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 3rd June, 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.
Vote Yes for the Voice in Australia.
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).

• accountability, and the excesses that come its lack, has been prominent this week - as has courageous resistance to oppression and abuse;
  
• “why do more than 800 million people live in hunger? Ten percent of the world’s population does not have enough food, the highest number in more than a decade” (AJ);   “once unthinkable, the prospect of society driven by wellbeing gains traction” (Horizon);   some telling thoughts and commentary on perspective, proportionality, and balance (JW);         more on the existential (TND) threat (TG) of machine leaning (aka “AI”) - see also this (TG), this possible ban on deep fakes (TG), and this (80,000 hours);   a F24 special report on a US tech company that is collecting images of every person on the planet (F24);   “US air force denies running simulation in which AI drone ‘killed’ operator” (TG);   inaccurate AI tools to detect AI in academia (ABC);         an egregious failure to hold a boy accountable for disgusting racial abuse of a girl (M);   media lies about TGD people (M) - see also this (3CR);   a woman is on trial in Germany for plotting left wing violence against right wing violent extremists - which, if true (remember: innocent until proven guilty), tars her with the same brush and is the obverse of US President Harry  S  Truman’s statement “we are not going to turn the United States into a right-wing totalitarian country in order to deal with a left-wing totalitarian threat”. On accountability, a trans right extremist who was found guilty of being part of the January 2020 attempted insurrection in the USA has been sentenced to jail - as she should (QN), booing of a notorious transphobe doesn't help, IMO (QN), action against hate speech that kills people is essential - contrary to this (TC), a trans hater calling for trans people to be put into concentration camps is an example of the life threatening position of transhaters (M), as is the latest rantings of a notorious transhater (M);   “on the heels of news that the proud boys are planning disruptive protests during the [northern hemisphere] Pride month of June, [a] counter-extremist expert ... warns us that the alt-right group is specifically targeting Juneteenth celebrations [of the banning of slavery in the USA] as well” (LGBT Nation);   “an anonymous group of LGBTQIA+ activists is responding to alt-right protestors by hosting virtual drag queen storytime events throughout Pride Month” (QN) - which is the opposite of yet another Council that caved in to the violent extremist threats (ABC);   employees of a shopping chain in the USA have stood up to a hater who was spreading lies (LGBT Nation);   South Africa has granted putin diplomatic immunity (Daily Maverick), leading to legal action by the opposition (AJ);   “German police have conducted raids against a burgeoning criminal group linked to the far right” (DW);   “misogyny is often the connection between overlapping far-right ideologies” (Lowy);   Iran’s government thugs have been threatening rape and murder against female - and other independent - journalists (TG);   “French parliament expected to pass law regulating “jungle” of social media influencers” (F24);         a defamation case brought by my nation’s “most decorated living soldier” has been dismissed (TG), as some of the most serious accusations were found to be substantially proven, and other lesser claims were contextually true (TC) (see also here (TC), here (TG)) - which has led to calls to remember (TG) the Afghani people harmed by Australia’s participation in that war (invasion), “abandon our farcical Anzac myths” (TG) (see also here (ABC) and here (SBS)), a call for the ADF to consider the lessons and possible need to prosecute war crimes (TND), and a warning that the result is not a “complete vindication” for journalism (TG) - it should also be noted that this was NOT a criminal trial, where the decision is “beyond all reasonable doubt”, but a civil matter which is “on the balance of probabilities”;         in Israel “anti-government protesters are reclaiming the Israeli flag from the far-right 'Flag Day' zealots” (JC);         being tired is not our fault (JW);  
  
