Archive for category: Human Rights

Information and stories about human rights.

,

Progress Towards Benefits and Rights for Bolivians With Disabilities


Since the election of Evo Morales in 2005, Bolivia has pledged to strive for social and economic reform. Despite aiming for a more inclusive society, poverty is still widespread and certain groups remain marginalized, including Bolivians with disabilities. Many continue to live in extreme poverty with little access to resources.

In the spring of 2016, a group Bolivians with disabilities marched more than 400 kilometers from Cochabamba to La Paz, protesting their lack of basic rights. The government previously stated that benefits would be awarded to those with extreme disabilities. To qualify, individuals need to receive special identification. The ID card can only be awarded following neurological exams that cost approximately 500 bolivianos ($70).

This cost is high for many in Bolivia with disabilities, as they often live in poverty and are unable to work due to their impairments. The purpose of the recent protests was to persuade the government to provide a monthly allowance of 500 bolivianos to those with severe disabilities, which would allow them to pay for physical therapy, healthcare and housing.

In February 2017, Morales submitted a proposal to Congress requesting that a monthly allowance of 250 bolivianos be provided to Bolivians with severe and serious disabilities. The Federation of Municipal Associations of Bolivia (FAM) also announced their support of the Morales’s bill. Mayors are responsible for making payments in each municipality. More than half of Bolivians with disabilities live in the large cities of La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, and these municipalities state that they have the financial resources necessary to provide qualifying individuals with benefits.

The current proposal only provides half of the monetary amount protesters asked for, and its success remains to be determined. Benefits will not be distributed until 2018. However, Bolivians with disabilities are also gaining rights through accesses to other resources. Handicap International and the Bolivian Ministry of Health are working together to build rehabilitation centers in various municipalities that provide necessary therapies. There currently is a network of 30 centers in Bolivia.

Additionally, these protests and attention have not only led to the provision of monetary benefits, but have also raised awareness of the struggles of Bolivians with disabilities, particularly the high proportion of them that live in extreme poverty. Moving forward, increased awareness and respect will be crucial in ensuring that those with disabilities receive necessary services that will allow them to be more engaged members of the community and avoid living in extreme poverty.

– Nicole Toomey

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Three Organizations Working for Global Women’s Rights


The pursuit of global women’s rights and equality still has a long way to go. Millions of women across the world have their own unique problems and needs. Here are three organizations working for global women’s rights across the world.

Three Organizations Working for Global Women’s Rights

  1. Global Fund For Women: The Global Fund for Women is an organization that is fighting for women to have basic human rights, including the right to live free from violence, slavery and discrimination, the right to be educated, the right to own property, the right to vote and to earn a fair and equal wage. Not only focused on human rights, the Global Fund for Women also directs their attention towards rights for women’s equality. Through grant making and advocacy, the organization supports local groups that focus on women’s rights.
     
  2. WEDO – Women’s Environment and Development Organization: WEDO is a global advocacy organization based out of New York City that partners with women’s groups across the map. Looking specifically at the intersection of women and the environment, WEDO seeks to bring systemic changes and create sustainability for the future. The organization’s programs are constantly evolving with the importance of different issues. Their current programs include Mobilizing Women for Climate Change and Gender-Responsive Climate Policy and Women’s Leadership: The Women Delegates Fund. Each program includes advocates from local communities.
  3. International Alliance of Women: IAW is a nonprofit which brings together 41 different member organizations to fight for women’s rights and empowerment globally. IAW’s work looks at the connections between women and climate change, economics, human rights and reproductive health. IAW has been around since 1902 and has been recognized and accredited by the U.N.

Through a variety of goals and tactics, these three organizations working for global women’s rights are bringing change to the communities they serve around the world.

– Shannon Elder

Photo: Flickr

, ,

MADRE: An Organization for Women Across the World

MADRE: An Organization for Women Across the World
MADRE is an organization fighting for the rights and empowerment of women worldwide that has been around for more than 30 years. It began when a group of U.S. women from a variety of backgrounds returned from Nicaragua in the ’80s in the midst of the Contra War.

Upon arrival back in the U.S., their mission was to spread awareness about issues facing Nicaraguan women and to improve domestic policies regarding women’s rights.

There are two different strategies that MADRE uses: partnering with local organizations that stand for human rights and advocating for the international law to be held accountable.

