Stories about Human Rights from June, 2011
Mauritania: Ending Slavery in Mauritania
Beyond abolition: Ending Slavery in Mauritania: “Slaves in Mauritania do not have a legal right to own property, let alone have a surname. Nor do they have a right to custody of their children. The 2007 law criminalizing the ownership of slaves was received with resistance and scoffing. The director...
Egypt: Commemorating the Struggle Against Systematic Torture
As the world marked the International Day against Torture that falls on June 26, eyes were on Egypt where the struggle against citizen abuse has been particularly significant.
Bermuda: Position on Same-Sex Unions
Politics.bm looks at “some interesting scenarios [that] could play out…[if] Bermuda Immigration faces the question of a non-Bermudian worker coming to the island with a same sex spouse.”
Jamaica: Call for End to Anti-Gay Violence
Labrish remembers the life and work of her cousin, who was murdered on account of “his outspoken efforts to bring about an end to homophobia in Jamaica”, saying: “It is beyond time that the appalling homophobia that is a blight on certain parts of Jamaican society come to an end.”
Tanzania: North Mara Mine Victims Not Forgotten
Activists in Canada remember North Mara mine victims: “Approximately 70 people gathered today [June 4, 2011] at a commemoration held for the seven individuals killed in Tanzania at African Barrick Gold’s North Mara Mine.”
Armenia: LGBT Persons Still Facing Discrimination
LGBT persons are still facing discrimination in Armenia and much of the rest of the South Caucasus, a new groundbreaking two-year study by the Council of Europe (CoE) has found.
Peru: Residents of Puno Resume Protests
Once again the inhabitants of the Puno region have taken to the streets in protests, this time against the contamination caused by the mining of minerals. Six people died as a result of the protests on the day when Peru celebrates the Day of the Peasant.
Kuwait: Flip Your Avatar, Show Support to the Bidun!
Kuwait has around 100,000 stateless people or Bidun - meaning without nationality. They have no papers, ID cards, access to government education and health care, birth or death certificates. With Arabs rising this year, the Bidun of Kuwait are making their voices heard, both on the ground and via social media, asking people to "flip their avatars" in support.
China: Update on the Independent Candidate Campaigns
The spokesperson for the Commission on Legislative Affairs of the National People’s Congress stated [zh] on June 8 2011 that no legal basis exists for independent candidacy in grassroots people's congress elections. To be a candidate in grassroots representative elections, he said, one has to first be endorsed by a...
Cuba: Cuba Votes for LGBT Resolution at UN Human Rights Council
The United Nation Human Rights Council passed a resolution expressing “grave concern at the violence and discrimination experienced by people because of their sexual orientation..." Among the nations that supported the measure was Cuba. Cuban bloggers and Twitter users celebrated this significant victory for the island’s LGBT communities.
Ghana: Gays Come Under Fresh Attacks
Fresh attacks for gays in Ghana: Delivering a statement on the 30 years of the official discovery of HIV/AIDS on the floor of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, Ghana’s Second Deputy Speaker, described homosexuality as an “abomination” that must be stopped “before the human race was destroyed by something worse than...
Cuba: Old & Black
“Being old in Cuba is a problem”: But, explains Iván García, “it becomes harder if you are black.”
Macedonia: .mk Twitter Republic
Protests continue in Macedonia, as the authorities keep silent about the people's demands of accountability, political responsibility and an end to police brutality. On Sunday, a new symbol was displayed by some protesters: the Macedonian flag with a Twitter logo on it, homage to the role of the Twitter community.
A Syrian Solution for North Korea
Libyan and Syrian cases are significant to North Korea's possible change by exhibiting how quickly ruthless totalitarian regimes can become unstable in the face of resistance, wrote Joshua from the One Free Korea.
Colombia: Video Mapping the City to Hip Hop
In just four days, a creative cast of characters got together in the city of Medellin, Colombia, where they set out to produce videos and place them on a map of the city to reflect topics that affect their communities: militarization, poverty, forced displacement, crimes of state, resistance movements and more.
Belarus: Police Crack Down on Minsk Protest
A non-violent rally in Minsk, organized via a social network, ended up with more than 450 people detained. Arrests, trials and numerous detentions, however, do not appear to have stopped the protesters.
Russia: Rodric Braithwaite's “Afgantsy”
In Moscow's Shadows writes about Rodric Braithwaite's Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan, 1979-89, a “new study of the Soviet war on Afghanistan.” OpenDemocracy.net published exclusive excerpts from the book in April – here and here.
Balkans: Ratko Mladic and Justice
Posts on the capture of Ratko Mladic and justice being done (or not) – by Katharine Engelhart and Ozren Jungic at OpenDemocracy.net, by Blogging Balkanistan/The Daily Seyahatname, and by Marko Attila Hoare and David Pettigrew at Greater Surbiton.
Croatia: EU Membership Approval
On June 10, 2011, Croatia was cleared to become the newest member state of the European Union. There is still a long road before Croatians are officially a part of the EU, and the timing at the moment is, at best, precarious, creating many skeptics. Miquel Hudin reports.
Ukraine: Hanna Sinkova's Case; Yanukovych's Prejudicial Comments
Foreign Notes posts an update on Hanna Sinkova's case and concludes: “In matters of law Ukraine frequently seems closer to Tehran than Europe.” He also highlights some “jarring prejudicial comments” made by Ukraine's President Victor Yanukovych during his visit to Europe.
Russia: Yelena Bonner, Andrei Sakharov's Widow, Dies
Vladimir Kara-Murza of World Affairs‘ Spotlight on Russia and Vadim Nikitin of Foreign Policy Association‘s Russia blog write about Andrei Sakharov's widow Yelena Bonner, who died in the United States on June 18.
