Some human rights and other news links and thoughts

Black Lives Matter! Be Anti-Racist, Anti-Sexist, and Actively Inclusive in ALL Areas.
The Climate Crisis is real, urgent and existential!

The Pandemic is Real, and Vaccinations save lives. Stay safe - wash your hands, practice social distancing and wear a face mask in public, and follow informed medical advice - and be considerate towards those at risk or in situations of vulnerability (including economic) while the COVID-19 pandemic is a problem.

Some mostly human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links (note: the source of news items [but not reference links] is in brackets after each item - normal rules around abbreviations will apply, and abbreviations are listed at the end of this post; links behind hard paywalls have a [$]; also, comments by me are in purple). 

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Content shown in green (which may be only part of a news story) is about what is generally considered “good news”, but personal history may still make such events triggering. Reader caution is recommended.

• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• an outline of why the next five years are critical to our survival (ABC);   the ALP is under pressure over major fossil fuel projects (TG) - which we subsidise to the tune of billions of dollars (TC);  an outcome of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is that France will restart its nuclear reactors (F24);   an examination of microplastics (TC);   the problem of agricultural pests is increasing (TG);   wood fuels are not sustainable (TG);   an interesting article titled “activism after hope” (guest post on T Dunlop Substack);   air pollution will also be increased by the climate crisis (UN);   a suggestion to take dealing with the climate crisis out of the sphere of politics and give it to the Reserve Bank (TND) - see also this (M);   the benefits of heat pumps (TC);   the struggle for accountability is continuing in Board rooms (ACCR);   a critique of our new climate crisis law (TC);  
  
  
• 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: 
• “5 virus families that could cause the next pandemic” (TC);   the need to fix poor ventilation of buildings (TC);   a call for people to get their booster shots (TND);   “human development was set back 5 years by COVID-19 and other crises” (ABC);  
   
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
  
• the continuing (UN) crisis (TG) caused by floods in Pakistan;   Somalia is likely to be in famine by the end of the year (TG) - se also here (AJ);   a typhoon in South Korea (DW);   a building fire in Vietnam (ABC);   earthquake in China (F24);  
  
  
• 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 is restocking munitions from North Korea (NYT [$]);   Ukraine is claiming military success (TG);   
• on human rights in the region and globally:   Russia is not allowing access to Ukrainian PoWs (DW);   Russia is using people with disabilities as human shields (UN);  
  
• internationally:   a mural has been strongly criticised as on the grounds that it suggests “false equivalency between the victim and the aggressor [which is dangerous as it] “implies that peace can be achieved if both parties agreed to lay down their weapons”” (TG);  
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• “India, China agree to withdraw troops from disputed border area”  (DW);   an analysis of why attempting to invade Taiwan would not be easy (but I note that China may simply blockade Taiwan) (WotR);  
  
  
• 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:   “avoiding the abyss as war resumes in Northern Ethiopia” (ICG);  
   
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE and MISCONDUCT: 
• a commentary on the problem of “social murder” (M);   “the ‘egregious’ history of likely new [Australian offshore jail for asylum seekers] operator includes allegations of gang rape and murder in its US prisons” (TG);   how our (Australia’s) Freedom of Information system was brought undone - and how to fix it (TA);   the first disqualification of a US public official for taking part in #45's attempted insurrection has occurred (RR) - and hundreds of other officials and police may have been members or supporters of insurrectionist organisations (AP);   more secret documents taken by former POTUS45 may be missing (TND) - ironically, given this (Yahoo);  
  
  
• concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance in   Sri Lanka (F24),   China (ABC),   ;
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   a commentary on a US President Biden’s major speech warning the world against fascism and authoritarianism (M) - and criticism of the MSM’s FAILURE to cover it (RR);   a warning to not ignore the global danger of the religious right (AIM);   a woman died recently who “challenged America’s passion for positive thinking, which elevates individual will over collective responsibility. She argued it was a reason for the 2008 economic collapse. “Nobody could see that anything bad was coming”” (TC);   although 80% of Chileans wanted to replace the existing constitution, which was formulated by a notorious human rights abusing dictator, the progressive proposed constitution has been rejected (BBC);   another suggestion for officialdom to use plain language (TC);   “research shows that the Chinese regime’s effort to shape global media is intensifying, but also that its impact has been blunted by democratic resilience” (FH);   “seven takeaways from Kenya’s consequential election” (ACSS);   a Nigerian fact-checkers coalition is preparing to challenge misinformation during elections in 2023 (PT);   a legal challenge to the constitutionality of recent laws in Lesotho (news24);   the experiences of those elected people who suffer political violence (WP [$]);  
  