The New York-based organization has projects and partners around the globe, in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Haiti, Colombia, Kenya, Palestine, Syria and Iraq. The work MADRE is doing in each country differs, but it all comes down to the same goals of raising women up and helping them find lasting solutions to whatever issues they may face.

MADRE was recently featured in an article on the United Nations Women website for one of its projects in Nicaragua in which women use talk radio to discuss gender violence. MADRE received a grant from the United Nations for the project. The radio station has the sole focus of women’s rights and is the first of its kind in the region.

MADRE stands strong as an organization that is advocating on the behalf of women to end violence and rape, maintain gender and sexual minority rights and increase access to emergency aid.

According to the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC ), “MADRE works towards a world in which all people enjoy the fullest range of individual and collective human rights; in which resources are shared equitably and sustainably; in which women participate effectively in all aspects of society; and in which people have a meaningful say in decisions that affect their lives.”

– Shannon Elder

Photo: Flickr

,

Congress and Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act

Congress and Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act
Florida’s Republican Senator and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Marco Rubio and Republican Arizona Senator Tom Cotton introduced a revised version of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to congress. The revision comes as a response to the recent abductions of booksellers and the removal of Hong Kong pro-independence leaders from office.

The city of Hong Kong has been a special administrative region of China since 1997. The relationship between Hong Kong and China works under the principle “One Country, Two Systems.” Other than foreign affairs and defense, Hong Kong operates independently.

However, in the past year, there have been conflicts between the two entities. According to Rubio, the act will “renew the United States’ historical commitment to freedom and democracy in Hong Kong at a time when its autonomy is increasingly under assault.”

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act reaffirms the principles of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992. In addition to the U.S. support of democratic actions, freedom of expression and the upholding of human rights, it also warns against the government of the People’s Republic of China from obstructing Hong Kong’s independence.

The revised act will also require that Hong Kong issue an annual report, and the U.S. Secretary of State will determine if it is operating independently. Furthermore, the act calls to freeze the assets of individuals who violate the rights of Hong Kong citizens.

The act cites cases in which pro-democracy activists have been harassed. Some have had legal charges pressed against them, while others have faced travel restrictions. Members of the press have disappeared after publishing works criticizing Beijing. Journalists who have done the same have been physically attacked.

“China’s assault on democratic institutions and human rights is of central importance to the people of Hong Kong and of its status as a free market, economic powerhouse, and hub for international trade and investment,” Rubio said. “It is critical in the days ahead that the democratic aspirations of the people of Hong Kong be a vital U.S. interest and foreign policy priority.”

By introducing the new Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, it aims to draw attention to the increased reports of human rights violations in Hong Kong linked to China, as well as punish those who do not uphold democracy.

– Karla Umanzor

Photo: Flickr

Do Sanctions Actually Make a Difference?

Sanctions
Sanctions. A frequently employed strategy to mollify human rights abuses has been marked, at best, as underwhelmingly ineffective.

In 1948, the U.N. General Assembly outlined a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which “sets out basic rights and freedoms to which all women and men are entitled – among them the right to life, liberty, and nationality; to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to work and to be educated; the right to food and housing; and the right to take part in the government.”

Unfortunately, the UDHR has been ineffective at upholding member-states to their obligations. Violent and nonviolent human rights abuses are common practice for unscrupulous governments.

According to information gathered by Amnesty International, out of the 160 countries in which data was collected, 119 countries arbitrarily restricted freedom of expression. During 2014, at least 18 countries committed war crimes or other violations of the “laws of war.”

In an effort to avoid draconian measures when correcting the irresponsible behavior of international actors, the global community has developed a pattern of implementing sanctions – the process suppressing or excluding economies from reaping the benefits of the global trade system.

Recently, however, the efficacy of sanctions has been questioned. Reports by the International Association for Political Science Students noted that sanctions disproportionately provide adverse consequences for the innocent population, but not the guilty leadership.

The now dismembered U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights issued a resolution in August 1997 where it condemned the use of sanctions as a tool of international diplomacy – further increasing skepticism on the efficacy.

Consequently, both selective and comprehensive sanctions discourage the promotion of human rights, and in fact, create counter-productive consequences – e.g. less distribution of wealth and the advent of black market business practices.

A recent example that undermines the efficacy of sanctions is the U.S. led sanctions on North Korea, which concentrated the remaining resources and wealth in Pyongyang (with the government). As a result, famished North Koreans resorted to cannibalism as an attempt to garner the necessary nutrients to survive.

