Archive for category: Human Rights

Information and stories about human rights.

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Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran the First Saudi Female Law Firm

Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran
The first all-female law practice has opened in Saudi Arabia, marking progress for women in a nation that has historically not afforded even many basic rights to women.

Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran, the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be issued a law license, along with Jihan Qurban, Sarra al-Omari and Ameera Quqani, opened the firm on January 1, 2014. While they will provide services for both genders, the stated objective of the new law firm is to advocate for the rights of Saudi women and to bring cases centered on women to court.

Al-Zahran officially became Saudi Arabia’s first female lawyer on November 2013 when she defended a client at the General Court in Jeddah. She had worked for many years as a legal consultant, the only legal position previously open to women, and had represented clients in dozens of court cases.

In a strictly sex-segregated society such as Saudi Arabia, it can be hard for men and women to speak openly and understand the issues put forth by an opposite-sex client, she says.

With more female lawyers in Saudi Arabia, this hurdle for women could be alleviated.

Al-Zahran asserts, “I believe women lawyers can contribute a lot to the legal system. This law firm will make a difference in the history of court cases and female disputes in the Kingdom. I am very hopeful…”

She also states her desire for the number of female lawyers to rise in the future.

At the opening of the firm, the vice president of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, Mazen Batterjee, congratulated the new lawyers, but cautioned them to remain true to Sharia law in their practice and in their personal lives. He reiterated that the women should always wear their hijabs to court.

Batterjee’s tentative praise and caution are outshined by the enthusiasm of Al-Zahran’s father, Sheikh Mahmoud.

He calls the move an important step for women’s rights and affirmed his complete support his daughter. “We are very proud of our daughter who stands firm for [the] protection of women’s rights,” he states.

The issue of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia has long been a contentious one.

Women living in the Kingdom still must have a male guardian who can decide if a woman can travel, work, marry or go to school—for their entire lives.

Women are also expected to fully cover themselves in public spaces and are forbidden from driving.

In October 2013, over 60 women drove cars in protest of the law, a move that earned global attention and praise while pointing to a growing, though still small, movement in Saudi Arabia toward increased rights for women.

If it is up to her and her firm’s lawyers, Al-Zahran plans to see the dream of women rights in Saudi Arabia fully realized.

– Kaylie Cordingley

Sources: Arab News, Feminist, International Business Times
Photo: The Art of 12

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Lack of Media Coverage For Syrian Refugees

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Syrians have recently become the highest population of refugees on the planet at nearly 2.4 million people strong. The UN has, in fact, labeled the Syrian refugee crisis as “the greatest humanitarian crisis in modern history.” However, media throughout the world is strangely quiet about their monumental struggle.

In nearly every host country that Syrian refugees have been forced to flee into, they have been met with indifference, hatred or open hostility. Many have even chosen to go back to their Syrian homeland despite the overwhelming violence, deciding it best, if die they must, to die in their homeland. The international community has also been negligent to their needs while the aid that is being given lags far behind what the dire situation calls for.

This is only part of their plight, so why is there such silence in the media considering the scale of the issue? A simple reason may be reflective of the refugees’ inability to articulate for themselves; according to Nancy Baron, a UN psychologist who provides mental health to Syrian refugees in Egypt, “the Syrians don’t have a voice.”

Rattled by warfare and hostility in a foreign land, Syrian refugees are doing their best simply to stay alive. Most find it hard to talk about what they have been through, and even if they did want to talk, few (if any) are willing to listen. The international community seems to still be trying to figure out exactly what is going on in Syria. Most are eager for the peace talks scheduled for January 22 to begin both as a respite from the civil warfare as well as for a chance to hear both sides of the story and garner a better picture of the situation.

Furthermore, a great deal of the problem with attaining media coverage involves the lack of proper reportage. This dearth is caused by several issues, not least of which is the difficulty of finding a ‘fixer,’ a person who can provide interviewees, translations and safe passages to areas of interest. Due to this scarcity, many media outlets are forced to use the same fixers, and therefore have less to report, leading to empty and sometimes sensationalized news stories.

Moreover, if international media continues to be reticent in interceding on behalf of the Syrians, media outlets within host countries may become anxious to condemn the new Syrian presence. In Egypt, for example, TV presenters affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood have accused Syrians of undermining their country’s well-being and have threatened violence upon the refugees.

Compelling stories have helped the United States and other countries rally on behalf of refugees in the past. There are stories waiting to be told, stories that need to be told. Hopefully, for the sake of millions of innocent lives, they will be.

