Saturday 13 May 2023

Some human rights and other news links [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised!] and thoughts - Saturday 13th May, 2023

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. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. Reader caution is recommended. For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]).  

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).

  • fascist extremists continued to be emboldened, and a range of actions against them are also slowly growing but staggeringly narrow focus continues the existential risks of climate crisis, nuclear, and inequality & inequity;
  • former potus45 has been ordered to pay US$5 million for sexual abuse (TG) and defamation (TND) in a civil action (no criminal conviction as was civil (YT - Legal Eagle)) - see also here (F24), here (TND), here (SBS), here (R), here (ABC), here, which also considers what next (SBS), here (#45 will appeal) (TND),and here (TC) (and CNN have shown the depths to which have plummeted by giving this convicted sexual predator an hour of airtime) - and former potus45 is also accused (TG) of attempting witness intimidation and has been ordered to not comment on social media about evidence in one case (NBC News) - and a Russian chess grandmaster has commented “if you give would-be fascists all your microphones and megaphones they don’t need guns to take over” (social media), lawyers for another conservative figure have been sanctioned for “false election claims” (NBC News), and one of the insurrectionists has been given the longest sentence yet (NBC News);   a US state’s governor’s “supporters ... support the kind of tyranny that America was founded on rejecting, and it foreshadows where [that nation is heading]” (M);   death threats have led to a French mayor resigning (F24);         “rape is a means of asserting patriarchal power ... rape laws were generally intended to protect (white) men from false accusations. They were not intended to protect a woman from attack ... the requirement that the victim of a crime actively resist exists nowhere else in criminal law” (TK) - see also here, on sexual violence in Somalia (AJ), here, on the massive numbers of sexual attacks in eastern DRC (AN), and here, from Niger (AN);        the UN Secretary-General has warned that “values of UN Charter under threat like never before” (UN);         “media missed how Proud Boys worked with FBI to bring down left-wing operations”   (RS);   “French police under fire for allowing neo-n___ rally in Paris on VE Day” (F24);   concerns about what Uganda will be like if the current president’s son inherits power (F24);   pseudo-police in the UK (the problem exists elsewhere as well) (TG);   a US newspaper has blatantly lied by “reporting” that a poll supported anti-trans hate when the results showed support (The Present Age);   a driver in the USA appears to have deliberately (TND) killed (TG) and injured (DW) pedestrians who appeared to be migrants - see also this (M);   UN experts say slavery has left a deep and long-lasting legacy on the USA (UN);          the power of speaking up (T Thorn Coyle);   why a new progressive era may eventuate in the USA in about 20 years (RR);   safe spaces and the problem of spiritual bypassing (M);   the disturbing problems - including toxic masculinity and failure to address causes - of anger management courses (TG);         “Australian terrorism prediction tool considered autism a sign of criminality despite lack of evidence” (TG);         protests (SBS) and political turmoil (DW) in Pakistan after a former (TC) leader was arrested (F24) during a court appearance have led to the army being deployed (F24) - see also this (TG), this (TG), this (TND), and this assessment of the risk of collapse (YT - the Caspian Report) - also this assessment (ICG);         “elections in Türkiye may herald a new foreign policy outlook” (Lowy), but also involve a choice between “more cruelty under [LGBT-phobic (QN) Erdoğan, or the return of justice and hope” (TG) - and five million young voters may play a critical role (F24);         concerns about the militarisation and militarised response of NT police in a coronial report were watered down (TG), and SA corrections officers were criticised for a litany of failings that led to a death but not charged (TG);   Victoria Police has apologised (NIT) for past and present racism, and indicated a willingness to be subject to independent oversight “if asked” - see here (Yoorook Justice Commission), here (TG), here (ABC), here (TA), here (AAP), and here (SBS) (I also thought it was good that elders were acknowledged as past, present, and future), but an admission that cultural training was going to be slow and extremely limited (NIT) has led to a call for “transformational, systemic change” (NIT);   “about 60% of child protection notifications for Victorian First Nations families are unsubstantiated, with the state’s department of families acknowledging racism is a contributing factor in some reports” (TG);         as another neo-n___ event is held to criticism and violence by anti-fascists (ABC), “Victorian government urged to act as more drag events cancelled in wake of threats from far-right” (TG) - see also here (TG);   “it has been 70 years since the Lavender Scare & our political leaders are still after us” (LGBTQ Nation);         the campaign by conspiracy fantasists against climate records (TG) - and against evidence that masks work (Scientific American);   “AI poses serious risks to global health and safety, doctors warn” (SBS);         the conservative media company which recently was ordered to pay nearly US$1 billion compensation in a defamation case has asked the recipient company if one of their employees leaked confidential information - which would be contrary to the terms of the agreement (ABC);  

