Some human rights and other news links [Note: Content Warning - reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 3rd December, 2022

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.

• “Why Fascism’s Returning to the World” (M);   a major tech world figure has warned of the existential threat to humanity posed by tech (TG);   evidence of slavery in the manufacture of solar panels (TG);   a mining company - which is the subject of protests in its home nation (TG) - has been asked to destroy surveillance photos it took of the FAMILIES of protestors here in Australia - INCLUDING A NINE YEAR OLD CHILD (TG);   digital poverty (UN);   “rising inflation, falling wages threaten increased poverty and unrest” (UN);   “why the 2020s are turning out to be the worst decade since the 1930s” (M);   “Finland’s Prime Minister ... says Europe [is] “too dependent” on technologies, energy from authoritarian states” (ABC) - see also this (DW);  
  
• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• a suggestion to rethink how roads are built to make them more resilient (ABC);   “a Queensland government-commissioned report by Deloitte says there could be “significant” declines in wellbeing, assets left stranded and a stagnating economy if the state doesn’t quickly transition to renewables” (TG);   an analysis of the recent rejection of a coal mine project on a human rights basis - including the specific rejection of the entrenched “market substitution assumption” (TC);   Australia is not prepared for climate crisis disasters - which include disease outbreaks (TND);   a major Qld windfarm (TG);   “COP27 was disappointing, but 2022 remains an historic year for international climate policy” (TC);   forests will become increasingly flammable (TC);   a repeat (TND) warning (TG) that the Great Barrier reef is in danger;   “FAO and Pacific nations weigh local innovations as solutions to growing climate and nutrition challenges” (NT);   a pumped storage project in Europe has been completed (DW);   “defending the environment can be a death sentence” (DW);   a manifestly excessive sentence for an anti-climate crisis protestor in NSW, Australia (HRW);   vertical farming under London, UK (ABC);   a mining company has lost a “Federal Court appeal over [a] gas project after challenge by Tiwi Island traditional owners”, but will re-submit its environmental effects study (ABC);  
  
• hundreds plans for the protection of species at risk of extinction will expire in the next few months (TG);   as another plastics recycling scheme fails (DW), talks on a global anti-plastics treaty begin (DW) (what about this (see also here)? Trying to minimise use / maximise reuse hasn't - globally speaking - worked, so we can burn the stuff to generate power, or break it down to it's components and feed it back into the existing stream while we get freed of our addiction to plastic) - and one company is changing it's wrappers (TND);  
  
• climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   Zambia (VoA);
  
  
• 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: 
• long COVID is changing (ABC);   another floating Petrie dish is going to be allowed in (SBS);   after legal action, NSW will withdraw fines for breaching COVID lockdowns (SBS);  
  
• protests (DW) against (TND) China’s severe zero COVID policy are (TND) spreading (TG) and finding calls for support (TG) - with attempts to hide news of them (F24), and some potential for broader change, perhaps? (TC) ... if they can continue (DW) - but see also this claim (TC) that there are genuine concerns (DW) (which can be addressed without the savagery that has been shown in China);  
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
  
• a landslide in Italy (ABC) - see also here (F24);   the toll of nine floods in six months on one NSW town (TG);   Ebola in Uganda (VoA);  
  
  
• 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, IMO, showing signs of being disingenuous over conditions around peace talks (TND); 
  
• on human rights in the region and globally:   The Guardian reports, based on some exclusive information, that, on the anniversary of Ukraine’s Holodomor  famine, “in a move that challenges the Russian narrative that the west’s response to its war on Ukraine has aggravated pre-existing food shortages in Africa”, “up to 60 Ukrainian grain ships can be sent by the middle of next year to some of the world’s poorest countries in Africa ... but only so long as international funding comes forward to subsidise the grain” (TG);  Putin is using (F24)  winter (TND) as a weapon (which has been a common tactic for centuries, albeit until now for defence);  
  
• inside Russia:   courageous mothers have launched an anti-war petition as their sons are sent to die without even basic equipment (TND);  “France is [the] first major western country to publicly support [a] proposal for special court to try [Russian officials] for [the] crime of aggression” over the invasion of Ukraine (TG);   
• internationally:   Putin’s grip on regional allies is slipping (TG);   “a well known historian says Russia needs to lose its war in order to become a ‘normal’ European country – and stopping destruction of Ukraine’s power grid is essential” (TG) - see also this opinion (DW);   a warning that “as well as the war in Ukraine, Russia is using hybrid warfare in different countries to advance its interests” (DW);   the impacts on Moldova (DW);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• evidence suggests a German institute breached UN sanctions against aiding North Korea (DW);   Türkiye is still blocking Sweden’s attempt to join NATO (F24);   China is building influence in Africa (ACSC);   a report on rebuilding the relationship between Colombia and Venezuela (ICG);   in east Africa, “‘a free movement of people agreement and a ‘‘trans-human protocol’’ were signed by seven countries' representatives” (AN);  
  
