Some (mostly) human rights links and thoughts

Black Lives Matter! Be Anti-Racist, Anti-Sexist, and Actively Inclusive in ALL Areas.
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Some mostly human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links: 

• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• the mining that modern renewables tech relies on;   a review of the psychological excuses humans use to continue the unethical and environmentally damaging practice of being carnist;   a forest in Kenya has been brought back to life;   concerns that “emissions from [planned] oil and gas “carbon bomb” projects were four times larger than all of the planet-heating gases expelled globally each year, placing the world on track for disastrous climate change”;   “world ‘at a crossroads’ as droughts increase nearly a third in a generation”;   “the end of coal is nigh. The next government must tell the truth”;   “climate change hits low-income earners harder – and poor housing in hotter cities is a disastrous combination”;   the problem of organised environmental crimes (“illegal mining and trade in minerals such as oil, gold, diamonds, cobalt, zinc, coltan and lithium; illegal logging/deforestation and trade in timber; unreported and unregulated fishing; wildlife crime; and pollution crimes (the illegal dumping and trade of chemicals and waste, and the illegal production and trade of ozone-depleting substances)”) - which “in many conflict-affected contexts, ... is the primary source of financing for non-state armed groups”;   “a plan to “electrify everything” with rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles would save households across the country more than $5,000 a year”;  
   
• on the COVID-19 PANDEMIC (noting WHO advice, Article 12 of the ICESCR, and public emergency provisions of the ICCPR and the ICESCR) and other health matters: 
• COVID has caused staff shortages and business closures;   the WHO has said China’ s zero-COVID policy is unsustainable - see also here;   inadequate data on living with COVID;  
   
  
• on Rashist  Putin and his cronies’ ILLEGAL (it is contrary to Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter  and international law [and the 1928 Pact of Paris which was successfully used in post-WW2 trials], and possibly includes conduct contrary to the "laws" of war and international humanitarian law (IHL)) INVASION of UKRAINE: 
• Ukraine is continuing to have successes in some areas - and retreating Russian troops are leaving mines, UXO, and booby traps, which is a danger to returning refugees;   concerns over Putin’s end game / exit strategy (or the lack thereof) and that the war may continue for months and become “more unpredictable and escalatory” - and possibly nuclear;   the fear of those living under Russian occupation;   as it is not a formally declared war, some Russian soldiers are refusing to fight in Ukraine;   no evidence to support Russia's lies about Ukrainian bioweapons;  
  
• “Russia has threatened “retaliatory steps” against Finland after its neighbour ... announced its intention to join NATO “without delay” ”;   Moldova is struggling;   one major European company is ignoring and undermining sanctions;  
• “the Open Society Justice Initiative, with advice and input from a range of experts, has drafted a 65-page model indictment ... that demonstrates the feasibility of building a solid case against Vladimir Putin and the seven other most senior Russian officials responsible for the crime of aggression”;   “President John Kennedy once warned that nuclear powers “must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war” ”;   strong support for peace in the UN;   “WFP appeals for re-opening of Ukraine ports to avert looming famine threat”;   a discussion on the historical context of “foreign fighters” - see also here;   “two Russian journalists working for a popular pro-Kremlin website filled it with anti-war articles ... in a rare act of dissent as the country celebrated the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany ... “We had to do it today. We wanted to remind everyone what our grandfathers really fought for on this beautiful Victory Day – for peace”” (may their courage be honoured);   Ukraine’s journalists have won a Pulitzer award;  more on the international food crisis created by Putin’ s illegal invasion and attempts to overcome that;   nearly five million jobs have been lost in Ukraine because of Putin’ s illegal invasion;  more evidence of Russian war crimes; 
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
•  the growth in cybercrime;   an opinion that West Asia’s indifference to Ukraine shows that few nations which to take sides in a conflict between superpowers;   “Australia needs a principles-based approach to foreign policy” and “should signal to the world that we’re all better off in a community of nations where human dignity matters”;  
  
• noting particularly Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter, the 1928 Pact of Paris used in post-WW2 trials, the "laws" of war and IHL and Article 20 of the ICCPR on WAR / CONFLICT:   “more than 26 years after the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace – known as the Dayton Accords”, a warning that war is a real threat in Bosnia-Herzegovina;   “unity among nations, in push for greater space security at UN-led talks”;  
   
