Saturday 20 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 20th 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).

  • some positive perspectives and actions this week, but also some incompetence/ineptness and amathia (particularly around technology), and the contest against the forces of evil which are using the far right as their tool of oppression, much as the far right as using the vulnerable as their tool of oppression - especially in the USA; 
  • “why we forget that most people are good” (Mark Manson);   students want help dealing with online misinformation (CBC);   “we must refuse the mainstreaming of political violence” (LM);         “AI-generated voices being used for “swatting” ” (this post shows an important aspect of this: a great deal of the hate and threats are being caused by a few or even only ONE individual) (Sch) - and see also this, on the dangers and possibilities of AI and the challenges of building trustworthy AI (Sch), including the possibilities for AI to aid democracy (Sch), and this, on “how AI knows things no one told it” (Scientific American), and “OpenAI CEO calls for laws to mitigate ‘risks of increasingly powerful’ AI” (TG) - and this (CT);   “EFF has a good explainer on the problems with the new UN Cybercrime Treaty” (Sch) as the UK “threatens end-to-end encryption” (Sch);   a social media platforms “recommendation algorithm continues to direct young video game fans down dark paths of violent and dangerous content, a report has found, years after critics first raised concerns about the system” (TG);   a professor has WRONGLY accused an entire class of using AI to cheat because he was told they had - by AI (give the devastating consequences caused by this gross incompetence, he should be sacked, IMO) (Rolling Stone);         far right violence is increasing in German schools (DW) as French mayors subject to far right attacks feel abandoned (F24) and a court unwisely overturns a ban on a democracy-threatening far right march in the context of a far right white supremacist march being allowed by police who blocked protests against the French President (F24) - see also this from Austria (TG), and this, on a violent attack on Democratic staffers (TG);   a far right extremist state in the USA has enabled the removal of school literature about the Holocaust (The Jerusalem Post);   conservative politicians are using hate to hide real problems (PN);   the Australian Prime Minister tried to condemn far right violent extremists but used outdated and wrong terminology about sexuality and contradicted ASIO (SBS);   a great example of heckling extremists (YT);         “the Myanmar military has imported at least $1 billion in arms and raw materials to manufacture weapons since generals staged their coup in February 2021” (UN);         staggeringly, “US Supreme Court unanimously sides with transgender refugee, affirming her identity in historic ruling” (Yahoo);   “anti-trans legislation and bigotry will get cis women killed” (M);   some of the ways that racism also hurts white people (M);         a reminder that when the Arab League readmitted the Assad regime of Syria they readmitted war criminals (DW);  

  • 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: 
    • “global progress towards disaster risk management has been weak and insufficient, putting at risk the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals” (UN);         a major cyclone (WP) has devastated parts of South Asia, causing many deaths and injuries (TND), particularly amongst Rohingya refugees (F24) - see also here (UN);   floods in Somalia have displaced 200,000 people (Goobjoog News) - see also here (TG), and also in Italy (TG);         bushfires in Canada (Edmonton Journal);   a fatal hostel fire in New Zealand (TG) - see also here (TND), here (ABC);         a bus crash has caused traumatic injuries to children in Australia (TND);   a hippo attack has capsized a boat in Malawi, leading to several deaths (ABC);   dozens are missing after a Chinese vessel has capsized (F24);         the ongoing impact of chronic disease (UN);   one million people are at risk of cholera (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:   the USA is reluctant to supply F16s to Ukraine (understandably - and for good reason, IMO) (TG), but supports pilots being trained (TG);   
    • on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   “Russian occupiers have ordered the evacuation of the city of Enerhodar, close to the threatened Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Residents have reported looting and fears of forced deportations” and the IAEA is “extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant” (DW) - “the International Atomic Energy Agency continues to warn of the potential nuclear threat in the Ukraine conflict amid rising tensions surrounding the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant” (UN);  
    • on human rights in the region and globally:   the challenges of delivering aid (UN);  games are being played with grain shipments again (AP) - see also here (UN);  
    • internationally:   “Russia is occupying Belarus, opposition leader says” (P);   some ex-pat Russians have stopped speaking the russian language (ABC);   
       