• 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 ceasefire is holding in eastern DRC (VoA), but a call has been made for more regional diplomacy (ICG) - see also this (TEA), this (NA), and this (MSN);   military tensions are growing in Syria (UN) and the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict nearing ‘boiling point’” (UN);   the US military now wants to use Australian land as part of its future wars in space (ABC);   Russia is sending soldiers to support the al Assad regime of Syria in Kurdistan (F24);  
  
• incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   Mali (ICG);
   
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
• concerns that more police will not fix Qld police’s racism and sexism problems (TG);   a suspect who was pursued relentlessly by NSW police without any valid reason has been awarded A$1.5 million damages (TND);   Elon-Musk-ed Twitter failed to detect that video of a mass shooting in New Zealand had been re-uploaded (TG);   claims that extreme training of Australian soldiers led to deaths (TG);   after being warned (TG) it is risking its reputation internationally, WA has said it will fund reforms (TND);   
• misuse of data in Hungary (HRW);   cybercrime is spreading in Africa (TG);   hackers have made (TG) available (TND) to criminals all the data they stole;  
  
• our former neolib nitwit PM may (TG) be (TC) censured (TND) ... and now has (TG) been (TG) - see also this (TC), this (TND), and this (TC);   
• the legal tide is turning against former POTUS45 (TG);   “Arizona secretary of state sues after Republican officials refuse to certify county election results” (TG) - see also this (TG), and this (TG);   one of the key insurrectionists has been found (F24) guilty (CNN) of seditious conspiracy;  
  
• concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   Malawi (MG),   Mozambique (Barrons),   Australia (TND);
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   a BBC reporter was violently arrested in China while reporting on COVID protests (TG);   a misogynistic (TG) “journalist” in New Zealand (TND);   “each day, injuries and violence claim the lives of some 12,000 people around the world ... “people living in poverty are significantly more likely to suffer an injury than the wealthy” ” (UN);   “the European Central Bank says bitcoin is on an “artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance”, in a scathing intervention arguing against giving regulatory legitimacy to the cryptocurrency” (TG);   plans for a second democracy summit (US News [$ I think]);   Mozambique is struggling to rebuild (The Independent);   a Nobel prize  winning  journalist on “how social media uses free speech to stifle free speech” (YT);   Indonesia is charging back to the 1950s (R);  
  
• in Australia:   my commentary on the outcome of last week's election in my home state (personal blog);   an independent MP’s advocacy will lead to welfare recipients being included in deliberations on future changes (TC);   climate change was the main reason voters abandoned the national neolib nitwits at the last Federal election (TG);    a call for ugly political campaigning to end (TG);   “Australia’s terrorism threat level downgraded to ‘possible’ after eight years as ‘probable’” (TG) - see also this (TND);   contrary to the claims of this article, workers have been consistently getting a lower share since the 1970s - and a comparison to working conditions in the 1860s is not good (TC);   research indicates gambling has links to suicide, and thus reform is essential (TG);   “ditching the politics of division is paying off for Albanese. Now it’s the media’s turn” (TG);   a water Authority in my home state is resuming use of citizen juries (AWA);  
  
• suppression of dissent / media in   India (TG);
  democracy is also at risk in   Equatorial Guinea (F24),   Palestine (HRW),   Brazil (LFB),   Malaysia (Lowy),   Pakistan (F24),   Hungary (P),   Burkina Faso (rfi);
  
  
• 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:   Iran is now trying to smear female journalists (DW);   “a niece of Iran’s supreme leader ... has called on foreign governments to cut all links with Tehran’s “murderous and child-killing” regime in a video posted online two days after she was arrested” (TG);   protests have reached FIFA's notorious sporting event in Qatar (F24);   Iran is threatening the families of sports players at the FIFA event (CNN);   Iran has now admitted to 300 deaths in the current protests (F24);   an assessment that the potential for change in Iran is low (Lowy);   “turban tossing” to mock religious influence (TC);   a young Iranian man was killed for celebrating Iran losing at FIFA's event (TG);  
  
• on the FIFA-supported sportswashing by Qatar of its human rights abuses:  Qatar is trying counter-arguments, but “a lot of the current arguments being published around the topic rely on a debating tactic known as "whataboutery," where one responds to a serious accusation with an equally serious counter-accusation, thereby distracting from the issue that started the argument in the first place” (DW);   a thoughtful reflection on human rights and history, which notes that Qataris want their rights (TG);   FIFA is still suppressing and retaliating against protests (DW);   more on the abuses committed by Qatar (QN);   QATAR HAS FINALLY ADMITTED TO 400 - 500 WORKER DEATHS (TND);  
  