Other long-standing recipients of U.S. sanctions are Iran and Cuba, which were marked as a pariah for their involvement in the sponsorship of terrorism and spread of communism, respectively. Fortunately, the U.S. has begun to normalize relations with Cuba and is likely to undergo a “fresh-start” without U.S. administered sanctions.

Some sanctions have remained intact for over 30 years without a change in behavior by the target country. At one point, the international community must begin to question the efficacy, as the primary objective to correct misguided international behavior is not achieved. Additionally, the international community must also wonder if the act of sanctioning itself is a violation of the UDHR, as the collateral damage of innocent civilians’ deaths continues to rise.

– Adam George

Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Hunger in Yemen: Slowly Moving Imports

Hunger in Yemen
Last October, photos of an emaciated 18-year-old girl, Saida Ahmad Baghili, circulated the internet. A quick glance at this shocking photograph explains why the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) is pleading for $258 million, which would fund food assistance for the hunger in Yemen problem until January 2017.

The WFP warns that Yemen is on the brink of famine. The 19-month civil war aggravated the inherent poverty in Yemen and worsened malnutrition for thousands of individuals including Baghili. Before the war, Yemen already had the Arab world’s lowest GDP per capita and 45 percent of its population were malnourished.

Slowly Moving Imports

Additionally, before the war, Yemen imported 90 percent of its food. Now, ships carrying food find it difficult to enter the country’s ports.

Online newspaper The Intercept explains that the Saudi-led coalition has enforced air and sea blockades on rebel-held parts of Yemen since March. The coalition allows only U.N. supervised flights and aid shipments to enter the country.

With conflict escalating and a shortage of food in local markets, prices of basic foods have increased. At one point in time, the WFP’s market analysis stated that the national average price of wheat flour was 55 percent higher compared to the pre-crisis period, which affects the hunger in Yemen problem a great deal.

The blockades also threaten  fuel needs for water pumps and generators in hospitals. Doctors Without Borders states that the restrictions on imports severely hinders medical workers’ ability to treat patients. Many Yemeni like Baghili are dying from basic diseases that are easily treatable.

The Saudi coalition denies the accusations and says it was implementing U.N. resolutions that aim to prevent weapons and ammunitions. They explained that the coalition gives aid ships immediate and regular permits to reach Yemeni ports, pointing to the opposition’s black market as the cause of their “humanitarian catastrophe.”

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that in August 2016 significant delays were experienced. The report attributed the delays to reduced operational capacity. In Seleef’s port, two vessels waited for berth an average of 45 days. Since December 2015, average delays in ships entering ports have increased. This could be why the WFP estimates it takes four months from the time they receive funds for the food to reach families who need it.

A Community’s Response 

Alex Potter, a photojournalist based in Yemen, shares how the Yemeni community pours out support for each other: neighbors invite displaced people into their homes, wealthier Yemenis donate trucks of water and friends visit to help with daily tasks. She said, “In Yemen if you see your neighbor needs something, you always share.”

Yet the WFP issued an urgent statement that resources are running out. While they reached millions of people with emergency assistance in March and July, they were still forced to split rations between more families to meet the growing need throughout this problem of the hunger in Yemen.

Baghili’s photograph further highlights a shocking reality where a teenager’s parents lack the financial means to help their severely malnourished daughter. Baghili only received treatment when charitable people pooled their funds together so she could receive proper medical attention.

Many countries and people have answered WFP’s call.  Perhaps we too can become like the charitable people whose donations save the lives of those like Baghili.

– Andy Jung

Photo: Flickr

,

Islamic State’s Use of Mustard Gas: Human Rights Abuses

Mustard Gas
The Islamic State has been using chemical weapons including the poison known as mustard gas on Iraqi and coalition forces, as well as on civilian targets. Human Rights Watch has called on the Iraqi government to respond by warning civilians in conflict zones about the use of chemical agents, isolating contaminated areas and providing treatment for victims of chemical weapon attacks. If the Iraqi government cannot do this, it should seek assistance from other Chemical Weapons Convention member countries.

According to the Pentagon, mustard gas has been stockpiled and used by the Islamic State in the past, and as the battle for Mosul continues, U.S. forces say that they expect to see it used again. The head of the Islamic State’s chemical weapons program has confirmed that the Islamic State has been stockpiling these weapons with the intention of using them in the battle for Mosul. In recent weeks, there have been several reports of chemical attacks in the areas surrounding Mosul.

