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, wear a face mask in public if prudent to do so, and follow informed medical advice.

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): 
• a sports team’s uniform advertising protest against a mining sponsor (news.com.au) - which has led to pressure on the players from the sporting organisation (TG) - see also this (TG), this (TG),   this (TND), and this (TG) (I heard an interesting comment in a radio interview on this, which as that the head of the company concerned could have addressed this by distancing themselves from the vile racist comments of a previous head);   “CSIRO abruptly scraps globally recognised climate forecast program” (there is more to be told on this, I suspect - and obviously: why?) (TG);   “Australian research finds cost-effective way to recycle solar panels” (TG);   Chief Heat Officers for cities (TC);   a warning plastics are accumulating in soil (UN);   my home state and national governments have agreed to joint funding of renewable energy zones (TG) - and my home state has announced a 95% renewables target (TC);   “coal projects outside China becoming ‘uninsurable’, says climate group ... complex schemes unlikely to find expertise needed” (TG);   “greenwashing a police state: the truth behind Egypt’s Cop27 masquerade” (TG);   “racism and colonialism embedded in language of conservation, NGO says” (TG);   “Kenyans embrace urban farming as food worries rise” (TG);   the demand for EVs will lead to a demand for lithium (F24) - the mining of which will now be subsidised in Australia to speed transition (TND);   more niwittery from the national level neolib nitwits (TG);   “connection between human rights and climate change ‘must not be denied’” (UN);  
  
  
• climate / environmental issues have occurred in:   UK (good news) (TG); 
  
  
• 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: 
• “next pandemic may come from melting glaciers” (TG);   “women on long Covid and medical misogyny” (TG);   “reports that a 16-year-old girl has died in a COVID quarantine centre after pleas from her family for medical help were ignored have caused anger in China, where ongoing tight pandemic controls have started to take their toll on a weary population” (TG);  
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
  
• hundreds have been killed by floods in Nigeria (CNN) and millions are at risk (UN);   what flood survivors in Australia need (TC), and the risks of disease (TG), and more on the floods in my home state (TND) - which showed the need for translators (TG);   a warning the crisis in Haiti - including cholera (HRW) - has gone beyond a political solution (UN) although sanctions will be tried (UN), as rapidly increasing global demand leads to rationing of cholera vaccine (TG);   “famine should not exist in 2022, yet Somalia faces its worst yet. Wealthy countries, pay your dues” (TC);   a plane crash in Russia (TG);   a targetted lockdown for the Ebola outbreak in Uganda (CNN);   the war has caused a health crisis for millions of people in Tigray (UN);   advice on surviving an earthquake (YT);  
  
  
• 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:   an examination of Putin’s situation (TC);   the joint Russian-Belarusian military force is being formed (F24);   Russia is using “kamikaze drones” (TND) - and Iran will now also supply missiles (TG) as well as drones & training (TG), and has destroyed one third of Ukraine’s power stations (TND);  
  
• on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   “Western officials are engaged in “prudent planning” behind the scenes to prevent chaos and panic in their home countries in the event Russia was to detonate a nuclear bomb in or near Ukraine” (TG);  “rhetoric in Ukraine has reinforced the fallacy of limited nuclear exchange” (BAS);  
  
• on human rights in the region and globally:   Russia may ethnically cleanse an entire region around a city in Ukraine (TND) - see also this (TND);   “‘undeniable need for accountability’ in Ukraine as violations mount” (UN);  
  
• inside Russia:   two Russian volunteer soldiers have killed 11 other Russian soldiers and wounded more (TG);   “Russian police are torturing anti-war activists” (HRW);   
• internationally:   “SpaceX will [continue to] fund Starlink internet in Ukraine” (TG);   Europe is moving towards energy solidarity (FD24);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• the middle class of China appears to be declining (F24);    Australia has reversed its wrong decision to accept West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (TND);   a Chinese diplomat was p[art of a group that dragged a man into the grounds of China’s embassy to the UK and violently beat him (TND);  
  
  
• 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:   a call for an end to the fighting in Tigray (TG);   a call for urgent action to implement the peace deal in South Sudan (UN);  
   
