Some human rights and other news links and thoughts

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Some mostly human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links (note: the source is obvious once you click on links, but for those who want to know where they are going and cannot hover over the link [e.g., on so-called “smart” phones], I'll start putting the source of news items in brackets after each item - normal rules around abbreviations will apply [apologies if I miss a few while I'm getting used to the new system]; also, comments by me in purple): 

• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• as a third suspect (The Guardian [TG]) (remember: innocent until proven guilt in a fair trial) in the murders of a climate crisis focused journalist and Indigenous rights activist is arrested, an opinion (TG) lays at least some responsibility with the environmentally destructive policies of Brazil’s president;   demand for batteries for rooftop solar power is FINALLY increasing - albeit out of cost concerns, rather than caring for the environment (TG);   an industry super fund is trying to defend investing in fossil fuels as “engaging with companies to change their behaviour” (how? Have they advocated for change? Where's the evidence of that?) as members urge it to stop doing so or they will leave (TG);   “the world’s affluent must start eating local food to tackle the climate crisis ... transporting food across and between countries generates almost one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector” (The Conversation [TC]);   concerns over an excessive police response - including claims officers feared for their lives (see this and this counter to those claims) - to tyres being slashed by climate crisis protestors (TG);   “Vanuatu will ask the International court of justice for an advisory opinion on the rights of present and future generations to be protected from climate change” (TG);   “reinforcing cycles of unsustainable human activity and intensifying climate effects are exacerbating the threats facing hundreds of millions of Africans” (Africa Centre for Strategic Studies [ACSS]);   “biodiversity loss is humanity's greatest threat” (DW);   Australia’s intelligence forces will now finally investigate climate crisis threats (TG);   legal protection of forests in Ecuador (Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF);   we may finally join the push to reduce methane emissions (TG);   continued funding for solar panel research (TG);   a review of the effects of reintroducing wolves (TG);   the world's largest proposal solar export plant has been approved, and will now seek funding;   protection for fossil fuel industry profits ahead of people and the planet;  
  
  
• climate / environmental issues have occurred in:   Ecuador,   the world's forests;
  
  
• 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: 
• as Kenya reinstates wearing masks (The East African [TEA]), a “leading modeller explains why Victorians should keep wearing masks” (The Age [TA});   the pandemic is continuing (The New Daily [TND]);   the effects of loneliness during pandemic lockdowns was severe (TG) and is continuing (TC);   the world's life expectancy has fallen for the first time (TND);  
   
  
• 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: 
• on military matters:   Russia's next target may (TND) be the NATO member (iNews) Lithuania in response to the EU's ban on goods transit to the isolated Russian territory of Kaliningrad (TG) - which, if the retaliation is military (it may not be [TG]), would risk war;   Putin is counting on the West’ s short attention span (TC);   “fears that Belarus might invade on Russia’s side are growing”;   in response to the brutality of Russia's invasion, Ukraine has been granted NATO candidate status (TG) - which may ENSURE the war continues (Türkiye is likely to continue (International Crisis Group [ICG])opposing including Finland and Sweden);  more on the increasing partisan activity;   the Russian navy is mining more Ukrainian ports (TG);  
  
• on human rights in the region and globally:  condemnation of Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports (DW);   “civilian collaboration and reprisals behind Ukraine’s front lines (Political Violence at a Glance” [PVG]);   an opinion that human rights breaches by China is being inadequately responded to - particularly compared to the response to Russian breaches (Human Rights Watch [HRW]);   ALL refugees need protection (Canberra Times [CT]);   some aid has been delivered to eastern Ukraine (UN);   the UN Security Council has been told “violence, rhetoric, hate speech, drive atrocity crimes in Ukraine and beyond” (UN);   a Russian soldier is being tried for an alleged rape (even under such circumstances, it is important to remember innocent until proven guilty - for the sake of the legitimacy and credibility of Ukraine's courts as much as any other reason);
  
• inside Russia:   “Russia’s far right is divided over the Ukraine war” (DW);  
  
• internationally:   a warning that support for Ukraine must not cease, even if the war continues for years, or Putin will decide he can do this again elsewhere (CNN);   Russia’s oil is now increasingly going to China (TG);  
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• China has tested a missile interceptor (TG);   Australia needs to rejoin the UN climate fund to have credibility in the Pacific (TG);  
   
•  on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring) and misgovernance: 
• concerns following a report into corruption in Qld (ABC);   parliamentary privilege is NOT protection against wrongdoing (ABC);   a call for Australia's integrity organisations to have greater powers to investigate pork barrelling (TA);   ““poor behaviour” in Victoria's local councils is stopping councillors and council staff from doing their jobs properly” (ABC);  
   
