Human Rights

New App Offers ‘Panic Button’ For Activists In Danger

May 18, 2015 Elise Thomas, www.wagingnonviolence.org Resist! Human Rights, Safety, Technology

In countries all over the world, activists and journalists risk their safety, their freedom and even their lives to speak up for human rights and civil liberties. They may face harassment, intimidation, arrest or physical violence. Others have simply been “disappeared,” sometimes with no witnesses and no paper trail. When there are no eye witnesses or records of the abuse, it is often very difficult to hold perpetrators to account for their actions. What if you could keep a witness in your pocket? This is the concept behind Witness, winner of the grand prize at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt NY Hackathon, which took place earlier this month. The Hackathon is an annual event in which hundreds of coders and developers have a weekend to build apps from scratch. Other winners ranged from a social media app for transgender people to an app which senses whether you’ve left the stove on.

Wyoming Criminalizes Photographing The Environment

May 17, 2015 Justin Pidot, www.slate.com Educate! Environment, Human Rights, Media, Science

Imagine visiting Yellowstone this summer. You wake up before dawn to take a picture of the sunrise over the mists emanating from Yellowstone hot springs. A thunderhead towers above the rising sun, and the picture turns out beautifully. You submit the photo to a contest sponsored by the National Weather Service. Under a statute signed into law by the Wyoming governor this spring, you have just committed a crime and could face up to one year in prison. Wyoming doesn’t, of course, care about pictures of geysers or photo competitions. But photos are a type of data, and the new law makes it a crime to gather data about the condition of the environment across most of the state if you plan to share that data with the state or federal government.

Newsletter – Overcome Fear With Love

May 16, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter BXE, Chile, Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Economic inequality, fast track, FERC, Finance and the Economy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Greece, Homelessness, Human Rights, Inequality, Injustice, Living Wage, Obama, Police violence, Racism, TPP, United Kingdom (UK), Urban decay, Walmart, Water, World Economic Forum

Instead of taking action to prevent or mitigate the next crisis, politicians are causing more harm as they work hand in hand with the wealthy elites who are trying to grab even greater power and extract even greater riches. Maryland's governor was quick to bring in the National Guard and militarized police, but just cut Baltimore education funding by $11.6 million to fund pensions, while last week the state approved funding for a youth jail the people in Baltimore don't want. This article provides five key facts about Baltimore and a graphic that shows how the United States built its wealth on slavery, Jim Crow and racially-based economic injustice and kept African Americans from benefiting the economy. Also, as a special addition to recognize BB King, he sings "Why I Sing the Blues" describing the history of African Americans from slavery until today.

Poland Makes $250,000 Payout To Torture Victims

May 16, 2015 Vanessa Gera, www.bigstory.ap.org Educate! CIA, Human Rights, Poland, Torture

Poland is paying a quarter of a million dollars to two terror suspects allegedly tortured by the CIA in a secret facility in this country — prompting outrage among many here who feel they are being punished for American wrongdoing. Europe's top human rights court imposed the penalty against Poland, setting a Saturday deadline. It irks many in Poland that their country is facing legal repercussions for the secret rendition and detention program which the CIA operated under then-President George W. Bush in several countries across the world after the 9/11 attacks. So far no U.S. officials have been held accountable, but the European Court of Human Rights has shown that it doesn't want to let European powers that helped the program off the hook. The court also ordered Macedonia in 2012 to pay 60,000 euros ($68,000) to a Lebanese-German man who was seized in Macedonia on erroneous suspicion of terrorist ties and subjected to abuse by the CIA.

Why Is President Obama Having So Much Trouble Selling TPP?

May 15, 2015 Stan Sorscher, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Free Trade, Human Rights, Obama, TPP

Barack Obama is cool and personable -- no-drama Obama. Then suddenly, he scolds critics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, his NAFTA-style trade deal. He accuses them of being "wrong," unable to look at the facts, fighting the last war, confusing this new improved trade deal with NAFTA, if they don't want TPP they must want nothing at all ... and they definitely are not invited to his next birthday party. Of course, the critics are right, they are looking straight at the facts, the critics know exactly what a good trade policy would look like, and it's nothing like NAFTA or TPP. ..... and deep down, everyone wants to be invited to his next birthday party. So what's wrong with TPP?