  
• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• “Earth is 'really quite sick now' and in danger zone in nearly all ecological ways, study says” (AP);   the influence of the climate crisis on border conflict between Iran and Afghanistan over water (JC);   “United Nations calls for protection of climate activists' civil disobedience after German crackdown on 'Last Generation' as 'criminal'” (JC) - see also here (DW);   questions over whether Australian banks are genuinely divesting themselves of fossils (TG);   large scale indoor farming (we’ll need a lot more of this as the climate crisis starts to make open field agriculture unviable) (GNN);   on heat waves in India (DW);   “how protests that double as trainings are growing this fossil fuel divestment campaign” (Waging Nonviolence via JC);   “global investments in low-carbon energy outstrip fossil fuel commitments by 1.7 to 1 for first time in world history” (JC);   “India, 3^rd biggest CO₂ emitter, will pause new coal plants for 5 years in favour of batteries, new solar” (JC);         “it’s not just climate – we’ve already breached most of the Earth’s limits. A safer, fairer future means treading lightly” (TC);         “major ocean database that will guide deep-sea mining has flaws, scientists warn” (Nature);   a mine has been “ordered to fix dust pollution after heavy metals found in locals' blood, water” (ABC);         geopolitics is impeding hydropower in South Asia (CT);         three dangers to manage in plastic recycling (TC);   calls for greater scrutiny of Australia’s first plastic recycling credits scheme (ABC);         “use of pesticides and herbicides found to be biggest cause of bird decline in Europe” (Phys.org);   “France to launch bird flu vaccination programme after 'satisfactory' tests” (F24);   in the UK “butterfly populations grew by 200% higher in people’s gardens than in other habitats” (GNN);   hope for control of bee mites (ABC);   “US Supreme Court deals setback to clean water law” (Phys.org);  
• climate / environmental issues have also occurred in:   greenwashing (TC via JC),   kelp seed banks (Atlas Obscura),   Ukraine (as a result of russia’s invasion) (JC);
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter) including COVID-19 AND OTHER PANDEMICS: 
• a terrible train accident in India has killed hundreds and injured hundreds more - see here (AP), here (SBS),   here and here (TG), here (ABC), and here (F24);         a mosquito resistant fabric has been developed (this will be great against problems such as malaria - PROVIDED it is affordable and comfortable in tropical climates) (GNN);   the global pandemic preparedness plan has been weakened (Nature);         bushfires in Canada (TG);  
  
  
• 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 human rights in the region and globally:   russia has been accused of holding 20,000 Ukrainian civilians prisoner (DW);  more evidence of russian abuses in Ukraine (ABC);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• China and russia continue to build closer relations (DW);   “China ... seeks to remedy its vulnerability to food and energy embargoes” (TG);   “the highly secretive Five Eyes alliance has disrupted a China-backed hacker group – in an unusually public manner” (TC);   China is unhappy about a US-Taiwan trade deal (ABC);      our PM has warned that war is NOT inevitable in the Indo-Pacific region (SBS);      “Japan moves away from pacifist ideal in the face of looming threats” (LM);         violent (TG) clashes (ABC) in Kosovo have led to “Serbian border police [being put on] on high alert” (F24) - see also this backgrounder (DW), and this, on the pressure from the West on Kosovo (LM);         “UN extends arms embargo on South Sudan over protests from world's newest nation and 5 abstentions” (AP);  
  
• 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:  
  Sudan is calling on ex-soldiers to re-enlist (F24) as heavy fighting continues despite an extension of the ceasefire (ABC) - and talks have been suspended (F24) as fears grow of cross-border weapons smuggling (TEA), a dangerously irresponsibly suggestion is made in Darfur (ST), and 60 orphans die trapped in an orphanage (TG) and refugees overwhelm Chad (DW) as more sanctions are applied by the USA (ABC);         “since 1967, the Occupied Territories and their people have furnished Israel with a living laboratory for their application and development of border security and surveillance systems, phone-hacking spyware, tracking and targeting technologies, as well as more traditional weapons systems. Tried and tested in the field, these systems are then packaged and sold for export” (TC) - see also this, on the responsibility To Protect Palestinians (PVG);         a conflict overview warns conflict may worsen during June in Sudan, Somaliland, the Korean Peninsula, and Ukraine (ICG);  
• violence in:   Burkina Faso (AN),   Somalia (VoA),   Nigeria (VoA),   eastern DRC (AP),   Tunisia (AN),   Senegal (F24);
  