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
• “Collaery demands Royal Commission on Timor Leste spy scandal” (PnI);   a gambling company has been fined (TND) around 40% of its year 2020 pre-tax profit;   an unconscionable waste (TG) of taxpayer’s funding for a meaningless and trivial name change that started under the previous ego-driven national neolib nitwits (TND) - which all happened against a background of worker abuse (TSP);   a French company has admitted paying violent extremists a massive bribe in order to keep one of their plants in West Asia open (TG);   a Senator has stepped down from a deputy chair position after admitting to a past conflict of interest (TC) - but she is receiving strong support, especially against hypocritical attacks (Junkee);   
• the former POTUS45 undermined his current legal claims in a 3 year old interview (TG), and a judge stated #45 signed a declaration knowing it was false (TG). #45 has been ordered to testify, and one of his key people has a minor jail sentence (TND);   “the success of the Brexiteers has made me understand why Hitler succeeded in Nazi Germany” (M);  
  
• the latest cyber hack (TND) and, for contrast, an example of how learn from hacks and prevent future problems (TG);   fines will be increased (yeah, yeah, whatever - we NEED a pre-emptive independent certification scheme so consumers can have confidence rather than being coerced) (ABC) - see also this (“data hacks show how a 'decade of anti-security policy' is putting Australia at risk”) (ABC) and this (“We need to come to a regime where it should be on need-to-know basis, and there should be expiration dates (on collected data)”) (ABC);  
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   protests against the grab for power of Tunisia’s President (F24);   an examination of China's transnational repression (FH) - and “China gains when democracies target press freedoms” (AJ);   New Zealand has passed a plain language bill (although this is excellent, particularly as many bureaucratic briefs have more than a taint of mandarin hauteur [a bit like the previous words], but there are times when clear communication across a many groups/individuals will require precision) (TG);   “the financial world’s wholesale bagging of the Truss fiasco should serve as the official end of a four-decade political mission to force Reaganomics/ Thatcherism/ neoliberalism/ trickledown on the world  and a longer campaign by the wealthy vested interests behind the politics to shrink government in order to pay little tax” (TND);  
  
  
• in Australia:   the digital divide (ABC);   a critique of the proposed tax cuts - including the similarity to the UK’s recent mistakes (TC);   a personal experience article: “welfare saved my life. If payments are raised to the poverty line more Australians will survive” (TG) - see also this, on jobseeker keeping people in poverty (ABC), and this, on one third of single mothers being being in “financial hardship” (TG);   another call for windfall taxes (TG);   concerns over the proposed national anti-corruption include the possibility of journalists being investigated (the body is still needed, but the proposed legislation needs tweaking) (TG);   “Australian republicans must support the Indigenous voice referendum or risk losing theirs when the time comes ... a republic is not a given, and its supporters have some hard truths to grapple with about the 1999 failure and what has changed since then” (although I support both causes, I have questions about the ethics of what appears to be a threat, as a way to succeed) (TG);   the strong desire for a wellbeing budget (TG);   grossly inadequate support and impossible conditions for students (ABC);  
  
  
• suppression of dissent / media in   Saudi Arabia (TG);
  democracy is also at risk in   Mali (UN),   Brazil (TG); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC): 
• on the protests in Iran against the killing of a young woman by so-called “morality”  “police”:   a security officer has been filmed sexually assaulting a female protestor (TG);   the history of young women in Iran leading protests (TC);   the protests are continuing after a deadly fire in a notorious prison (F24);   the very real fears of protestors (ABC);   the UN has called for an end to the killing and detention of children in Iran (UN) - see also this (F24);   a call for a special UN Human Rights Council session (HRW);  
  
• “Israel has implemented strict rules limiting the ability of foreigners to enter and stay in the occupied West Bank despite international criticism of the measures, which include the compulsory declaration of romantic relationships” (TG);   
  