House Passes ‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’ Abortion Ban

May 15, 2015 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Educate! Abortion, Human Rights, Patriarchy

The politicians behind this bill clearly learned nothing from the outrage provoked earlier this year by its gross intrusions into women’s private lives and decisions. As if it weren’t enough to severely limit women’s options for confronting potentially devastating challenges during their pregnancies, this noxious legislation would also require rape survivors to undergo additional medical care or counseling whether they want it or not. This bill is a danger to women’s lives and well-being, an affront to their dignity, and a threat to the rights and liberties all Americans hold dear. Congress must reject this callous and unconstitutional bill.

US Cited For Police Violence, Racism In Scathing UNHR Review

May 13, 2015 Natasja Sheriff, www.america.aljazeera.com Educate! #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Human Rights, Indigenous People, UnitedNations

The United States was slammed over its rights record Monday at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, with member nations criticizing the country for police violence and racial discrimination, the Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility and the continued use of the death penalty. The issue of racism and police brutality dominated the discussion on Monday during the country’s second universal periodic review (UPR). Country after country recommended that the U.S. strengthen legislation and expand training to eliminate racism and excessive use of force by law enforcement. "I'm not surprised that the world's eyes are focused on police issues in the U.S.," said Alba Morales, who investigates the U.S. criminal justice system at Human Rights Watch. "There is an international spotlight that's been shone [on the issues], in large part due to the events in Ferguson and the disproportionate police response to even peaceful protesters," she said.

Food Not Lawns: Interview With Water Activist Susana De Anda

May 13, 2015 Sarah Mirk, Bitch Media, www.truth-out.org Create! California, Human Rights, Racial Justice, Water

I come from a farmworker family and I went to school not to avoid working in the fields, but to ensure that we provide respect for those that do work in the fields. When I graduated, my first job was as a community organizer, which was life changing. I learned about social infrastructure and that people can actually create change once they organize. It’s not okay to live in fear of becoming sick if you drink tap water. It’s not okay that our children go to school with water fountains that don’t produce safe drinking water. When you realize that’s not okay and that it’s not happening in wealthier communities, you start to think, “How do we change it?” More than a million people in California are exposed to illegal and unsafe levels of contaminated tap water. There are studies that show that if you are low-income, a person of color, and you live in the Central Valley, you’re going to have higher chances of having polluted water.

Obama Administration Faces Mounting Pressure To Answer For Torture

May 12, 2015 Ali Watkins, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Human Rights, Obama, Torture

The Obama administration is facing renewed pressure to answer for its track record on torture after the relative calm that followed the release of the Senate torture report’s damning executive summary in December. In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch Friday, human rights group Amnesty International pressed the Justice Department to revisit its decision not to prosecute former officials from the CIA and the George W. Bush administration for their involvement in the agency’s post-9/11 torture program. The new evidence from the report prepared by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence merits another look, says Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International, in the letter. “As the new Attorney General you have a critical responsibility to ensure the USA complies with its international human rights obligations to effectively investigate evidence of crimes under international law and to bring the suspected perpetrators to justice,” reads the letter, which is expected to arrive on Lynch’s desk Monday.

Saudis Drop US-Made Cluster Bombs In Criminal War On Yemen

May 11, 2015 William Boardman, www.readersupportednews.org Educate! Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, usa, Wars and Militarism, weapons

Costa Rica condemns Saudi Arabia’s dropping US-made cluster bombs on Yemen, in defiance of international law, including the Convention on Cluster Munitions that specifically outlaws the development, production, distribution, stockpiling, and use of cluster munitions, including the cluster bombs the Saudis have used since March 26 in their uncontested air attack on Yemen with an estimated 215 jet fighters from nine countries. (The Saudis are also bombing people in Syria and Iraq.) Amnesty International issued a report May 8 documenting Saudi bombing of densely-populated areas of Yemen where the Saudis mostly killed civilians. An earlier Amnesty report documented the Saudi killing of hundreds of Yemeni civilians in its US-supported bombing campaign.

