Stories about Human Rights from July, 2010
Costa Rica: Human Trafficking Awareness
The Rahab foundation in Costa Rica has put out a video warning people about potential job offers which may be too good to be true and put women as victims in human trafficking schemes.
Rwanda: Tension Before The Presidential Election, Except for Kagame
The incumbent President of Rwanda Paul Kagame has officially launched his campaign for another term in office. The electoral campaign which ends on august 9th, has been marred with challenges for the political opposition, ranging from arrests to mysterious deaths.
South Korea: Halting Corporal Punishment In Schools Met With Opposition
South Korean society is buzzing with the old issue of corporal punishment in schools, as an elementary teacher beating his students got leaked into public. A controversy was ignited as the Seoul Education Office ordered a halt on any physical punishment from every school.
UK: No Reckoning for Police Excessive Force
Today marks five years since the shocking shooting death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes by London police. The Brazilian blogosphere has yet to respond. Random Blowe reminds that no official has been held responsible, and compares to the G20 brutality case in which it was just announced there will...
Censorship in Singapore
Singapore authorities caused a major uproar when they banned a film of an ex-political prisoner and arrested a British author who wrote a book about the death penalty in Singapore. Bloggers react
Azerbaijan: Amnesty International campaign for convicted bloggers
Having already recently marked the first anniversary of their initial detention, Amnesty International urges supporters worldwide to lobby the government in Azerbaijan to ensure that imprisoned video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli receive a fair appeal hearing in the coming months.
India: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips
Indian Homemaker compiles a list of sexual assault prevention tips guaranteed to work.
Botswana: Court denies Bushmen access to water
“There was outrage today as Botswana’s High Court denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water,” Survival International reports.
Jamaica: Abuse of Power?
Jamaica Salt thinks that the recent detainment of dancehall artist Vybez Kartel “does not look good any way you look at it. In terms of the justice system, human rights, detention powers, use or mis-use of emergency powers.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Housing Policy
Afra Raymond goes more in depth into his ideas “for a more effective and equitable national housing policy.”
South Korea: A National Mourning on A Vietnamese Bride's Death
A young Vietnamese bride was killed by her Korean husband in Korea. Korean bloggers express their condolences to the tragic death of a young wife while urging the government to eradicate the human rights's blindspot, the foreign wives.
Vietnam: Proposed human rights agenda
The Vietnam Reform Party has advised U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will visit Vietnam this week, to raise human rights issues with the Vietnam government. The group also highlighted the need to combat web censorship.
Russia: Staying power of penalism
Streetwise Professor discusses how the Russian dedovshchina – penalism during military service – tradition has changed into an ever greater system of anarchy and arbitrariness.
Information Bridging on the Case of Tibetan Environmentalist Karma Samdrup
The case of Tibetan environmentalist, businessman and philanthropist Karma Samdrup, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison on June 24, 2010 by a court in Xinjiang, has been highly unusual in that those monitoring the case were able to see events unfolding almost in real time thanks to constant blog and Twitter updates by his wife and lawyer.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: happy birthday, Mandela
“When I was ten years old, I like the rest of the world watched Nelson Mandela walk to freedom,” writes Abeni, sharing her thoughts on the 92nd birthday of the South African hero.
Azerbaijan: Caucasus Women
CauCasuSWomaN takes a look at the rights of men and women in Azerbaijan (and the Caucasus) in the context of actual attitudes to gender and says that education is key to changing existing values and perceptions.
Lebanon: The Rule of Dinosaurs
Shortly after the recent cyber censorship incidents in Lebanon, the term "The Rule of Dinosaurs" started to be used by the e-activists in their campaign against this invasion of their cyberspace. Lebanese blogger Tony explains what it means.
Brazil: Daily Violence Against Women
In Brazil, 10 women are assassinated everyday. The recent assassination of a woman by the alleged father of her baby, and a promising young Brazilian goalkeeper, has sparked the conversation in the blogsphere about violence against women.
Chile: How to Fight Poverty
A recent Casen survey revealed an increase of 1.4% in poverty in Chile; that means that “just over 355 thousand people reached the poverty line for the first time in 2009,” as explained by The Pulse. In response to the survey, the bloggers from de la República [es] uploaded a...
Lebanon: The Plight of Palestinian Refugees
“We can work in any field or industry, they can’t. We can learn for free, they aren’t allowed. We have access to free healthcare, they don’t. We enjoy our dignity and human rights while they struggle to simply maintain theirs. And this has been going on for a good portion...
Lebanon: Swimming Pool Discrimination
“A group of independent activists organized a direct action on a number of touristic resorts that adopt racist policies towards migrant workers in Lebanon on the basis of color, race, and class.” The video in this post shows activists trying to get a migrant domestic worker (an activist of the Madagascari...