– Jordan Schunk

Sources: FIDH, The Interpreter, Reuters
Photo: Religious Action Center

Liu Xiaobo: The Nelson Mandela of China

liu_xiaobo
For the last five years, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been detained and serving a sentenced term in prison.

In 2008, Liu was confined for participating in Charter 08, which was a manifesto that called for democratic reforms in China. Due to this, Liu is now serving an 11 year sentence “for inciting subversion of state power.”

In light of Liu’s fifth anniversary of imprisonment, the world also experienced a devastating loss with the passing of Nelson Mandela. Coincidentally, Liu has been dubbed the moniker of “The Nelson Mandela of China.”

Both individuals earned prison time for the same efforts that also landed them their Nobel Peace Prizes. The Chinese government became highly uncomfortable at the similarities of these two individuals, and at the timing of the events.

No different than the rest of the world’s media, China aired coverage of the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. The coverage was censored, however, and excluded any “sensitive topics” that would have correlated directly to human rights and democracy or South Africa’s close diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry honored the anniversary of Liu’s imprisonment by providing a statement, prodding China to release Liu from prison, and his wife from her house arrest. Chinese foreign ministry responded by saying that Kerry “had no right to comment on the fate of Mr. and Ms. Liu.”

Chinese foreign ministry also went on to say that “China’s 1.3 billion people have the best right to talk about the country’s human rights.” Although various parts of the world consider Liu to be the “Mandela of China,” Chinese government abhors the comparison between the two individuals.

An editorial in Global Times was quoted saying, “Mandela was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for leading African people to anti-apartheid victory through struggles, tolerance, and efforts to bridge differences. However, awarding a Chinese prisoner who confronted authorities and was rejected by mainstream Chinese society derides China’s judiciary system.”

Yet at one point in time, South African authorities also considered Mandela a “prisoner who confronted authorities and was rejected by ‘mainstream’ society.”

As of November of this year, Liu’s lawyer released a statement saying that “the dissident intends to ask for a retrial.”

Retrials are not common, but with so much pressure from western countries, there may be an interesting turn of events. Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights was quoted saying that the chances of winning a retrial were small, but nonetheless, worth a shot with new leadership in place.

Liu Xia, the wife that is on house arrest, is believed to be suffering from severe depression. She has been denied any private medical care, and was financially dependent upon her brother until he too was jailed in 2011.

Xia and her brother have yet to be charged with an actual crime, other than the support of Liu and his efforts. Chinese officials have yet to acknowledge that Xia is even being detained. As the U.S continues to build a relationship with China, they hope to see progress made for Liu and his loved ones.

– Samaria Garrett

Sources: The Guardian, The Guardian, US News

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Quotes from 15 World Leaders on Human Rights

roosevelt Quotes from World Leaders on Human Rights
1. David Cameron, UK Prime Minister
“If we are going to try to get across to the poorest people in the world that we care about their plight and we want them to join one world with the rest of us, we have got to make promises and keep promises.”

2. Irene Khan, former Secretary-General of Amnesty International
“Poverty is not only about income poverty, it is about the deprivation of economic and social rights, insecurity, discrimination, exclusion and powerlessness. That is why human rights must not be ignored but given even greater prominence in times of economic crisis.”

3. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

“Discrimination and multiple deprivations of human rights are also frequently part of the problem, sentencing entire populations to poverty… It is surely a matter of outrage that over half a million women die annually from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. This is nearly half the annual global death toll, and arguably, a direct reflection of the disempowerment of women in social, economic and political life.”

4. Jesse Jackson, American Statesman and Civil Rights Activist
“The great responsibility that we have today is to put the poor and the near poor back on front of the American agenda.”

5. Pope Francis “A way has to be found to enable everyone to benefit from the fruits of the earth, and not simply to close the gap between the affluent and those who must be satisfied with the crumbs falling from the table, but above all to satisfy the demands of justice, fairness and respect for every human being.”

6. Dalai Lama XIV “No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all basically the same human beings. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. We have the same basic human needs and concerns. All of us human beings want freedom and the right to determine our own destiny as individuals and as peoples. That is human nature.”

7. Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Human Rights Activist
“I don’t know why people have divided the whole world into two groups, west and east. Education is neither eastern nor western. Education is education and it’s the right of every human being.”

8. Pranab Mukherjee, President of India 
“There is no humiliation more abusive than hunger.”

9. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”

10. Barack Obama, President of the United States
“This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.”

11. Desmond Tutu, Noble Peace Prize Laureate
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

12. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
“History proves that all dictatorships, all authoritarian forms of government are transient. Only democratic systems are not transient. Whatever the shortcomings, mankind has not devised anything superior.”

13. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President
“The world is in need of an encompassing and of course, just and humane order in the light of which the rights of all are preserved and peace and security are safeguarded.”

14. Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Cuban Foreign Minister
“This problem will knock on the doors of all of us, whether through uncontrolled and unmanageable migration flows, by means of diseases and epidemics, as a result of the conflicts generated by poverty and hunger, or as a result of events which are today unforeseeable.”

15. Warren Buffett, American Investor and Philanthropist
“Someone is sitting in the shade today, because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

– Tyson Watkins

Sources: Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights: Quotes, Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights: Statement by Navenethem Pillay, Catholics Confront Global Poverty, Dalai Lama, Think Exist, Brainy Quote

Photo: Vintage 3D

Recompense for the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya

Kenya Ivory
An estimated 5,000 Kenyans will receive $4,000 in remunerations from the British government as victims of the Mau Mau Rebellion in the 1950s.

Around 90,000 Kenyans were detained and tortured during British colonial occupation. Only the living survivors of the Mau Mau rebellion are eligible for receiving the financial apology.

In addition to the British recompense, the U.K. will also construct a memorial honoring the victims in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Up until 2003, Mau Mau veterans were not allowed to address grievances regarding the atrocities they underwent during the rebellion. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission organized the Mau Mau Veterans Association, which fought to gain recognition of the atrocities.

Hiring the UK-based firm, Leigh Day, five individuals of the Veterans Association won a case against the British government and settled with $21 million.

The British government initially claimed that the Veterans Association’s claims were not eligible since the aforementioned atrocities were dealt during colonial times.

Other claims will not be so successful due to legal costs and not enough insurmountable evidence — many colonial files and records were destroyed during the ending period of the British Empire.

Kenya was partitioned by European powers along with the rest of East Africa during the 1885 Berlin Conference. The British entered Kenya in the early 1900s. Without political clout and claims to their own land, a guerilla group called the Mau Mau led an uprising.

Between 1952-1960, a State of Emergency was proclaimed by the British colonists due to an increase in the attack on their people and “property.” Soon the wider Kenyan population became embroiled in the conflict and was sent to detention camps wherein general torture — the castration of two men and sexual assault against women — ensued.

An op-ed criticizes the British government for not doing more to address grievances of the Mau Mau veterans. The postcolonial administration saw the entrance of colonists’ children in high governmental positions—often well-educated in comparison to many Kenyans living in poverty. The author posits that the British government should provide scholarships and higher education opportunities to Mau Mau veteran families.

Whether the British government has or has not done enough to recognize its past atrocities, it is nevertheless a step in acknowledging that the human dignity of many individuals were wrongfully disregarded during Kenya’s colonial history.

– Miles Abadilla

Sources: BBC, Daily Mail, The Economist, The International
Photo: Giphy.com

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Cambodian Garment Worker Clash Turns Deadly

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One bystander was killed and 20 people were injured when police clashed with protesting garment workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 12, 2013.

Workers at the SL Garment Processing Ltd. Factory, one of the largest in Cambodia and a supplier to many western brands including Gap and H&M, marched from the factory towards Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Phnom Pehn home to protest unfair wages and poor factory conditions. They were, however, blocked by police at Stung Meanchey bridge. Reports differ on which side started the violence, which escalated to more than 100 police officers firing tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition into the crowd, who were armed mainly with rocks and sticks. Police arrested 37 people, including seven monks, who were later released.

The march marked the three-month anniversary of 4,000 workers walking out of the SL factory to protest the presence of armed military police, which they viewed as an intimidation tactic meant to expel unions. Company shareholder Meas Sotha incited rage among workers with his claim that police were only there to protect the factory. SL 2 joined the strike, demanding raised salaries as well as a $3 per day lunch stipend and Sotha’s ousting.

Conditions in Cambodia’s more than 500 garment factories, though better than in some areas of the nation, are dismal. Wages are low—workers at SL, for example, make just $75 monthly—and factories are unsafe, with poor ventilation, recent collapses and regular fainting masses of malnourished workers. About 500,000 Cambodians work in garment and shoe factories, supporting the industry that accounts for 80% of the country’s exports. In 2012 alone, Cambodia exported $4.45 billion in products to the United States and Europe.

The protests erupted at a time of international attention on the garment industry following several deadly incidents at factories in Bangladesh, including a factory collapse at Rana Plaza that killed over 1,100 people in April. According to the New York Times, many multinational organizations are now looking to Cambodia as an alternative to factory locations in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, in Cambodia, strikes are frequent, though factory concessions are small and rare.