• on DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   Sri Lanka’s crisis and the associated violence are continuing (TG);   violent protests against India’s new military recruitment plan are also continuing (TG) - see also this explainer (DW);   in response to protests over fuel prices, Ecuador has declared a state of emergency ... (DW);   “UN says Libya’s rivals fail to reach deal in election talks” (AP);   an opinion (ICG) that Somalia may have to engage with violent extremists to end the violence there (if this is like what was done in Colombia, that could work well - if ... ) - and a similar opinion for Somalia (UN);   Malawi's government is struggling with corruption and may fall (news24);  
  
  
• allegations (TND) #45 was directly involved in the “fake elector plot”, but the Republican party isn’t changing (Robert Reich [RR]), and a legal assessment finds the evidence has not yet (Lawfare Blog [LFB]) directly (beyond reasonable doubt) implicated #45;  
  
  
• in Australia:   Prime Minister Albanese has opted “to continue to prevent the release of documents related to meetings of the prime minister and state and territory leaders, despite strident criticism of the practice in opposition” (TG);   “the Federal Court has removed a barrier to class actions imposed by the former Coalition government, a decision the new attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has welcomed as a “victory for ordinary Australians” seeking to pursue justice against big corporations or governments” (TG);   an opinion that we should ban private schools (I certainly consider we should not fund them at the expense of public schools - especially so if they produce people with attitudes [such as misogyny, racism, elitism/classism, LGBTIQA+-phobia] contrary to accepted social values [and laws, in some cases?]) (The Saturday Paper [TSP]);   “more diversity can help solve twin problems of early childhood [education] staff shortages and families missing out” (TC);   concerningly, our new government claims it is too late to stop the former government's last attack on unemployed people (TG);   a suggestion to celebrate Australia Day as Foundation Day, on the anniversary of the first known circumnavigation, by Bungaree (and a cat, Trim, and some bloke Matthew Flinders) (TG);   “if Australia had fewer markets run by dominant oligopolies, and more benefiting from strong competition, we would have less inequality, and higher wages and productivity” (TG);   my home state's latest Senator is an extreme conspiracy fantasist who opposes managing COVID-19 (how the hell did he get in???!!!) (TND);   “living with universal childcare has shown me Australia’s system is neither a luxury nor a right – it’s a last resort” (TG);   “the national electricity market is a failed 1990s experiment. It’s time the grid returned to public hands”  - and including coal stations will only make things worse (TC);   “anti-protest laws are an affront to democracy. They have no place in Australia” (TG);   the new government has provided us with an opportunity to have a well-being budget (TC);   a suggestion to future-proof Australia (TND);   a social media personality has revealed (TG) himself after a right winger became fixated on who he was (one of the comments in the YT video [I have concerns about the channel, so have chosen not to provide that link] was along the lines that the right winger was unable to cope with the thought that someone might choose to support progressivism unless they were paid: I don't know about the right winger, but I do know others whop have had that problem);  
  
  
• democracy is also at risk in   Kenya (news24),   Senegal (Reuters),   Sudan (The Nigerian Guardian),   USA (TG); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC): 
• abortion has  been (TG) banned (DW) in the USA (TND) - with one state immediately banning all abortion, even for rape/invest victims, and about half expected to follow as the USA goes into something worse (NY Post) than the bad old days - and other rights are at risk (Robert Reich);   abortion in the EU;   yet another mass shooting in the USA has reached media attention (how many haven’t?) (TG) as more evidence emerges of US police failures at a recent mass school shooting (TND) and the right wing extremist dominated US Supreme Court overturns a gun safety law (TG);   a warning that Google’s plans for a “cloud region” in Saudi Arabia will risk the lives of activists (DW);   “the senior judge who led the biggest and most damning war crimes inquiry in Australian history has said that investigating and prosecuting war crimes is vital to preserve the nation’s “reputation and standing”” (TA);   “UNAIDS welcomes India’s Supreme Court order that constitutional right of sex workers to life, liberty and dignity must be respected” (Mirage News [MN]);   staggering levels of racism and sexism at a sporting club led to the winding up of its women’s team (ABC);   “Corrections Victoria must continue to address workplace culture and human rights” (Ombudsman Vic) - see also this (TG);   “violence against indigenous women, ‘legacy of colonialism’ rooted in racism” (UN);   “Victoria to conduct review into coercive practices in mental health system” (TG);   how an NRA advocate changed his mind;  
   
• human rights are at risk or abuses have occurred in:   Türkiye (DW),   Ethiopia (The New York Times [NYT]),   Greece (HRW),   Poland (HRW),   Ghana (HRW),   Nigeria (TRF),   Burkina Faso (AP),   Bosnia-Herzegovina (UN);
  