  • on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
  • on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS: 
    • a warning that, despite the WHO’s premature and irresponsible decision, the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic continue (TH);         a locust plague in Afghanistan (UN);         a cyclone is threatening South Asia (TH);   floods have killed hundreds in the eastern DRC (F24) and also impacted Rwanda (DW);   water shortages in Tunisia (Le Monde);         bushfires in Canada (F24) and a heatwave and bushfires in Siberia (Le Monde);   drought in Spain (F24);         “in epicentre of Türkiye quakes, survivors are indifferent to upcoming polls” (F24), and “almost $15 billion needed for earthquake recovery in Syria” (UN);   a mine fire has killed dozens in Peru (DW);  

  • 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 assessment finds Ukraine has the capability to do last week’s alleged drone attack in Moscow (DW);   the UK and some European allies may supply Ukraine with longer range missiles - which would allow possibly escalatory attacks on Crimea (TG);  
    • on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   in recent days, residents of 18 settlements near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south eastern Ukraine have been evacuated - see here (ABC), here (TND), here (TG), here (R), here (The Independent), here (F24), here (DW), and here (ABC); 
    • inside russia:   scaled back annual Victory Day parade shows devastating impact of war in Ukraine (ABC);  
    • internationally:   “Poland and other EU member states have shut their borders to Ukrainian grain, plunging Ukraine's farmers into financial hardship and uncertainty” (there are other nations which need Ukrainian grain - especially in Africa: Europe should be the last choice, if transshipment is possible) (DW);   sanctions evaders may be named and shamed by the EU (DW) - and Pakistan is taking a gamble with russian oil (Lowy) as South Africa investigates whether arms have been shipped from there to russia (AJ);   Russia will continue to support the ISS (Nature);   
       
  • on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
  • on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
    • some US police officers have been accused of sexual assault (AP);   a The Guardian exclusive reports that “State governments are being forced to strike confidential deals granting taxpayer-funded indemnity to church bodies for child abuse after an inundation of survivors’ claims led commercial insurers to abandon religious institutions in droves” (TG);   “in the weeks before his shock resignation, Australia’s freedom of information commissioner complained about being routinely ignored within his own agency and of the pointless diversion of his “very limited” staff... [and] expressed serious concerns about chronic delays in the FOI system, the consequences for government transparency, and the lack of power he held to bring about change” (TG);   The Guardian exclusive reports that (in my words) foreign diplomats are continuing to treat Australian lives with contempt (TG);         a notorious social media company has admitted to a security problem (TG);  
    • concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   Australia (TG),   Zimbabwe (TS),   USA (PP),   Türkiye (Nature),   USA (charges laid, but remember: innocent until proven guilty) (TND),   Australia - aged care (TG),   Australia (TG);

  • on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
    • globally:   criticism of UK police for silencing dissent by arresting protestors - thereby also further destroying public trust in the UK police (TG) - see also this (TG), and this (TG);         concerns about Egypt (TG);  “eSwatini civil society groups want African rights body to put pressure on King Mswati” (news24);   in Zimbabwe a writer has been acquitted of charges over a protest (AJ);   an examination of New Caledonia’s situation (TC);   an assessment of Peru, given the recent protests  (M);  
    • in Australia:   “crimes of the monarchy: god save the king, because nothing will save the monarchy’s legacy” (TBS);   younger people have greater hardship and thus also need an increase in JobSeeker (TC) - see also here (TG);   “ACT set to become the first Australian jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14” (ABC) as “Queensland urged to prevent youth crime at its roots” (TG);   a two decade low (ebb?) in satisfaction with life (TC);         on the budget:   a summary here (TC), a winners and losers summary here (TG), here (SBS), and here (ABC),   here (The Australia Institute), changes outlined here (ABC) and here (SBS), an interactive (TG),   and commentary here (spending on Indigenous) (SBS) - see also this (TC), this (enough for environmental spending if the Stage 3 tax cuts were ditched) (TC), here (TND), here (the growing care sector, the climate crisis, and data protection are significant) (ABC), here (TC), here (“Labor’s budget won’t undo three decades of neoliberalism, but it’s a modest step towards reversing its harms”) (TG), here (continuing housing problems) (TG), here (shift in focus towards the poor) (SBS), this (enthusiastic support for changes to Medicare) (TND), this (space mission in doubt) (TG);      the continuing desperation of those on inadequate support (SBS) - see also this (TG), this (SBS), and this (claiming more changes to pensions to come in the future) (ABC);   a rebuttal of claims of inflation (TC);   concerns over possible cutbacks to NDIS services (TG);  
      • on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   a sporting body is officially backing a Yes vote (TND);  
    • protests in:   Senegal (AJ);
      suppression of       opposition / dissent / media in   Bhutan (HRW),   Chad (HA),   Cameroon (VoA),   Guinea (AJ),   Egypt (MEE);
      democracy is also at risk in         Mali (AJ),   Brazil (TG),   Senegal (AN); 

