Newsroom

Update

The United Nation's first report on The State of the World's Indigenous Peoples, released on January 14, 2010, contains figures and an assessment that are both shocking and illuminating, even to those who are familiar with indigenous rights issues. The report evaluates the state of indigenous populations in specific countries and situations, in both the developed and developing world. The report states that, "Indigenous peoples suffer from the consequences of historic injustice, including colonization, dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, oppression and discrimination, as well as lack of control over their own ways of life. Their right to development…

January 21, 2010

Update

The reports from Haiti are more tragic everyday.  The loss, the devastation, the aftershock, the grief and the suffering.  Today, there are reports of losses to the women's human rights movement- Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan are Haitian women's human rights defenders who were victims of the earthquake.  This tragic loss will be mourned throughout the global women's rights community but the impact will be felt deeply as Haiti rebuilds. Women's rights and gender equality must be promoted during the humanitarian relief process but also during the rebuilding process.  On the Dianne Rehm show yesterday, academics and relief…

January 20, 2010

Update

Yesterday, Reuters began reporting that the government of Chad has formally requested that the mandate for the peacekeeping mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) not be renewed when it comes to an end in March. But the peacekeeping mission, known by its French acronym MINURCAT, provides much needed security for refugees and humanitarian aid workers in eastern Chad and northeastern CAR, regions which suffer from rampant insecurity and violence. In September 2009, Amnesty International released a report on violence against refugee women in Eastern Chad. The report found that women and girls face high levels of rape…

January 19, 2010

Update

Ruchika's Death Must Not Be in Vain The rape and suicide of Ruchika Girhotra in 1990 has received volumes of attention in the Indian media unlike most rape cases in India (here is a short time line of the case).  But, Vir Sanghvi's column in the Hindustan Times convinced me to post.  Some key grafs from the column: ... Besides, I don’t even think that Rathore is the real problem. He is merely a symptom of the sort of systemic rot, depravity and corruption that led to Ruchika’s death and to the hounding of her family. It suits those who…

January 16, 2010

Update

This afternoon Janet Napolitano, Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, announced that the administration will extend temporary protected status to Haitians in the US. Providing work authorization through a TPS designation empowers Haitians to share responsibility for the relief and rebuilding of their own country, and it enables the US to meet its human rights obligations under international law and standards. AIUSA commends the administration for its generous and prompt humanitarian response to the disaster that is unfolding in Haiti. Haitians fleeing persecution or other serious human rights violations have a right to seek protection in the US. Accordingly,…

January 15, 2010

Update

Google made an unprecedented announcement this week by claiming it is no longer willing to continue censoring search results on Google.cn, its Chinese search engine. Meetings are underway with Chinese authorities to discuss removing filtering software from Google.cn and, the company further claims, if an acceptable agreement is not reached, Google may shut the search engine down. Some in the media and some human rights advocates are heralding this announcement as a turning point in corporate America's relations with China, given that Google attributes their sudden opposition to censorship is the result of a security breach of two Gmail accounts…

January 14, 2010

Update

Satellite images of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince show the effect of the major earthquake that hit the island earlier this week. In addition to destroyed houses, the images also capture displaced people gathering in open spaces – like soccer fields – as there is no place left to go (and to be safe from aftershocks). The previous blog post outlines our human rights concerns, and urges President Obama to grant temporary protected status to all Haitians in the United States. The satellite images only provide one more piece of evidence why no-one should be returned to Haiti at this point. In…

January 14, 2010

Update

Haiti is devastated. According to media reports, the earthquake has resulted in thousands of deaths, more injuries, and likely countless people missing and displaced. Amnesty International researchers are monitoring the situation. The US government quickly reacted on Wednesday by pledging humanitarian, technical and financial support to the people of Haiti, and this is to be welcomed. The Department of Homeland Security stated that it is temporarily halting all deportations to Haiti, which will provide some relief to the Haitians already here, and their family and friends in Haiti who will likely rely on them for financial support. At the same…

January 14, 2010

Update

In an empowering speech on Friday, January 8, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated her commitment to women’s rights as human rights. Exactly 15 years since the UN’s International Conference on Population and Development was held in Cairo, Secretary Clinton praised the progress made in improving the health and lives of women and children around the world since this groundbreaking gathering. This progress has included a marked increase in the use of modern contraceptives from less than 10% in the 1960s to 43% today; an encouraging increase in child survival rates; and an increase in female enrollment in schools. Despite…

January 14, 2010

Update

"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it." Writing in last Sunday’s New York Times, former CIA officer Robert Grenier channeled Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup as he slammed the Obama administration for releasing the Justice Department ‘torture memos’ last year. Grenier described the publication of the memos as "a blatantly partisan act" designed to pour "opprobrium and scorn" on intelligence officers whose only offense had been to follow "lawful orders". When you…

January 13, 2010

Update

Angola is experiencing a major revitalization as it slowly recovers from a devastating 27 year civil war that finally ended in 2002. The Africa Cup of Nations kicked off  (sorry for the soccer pun) this week: a biennial continent-wide tournament, and this year a rousing prelude to the World Cup occurring in June in South Africa. Angola is also one of the world's top twenty crude oil exporters and a member of OPEC. This revenue stream elevates Angola's stature as a major economic player both globally and in the region, as nations compete for Angolan oil exports. These resulting economic ties also create political relationships. Stay…

January 12, 2010

Update

Great news!  The detained Sri Lankan journalist, J.S. Tissainayagam, was granted bail today by the court in Sri Lanka.  He is appealing the 20-year sentence he received last August under Sri Lanka's draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, all for publishing two magazine articles critical of the government's conduct of the war against the Tamil Tigers.  Amnesty International considers him to be a "prisoner of conscience," imprisoned solely for his legitimate journalistic activities, and calls for his immediate, unconditional release.  Last May, President Obama singled him out for praise as an emblematic example of journalists unjustly imprisoned for exercising their profession.  Today, the court granted his…

January 12, 2010