  
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring) and other democracy-threatening CRIMES, MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and other THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM including GREED: 
• “El Salvador's ex-president ... sentenced to 14 years in prison for ties to criminal groups” (ABC);         “new research reveals harrowing stories of murdered Indigenous women and the failure of police to act” (TC);   in the USA, “California police must stop sharing drivers' location data with police in anti-abortion states: civil liberty groups” (EFF via JC);      the scandal around an Australian company which consulted to the government and breached ethics by misusing sensitive and confidential data is continuing - as is use of that company (TG): see  here (TG),  here (TND),  here (TND),  here (TND),  here (TND),  and  here (ABC);         a The Saturday Paper exclusive reports that “the NDIS regulator called in external lawyers to try to prevent an unsafe workplace notice being given to its own staff after a bizarre series of meetings in which senior executives denied the legal letter even existed” (TSP);         staggering incompetence and amathia as the RBA leader thinks people can easily share houses (TG) - see also here (TG), here (SBS);         “the extraordinary legal tactics institutions are using to fight compensation claims by abuse victims” (this has been raised in the media previously) (ABC);   a gambling company “and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) have agreed to a $450 million penalty over historical breaches of Australia's anti-money laundering laws at its Melbourne and Perth casinos” - this is subject to court approval ... it should also be noted that this does not allege any laundering occurred, only that the risks were not properly managed (ABC);         the latest digital incompetence comes from the NT (ABC);   “why is India dropping evolution and the periodic table from school science?” (Nature);  
• concerns around past/current/potential corruption/misgovernance also in   USA (TG),   India (TG);
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   the US government appears to be ready to continue governing ... (F24) - see also this (TG), this (F24), and this (F24), but also this critique of the “messed up” state of US politics (TND);      police in the UK want health services to attend mental health calls to improve police attention to crime and the support that those having mental health issues receive(TG);      Erdoğan has been re-elected in Türkiye - with the support of a religious party, which means women will pay a price (F24)  - see also here (F24), here (DW), here (LM), here (LM), and here (F24);      “Somalia to introduce direct universal suffrage in 2024” to replace the current clan based systems (F24);   Indonesia’s digital advances (Lowy);  
  
• in Australia:   a critique of a suggestion aimed at ensuring large companies pay more tax (TC);  
  
• on the proposed Voice to the Parliament in Australia:   “the Voice will pluralise and enrich Australia’s democratic conversation” (TC);   the PM has said 90% of Indigenous Australians support the Voice (which is a very high percentage, but we need to remember that some have concerns - and some of those are valid, IMO, but not, IMO, adequate for the Voice not to be implemented) (TC), “Australians are being underestimated by “doomsayers” promoting scare campaigns” (TND), and we should all “discuss the Indigenous voice to parliament with friends and family to ensure the referendum’s success” (TG) - see also here (NIT);   a state Supreme Justice has commented “the most civil thing that can be said about those who are mounting the core arguments of the ‘no’ case against the Voice referendum is that they are unaware of the depths of paternalism and racism in their arguments” (TND) - see also here (ABC);   “supporters of the Voice to Parliament have criticised [a TV station] after the broadcaster labelled the Voice as ‘divisive’ in a news bulletin” (NITV);   “medical groups back Indigenous Voice as a remedy” (NIT);  
  
• suppression of opposition / dissent / media in:   Iran (F24),   Algeria (AP),   South Australia (TG),   China (FH);
  assessment of democracy or risks/issues in:   Nigeria (ICG),   Egypt (ICG),   CAR (R),   Zimbabwe (News 24),   Lebanon (ICG),   Ecuador (PVG),   Türkiye (DW); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC):  
  