• Qatar is now trying to restrict foreign media from reporting on human rights abuses (TG);    “lifting 100 million out of poverty by 2025 still possible, despite recession threat” (UN);   after last week's A$1.5 billion decision against a high profile conspiracy fantasist, a similar legal case starts (TG) in the USA against a separate figure, a smaller decision against a notorious right winger in Australia (TG), and a social media platform  has conceded (TG) that it is not above the law here - which does not mean they are guilty of what the complainant alleges, only that the trial to determine the matter can get underway;   the plan to end gender-based violence within a decade will ONLY succeed if it respects child victim-survivors as credible and listens (TC);   recommendations on avoiding atrocities in Tigray (ICG);   “Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, anti-trans groups LGB Alliance and Binary Australia and the anti-LGBTQI Australian Christian Lobby are among the 20-odd organisations identified as ‘far-right and extremist groups’ by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE)” (Star);   as Kenya disbands a controversial, violent police unit (MSN), Nigeria keeps its violent police (AJ);   “some white guy thoughts on discussing race and gender - is the progressive online space really no country for white men?” (M);  
   
• human rights are at risk or abuses have occurred in:   DRC (HRW),   Malawi (TG),   Yemen-UN (HRW),   Nepal (HRW);
  
  
• violence in:   Mexico (CNN),   Chad (F24);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Iran, Ethiopia and Sudan/South Sudan;  
  
  
• noting Article 19 of the ICCPR on FREEDOM of POLITICAL EXPRESSION:   freedom of speech comes with accountability (The New Statesman);  
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   “the United Nations’ refugee agency has condemned the “distressing” discovery of 92 illegal migrants, found naked and injured on the border between Greece and Turkey” (both nations are blaming each other: is this part of an escalation by Erdoğan to find a pretext for war?) (UN);   “EU border agency accused of serious rights violations in leaked report” (TG);  
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   homophobic abuse in a US school (M);   as predicted, transphobia is harming cis people as well (M);   an excellent analysis of the latest vile life-threatening abuses from a notorious transphobe (M);  
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   an opinion piece arguing that “the Australian War Memorial’s intransigence on depicting the frontier wars speaks louder than words“ (TG);   another admission of “unprofessional conduct” by police in the NT at an inquest into the killing of a young Indigenous man (ABC);   “professionalism is white supremacy ... the workplace standards created by white men are hostile to employees of colour“ (M);   some stolen Aboriginal artefacts have been returned to Tasmania ... temporarily (TG);  
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    a plan has been launched aiming to end DV in Australia within a generation (TG);   the glass ceiling in China’s CCP (F24);   menstruation huts are banned in Nepal but still exist (DW);   details of the abuses by the misogynistic violent extremists in power in Afghanistan (HRW);  
  
  
• noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS:   the devastating impact of floods on animals (SBS);  
  
  
• 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:   recommendations for protecting online privacy - particularly against authoritarian despots (FH);  
  
  
• 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:   “NSW’s refusal to allow UN inspectors in prisons ‘raises questions’, human rights commissioner says ... state government’s decision means Australia is ‘failing to live up to the promises it made to the world’ ” (TG) - and a former PM “has warned the New South Wales and Queensland governments to “think carefully about the international company they are keeping” by blocking or limiting United Nations inspectors’ access to detention facilities” (TG);   
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   taxis are discriminating against people with disabilities (this is the sort of rubbish that led to ride sharing services) (ABC);   years of underfunding by the former national neolib nitwits has left the NDIS with an almost $9 billion shortfall (TG);   
  
  
• 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:    “the market has failed to give Australians affordable housing, so don’t expect it to solve the crisis” (TC) - and our housing crisis is only going to get worse because of the quest to import job skills (TND);   what appears to be opportunistic rent price gouging in Qld (TG);   
   
• another unfounded dietary fad is again robbing diabetics of medication (ABC);   
• “Joe Biden’s voicemail to Hunter Biden is the masculinity we need”;
  

(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:   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   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;   Australian Unions - AU;   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 [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   New York Times - NYT [$];   News24;   North Africa Post - NAP;   Out in Perth - OiP;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   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 Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Thomson Reuters Foundation Context - CT;   United Nations - UN;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$];   Yahoo News - Yahoo; YouTube - YT;