Human Rights

That this House notes with concern that despite steady improvement in the rights of Afghan women since the severe repression of the 1990s, women in Afghanistan are once again in danger; raises concerns about information indicating that women are being marginalised in the peace process, ignored in the security transition and that they continue to be subject to violence in the home and attacks against the defenders of women's rights; commends the efforts by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to ensure the Afghan government upholds its commitments on women's rights, including through implementation of the Elimination of Violence Against Women law, which is a central commitment under the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework; praises the campaign being led by Amnesty International UK to highlight the plight of women in Afghanistan; and calls on the Government to keep the pressure on the Afghan administration to put women first.

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A new report released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reveals that 32.4 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2012 by disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes. While Asia and west and central Africa bore the brunt, 1.3 million were displaced in rich countries, with the USA particularly affected. 98% of all displacement in 2012 was related to climate- and weather-related events, with flood disasters in India and Nigeria accounting for 41% of global displacement in 2012. In India, monsoon floods displaced 6.9 million, and in Nigeria 6.1 million people were newly displaced. While over the past five years 81% of global displacement has occurred in Asia, in 2012 Africa had a record high for the region of 8.2 million people newly displaced, over four times more than in any of the previous four years. (Reliefweb, 13/05/113)
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Labour Behind the Label - Our advice to you
In the face of stories about sweatshop factories and buildings collapsing in Bangladesh, it is often difficult to know where you should shop. Buying 'sweatshop free' clothes is a complicated business. Labour Behind the Label exists to help improve conditions for garment workers on the ground and empower them to change their systems for the better – they are not a consumer label and can't hope to know everything there is to know about all brands.
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Scottish Interfaith Group on Domestic Abuse
Souls of our Shoes Exhibition from Monday 6th May to Monday 27th May at St Mary’s Scottish Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AW. The shoes in this exhibition speak on behalf of abused individuals who suffer and some who die at the hands of their partner. Other comments come from those who journey with them. Their reflections represent a faith perspective. 'It is God’s intention for all human beings, male, female, child and adult, to enjoy safety, freedom, dignity and fullness of life. Abuse in the home is a violation of God’s wish for humanity as it can adversely affect an individual’s relationship with God and also creates substantial damage in the family, in the community and in society as a whole.' (From the Inter-Faith Statement) With timely help, many can escape from their abusive situation, rebuild their confidence and live in safety. This exhibition has been adapted from the ‘104 pairs of shoes’ initiated by the YWCA.
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Over 30 global brands have signed onto the Bangladesh Safety Accord. A huge thanks to everybody who has helped! The struggle is by no means over, but this is a major breakthrough that will bring real change. Shame on retailers like Walmart and Gap who refuse, but together with you we hope to change their ways still. Read the announcement.
 
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Stop Press! Primark, H&M and Zara, have signed on to  the Bangladesh Safety Accord. This will save lives. Thank you to all who have signed petitions, over 30 brands signed up but some have not. Find out more. Stop The Killing! Demand safety for Bangladeshi workers. Over 1200 people were killed in the Bangladesh Rana Plaze building collapse. On Wednesday 24th April thousands of workers went to work at one of their garment factories located above the Rana Plaza shopping centre in Savar, Dhaka. They had been told to return to work despite noticing large cracks appearing the building only the day before. Over 370 of these workers were killed and over a thousand injured when that same day the building came crashing down, trapping them under tons of rubble and machinery. Send an email NOW
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the world’s toughest place to be a mother – and Finland the best – according to Save the Children’s annual State of the World’s Mothers report. The Mother’s Index, contained within the report, looks at 176 countries around the world that are succeeding – and failing – in saving the lives of mothers and their new-born babies. It assesses mothers’ well-being using indicators of maternal health, under-five mortality, levels of women’s education, income, and political status. The Nordic countries sweep the top spots while, for the first time, countries in sub-Saharan Africa take up each of the bottom ten places in the annual index. A woman or girl in the DRC has a one in 30 chance of dying from maternal causes – including childbirth – but in Finland the risk is one in 12,200.   Read More...

