Law and Human Right

Between ‘Dividers-In-Chief’ and Dividers-In-Law, By Wole Soyinka

By Angelena Iglesia 2 days ago

Only then shall we uncover who are the real Dividers-in-Chief? If individual voices rankle, then perhaps it is time to convoke a Nation Survival Conference. Let all sections and group interests place their cards on the table and starkly articulate what we all know and endure on a daily basis, and proffer solutions, debate moves towards a collective – rational and sincere – undertaking of nation formation.

I am notoriously no fan of Olusegun Obasanjo, General, twice former president and co-architect, with other past leaders, of the crumbling edifice that is still generously called Nigeria. I have no reasons to change my stance on his record. Nonetheless, I embrace the responsibility of calling attention to any accurate reading of this nation from whatever source, as a contraption teetering on the very edge of total collapse. We are close to extinction as a viable comity of peoples, supposedly bound together under

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Soyinka backs Obasanjo, says Nigeria now more divided under Buhari

By Angelena Iglesia 3 days ago

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has backed claims by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying Nigeria is presently more divided under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Recall that former President Obasanjo last Thursday asserted that the country is slowly becoming a failed state and more divided under the Buhari regime.

He said this while delivering a speech titled, ‘Moving Nigeria Away from Tipping Over’ at a consultative dialogue attended by various socio-cultural groups including Afenifere, Middle Belt Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and Pan Niger Delta Forum.

In response, the Presidency described Obasanjo as a ‘Divider-in-chief.

But Soyinka in an opinion made available to newsmen on Tuesday said, “the nation is divided as never before, and this ripping division has taken place under the policies and conduct of none other than President Buhari.”

 

BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT

I am notoriously no fan of Olusegun Obasanjo, General, twice

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Joint Statement: Draft Law on Public Order Violates Women’s Rights

By Angelena Iglesia 4 days ago

As representatives of organizations working to promote women’s rights and gender equality in Cambodia, we wish to express our deep concern regarding numerous articles within the Draft Law on Public Order (DLPO), provisions of which violate women’s human rights. We therefore also endorse and echo the call made to the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in a Joint Civil Society Statement on August 13, 2020, to scrap the draft law.

We acknowledge and commend the RGC for taking positive action to tackle gender inequality through a number of comprehensive policy initiatives, including the upcoming Third National Action Plan to prevent Violence Against Women (NAPVAW III), and the Fifth Strategic Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Cambodia (Neary Rattanak V). However, we are disturbed by the DLPO’s potential to subject women to criminal sanctions for dress and behavior that allegedly violate arbitrary and discriminatory social norms related

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President Kiir should respect Right of Access to Information Law

By Angelena Iglesia 5 days ago

By Roger Alfred Yoron Modi

A little over a week ago, in two decrees announced on South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), President Salva Kiir, “relieved” Nikodemous Ajak Bior as “Commissioner of Information Commission in the Ministry of Information” and “appointed” Muyiga Nduru Korokoto as “Commissioner of Information Commission in the Ministry of Information.”

In both decrees, President Kiir cited “powers” conferred upon him by the Civil Service Act, 2011 and The Interpretation of Laws and General Provisions Act, 2006. This is cheating and a deviation from The Right of Access to Information Act, 2013.

Information Commissioner is not “Commissioner of Information Commission in the Ministry of Information”

It is the Right of Access to Information Act, 2013 that explicitly recognizes the constitutional right of every citizen to access information held by public or private bodies, as fundamental to the fulfilment of human rights and fighting corruption and also establishes the

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Human Rights at Home Blog

By Angelena Iglesia 6 days ago

Does anyone really read the Democrat and Republican Party Platforms? This year, the Republican Party apparently decided that it wasn’t even worth the time required to update their 2016 document for the 2020 election — they simply re-adopted it wholesale. Still, Professor Marjorie Hershey argues that they signal who has power within the party, and may accurately predict what to expect in the next four years from the successful candidate.

So where do human rights sit within the two platforms for this year’s election?  Here’s a simple analysis based just on a word search for the terms “human rights.”