Workers at Alim Cambodia Co. Ltd. blocked a road in Phnom Phen on November 13, 2013 also protesting for higher wages. The demonstration was short-lived, breaking up due to rain when protestors became concerned they would get sick.  The Alim protestors were demanding a $1 lunch stipend, and were angry that the factory was paying new workers $93 monthly to their $89.

The Cambodian government has made few efforts to back garment workers, and seems largely indifferent to workers’ rights. In fact, government-official-mediated talks about wages between unions and SL ended in a deadlock.  Although the Cambodian People’s Party raised the monthly minimum wage from $61 to $75 earlier this year, reports by the local Community Legal Education Center and United Kingdom-based organization Labour Behind the Label found that a single garment worker needs at least $150 monthly to cover basic needs.

The United Nation’s International Labor Organization (ILO) released a report calling for the compliance of the Cambodian government and garment companies in improving workplace conditions in the garment industry, specifically concerning fire safety, child labor as well as worker safety and health. The ILO also announced in September it plans to continue the practice of “naming and shaming” factories that violate the law.

– Sarah Morrison

Sources: The New York Times, NPR, The Cambodia Daily: Garment Worker Clash, The Cambodia Daily: Protest, AlJazeera, AlJazeera America

Zimbabwe Human Rights Lawyer Released

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Zimbabwe human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has been acquitted on charges of obstructing justice and being unruly to police.

The recipient of several international awards, Mtetwa grew up in Swaziland, the eldest daughter of 50 children. After earning her law degree, she moved to Zimbabwe after it gained its independence in the 1980’s and soon set up her own firm defending victims of the repressive government. She has spent the past three decades defending freedom of speech under President Robert Mugabe, of whom she is a strong critic.

‘Beatrice Mtetwa & the Rule of Law’ is a recent documentary project about Mtetwa’s career-long struggle. Hailed as Africa’s top human rights lawyer, her cause is to uphold the rule of law as the foundation for democracy and economic growth. She names Mugabe a dictator, calling him out for creating self-serving, harmful laws which fly in the face of human rights.

Mugabe’s long presidency has been fraught with criticisms including his violent land redistribution policy, highly questionable elections, and free speech restrictions. Mtetwa’s clients include peace activists and journalists whom she defends on constitutional grounds. Foreign correspondent Andrew Meldrum, for example, was arrested and then deported from Zimbabwe after having been found innocent in the courts. His expulsion, according to Jonathon Moyo, a member of parliament, had to do with the country’s right to stop the media from being “hostile” towards Zimbabwean government. A law enacted by Mugabe, which made insulting the president a crime, was recently declared unconstitutional by Zimbabwe’s highest courts, but the country is still hostile toward free journalism in general. Currently in Zimbabwe, a person can be sentenced to 20 years in prison for publishing a false statement, creating an obviously unfriendly atmosphere for free speech.

It is this type of corruption which Mtetwa has devoted her career to stopping. According to many, it was her influence in this respect which led to her arrest.

Mtetwa was arrested in March of this year during a raid on the offices of foreign Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The officers were searching for an official from Tsvangirai’s Movement for a Democratic Change. It was alleged that Mtetwa shouted at the officers, saying that their actions were unconstitutional, illegal, and unlawful. It was furthermore said that she insulted the officers by calling them “Mugabe’s dogs.” Her arrest was widely condemned and interpreted as an attempt to intimidate other Zimbabwean lawyers. Mtetwa herself termed it a “set-up.”

On November 25, the courts ruled that Mtetwa’s actions had not interfered with the officers doing their jobs, and she was therefore released. But the problems facing Zimbabwe’s government remain.

– Kathleen Walsh

Sources: BBC 1, 2, Rule of Law, Washington Post, The Guardian, African Spotlight

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Madonna Champions Art for Freedom

Founded in September 2013, Art For Freedom is the result of a partnership between global superstar Madonna and VICE Media. The completely digital organization aims to increase awareness of human rights violations around the world through artwork.

Each month, artists are invited to submit their original creations in response to the question, “What does freedom mean to you?” The organization then chooses a winning entry, whose creator is offered a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice.

In addition to naming monthly winners, Art For Freedom also posts daily winners on its website. The inspirational submissions are displayed on the organization’s home page and can be accessed at any time through its interactive calendar.

Recently, Madonna named illusionist David Blaine as a guest curator for the organization’s December contest. Blaine’s duties will consist of reviewing entries and choosing which pieces will be displayed on the organization’s website.


Past celebrity curators included notables such as Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. For the month of November, Madonna herself hosted a live exhibit on Tumblr to showcase submissions.