World To Review US Human Rights Record

May 11, 2015 Jamil Dakwar, www.aclu.org Educate! Human Rights, Immigration, police brutality, Racial Justice, United Nations, United States

Starting Monday, the United States' human rights record will be subject to international scrutiny by the U.N. Human Rights Council. It may just be the perfect catalyst for the Obama administration to make good on past and present wrongs that should never be associated with a liberal democracy predicated on respect for human rights. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is part of a regular examination of the human rights records of all 193 U.N. member countries and will be the second review of its kind for the U.S. since 2010. The review comes at a critical time when the U.S. human rights record has been criticized for falling short of meeting international human rights standards. From racially biased policing and excessive use of force by law enforcement to the expansion of migrant family detention and from the lack of accountability for the CIA torture program to the use of armed drones abroad, the U.S. has a lot to answer for.

Newsletter – We Have A Duty To Fight For Our Freedom

May 9, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Barack Obama, Cove Point, fast track, FERC, FERCus, Fracking, Gas, Human Rights, killed by police, Militarization, police brutality, Police violence, TPP

Chelsea Manning writes this week about the lack of transparency and declining press freedom in the United States. Transparency and press freedom are fundamental to democracy. Manning also connects these issues to our right to criticize our government without fear. Assata Shakur, who is currently living in exile in Cuba, says something we've been hearing a lot lately: "It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains."

Thomas Drake Running For UN Privacy Rapporteur

May 9, 2015 Courage, www.couragefound.org Organize! Human Rights, Surveillance, United Nations

Courage Advisory Board member Thomas Drake is a candidate to be the next Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy for the United Nations. In 2006, Drake blew the whistle on the NSA’s fraudulent and abusive warrantless wiretapping. Courage wishes to congratulate Drake on his candidacy and fully supports his run. Drake has already taken a stand for privacy in the global sphere. In September 2013, he testified to the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee on the threat that mass surveillance poses to privacy and human rights. In July 2014, he participated in the German Parliament’s formal surveillance inquiry, using his extensive knowledge as a former senior executive with the NSA.

UN Experts Say TPP & Fast Track Threaten Human Rights

May 8, 2015 Maira Sutton, www.eff.org Educate! Congress, Human Rights, TPP

Last week, an independent UN expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, said that the secrecy surrounding trade negotiations is a threat to human rights because it disenfranchises and excludes the public from "the right and opportunity to take part in the conduct of public affairs." He urges human rights impact assessments be undertaken immediately as part of the negotiation process, and goes on to say that fast tracking these deals to approval has a detrimental impact on a democratic, equitable world order. We agree, and have been fighting Fast Track legislation in the U.S. to stop back-room negotiations that led to the TPP's provisions become legitimized by the bill's passage. In his statements, he particularly singles out trade agreements' investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions.

Police Violence Shows US Hypocrisy On Human Rights Seen Worldwide

May 8, 2015 Kitty Stapp, www.ipsnews.net Educate! Human Rights, police brutality, Racial Justice, Torture, usa

Since being roundly chastised last fall by the U.N. Committee Against Torture for excessive use of force by its law enforcement agencies, the United States hasn’t exactly managed to repair its international reputation. Fatal beatings and shootings of African American and Latino citizens, mainly men, by the police have continued seemingly unabated, with the latest being the widely publicised case of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland. Gray, 25, died Apr. 19 of spinal cord injuries in what has been ruled a homicide after being arrested for allegedly carrying an illegal pocket knife. Six officers have since been charged in his murder. "As the U.S. claims a human rights mantle and criticises others for racism, it becomes the world’s greatest hypocrite." -- Michael Ratner The wave of cases – many caught on camera and shared via social media – have sparked a nationwide protest campaign grouped under the hashtag #blacklivesmatter.

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