Mustard gas was first and most famously used as a chemical warfare agent during World War I, and it has been used as a method of psychological warfare as well. Although exposure to mustard gas is rarely fatal, the chemical remains infamous for its invisibility, odorlessness and lack of immediate symptoms.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the effects of mustard gas depend on how much people are exposed to, the length of their exposure and the method of exposure. Exposure can occur through contact with the skin or eyes or by drinking contaminated water or eating the gas in liquid form.

Once exposed, it can take up to 24 hours for symptoms to appear. These symptoms usually include redness and itching of the skin, irritation of the eyes, respiratory tract problems such as shortness of breath, sneezing, a bloody nose, abdominal pain, fever, anemia and bone weakness.

The long-term effects of mustard gas can include second- and third-degree burns, chronic respiratory disease, blindness and cancer. Due to the severity of these symptoms, the use of mustard gas by the Islamic State is extremely concerning.

The World Post reported the story of a 4-year-old girl who was killed by mustard gas deployed by the Islamic State in Taza, Iraq. Her mother was standing beside her when she was killed and suffered severe burns from the gas.

Human Rights Watch has documented several other chemical weapon attacks in late September and early October. These attacks constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. For the safety of civilians and soldiers in Iraq, it is imperative that the government follow the guidelines set by Human Rights Watch and prevent chemical attacks by the Islamic State.

– Eva Kennedy

Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Ten Facts About Refugees in Kenya Forced to Return to Somalia

During the early 1990s, Kenya formed a repatriation program, the Dadaab refugee camp, for thousands of displaced Somalians escaping rebel attacks, drought, continuous violence and abuse.

  1. Islamic extremists displaced thousands of Kenyans housed in the Dadaab refugee camp. Now the country is requesting that more than 260,000 refugees in Kenya return to Somalia for concern of Somalia-based al-Shabab Islamic extremists launching attacks within the Kenyan camp. After numerous deadly attacks from 2011-2015, the government announced in May the closure of Dadaab for immediate national security interests.
  2. World leaders don’t agree with deporting refugees back to Somalia. Kenyan officials are tentatively closing Dadaab at the end of 2016. However, the Human Rights Watch says sending refugees back to Somalia doesn’t meet international standards of a voluntary return.
  3. They have Somalian blood, but are Kenyan-bred. On average, refugees are in exile for about 20 years, according to the U.N. refugee agency. In Northeastern Kenya, nestled in close proximity to Somalia’s border, the Dabaab camp has been home to residents for a quarter of a century. Some have never stepped foot on Somalian soil.
  4. Refugees are being lured with a cash advance to return. Many Somalian refugees were told they would be deprived of a $400 U.N. cash grant because of forced extradition, according to the Human Rights Watch. Dadaab refugees have been given inadequate information about potential dangers during their forced exit.
  5. Resources in Somalia don’t exist for the influx of Kenyan refugees to return. Some Somalian refugees who returned to their home country have fled back to Kenya again due to continuous violence and nonexistent resources and services. The deported refugees seeking asylum were unable to reestablish themselves in Somalia, and now they are denied access to refugee registration, or asylum procedures in Dadaab. This leaves a large percentage of displaced peoples without legal status or access to food.
  6. Force and coercion used on refugees are not tolerated by world leaders. While the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta claims the process of repatriation will be voluntary and humane, countries internationally say they will reprimand evictions using force. However, many refugees inhabiting Kenya agree to the return for fear of coercion and force if they stay in Kenya, but they will face danger, persecution and hunger in Somalia.
  7. Refugees are involuntarily returning to insecure conditions and poverty. “The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn’t giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia,” said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch. “There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary.”
  8. Kenyan refugees have no choice but to leave. Dadaab’s refugees reported feeling trapped by the government’s decision to shut down the camp. Many are afraid of returning to Somalia, but simultaneously fear the handcuffs and deportation of staying in Dadaab until the end of the year.
  9. The Dadaab refugee camp is a city full of resources and services. The refugee camp is the largest safe haven worldwide, and was initially created to host roughly 90,000 refugees searching for relief from rebels fighting the Somalian government in 1991. Now it spans five camps with makeshift cinemas, soccer leagues, bustling businesses, schools, hospitals and a graveyard.
  10. Refugees are forced into danger and left without community support. In mid-August, roughly 24,000 Somalian refugees had left Dadaab and gone back to their country of origin since the beginning of the repatriation process in December 2014. Kenya’s government reported to Human Rights Watch that in mid-August they were aiding the return of 1,000 refugees per day. Negotiations of repatriations are ongoing because refugees aren’t being sufficiently assisted upon their return to Somalia.