Despite its recent start, the organization has quickly gained a following. Notable submissions for the December 2013 contest have included videos and photographs referencing numerous social problems including bullying, transgender issues, religious intolerance, racial intolerance, and other forms of prejudice.

The organization’s website currently features entries from around the world. The last two weeks have seen submissions from France, Bulgaria, Australia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, New Jersey, California, and New Hampshire.

Entries can be from a variety of mediums including film, music, photography, and poetry. Those interested in the organization’s monthly contest may upload original creations on the Art For Freedom website or by uploading the works to social media with the tag #artforfreedom.

– Jasmine D. Smith

Sources: Art for Freedom, Madonna.com
Photo: Blouin Art Info

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10 Shocking Statistics on Gender-based Violence

In the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki moon, “Violence against women continues to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world. It is a threat to all women, and an obstacle to all our efforts for development, peace, and gender equality in all societies.”

In fact, violence kills more women between the ages of 15 and 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.

The recent 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, kicked off November 25 on the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, served to confront this global pandemic. Here are ten of countless statistics that illustrate the importance of such, and continued, efforts.

1. In the 24 developing countries studied in a recent survey, a combined total of only 7% of survivors of gender-based violence, including physical and sexual acts, formally reported their attacks to police, medical or social services.

2. In India, less than 1% of survivors reported gender-based violence to formal sources. The highest rate of reporting uncovered in the survey was in Colombia where 26% of women formally reported the violence they faced. This still means that three out of four Colombian women never report the violence they’ve faced.

3. In the same 24 developing countries, the surveyors explored whether women told their friends, family members or neighbors about their attacks and found that the rates of this “informal reporting” ranged from 15% in Honduras to 60% in Ukraine. Thus, in most of the countries, the majority of women told no one of their attacks.

4. In Papua New Guinea, 59.1% of men admit to forcing an unwilling intimate partner into having sex. Forty percent of men admit to having raped a stranger.

5. According to the UN, there were 15,654 cases of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012. However, the country is noted to chronically underreport gender-based violence figures. A study published by the American Journal of Public Health found that more than 1,100 women were raped every day in 2006 and that more than 400,000 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 were raped within a 12-month time frame.

6. A third of all survivors of sexual violence in the DRC are between the ages of 12 and 17. Reports from the UN indicate that 82% of all survivors had not finished primary school.

7. A study by Johns Hopkins that surveyed women across 25 African countries found that a high proportion of women believed that wife-beating was justified in at least one of five different hypothetical scenarios. The percentage of women who adhered to this view ranged from 18 in Swaziland to 87 in Guinea.

8. A South African women is killed by an intimate partner every 6 hours.

9. An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women throughout the world have experienced female genital mutilation. More than three million African girls face the risk of the practice every year.

10. Eighty percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually are women and girls. Seventy-nine percent of them are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

– Kelley Calkins

Sources: End Violence Against Women, UNFP, Al Jazeera, UN News Center, NCBI, Say No to Violence, Women Under Seige
Photo: Gabriela USA

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Iran Deporting and Mistreating Afghan Refugees

Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report in late November accusing Iran of violating international law by deporting thousands of Afghan refugees. It is estimated that over two million Afghans currently live in Iran. Thousands more cross the border every year trying to escape their unstable home country.

Iran has been receiving Afghan refugees since conflict erupted in Afghanistan in the early 1980’s. Millions of Afghans fled the increasingly bloody civil war, and at the height of the violence, almost four million Afghanis were living in Iran. After the war, many Afghan citizens tried to return home, but were met with high unemployment and lingering instability. With no solution in sight to the problems remaining in Afghanistan, many citizens returned once again to their refugee countries.

In the HRW report, they claim that in the last few years the Iranian government has been taking steps to reduce opportunities for refugees to enter the country. Recently, Iran has been refusing to register both refugees already living in Afghanistan for some time and those that try to cross the border. HRW has also accused Iran of other violations such as physical abuse, forced labor, unsanitary conditions, and the separation of families. Joe Stork of HRW Middle East Division said, “Iran is deporting thousands of Afghans to a country where the danger is both real and serious.

Iran has an obligation to hear these people’s refugee claims rather than sweeping them up and tossing them over the border to Afghanistan. The report cites personal accounts given by refugees who were separated from their families and sent back across the border.

When they are not being deported, provinces within Iran are passing laws to refugee access to residence permits. Without access to the proper documents to show residence, this puts refugees at risk for deportation. If refugees are sent back, their options for what they can do next are severely limited and many are stuck in a country that is still experiencing violence and political instability.

– Colleen Eckvahl

Sources: BBC, Yahoo News
Photo: Payvand Iran News