal with very violent individuals who represent a clear and present threat to the public. However, they are now being used to execute warrants on non-violent offenders and even those who have no prior criminal history at all. Turning our neighborhood cops into shock troops will do nothing but erode public confidence in the police and endanger the lives of innocent Americans.

Recently, Boston´s new police commissioner William Fitchet announced that the department´s Street Crimes Unit will begin wearing military-style black uniforms, to instill a sense of "fear." At last week´s city council meeting, police Sgt. John Delaney told council members that the black uniforms would send the message that officers were serious.

Did someone declare martial law?

Merck vaccine scientist and the connection with HIV and cancer

Vaccine chief of Merck (massive drug company) admits that the HIV virus was imported to America through the use of HIV-infected African monkeys.

Dr. Maurice Hilleman also acknowledges that the SV40 virus, which causes cancer, is being given through vaccines.

'An interview with Celia Farber, long-serving chronicler of HIV dissidents'

What are the failures of the paradigm?

The chief one is what used to be called the heterosexual AIDS explosion, which was the model. It was the core of the HIV theory—that there was a virus that was lethal, that was transmissible via unprotected sexual intercourse, needles, and other methods of transmission—blood-to-blood transmission. What they actually said was that there was a model of tertiary transmission. So anybody who sleeps with anybody who sleeps with anybody who's ever slept with anybody who ever was a drug addict, et cetera. It was a very terrifying model.

And one of the studies that the so-called dissidents have been drawing attention to is a study by a Berkeley researcher named Nancy Padian. Her study looked at transmission between couples where one was positive and one was negative. They had unprotected sex. They watched them over a period of 10 years. And there was not one single transmission in the whole group [during the 10-year study]—not one. [From the research paper: "Overall, 68 (19%) of the 360 female partners of HlV-infected men (95% confidence interval (Cl) 15.0-23.3%) and two (2.4%) of the 82 male partners of HlV-infected women (95% Cl 0.3-8.5%) were infected . . . transmission occurred prior to entry in the study. . . . Over time, the authors observed increased condom use (p <0.001) and no new infections."]

So what does that mean? Well, there's been a ruckus, a wild debate about this all over the Internet. At the very least, it means that the spread of HIV is extremely difficult, which is quite different than the terror, dread, bubonic-plague model we were given. That's just the first piece. The piece that I am most personally alarmed and upset by is the AZT piece of the history. When we were doing our most focused reportage in SPIN, it was during the peak of the AZT-mania years. AZT was given in extremely high doses. It is a chemotherapy that was developed in the '60s. Very crude, very toxic—some people say the most toxic drug ever given to human beings. And at the 1800- and 1200-milligram doses that were given in the first few years of the AZT craze, people died very clear AZT deaths. And there were some people around at the time who were saying, "That's AZT killing those people." And most people, by far, were saying, "That's crazy. It's the virus that's killing those people." That was where the first real war lines were drawn over AZT. AZT killed them—not the virus, not the illness, but the drug itself.

So what remains? Their great white hope is the cocktail therapy. And those cocktail therapies, protease inhibitors and so forth, definitely are a vast improvement. They are far less toxic. And, yes indeed, people stopped dying at the same rates they used to be dying. There are also broad-spectrum antibiotics and antimicrobials. So people have indeed been brought back from these complex immune disorders with those drugs.

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