  
• in Australia:   the woman (TG) who modernised (TC) the UK’s colonialist (NIT) (see also here (NA) ) monarchy but allowed (SMH) her representative to remove an elected Australian government and had undue influence (TC) over laws, has died of natural causes, leading to public (TND) grieving (TND) and the passing the role to her 73 year old son (TG) - who has shown some signs of progressiveness (Wikipedia) - my thoughts here;   an excellent critique of the recent jobs summit and power (TND);   a factcheck on a claim about Robodebt (AAP);   calls to expand our skilled immigration programme (SBS);   the neoliberal nitwit opposition is out of touch on wages and its blast-from-the-past union bashing (TND);   my home state’s government “has failed to respond to formal recommendations that it consider legalising cannabis for personal use, improve conditions for homeless people and expand access to school buses, in a breach of state parliament’s rules” (TG);   “Government appoints First Nations leaders to guide referendum on Indigenous voice” (TG) - but a call to be wary of misinformation (TG);   Australia’s taxation rate is actually relatively low (TG);   an opinion that transparency should also apply to the National Cabinet (TC);   growing support amongst young voters for independent candidates (TG), as a call is made by the PM to rebuild trust (news.com.au);  
  
  
• suppression of dissent / media in   USA (TG),   China (abusive detention of a foreign journalist) (DW),   Russia (Stalin’s show trials continue ... ) (DW),   Egypt (NYT [$]),    Finland (IA);
  democracy is also at risk in   Pakistan (ICG),   Togo (AN),   Burundi (TEA),   Angola (AJ); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC): 
• “India’s Supreme Court has granted interim bail to a human rights activist” who is suspected to have been arrested as “a “direct reprisal against those who dare to question” Indian authorities’ human rights record” (Jurist);   Israel has admitted that a journalist recently killed likely died from IDF fire (The Jerusalem Post);   “new evidence of mass DNA collection in Tibet” (HRW);   attempts to rein in gangs in El Salvador are harming the poor (TRW);   untrained security guards have killed a thief by using a headlock in contravention of the code of conduct that they HAD been given, leading to a coroner making several common sense recommendations (TND);   the UK has stepped back from its human rights abyss (R);   an evidence-based proposal to raise the age that men can obtain driving licences (as the few who are irresponsible cause deaths and injuries to all people) (TG);   Sri Lanka has appointed alleged human rights abusers to government ministerial roles (HRW);   from the annals of history: “prohibition was not about the stuff in the bottle, but against the predatory capitalism of the liquor traffic”, and “the staggering cruelty of Ireland’s Church-run ‘mother and baby homes’” (Aeon);  
   
• human rights are at risk or abuses have occurred in:   Gaza (TG),   South Sudan (UN),   Belarus (HRW);
  