The sad fact behind the building collapse in Bangladesh in whch hundreds died is that it isn't an isolated problem.  The story will leave the headlines at the end of this week but on Monday hundreds of thousands of workers will return to factories that are frankly further tragedies waiting to happen, and will keep producing clothes for high street brands.  (Anna McMullen, campaigner for Labour Behind the Label, on CNN)   Read More...

STOP PRESS PT Kizone workers paid by Adidas, A huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who helped win this momentous struggle.
In April 2011, 2,800 workers in Indonesia lost their jobs after their factory, PT Kizone, closed down. Since then these workers have been fighting to get the $3.4 million they are owed in severance pay. Since the closure many workers have been unable to find new work and struggle to stay in their homes and keep their children at school. An international campaign has called on brands producing at PT Kizone to pay severance. While Nike and Dallas Cowboys have paid $1.6million to the fund, adidas has refused to pay a penny, despite strong international campaigning. Join the Footlocker International Day of Action on 22nd April. Act Now!   Read More...

The number of people internally displaced by armed conflict, violence and human rights violations at the end of 2012 was 28.8 million, an increase of 2.4 million people on the previous year and the highest global figure ever reported by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Over 6.5 million people were newly displaced inside their home countries in 2012, almost twice as many as the year before. Because these people have not crossed a border, they are not refugees and do not benefit from international protection. ''Much of the spike in the number of internally displaced people worldwide was due to the 2.4 million people displaced by the crisis within Syria by the end of 2012,'' said Kate Halff, Director of IDMC.   Read More...

In November 2011 at least 112 workers died in a fire at Tazreen Fashions, a garment factory near Dhaka, Bangladesh. Many workers jumped to their deaths trying to escape from the nine story building. Others were simply burned alive. Factory windows were barred to prevent theft and there weren’t enough fire exits, making it impossible for workers to escape. Workers’ families have not only lost a loved one but have been left in even worse poverty. Many injured workers are unable to afford medical treatment. The Tazreen workers produced for labels including Edinburgh Woollen Mill, who have so far refused to engage with Labour Behind the Label or the Bangladesh trade unions to ensure the victims of the fire get the justice they deserve. Act Now! Sign the petition calling on Edinburgh Woollen Mill, and other buyers from the Tazreen Fashions factory, to pay full compensation to the victims and their families.
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Today on the International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Slavery, we honour those who suffered at the hands of the brutal slavery system and renew our commitment to stand up against modern slavery.   Read More...

According to a new report by 'Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice'. The Sri Lanka government continues to break its international treaty obligations and its own laws through its treatment of Tamil political prisoners. At Sri Lanka's Universal Periodic Review (which periodically examines the human rights performance of all 193 UN members), the panel noted that four pledges made by the government in 2008, in relation to prisoners, were 'incomplete'. Overall, the government rejected 100 of the 210 recommendations made to it. See also Mark Townsend and Hussein Kesvani guardian.co.uk,  23 March 2013
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The fulfilment of basic human needs, our environment, socio-economic development and poverty reduction are all heavily dependent on water. Good management of water is especially challenging due to some of its unique characteristics: it is unevenly distributed in time and space, the hydrological cycle is highly complex and perturbations have multiple effects. Rapid urbanization, pollution and climate change threaten the resource while demands for water are increasing in order to satisfy the needs of a growing world population, now at over seven billion people, for food production, energy, industrial and domestic uses. Water is a shared resource and its management needs to take into account a wide variety of conflicting interests. This provides opportunities for cooperation among users.

    

Ministers, the police and social workers have been accused of a "shocking" failure to prevent the spread of modern slavery in the UK, leading to sexual exploitation, forced labour and the domestic servitude of adults and children from across the world. Describing government ministers as "clueless" in their response to tackling human trafficking, both into and within the UK, the most exhaustive inquiry yet conducted into the phenomenon concludes that the approach to eradicating modern slavery is fundamentally wrong-headed. Instead of helping vulnerable victims who are trapped into forms of slavery after being trafficked from overseas, the legal system prosecutes many for immigration offences. Inquiry outlines 80 recommendations, including appointing an independent commissioner and new legislation to protect victims (The Observer, 09/03/13)   Read More...