  
•  on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring) and misgovernance: 
• a video about the disturbing Phoebus cartel of the 1920s and 30s and the impact it had on quality of consumer products - see also here, here, here, and here;  
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• after weeks of protests Sri Lanka's Prime Minister has resigned - but the violence has worsened - see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here;   the theory of social leadership;   “Colombian cartel retaliates over kingpin’s arrest ... shut down northern regions, blocking roads and holding residents hostage in their houses”;   Hong Kong moves further away from democracy - see also here;   “Sinn Fein, once considered the political wing of the IRA, has emerged as the largest party in the Northern Ireland for the first time in history after Britain’s regional elections” - see also here;   a criticism of egregious religious influence over democracies;   to horror of torture victims of his father, the son of one modern history’s worst dictators has won the Philippines’  elections ... now to see whether he is better than his parents - and so far he has shown contempt for the press ... ;   conspiracy fetishists aggressively - bordering on violence - perpetuating POTUS45’s lies are being investigated by legal authorities;   Germany’s voters have become more centrist, with right wing extremists losing votes;   concern about the Murdoch family media empire;   calls in the USA for targetted sanctions against the leaders of the coup in Sudan;   demand for guns ahead of Somalia's elections has put prices up 40%;   another legal vulnerability in the USA's democratic system;  
  
  
• “poverty isn’t a temporary experience in Australia. We need urgent policy tackling persistent disadvantage”;   “homelessness is common for teens leaving out-of-home-care. We need to extend care until they are at least 21”;   an assessment of Australia's democracy;   in an indication of the demands of politics, the NT’s Chief Minister has resigned;  
  on Australia's current national election campaign:   an opinion expressing concern over the deceptions and divisiveness of one party;   a rowdy and shouty leaders’ “debate” slightly won by the ALP leader was “unedifying”, with women and TGD people (one of the panellists was a notoriously transphobic journalist) trivialised - see here, here, here, here, here, and here;   “unattributed attack ads targeting Labor on Chinese-language WeChat fuel fears of misinformation Electoral commission says they are not monitoring the social media platform as marginal seats with Chinese-Australian populations hang in the balance”;   “what does a democracy do when a dominant news media organisation goes rogue during an election campaign? ... “Going rogue” here means abandoning any attempt at fulfilling one of the media’s primary obligations to a democratic society — the provision of truthful news coverage — and instead becoming a truth-distorting propagandist for one side”;   an assessment of the major parties on climate change;   more utterly outrageous and blatant LIES from transphobic politicians - and other blatant lies here, here, here (on the savage harm being committed);   another incompetent charity official has wrongfully endorsed a neoliberal candidate ... and another one ... ;   an assessment of the major parties’ positions on housing for older tenants;   ways to spot politicians “tinkering with the truth”;  
  
  
• suppression of dissent in Australia’s media, Nicaragua, Sudan, Syria, Hong Kong, Angola;
   
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC): 
• “Peru has failed to protect the rights of two fleeing demonstrators who were shot dead when police opened fire on a non-violent march in February 2008, the UN Human Rights Committee said”;   “the British government heralded itself as playing a “leading role in defending democracy and freedom across the world.” Its legislative proposals for the year ahead, some of which would not look out of place in an autocrat’s playbook, ... pose a grave danger not only to the human rights of people in the UK, but also to British democratic institutions that protect them, and the maintenance of international human rights standards”;   Bangladesh police have been assaulting Rohingya refugees after Eid;   more illegal housing in Israeli-occupied West Bank settlements;   data privacy is at risk in Kenya;   the UN Secretary-General has said “human rights must be ‘front and centre’ in the fight against terrorism”;   “integrating emotion recognition tools with Zoom’s video-conferencing platforms would endanger privacy and perpetuate racial bias, digital rights campaigner warn”;   India's top court has suspended use of a controversial sedition law;   an Al Jazeera journalist was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers while covering an Israeli military raid - and the Israeli military beat mourners at her funeral;   Germany has detected more violent right wing extremist elements in its security forces;  
  
  
• violence in Egypt,   Ecuador (scores dead in yet more prison violence between rival drug gangs), DRC, DRC, Cameroon,   Burkina Faso, Mali (a call for an AU force with a stronger mandate), Togo, Palestine, Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigeria (student beaten to death for alleged blasphemy), Somalia, DRC;
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:  “Hindu officials in India raze Muslim homes and businesses”;  
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:  the UK is failing to care adequately for female Afghan refugees;  
  