• legal action in the USA against gun manufacturers & sellers and police by the family of a mass shooting victim (CNN);   “abuse survivors are attempting to seize ... church properties ... to cover legal costs after their bills went unpaid, despite a court order” (TG);   Chad is trying hundreds of protestors before an international enquiry - which the Chadian military want to control - into the deaths of protestors (All Africa);   people with mental health problems are being chained in Ghana (HRW);   “the rehabilitation and reintegration of women and children victims of the years-long ... insurgency in the Northeast region of Nigeria is receiving accelerated attention” (TG-N);   the problem of “function creep” (CT);   Germany has a new strategy to counter anti-Semitism (DW);   Australian territories have regained the right to make laws on voluntary assisted dying (TG);  
  
• human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   France (AJ);
  
• violence in:   Europe (over a sporting result!!!) (F24),   Somalia (DW),   Burkina Faso (NT),   Somalia (VoA);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Iran, Afghanistan, and China (GCR2P);  
  more genocide / mass atrocity issues:   Hazara, Afghanistan (GW);
  
  
• noting Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR,   Article 6 of the CRC,   Articles 15 and 17 of the CRPD,   and   Articles 7 and 43 of the DRIP on the RIGHT to LIFE and PERSONAL INTEGRITY:   Burma’s genocidal military has secretly sentenced scores of people to be murdered (UN);  
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   Uganda needs more funds for its refugee integration programme (NT);   “for the first time ever, the number of people forced to flee their homes surpassed 100 million this year. Most, 59.1 million, are displaced within their own countries, often for years or even decades” (UN);   support for Venezuelan refugees in South & Central America (UN);  
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   a rebuttal of the lie by conservative extremists that the mass murderer in an LGBTIQA+ bar was non-binary (M);   a gay pride event in a regional NSW town (TG);   transphobic violence in NSW (QN);   the USA has protected Equal Marriage (TG);  
  more LGBTIQA+ issues:   Russia (F24),   Singapore (TG) - see also this (Openly),   Japan (AJ),   Qld (good news) (QN);
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   the legend of Atlantis is being used to fuel white supremacism (TG);   allegations that the former national neolib nitwit government “legitimised [a] predatory funeral fund that targeted Indigenous Australians” (TG);   one of Australia’s conservative parties has decided to not support (TG) the referendum on a Voice to Parliament - ostensibly over Closing the Gap concerns, which has been widely and immediately criticised (TG) - see also here (TC), here (TND), and this refusal to join in by one of that party's MPs (TG). Also “the rhetoric around the Indigenous voice to Parliament shows it’ll be a rough campaign” (TG);   an event has featured Indigenous voices on water (AWA);   “legacy of slavery still scars society, blocks progress” (and continues in other forms) (UN);  
  more racism issues:   UK (TND),   Canada (TG),   Iran (MRG);
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    the violent misogynistic extremists in power in Afghanistan have now resumed public flogging of women (BBC) - but women are secretly building networks of support (AJ);   the fifth national (Australian) survey on sexual harassment shows little has changed over the last two decades, but new laws may change that (TC);   the re-hearing of a rape case has had to be discontinued (TG) because years of media abuse left the victim in danger of her life - see also here (TC), here (TC), and here (TND);  
  more sexism issues:   anti-AIDS campaigns (UN);
  
  
• noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS:   the abhorrent person who committed a violent, vicious attack has been let off with a fine ... (ABC);   
  
  
• noting the CRC on CHILDREN:   child abuse, in the form of child marriage, in Pakistan (DW);   the UN Committee Against Torture has said Australia must stop solitary confinement of children and raise the age of criminal responsibility (TG);   biometric data is being collected in schools (TC);   “three years of flatlined progress on HIV treatment and prevention affect 2.7 million youth” (UN);   
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   the problem of invisible disabilities (ABC);  
  
  
• 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:   more degradation of work conditions - especially work-life balance (TG);   personal connection is the best way to manage WFH (TC);   Australia’s first wage theft case has started (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:    more (TND) on the rental (ABC) crisis - and see also this satirical take (YT);   a publicly funded sleep bus for homeless people in a regional city in my home state (ABC);  
  

(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;   Context - CT;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Globe Echo - GE;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   New York Times - NYT [$];   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 (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Monthly - TM;   The National Tribune - tNT;   The New Daily - TND;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$];   Wikipedia - WP;   Yahoo News - Yahoo; YouTube - YT.  

Finally, remember: in general, we need to be more human being rather than human doing.