Campaigners from War on Want have called for the British private security corporation G4S to be held to account for its involvement with Israel's unlawful detention of Palestinians. The call followed the death of a Palestinian prisoner, after his alleged torture in custody by Israel's internal security service Shin Bet.
(Ekklesia)   Read More...

A repressive cycle of widespread human rights violations by the armed forces pursuing former President Laurent Gbagbo's supporters is making reconciliation in Côte d'Ivoire ever more elusive. The national army, set up by President Alassane Ouattara in order to integrate forces loyal to the former President in the wake of the 2010 post-election violence which led to nearly 3,000 deaths, was supposed to ensure "the safety of person and property without distinction" and "be a powerful instrument for national cohesion".   But the truth behind this public gloss is that this new national army, along with an armed militia of traditional hunters - the Dozos - are carrying out extra-judicial executions, deliberate and arbitrary killings, politically motivated arrests and torture. They are acting with almost total impunity under the pretence of ensuring security and fighting against perpetrators of armed attacks. Reliefweb, 26/02/13
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That this House is saddened by Panorama's account of the legacy of the UK's sacrifices in Afghanistan that revealed the Afghan police as an ill-disciplined, drug addicted force practising endemic child abuse, corruption, kidnapping, murder and the looting of equipment paid for by British taxpayers; is distressed to hear of the absence of remorse following the murder of three boys killed when attempting to escape from police abuse; and recalls that 440 British soldiers died attempting to improve life in Afghanistan.   House of Commons: 26/02/2013   Read More...

That this House recognises that human trafficking represents a form of modern-day slavery and that many victims are held under conditions of enforced or bonded servitude whilst being exploited for their labour; urges the Government fully to implement the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Trafficking, including appointing an independent rapporteur or ombudsperson and to work closely with other EU member states to adopt an effective regime to combat this appalling practice......    Read More...

The number of women suspected of being trafficked to perform housework in embassies and private houses in Britain has increased amid warnings that vulnerable workers have been denied an escape route from domestic servitude by new immigration rules. The rise in domestic servitude comes amid a 25 per cent increase in the number of trafficking victims reported in 2012 to the national referral mechanism. The authorities say the increase to nearly 1,200 people could be attributable to both better detection of trafficking rings and an increase in the crime. (Paul Peachey, Indpendent, Sunday 03 February 2013)
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Have you been to the cinema lately? If so, there are a few syllables that won’t have escaped your attention. Lincoln and Django – two big budget films on slavery, from some of the biggest names in Hollywood. A great boost to public awareness, right?  Well, not exactly. With all this buzz about the past, it’s dangerously easy to forget that slavery is the stuff of present headlines as well as history books. A recent poll has found that 75% of the population do not consider human trafficking a ‘widespread problem’ at all. Meanwhile, the trial of a nine-man ring of suspected sex-traffickers from Oxford paints a bleaker picture.

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The use of torture has risen in Afghan police jails over the past year, and there are "credible reports" the country's intelligence service has created secret prisons and sometimes hides detainees from international observers, a damning UN survey has found. Just over half of prisoners held in connection with Afghanistan's long-running war endured torture or ill-treatment while in custody between October 2011 and October 2012, with 14 different methods recorded, including electric shocks, twisting of genitals, beatings with cables and rifle butts and suspension from the wrists or feet. Emma Graham-Harrison, guardian.co.uk, 20 January 2013
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Every year, more than a million men, women, and children in Uzbekistan are forced by their government to work in the state-run industry harvesting cotton. Activists who speak out are tortured and detained. Please sign the petition.   Read More...