  
• noting Article 19 of the ICCPR on FREEDOM of POLITICAL EXPRESSION:  more journalists have been murdered in Mexico;   whistleblowers have alleged that a social media platform deliberately caused disruption in retaliation against a law aimed at supporting journalism;   the USA has tried to secretly access a reporters phone and details;  
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   after a backlash against an LGBTIQphobic mayor a region will fly the Rainbow Flag;   a court “ruling [has highlighted the] absurdity of local anti-LGBT resolutions across Poland”;   as the UK goes backwards for refusing to ban abuses of TGD children in the guide of so-called conversion practices,  Greece has banned so-called “conversion practices”;   LGBTIQphobia in Cameroon;  
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM: my home state’s “government promises change will come from work of Yoorrook truth-telling commission” - see also here;   the reaction to a sporting organisation’s insistence that it has apologised for racist abuse suggests that it may be lacking in credible action - see also here and here;   in education, a call to ‘‘stop measuring black kids with a white stick’’;  
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:   the misogynistic violent extremists in control of Afghanistan have illustrated further their lies to the world when they seized power by ordering women to cover their faces;   as the insanity extends to a redneck misogynist in one US state hinting at BANNING CONTRACEPTION, discussion on the likely overturning of the US court case Roe v Wade by the USA’s supreme court here, here (on how the US Republican senators + 1  DINO [democrat in name only] senator blocked an attempt to legally protect abortion), and “a University College London scientist ... said his research, which used imaging to understand the adult brain’s response to pain, had been wrongly interpreted to make an anti-abortion argument”;   “don’t give mum chocolates for Mother’s Day. Take on more housework, share the mental load and advocate for equality instead”;   in its centennial year a conservative country women’s association is considering updating its motto;   Qld has introduced an anti-coercive control law - which is good, but the reliance on police is problematic for Indigenous women because of racist police;   A WOMAN IN el salvador WAS SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS FOR MISCARRYING!!!;
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:  the “National Disability Insurance Agency [has been] accused of discriminating against employees with disability” throughout its existence - “for a while there I would say that the 'I' in NDIA actually stood for 'ignorance'”;   Australians with disabilities are living with the constant fear of funding being cut or ended;   the experience of someone who is losing their sight and knows they will eventually be blind;  
  
  
• noting Articles 6 (1), 7, and 8 (see here) of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (i) (ii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 11 (1) (a - c) of the CEDAW,   and   Article 27 (1) of the CRPD on WORK and FAVOURABLE WORK CONDITIONS:  “COVID has accelerated the cultural shifts that are impacting the future of work. Words such as vulnerability, kindness, empathy and psychological safety are becoming commonplace in the daily business vernacular ... the discussion of mental health which was once considered taboo in the halls of corporate culture has now emerged as an essential component of developing a thriving business”;   a billionaire's praise of alleged hard work of workers in CHina was actually for worker abuse;  
  
  
• noting Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR,   Article 11 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 14 (2) (h) of the CEDAW,   Article 27 (3) of the CRC,   Article 28 of the CRPD,   and   Article 20 of the DRIP on FOOD, CLOTHING, and HOUSING:    “tiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia’s rental affordability crisis” (especially if planning restrictions are eased);  
  
  
• noting Articles 2 (1) (also noting this, this, this, and this), 3, 7, 14 (see here and here), 15, 16, and 26 of the ICCPR,   Articles 3, 5 (a), and 6 (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Articles 2, 12 (2), 37, 39, and 40 of the CRC,   Articles 5, 12, 13, and 14 of the CRPD,   and   Articles 1 - 2, 7 (2), 8 (2) (c), 9 - 10, 12 (2), 20 (2), 27, and 40 of the DRIP on the JUDICIARY / JUSTICE SYSTEM:   a call for Jordan to end debt imprisonment;  
  
   
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
• bushfires in Siberia;   famine in Afghanistan;   a tropical cyclone is approaching India as a heatwave continues on the other side of that sub-continent;   drought in France;   more floods in Qld;  
   
• thoughts on how to “know when to trust hardware and software”;   an appeal to deal with trolling by teaching empathy rather than legislation (I  suspect there is a role for both approaches, as well as bystander intervention, tech approaches and maybe other ideas not considered yet);   civil litigation can be used successfully against hackers;  

(Should you elect to write to your elected representatives or others on these matters, it may be useful to familiarise yourself with the links shown in blue - or to at least refer to them. Don't forget to CHECK whether your nation has RATIFIED the treaty concerned.)