• the Israeli government is proposing to ban Palestinian-Israeli Students who raise the Palestinian Flag from Universities (MEE via JC);   electronic data collected by Israel used against Palestinians (MEE via JC);    “Biden Administration to combat antisemitism, but won't shield Israel from criticism” (MEE via JC);         a shoe manufacturer in Brazil is holding to an inclusive, responsible and sustainable alternative for manufacture, despite the pressures of growing demand (LM);         restrictions against women in Afghanistan are being described as a crime against humanity (LM);    Iran’s security forces have been accused of vandalising the grave of the young woman whose killing led to recent protests (RFE via JC);         “Azerbaijan is keen to resettle territories regained from Armenian control. Landmines are its largest headache. To woo foreign support, Baku should be more welcoming of outside expertise. Along with Yerevan, it should also unlink demining from the conflict and consider joining the landmine ban treaty” (ICG);          “a coalition of human rights and academic organisations has welcomed the findings of an independent review of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, and called on the Albanese Government to urgently strengthen the law” (HRLC);  
• human rights are at risk or abuses have also occurred or actions have been taken to support human rights in:   museums (DW) - see also here,   Zimbabwe (VoA),   Internet (FH),   USA (MLT),   Mexico (ABC);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   an atrocity alert for Ukraine, Cameroon and Afghanistan (GCR2P);
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   Malta breached international law and committed an act of refoulement rather than rescuing hundreds of refugees (AP);   dehumanising conditions in Malawi (VoA) - see also this, on Lebanon’s crackdown on refugees from Syria (DW);  
  more refugee issues:   Denmark (LM),   Belarus-Poland (ABC);
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   a lesbian firefighter has been honoured after she died from injuries sustained during firefighting (QN);   “the ALP has cut back on LGBTIQ policy commitments in its party platform. Again” (Alastair Lawrie);   a notorious transphobe has taken on  a new set of lies demonstrating why transphobes can NEVER be LGB allies (M);         “watchdogs warn proud boys planning big Pride Months protest [USA]wide” (LGBT Nation);   more LGBTIQA+ issues/stories:   real estate agent (Star),   lies in East Africa (F24),   NSW (QN),   Australia (QN);
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   “Victoria’s Indigenous truth telling commission has heard “horrific” details about a police counter-t_____ raid ... claimed in legal cases that Victorian and federal police had physically and verbally abused them during the raid, including by using racist slurs ... was awarded $400,000 damages in the Victorian supreme court ... police had closed internal investigations into excessive force despite supreme court and IBAC findings” (TG) - see also here (NIT);   “institutional racism in Australian justice systems linked to the deaths of 151 Indigenous women” (NIT);   “National Sorry Day needs to go beyond merely acknowledging the continued injustices, and trauma of the Stolen Generations. It’s not enough” (TBS) - see also this, on economic reconciliation rather than morning teas (NIT), and “closing the First Nations employment gap will take 100 years” (TC);         “a 700-page report on the Norwegianisation of indigenous peoples in the Scandinavian country will be read in the national theatre to highlight how the government has oppressed the Sami, Kven and other groups” (The Local);  
  more racism issues:   a progressive political party (TG) - see also here (NITV),   sport (TND) - see also here (TG),   NSW (NIT),   WA (NIT),   WA (NIT),         USA (M),  Brazil (LM),   Tunisia (AN),   New Zealand (TC);
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    pseudo-feminism (M);
  
  
• 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:   “Australian shelters and pounds kill 50,000 mostly healthy cats and kittens in a year. There’s a way to prevent this pointless killing” (TC);   Namibia will dehorn hundreds of rhinos to save them from poachers (VoA);  
  more rights of animal, plant, and other forms of life issues:   Japan (DW);
  
  
• 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:   in the USA, a “federal judge makes history in holding that border searches of cell phones require a warrant” (Electronic Frontier Foundation);   staff of a tech company were caught snooping on security videos (Tech Crunch);  
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   “autistic women and girls missing out on support due to male-skewed diagnostic tools” (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:   a A$430 million underpayment of workers (TND);  
  
  
• 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:    in the USA, “students build a house – then deliver it by truck for low income housing” - which doesn't solve the large scale problem, but shows the good intent that many people have, and the costs in house prices that go beyond construction (GNN);   “Australia’s rental affordability drops to worst levels in nearly a decade” (TG);   “the housing crisis threatens to unleash Australia’s darker angels. [The opposition leader] is intent on exploiting it” (TG);    “Australia’s homeless hidden in plain sight” (ABC);
  
  
• a world-first endometriosis breakthrough (TG);  
  

(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;   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 [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24 ^TP ;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   Good News Network - GNN;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Jessica Wildfire (Substack) - JW;   Juan Cole Informed Comment - JC;   Just Equal - JE;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Le Monde - LM;   LGBT Nation;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   Mail & Guardian - MG;   mainstream media - MSM;   Mary L Trump - MLT;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Middle East Eye - MEE;   Minority Rights Group - MRG;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Television - NITV;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   Nature Magazine - Nature;   News24;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Pink News - PN;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   ProPublica - PP;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Raw Story - RS;   Renew Economy - RE;    Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   Teri Kanefield - TK;   The Age - TA ^TP ;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The Conversation - TC ^TP ;   The Defence Post - TDP;   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The (Nigerian) Guardian - TG-N;   The Hindu - TH;   The Monthly - TM;   The New Daily - TND;   The New Humanitarian - TNH;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Timothy Snyder - TS;   Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA;   United Nations - UN;   Vice - V;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   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.
  

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