President Barack Obama must revisit the promise he made in 2009 to close the Guantanamo detention facility, Amnesty International has said ahead of the 11th anniversary of the first detainee transfers to the US naval base in Cuba. The plea came just days before Mr Obama's re-inauguration as US president. This time, says the globally known human rights NGO, he must commit the USA to releasing the detainees or bringing them to fair trial. (Ekklesia)
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On the 24th November, at least 112 workers died in the fire at Tazreen Fashions, a garment factory near Dhaka, Bangladesh. Many of the workers jumped to their deaths trying to escape from the nine story building. Others, unable to escape the blaze, were burned alive. Tazreen produced for a host of well known brand names, including C&A, KIK, Walmart, Li & Fung, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Disney, Dickies, Sean Comb (ENYCE) and Kmart/Sears.   Read More...

Send a festive campaign christmas card to highstreet brands. They're making a list, they're checking it twice – yes, it still only has one main thing on it – a living wage. Workers in Cambodia need our support this Christmas, as many continue to suffer from overwork and malnutrition.  Labour Behind the Label are renewing their demands and sending a Christmas message to H&M, GAP and Zara to ask  them to commit to pay a living wage in Cambodia.
 

 

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Nigerian Christians are asking churches across the world to pray for their safety from deadly attacks this Christmas, amid renewed threats. The radical Islamist group Boko Haram has been carrying out a series of attacks on Christians from northern Nigeria. (Ekklesia)
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The Government of Iraq and UNICEF today launched the results of the most comprehensive survey on the situation of children and women in Iraq. It found that 32 per cent of children under 18 years of age are deprived of many basic services and rights. A key finding of the survey is that major disparities exist between Iraq's 16.6 million children under 18 years of age over their access to health care and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, protection, shelter and information services. (Reliefweb, 12/12/12)    Read More...

It is 30 years since the West backed one of the most brutal regimes in the world in Guatemala, in central America. The construction of the World Bank-supported Chixoy mega-dam led to 400 people being massacred. But the survivors still wait for compensation. ACT NOW: Tell the World Bank and IDB to pay reparations to Guatemalans   Read More...

However, there are No Human Rights for Those who are 'Stateless'
As the world marks international human rights day, millions of stateless persons continue to live in silence and exclusion, unable to participate in public life as equals, to freely organise and express themselves and to associate with others. The focus of this year's celebration - 'inclusion and the right to participate in public life' - is consequently particularly pertinent to the stateless among us. Under this theme, the provisions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which enshrine the freedom of assembly and association (Article 20), the right to take part in elections, in public life and decision-making (Article 21) and the freedom of expression and opinion (Article 19) are being celebrated, scrutinised and reflected upon worldwide. European Network on 'Statelessness   Read More...

Governments must prioritise the fight against corruption. Looking at the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012, it's clear that corruption is a major threat facing humanity. Corruption destroys lives and communities, and undermines countries and institutions. It generates popular anger that threatens to further destabilise societies and exacerbate violent conflicts. The Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While no country has a perfect score, two-thirds of countries score below 50, indicating a serious corruption problem.   Read More...

If you would like to send greeting cards to prisoners this Christmas, here are some options 
Action by Christians Against Torture: Email them for lists at: uk.acat@gmail.com Prisoners name and addresses do not appear on the website
Christian Solidarity Worldwide  A list of names and addresses of persecuted Christians to send greetings cards to is available here 
War Resisters International: Their database of prisoners for peace and conscientious objectors  is part of the Right to Refuse to Kill programme.   

The Clean Clothes Campaign, along with trade unions and labour rights organisations in Bangladesh and around the world is calling for immediate action from international brands following yesterday's fire in Dhaka Bangladesh, which cost the lives over one hundred garment workers. The killed and injured workers were producing garments for international clothing brands when their factory, Tazreen Fashions, went up in flames. According to their website Tazreen produced for a host of well known brand names including C&A, Carrefour, KIK and Walmart.    Read More...

EDM 731: International Migrants Day - Tuesday 18th December. hat this House acknowledges the contribution that migrants continue to make to this country in all spheres of life; notes that many migrants are vulnerable to exploitation and can face unacceptable levels of abuse; and joins in the celebration of United Nations' International Migrants Day on 18 December 2012 as an opportunity to raise awareness about the contribution and the rights of migrants in the UK.
Sponsors: Sharma, Virendra / Bottomley, Peter / Durkan, Mark / Russell, Bob   Read More...