  • on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  
    • despite the prisoner release, thousands are still being detained by the junta in burma (HRW);   a call for slavery to be banned by Mali (UN);         “cis white gay male fragility. If your “activism” isn’t intersectional, it is garbage. Being gay doesn’t absolve you of bigotry. ... And when you make mistakes, which we all do, rise to the occasion. The bravest, strongest people in this world are the ones who have the humility to apologize and change when they cause harm. Finally, if you are a “one-cause” person and the one cause you happen to support is your own, consider that you may be a mean, useless dud and reflect on that”;  
    • human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   China, in east Turkistan aka “Xinjiang” (HRW),   DRC (AP),   Nigeria (NA),   russia (UN);

    • noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Haiti, Nicaragua, and China (GCR2P);  

    • noting Article 6 (4) (5) (6) of the ICCPR,   this, and this on the DEATH PENALTY:   Iran (UN);

    • noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   “deportations: Africa’s role in EU migration management” (DW);   a new record number of internally displaced people (DW);  
      more refugee issues:   Italy (DW),   USA (TG);

    • noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   the UK’s alleged human rights body has admitted to taking actions to support transphobia (PN);  

    • noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   ethnic violence has killed scores of people in India (DW) - entire villages have been destroyed (TG);         a call for Indigenous players to go on strike (TG);   a former right wing (TG) candidate in Qld has used online hate (NIT) (they have now been blocked from that platform (TG)) to incite (TG) a mob to threaten two Indigenous teenagers, who were protected by police - see also this warning (TG);   a sports community (NIT) and organisation (NIT) have acted against racist abuse - see also this (TG);   “Queensland Parliament passes historic Path to Treaty Act” (NIT);         judging people by skin colour rather than character (M);   “why racist actions shouldn’t be dismissed” (M);  
      more racism issues:   sport (NIT),   WA prisons (NIT) - see also here (NIT);

    • noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    female tennis players are being silenced (TG) - see also here (TG);  

    • noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   Greece has made hundreds of beaches accessible to wheelchairs (Good News Network);  

    • 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:    “NSW housing crisis bites single-person homes” (TG);   “our cities are not museums. We must stop NIMBYs weaponising heritage laws to block affordable housing” (TG);   how to reduce house prices (TG) - see also this (TC);   local Councils need to help address homelessness (TC);  
      more food, clothing and housing issues:   lifelong rentals (TC);

(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:   3KND radio - 3KND;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   All Africa - AA;   Amnesty International - AI;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC TP ;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Australian Unions - AU;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   British Broadcasting Commission - bbc TP ;   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 [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Globe Echo - GE;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Mary L Trump - MLT;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   New York Times - NYT [$] TP ;   News24;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Pink News - PN;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   ProPublica - PP;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Raw Story - RS;   Renew Economy - RE;    Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   Teri Kanefield - TK;   The Age - TA TP ;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The Conversation - TC TP ;   The Defence Post - TDP;   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Hindu - TH;   The Monthly - TM;   The New Daily - TND;   The New Humanitarian - TNH;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Timothy Snyder - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Vice - V;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$] TP ;   Wikipedia - WP;   Yahoo News - Yahoo;   YouTube - YT.

Note: news sources are never perfectly accurate or good - for instance, some have been transphobic (which is why I may, for instance, cancel email subscriptions), but may be good in other areas (e.g., racism) - and attributes may vary depending on region and over time. I do NOT provide an unqualified endorsement of ANY of the media sources I use. Sources with evidence of being transphobic may be marked with a TP .

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

  • this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header; 
  • I expect readers to take positive action on at least some of these stories - e.g., write to elected representatives, where that is possible. 

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

  • there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  • I could be wrong in my views or commentary - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

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


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