The Democrat Party Platform uses the term “human rights” twenty-one times.  Often, the term appears in reference to foreign policy and efforts through diplomacy or trade deals to promote human rights.  Here are some examples:

    “We will stand up to the forces of authoritarianism, not aid and abet their rise, and

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Human rights group finds violations by federal law enforcement in Portland

By Angelena Iglesia 1 week ago

A team of experts with Physicians for Human Rights, a New York-based group that documents rights violations, spent seven days in Portland investigating the use of crowd control weapons against protesters and law enforcement violence directed at volunteer medical staff.

That team released its findings Tuesday ahead of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C.

“PHR has concluded that the response by federal agents that it documented in Portland was disproportionate, excessive, and indiscriminate, and deployed in ways that caused severe injury to innocent civilians, including medics,” the report states.

Dr. Michele Heisler, PHR’s medical director, led the team visiting Portland. Heisler said they didn’t see any official EMTs or paramedics at the protests and that medical care was left to volunteers and civil society.

The report cites numerous instances where law enforcement deliberately targeted volunteer medics and their supplies.

“There was the case of OHSU, their tent was

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3 Reasons The U.S. Should Prioritize Human Rights With China

By Angelena Iglesia 1 week ago

The U.S.-China relationship is under duress as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues its campaign against universal values and human rights. From the internment of an estimated 1.8 million Uighurs in political reeducation camps to the undermining of freedom in Hong Kong, the CCP is on a mission to consolidate its power and advance its own interests to the detriment of the Chinese people.

The CCP’s actions merit a strong response, which is why the U.S. should press into its longstanding role in promoting human rights and values in Asia.

There are, at least, three critical reasons why the U.S. should promote values as a part of its foreign policy strategy toward China:

1)  Promoting human rights in China advances the U.S. free and open Indo-Pacific strategy. The U.S. cannot forsake values at a time when they are so clearly under threat. Instead, the

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Regime mocks human rights laws

By Angelena Iglesia 2 weeks ago

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

It is a great pleasure to be with you for this international online summit for a free and democratic Iran. I want to send my best wishes to Ashraf 3’s residents in Albania and to the Iranian people.

The regime’s human rights abuses are well documented and sadly continue today with a matter of state policy because of the failure of the international community, including Western democracies, to hold the regime to account. The UK government recently announced its first sanctions under a new global human rights regime. This is a positive step. But, it will be toothless if the Iranian regime officials are not included in the British list of Syria’s human rights violators. They must be designated for sanctions under this newly established Global Human Rights Sanctions regulations, but they have not been included. This must be amended and altered. It is very important that the message

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Cops Violated International Human Rights Standards, Domestic Laws During Delhi Riots 2020: Amnesty International

By Angelena Iglesia 2 weeks ago



a group of people in uniform: Cops Violated International Human Rights Standards, Domestic Laws During Delhi Riots 2020: Amnesty International

© Provided by News18
Cops Violated International Human Rights Standards, Domestic Laws During Delhi Riots 2020: Amnesty International

New Delhi: Six months after the in the North East Delhi violence which claimed the lives of more than 50 people, a majority of them being Muslims, Amnesty International has accused the Delhi Police of failing to prevent riots in between February and 23 and 29.

The investigation conducted by the human rights organisation alleges that there was a “denial of medical services to victims, failure to rescue them, excessive and arbitrary use of force on protesters and differential treatment of assemblies, no response to multiple calls leaving the survivors to fend for themselves over the period of six days of violence in Delhi.”

After interviewing almost 50 witnesses of the riots — which began after BJP leader Kapil Mishra’s “ultimatum speech” — the Amnesty International has claimed that the response of

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Human Rights Watch calls for action against human rights abuses

By Angelena Iglesia 2 weeks ago

Kathmandu, Sept. 2 — The Human Rights Watch has called on the government to act on the National Human Rights Commission’s findings to ensure accountability for grave human rights abuses carried out by security forces.

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the New York-based rights watchdog said that the government should stop reversing the commission’s findings and ensure its independence.

“There are mounting allegations of extrajudicial executions and deaths in custody resulting from torture, yet the Nepal authorities resist conducting credible investigations,” read the statement, adding that prosecutions for abuses by the security forces are practically unheard of.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said that the Nepal government uses rule of law rhetoric to appeal to foreign diplomats and donors but actually fosters a culture of impunity.

“Nepal is still trying to grapple with delivering justice for unlawful killings during the armed conflict, but instead of keeping

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