A United Nations investigation into the human rights situation in southern Masisi in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has revealed that at least 264 civilians, including 83 children, were arbitrarily executed by armed groups in more than 75 attacks on villages between April and September this year. Reliefweb, 14/11/12   Read More...

Amnesty International USA will be urging second-term President Barack Obama to finally close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. On his second day in office in 2008, Obama ordered that Guantanamo should closed within one year. Today it remains open, with 166 detainees. Writing on the NGO's blog, Zeke Johnson says that human rights violations have become the "new normal" there, at Bagram in Afghanistan and elsewhere, including indefinite detention, unfair trials, unlawful killings with drones and impunity for torture. (Ekklesia)

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Call on Gap to protect Bangladeshi workers' lives. Since 2006 at least 500 Bangladeshi garment workers have died in factory fires while sewing clothing for giant fashion companies, like Gap and H&M. Future tragic deaths could be prevented if companies like Gap would follow the lead of brands like Tommy Hilfiger and the German retailer Tchibo by agreeing to a fire safety program that includes really independent inspections, mandatory repairs and renovations of safety hazards...  
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Established in 2010 Anti-Slavery Day provides a focal point for raising awareness about the many people in the UK and around the world who continue to be trapped in modern slavery, and to promote the need for many individuals and organisations across society to play a part in ending it. Slavery exists today despite the fact that it is banned in most of the countries where it is practised. Although this exploitation of millions of people, including children, is often not called slavery, the conditions are the same. People are sold like objects, forced to work for little or no pay and are at the mercy of their 'employers'.   Read More...

Violent forced evictions in China are on the rise as local authorities seek to offset huge debts by seizing and then selling off land in suspect deals with property developers, Amnesty International said as it urged government action. In a new 85-page report, Standing Their Ground, Amnesty International highlights how forced evictions - a longstanding cause of discontent within China - have increased significantly in the past two years in order to clear the way for developments.
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Please write to your MEPs and call for them to vote against a new pharmaceuticals agreement with Israel until there is tangible progress in Israel’s respect for human rights. MEPs will be deciding on the 23rd October about whether or not to vote to ACAA (Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products) protocol to the EU-Israel Association Agreement. If they vote for the protocol Israel's pharmaceutical market will be granted easier access to the EU. This would undermine EU policies against the occupation by signalling that EU-Israel relations can continue to be strengthened regardless of unlawful policies and practices.

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from London 2012 to Rio 2016
Thank you for supporting the Playfair 2012 campaign, in support of ending exploitation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Thousands of you have taken action over the last three years, and the London Games organisers have responded - even if they didn't do so as far or as soon as we wanted.
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What do you usually talk to taxi drivers about? The weather? Plans for the weekend? The football results?   “One day I got talking to my taxi driver, and after I mentioned human trafficking he revealed that he suspected one of his passengers might have been a trafficking victim. I went back to my community group and everyone agreed there was great potential to raise awareness with taxi drivers. We designed a sticker that drivers could put in their taxis with information about trafficking, and a helpline to call.”   Read More...

For decades, global fashion brands have made excuses to us about why they shouldn't pay a living wage. But its not a choice, its a pressing necessity. In Cambodia hundreds of female garment workers have been fainting en mass in factories which supply clothes to European retailers because they haven't had enough to eat, and are overworked. This is the shocking consequence of the fact that they are paid poverty wages. Clean Clothes Campaigners across Europe to demand H&M, Gap, Levi's and Zara pay sweatshop workers in Cambodia enough to lift them out of poverty.
Take action here watch the video here

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On the 4th of October, the trial begins in Turkey of 69 trade union leaders - all of them women, from the public sector union - on trumped-up charges of 'terrorism'.  The international trade union movement is demanding their release, and sending a delegation to observe the trial. 
Please email the Turkish government today.
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In the ongoing debate about the state of human rights across the world, one thing is very clear: without the existence of impartial and independent professions and in the absence of proper systems allowing business people to operate with integrity, no society can truly call itself free or open. In other words, the implementation of basic standards of democracy and human rights at a political level will never be enough.
Westminister Hall / 12 Sep 2012 : Column 75WH
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In Honduras, the population is protesting against the palm oil plantations encroaching on their land. Armed gangs are terrorising the people at the behest of corporations; dozens have been killed. The ecologically vital wetlands along the Caribbean coast and in the Aguán River valley are being drained for the palm oil monocultures. Take Action      Read More...