  • on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
    • “New York law aims to stop funding of illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank” (TG);   the challenges facing Bhutan (ABC);   Kenya has reopened its border with Somalia (TEA);   “China’s loans pushing world’s poorest countries to brink of collapse” (AP);   Zimbabwe’s problems are affecting neighbouring nations (News 24);   “time for Somaliland and the Dhulbahante to talk” (ICG);   “Africa is demanding two permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council as it calls for reforms of the body to transform it from an exclusive club of five permanent members to a more representative global council that works for the interests of the whole world” (AN);   “Georgia risks EU candidacy by restoring Russia flights” (DW);  
    • 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:  
         war crimes (DS) in the violence (DW) in Sudan - including rapes (TG) and disappearances (TG) - as fighting intensifies (TG) and neighbouring nations struggle       (News 24) to absorb refugees (one million people are now displaced (UN) - and the US Embassy has destroyed passports of visa applicants it held (!), leaving them in limbo (MEE)), an appeal is launched for aid for the 18 million people who need it (UN), and health systems and staff are targetted (WP);         “calm returned to Gaza ... as a fragile ceasefire largely held, leaving Palestinians and Israelis to count the cost of five days of cross-border fire that killed dozens” (F24) - which includes hospitals (MEE);   reflections (DW) on the Nakba (DW) - see also this (UN), this (JC);   after a year, Israel has apologised for killing a US journalist (JC);   some of the thousands of Israeli nationalists celebrating Israel’s capture of Jerusalem’s Old City in 1967 chanted ‘death to Arabs’ as they marched - and three journalists were injured (TG);         continuing tensions (TEA) over the East African force in eastern DRC - which has a new leader (TEA) - amidst continuing (AP) violence (TEA) - particularly “sickening” levels of sexual violence (UN) - and as the World Bank suspends aid (TEA);         Somalia has intercepted weapons heading to violent extremists (TEA);  
    • incidents / action of concern in/regarding:   vigilantism in Haiti (F24) - see also here (F24); 
    • violence in:   Senegal (F24),   Senegal (F24),   Burkina Faso (News 24),   Nigeria (TDP) - see also here (F24),   Nigeria (AP),   Lesotho (AJ);
    • mass gun shootings in the USA:   New Mexico (AP);

  • on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
    • a criticism of a recent US supreme court decision as enabling corruption (Sarah Chayes);   some court ordered family rehabilitation processes are grossly abusive (PP);         after agitation by Qld police, they will be allowed to continue using a potentially fatal choke hold (TG);   a “Victorian [police] officer who abused position to pursue vulnerable women for sex jailed for six months” (TG);   shock (TND) and grave concerns (including over training) (TG) after police tasered (SBS) a 95 year old woman with dementia, leading to critical, possibly fatal, injuries when she fell;   real estate agents are trying to avoid giving better protection of data (TG);  
    • concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   Australia (TC) - see also this critique of the use of consultants (TG),   Ukraine’s supreme court (DW),   Colombia (government-death squad connections) (TG),   Nigeria (AA);

  • on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
    • globally:   voters in Thailand have rejected (AP) military rule, but the new government (TG) faces significant (TC) challenges (TG) in a system biased (DW) towards the military (TG);   “European powers must stand by pro-democracy Tunisians resisting a fierce onslaught designed to take the country back to the darkest days of dictatorship, a letter from more than 70 academics has urged” (TG);   Türkiye is heading (TC) to a runoff (DW) in its Presidential elections (DW);   how China is meddling with African media (ACSS);   a recommendation for how regulators can manage changes in science (Nature);   “citizen observers from Africa strategise on better safeguarding elections” (Africa Feeds);   “why Tanzania's President ... is reviving [the] constitution-writing process” (AA);   18,000 people displaced by violence in Niger are returning home (AN);   young voters in Greece are unhappy with major parties, which may affect coming elections (DW);  
    • in Australia:   “consumer advocates have welcomed the government’s announcement of a multimillion-dollar anti-scam centre to help crack down on fraud” (TND);   “Robodebt royal commission report delayed again as APS digs in for adverse findings” (The Mandarin);   “cruel stereotypes won’t help a broken jobs market” (TND);   an opinion that voters want more than just moderation (TG);   concerns over the possible collapse of mental health support in WA (ABC);   proposals to put the JobSeeker rate higher than the minimum wage shows the inadequacy of the minimum wage (TND);  
      • on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   “Voice to Parliament court saga offering echoes of the Indigenous rights battles around Mabo, Wik decisions” (ABC);   a Parliamentary enquiry has recommended the act to enable the Voice referendum be passed unchanged (SBS);   diplomats are working out what to say if the Referendum fails (Lowy);   a sporting organisation with a history of racist problems supports the Voice (NIT);  
    • protests in:   Burkina Faso (calling for more security) (AN);
      suppression of opposition / dissent / media in   Tunisia (TG) - and also this (DW),   Sudan (News24),   Lesotho (Lesotho Times),   Guinea (AN); 

  • on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  
    • the fear of Kurds in Türkiye (F24);    action against caste discrimination in Canada (Asian Pacific Post);   a call for calm between Hindu and Sikh communities in NSW (ABC);   geoscientists are trying to be more inclusive (Nature);   the owner of a notorious social media platform appears to be unrepentantly antisemitic (TG);   “roughly 90 per cent of the population in Afghanistan is on the brink of poverty “and children bear the brunt of it”” (UN);  
    • human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred in:   Mali (AN),   Egypt (MEE),   Kuwait (MEE),   Canada (MEE),   AI (Nature),   Iran (F24);

    • noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   the UN has been asked to end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh (GW) - see also here (Lemkin Institute);   an atrocity alert for Sudan, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Health Care in Armed Conflict (GCR2P); 

    • noting Article 6 (4) (5) (6) of the ICCPR,   this, and this on the DEATH PENALTY:   “executions at highest rate in five years” (DW);   “the UN Human Rights Council-appointed panel of independent experts examining the Iranian Government’s response to protests that erupted there last November, has said that it’s “deeply alarmed” at continuing executions of demonstrators, ahead of pending reviews” (UN);  

    • noting Article 7 of the ICCPR,   and   the CAT on TORTURE:   a major oil company has settled a torture case in Indonesia after more than 20 years (ABC);  

    • noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   no funding in the budget for a claimed expansion of refugee programme (SBS);   refugees abandoned in the Sahara are being saved by volunteers (LM);  

    • noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   in the USA a transphobic (misgendered his victim during the police interview) guard who killed a transman AFTER he had been subdued, released and left the store will not be charged (TG);   a proposal for an LGBT magazine in West Africa (F24);         the Victorian Greens will introduce an antivilification bill (QN);   “calling drag queens ‘groomers’ and ‘p__________’ is the latest in a long history of weaponising those terms against the LGBTIQA community” (TC);   concerns about the “police accord” (extending a visual inspection based onsome unspecified persons idea of public decency to include sniffer dogs and strip searches - including of children???!!!) and the Sydney Mardi Gras organisation (Star);  
      more than a decade too late, a former PM has admitted being wrong on marriage equality, on the basis of staggeringly inept       “thinking” - and failed to show proper understanding of the devastation she caused by that (QN);  
      more LGBTIQA+ issues:   sport (some staggeringly amathia statements were made about the timing of an international event) (TG),   science (this is likely to be lower than real numbers for the usual reasons - past abuse, etc) (Nature),   Pakistan (JC),   Europe (DW),   Zambia (DW),   Canada (The Canadian Press News),   China (LGBT Nation);

    • noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   “advocates say [WA youth detention] system is broken and government needs to work with local community to support young people” (TG) - see also here (NIT), and staggering details of the abuses here (TG);   “until the 1970s, Western Australia still forced Aboriginal people to “dissolve tribal and native associations” and “adopt the manner and habits of civilised life” for two years before they could apply for citizenship” (TC);   “WA government "failed to adequately invest in safe accommodation for women" in the Pilbara, Aboriginal justice group says” (NIT);   following desecration in other states, SA will enact laws giving stronger protection against vandalism for sacred sites (NIT);   community courts will return to the NT (ABC);   “funding crisis sees Aboriginal Legal Service freeze operations at 13 New South Wales courts” (NIT);   “after a 25-year long wait, the Nauo people have received native title over almost eight thousand square kilometres of land on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula” (NIT);   another Indigenous man has died in Victorian custody (NIT);   a notorious conservative wants to stop accountability for racism in sport (NIT);   more rock art is being destroyed (TC);   vile (TND) racist abuse (SBS) and the failures of the media organisation he worked for have driven a capable, well-known, and respected Indigenous journalist out of his role (TG);         the double standards of racist police in the USA - “when police officers arrive, they expect an immediate response from everyone on the scene ... Of course, in a more humane system, officers would understand that some people cannot immediately comply because of physical and psychological differences” (M);   six new Indigenous reserves in Brazil (bbc);   “black victims of violent crime disproportionately denied aid” (AP);  
      more racism issues:   a major shopping chain (TG),   a hospital (NIT);

    • noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    the financial impacts of domestic violence on women (TC);  

    • noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS and other forms of life:   “Wales bans cruel animal snares in historic vote” (Nation Cymru);  

    • noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   “the disability royal commission has exposed shameful failures by the Queensland government” (ABC);   “ableism and disablism – how to spot them and how we can all do better” (TC);   “normalising neurodiversity in the workplace: communication challenges” (M);   the experiences of people with a cleft lip and/or palate (M);  
      more disability issues:   Timor-Leste (Lowy),   WA (SBS);

    • 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:   an examination of the advantages and disadvantages of telling employers about mental health condition (TC);  

    • 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:    “even if millennials could afford a home, there aren’t enough to buy” (TG);   ways to reduce house costs (TC);   Australian houses are inadequately insulated (I’m inclined to respond with a whoop-de-frickin’-do, but the health costs aspects of this is new evidence) (TC);   “Labor faces internal pressure to crack down on negative gearing with cap of one property” (TG);   

Abbreviations:   3KND radio - 3KND;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   All Africa - AA;   Amnesty International - AI;   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   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 [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Globe Echo - GE;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Juan Cole Informed Comment - JC;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Le Monde - LM;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Mary L Trump - MLT;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   New York Times - NYT [$] 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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