– Rachel Williams

Photo: Flickr

,

The Interdependent Relationship Between Poverty and Human Rights

Poverty and Human Rights
Some individuals assume that issues, such as poverty and human rights violations, can be solved separately from one another. However, what many fail to realize is that poverty and the denial of human rights are problems that are interdependent issues. In other words, where there is poverty, there are human rights violations and vice-versa.

Poverty is more than just individuals lacking in quality employment and material goods; it also incorporates social and physical goods. Social and physical goods are characterized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a right to cultural identity, right to equality, freedom to live with respect and dignity, freedom from violence and degrading treatment, freedom of political opinion, education, personal security and many other basic human rights.

According to Amnesty USA, “Gross economic and social inequality is an enduring reality in countries of all political ideologies, and all levels of development. In the midst of plenty, many are still unable to access even minimum levels of food, water, education, healthcare and housing. This is not only the result of a lack of resources, but also unwillingness, negligence and discrimination by governments and others. Many groups are specifically targeted because of who they are; those on the margins of society are often overlooked altogether.”

It is estimated that one-third of all human deaths occur because of poverty associated reasons. These poverty-related reasons are considered easily preventable such as access to clean water, nutrition and access to quality health care because they fall under basic human rights.

This relationship is further validated by statistics. The Human Rights Watch reports that those who live in dire poverty within low income or lower-middle income countries, also live in homes where the head of household is part of an ethnic minority group.

In recent years, the Office of the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in collaboration with other U.N. partners, has recognized this relationship between poverty and human rights violations. A few of the approaches that these organizations are utilizing are empowering the poor, providing international assistance and cooperation and strengthening human rights protection systems.

Currently, these organizations are collaborating with multiple governments in order to employ poverty reduction strategies as a way to ensure that vulnerable groups have access to their basic human rights.

– Shannon Warren

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Citizens Fleeing Eritrea because of Poverty and Forced Labor

Fleeing EritreaSince 2012, one in every 50 Eritreans (nearly twice the ratio of Syrians fleeing from civil war) has sought asylum in Europe. According to the U.N., 5,000 Eritrean men and boys are leaving their families and fleeing Eritrea each month.

High Rates of Fleeing

The U.N. estimates that 400 thousand Eritreans, or nine percent of the population, have fled in recent years. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly one-quarter of the 132 thousand migrants arriving in Italy between January and September of 2015 were Eritreans.

Poverty in Eritrea is extreme. The CIA World Factbook reports the nation’s GDP purchasing power as $8.7 billion, ranking Eritrea 162nd in the world. Unemployment in the country is estimated at just 8.6%, but the poverty rate is estimated at 50%. More specific numbers are nearly impossible to acquire due to Eritrea’s secretive nature.

Reasons for Leaving

Why are people fleeing Eritrea? In June 2015, the UNHCR released a 500-page report detailing the systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations going on in Eritrea, violations that have created a climate of fear in which dissent is stifled. The report found that a large proportion of the population was being subjected to forced labor and imprisonment.

According to the report, the people of Eritrea are not ruled by law, but by fear. The Eritrean government denied repeated requests by the commission for information and access to the country. To gain insight into the situation, the commission conducted 550 confidential interviews with Eritrean witnesses in eight countries and received an additional 160 written submissions.

Conscription for 18 months is required of each Eritrean adult but is often extended indefinitely and carried out for years in harsh and inhumane conditions. Thousands of conscripts are subjected to forced labor that effectively abuses, exploits and enslaves them.

According to the UNHCR’s report, women conscripts are at extreme risk for sexual violence during national service. All sectors of the economy rely on forced service, and all Eritreans are likely to be subject to it at some point during their lives. The commission concluded that, “forced labor in this context is a practice similar to slavery in its effects and, as such, is prohibited under international human rights law.”

Mandatory conscription has not remedied poverty in Eretria. Instead, it has exacerbated it. Commission chair Sheila B. Keethrauth urged commitment from the international community to end the climate of fear in Eritrea.

“Rule by fear — fear of indefinite conscription, of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, of torture and other human rights violations — must end,” said Keethrauth.

– Aaron Parr

Photo: Flickr