  
• violence in:   Afghanistan (TG),   Mali (Al Jazeera [AJ]) - see also here (rfi),   Sudan (Radio Dabanga),   eastern (TEA) DRC (AJ);
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:  Australia has 30,000 refugees who arrived by boat and 100,000 who arrived by plane who are existing in limbo (Sydney Morning Herald [SMH]);   a call to end human rights violations against Afghan refugees (Amnesty International [AI]);   pushbacks of refugees by Greece killed 53 last year - and 98% of the pushbacks involved torture and ill-treatment, 88% of asylum seekers were beaten, 97% suffered theft, 5% sexual assault, and 8% electric shock, while 49% were forced to undress - of the children among them, 68% were exposed to or witnessed violence and abuse (Daily Sabah);   Saudi Arabia's abuse (DW) of those being deported;  
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   TGD people have now ALL been excluded (TND) from elite level swimming (this was inevitable, and, given the more important issues such as assaults and abuse of all TGD people, hasn't helped anyone, IMO) - and the first copycat bigot has started (TND), with utterly farcical comments about inclusion (SMH) - I am GRAVELY concerned (as are others [Mermaids UK]) this will lead to misgendering and other life threatening abuses (DW) for decades (ABC) - including physical assault - as the supporters of this ban have refused to say anything about treating TGD people with decency and respect - which means using their CORRECT pronouns - better commentary here and here (SMH), and a better approach in Germany (ESPN);   domestic full body scanners have been introduced to domestic travel in Australia (SBS);   right wing politicians and media in the USA have caused a spike in anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes (TG);   “the leader of the Victorian Greens has ousted the party’s controversial state convener after successfully applying to have recent [internal] election results set aside” (TG);   a review of the situation for LGBTIQA+ people in Australia (Alastair Lawrie);   “when states enact hate crime laws that protect LGBTQ populations, the rate of suicide attempts among high school students drops significantly, and not just among sexual and gender minority students” (Mirage News);  
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   WA's government has apologised for police - who have NOT apologised -  abuse that led to the death of an Indigenous baby (TG);   “the Albanese government is under pressure to withdraw an appeal seeking to restore the commonwealth’s power to deport Aboriginal non-citizens ... which [Australian Greens Senator] Thorpe labelled an “insult to the oldest continuing culture of the world” ”;   “seven sacred Indigenous objects have been returned to central Australia from an American university”;   limited public transport in the NT is putting pedestrians at risk - and one was recently killed by a hit-run driver (TG);   calls for police to stop carrying guns in remote communities (SBS);   the USA will appoint a Native American woman as treasurer for the first time (DW);   “renewed calls for independent Aboriginal advocacy office in WA” (National Indigenous Times);   a call for equitable access to drivers licences - which would have massive flow on benefits (NIT);  
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:  given China’s tendency to force victims to toe the official line of "everything is perfect", grave concerns are being raised - in China - over the fate of women who were filmed being assaulted by thugs (CNN);  “Pacific women leaders are driving for change, and economic empowerment is key” (Lowy);   predatory sexual behaviour in WA's FIFO mining camps (I've experienced receiving that unacceptable behaviour myself, decades ago in another state) (TG);   more media misogyny (TG);   stupid comments about a 17 year old who shared naked photos without consent being cancelled actually show the need for more activism;  
  
  
• noting the CRC on CHILDREN:  abuse of children in care is still continuing (ABC);   “growing up in a disadvantaged neighbourhood can change kids’ brains – and their reactions” (TC);
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:  “the NDIS is no help if it limits us more than our disability does”;  
  
  
• 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:  “the first case where a gig economy worker has been considered an employee” has led to $800,000 compensation for the death of a gig worker (TG);   unions are on the way back in the USA;   
   
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
• devastating floods in South Asia (TG);   Europe’s heatwave (DW) has increased concerns about bushfires (DW);   over 8 million people in north-eastern Nigeria urgently need aid (UN);   the UN is working out how “to strengthen aid delivery amid ’megacrises’ ” (UN);   a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan (TND);   a food, social, and economic emergency in Cabo Verde (UN);  
   
• there are more important AI ethical issues than sentience - such as AI being formed out of society's biases (Medium [M]);   “five questions to ask of any new technology - “because we can” is not an adequate reason to pursue a new technology. Nor is “because it is new” ” (M);   an opinion that “sentient or not, AI needs regulating” (TND);   massive floods in southern China (CNN);   SA police want to ignore council's request and use facial recognition technology - despite all the many known disadvantages (ABC);   more cyber stupidity by Israeli soldiers (TG) (several years ago a military operation [a raid on Palestinians] was cancelled because one of the soldiers posted about it in advance on social media . . . [which was good for those who would have been raided] );   Italian spyware has been used to hack smartphones;  
  
• “Western Civilisation is not based on Judeo-Christian values” - the values predate those religions.
  

(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.)