  
• violence in:   Canada (this is a major no-gun event) (TND),   Burkina Faso (an IED killed dozens on a bus) (DW),   Guinea (Barrons),   DRC (AJ),   Cameroon (HA);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   the misogynistic violent extremists in power in Afghanistan are allowing others to continue a genocide against the Hazara (HRW);   an atrocity alert on China, the International Day to Protect Education from Attack and UN Human Rights Council’s 51^st Session  (GCR2P);   in a blow to justice, France will no longer try those of its soldiers who are suspected to have aided genocidaires in Rwanda in the 1990s (rfi);  
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   a third child has died on a vessel with refugees that is refused permission to land (AJ);   Tajikistan is deporting Afghan refugees to danger - even if granted asylum elsewhere (TG);  
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   my home state’s prisons appear to still be rabidly and violently transphobic - a quarter century after anti-discrimination protection (TA);   Iran will murder two more gay right activists (The Jerusalem Post);   violent LGBTIQA-phobia in the UK (M);  
  more LGBTIQA+ issues:   here (anti-TGD lies) (M),   here (a famed male director is trans) (R),   here (normalisation of LGBTIQA_phobia in the USA) (M),   UK (TRF),   a debunking of lies about a teacher allegedly being sacked for misgendering (which is a vile assault meriting dismissal, IMO) (R);   an example of the consequences of the current wave of hate (M) - see also this (TG);    Canada has put protecting LGBTIQ students ahead of some parents’ desire to teach their children to be bigots (CBC);  
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   decades of racist misallocation of funding has led to a water crisis in a US city (HRW);   staggeringly small-minded and racist trolls have forced delays on publishing reviews of a major new TV series (TND) - see also this (TND), and this (M), but also this (TC);   “claims of an antiracism ‘cult’ are an excuse for the settler justice system to ignore its failures” (the comment by the NT judge that led to this article is one of the most blatantly inept, inappropriate and racist comments I’ve come across in years) (TG);   the limbo of Indigenous non-citizens (ABC);   a legal case in Qld (SBS);   360,000 ha of land has been returned to traditional owners (ABC);   a call for Indigenous editors (TC);   “an Indigenous teenager shot dead by Northern Territory police during an attempted arrest wasn’t a threat to his remote community, an inquest has been told [by] ... Aboriginal community police officer Derek Williams [who] said his nephew ... was in the community to attend a beloved family member’s funeral and there should have been no rush to arrest him” (NIT);  
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    details of the rape and torture of an Afghan woman by a member of the misogynistic violent extremists currently in power there (F24);   violent assaults on women and girls by Said guards (WP);   “Iranian authorities plan to use facial recognition to enforce new hijab law” (TG);   “gender equality for the chief executive roles of Australia’s top public companies is still 100 years away based on current trends” (TC);   some Indians are rejecting the femicide abortion of girls (TRF);   a move to have lack of consent made a classifiable aspect of films (TG);   a call to investigate the use of fire in DV (TG);   attempts to remove women’s rights in one US state led to more enrolments and thus a resounding rejection of that attempts (which is why I favour compulsory voting) (RR);  
  
  
• noting Article 17 of the ICCPR,   Article 16 of the CRC,   Article 22 of the CRPD,   and   Article 12 (1) of the DRIP on PRIVACY:   “Home Affairs ... [will] investigate the harvesting of data by [a] social media giant ... amid growing concern that staff in China can access the personal information of Australians” (BT);   
  
  
• 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:   an assessment that true crime shows are entertaining but rarely directly aid the legal process except when they increase awareness and public pressure (TC);   “shock” over a High Court that effectively allows indefinite detention in WA - and will disproportionately affect Indigenous people (ABC);   
  
  
• noting the CRC on CHILDREN:   most boys who commit sexual assault experienced abuse - “researchers say data highlights cycle of violence and that punitive responses are not always the best approach” (the problem can also apply to WOMEN who commit sexual assaults) (TG), with a similar finding for young people who use DV (TC) - so can we now please stop forcing everyone into having children?;   
  
  
• 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 EU may act if the new UK PM attacks workers rights (TG);   “social contract needed to lift Asia and Pacific region’s workforce out of poverty” (UN);   ACOSS and the ACTU have reached an agreement on work conditions and social security (tNT);   a film about gig workers in India (TRF);   
  
  
• 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:    “a newly passed [US state] measure that proponents claim will address the needs of unhoused people is open to abuse and risks failing to provide people with needed housing and services” (HRW);  
  
  
• noting Article 9 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iv) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Articles 11 (1) (e), 13 (a), and 14 (2) (c) of the CEDAW,    Article 26 of the CRC,   Article 28 (2) of the CRPD,   Article 21 of the DRIP,   and   ILO conventions on SOCIAL SECURITY:   social security “recipients [in Australia are] set to receive [the] largest indexation increase in three decades amid soaring cost of living” - but it may not be enough (ABC), and shows how broken our system is (TC);   
   
• concerns about Web 3.0 (Lowy);  
  

(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.)

Abbreviations:   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   Amnesty International - AI;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC;   Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility - ACCR;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   Brisbane Times - BT;   British Broadcasting Commission - BBC;   Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - BAS;   Cable News Network - CNN;   Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC;   Centre for Strategic and International Studies - CSIS;   Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   HumAngle - HA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   New York Times - NYT [$];   News24;   Out in Perth - OiP;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI - will be removed, as it is, IMO, becoming a front for pro-China propaganda, probably out of “both side-ism”;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   Q News - QN;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   The Age - TA;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The Monthly - TM;   The National Tribune - tNT;   The New Daily - TND;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Shot - TS;   Thomson Reuters Foundation - TRF;   United Nations - UN;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$];   Yahoo News - Yahoo; YouTube - YT;