Pax Christi International and the World Council of Churches submitted a joint written intervention before the 21st session of the Human Rights Council taking place at the United Nations in Geneva from 10 – 28 September 2012. They are calling for an urgent resolution to the issues destabilising Jerusalem, and applauds the Human Rights Council’s attention for the numerous and disastrous violations of human rights in Jerusalem. Jerusalem has special status, given its pluralistic and religious importance   Read More...

The United Nations officially announced that after ratification of Domestic Workers Conventions by two countries - Uruguay and Philippines - the International Labour Organization's (ILO) 189 Domestic Work Convention will come into legal force. Working behind closed doors and invisible to society, lacking sufficient legal protections, domestic workers are among the most exploited and abused workers in the world. Many are in slavery. That's why the Convention is a great milestone.
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That this House celebrates the Day of the Girl on 11 October 2012 which was the result of extensive campaigning by Plan, the global children's charity committed to helping children from the world's poorest countries build a better future; recognises the link between girls' education and poverty; acknowledges that 70 per cent of those in poverty worldwide are female; notes that one in three girls around the world is denied an education as a result of poverty, conflict or discrimination; and supports Plan's Because I Am A Girl campaign which aims to help girls reach their full potential.

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An independent United Nations human rights expert strongly condemned the recent execution of 21 people within one day in Iraq, including three women, which was followed two days later by the reported execution of five more people. "I am appalled about the level of executions in Iraq. I deeply deplore the executions carried out this week, and am particularly alarmed about continuing reports of individuals who remain at risk of execution," said the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns. Refworld, 30/08/12   Read More...

The families of countless people all over the world who went missing in connection with armed conflict and other emergencies are enduring painful uncertainty as they remain without news of their loved ones.

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A message from the Playfair 2012 campaign
Thank you for taking the Playfair 2012 campaign action Light the flame for workers' human rights, in support of ending exploitation in the Olympic Games. Thousands of you have taken action, and the International Olympic Committee have certainly noticed everyone's concern. In fact there were so many that they quickly blocked all emails from the campaign. Our apologies if you're one of the people who has received a message from the IOC to say your email was rejected.   Read More...

Being an Inclusive Church... and not an exclusive club
This year the theme is Being an Inclusive Church. Many of us consider that our local churches as well as our national Church institutions are inclusive but when
we listen to those who feel on the outside we learn that we still have a long way to go, particularly those from different ethnic backgrounds.   Read More...

International Olympic Committee under pressure to act. The Olympics are here. Athletes are lining up. Olympic officials are merrily patting each other on the back. And yes, it's great.  But in the background the global machine that produces all the products that got us to this day needs a revolution, and fast. The months of sweatshop media reports and human rights exposes have built a damning case for action.* It is time for the International Olympic Committee to step up to the mark and acknowledge there is a problem to fix and that they need to act.
 

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The Playfair 2012 campaign has made some progress with influencing the London 2012 organisers to take action to protect the rights of workers in its global supply chains, and they are now working with Playfair Brazil to try to ensure that the organisers of the 2014 World Cup and Rio 2016 build on this progress.   Read More...

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has sent a short video message in support of Mandela Day in Scotland. 
"The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so to build a global movement for good". Archbishop Desmond Tutu    Read More...

FPG was restrained and attached to security staff at all times, 24/7, during nearly 9 days hospiatlisation. This included while showering and using the toilet, as well as during medical consultations and treatment and while asleep. There was nothing in FGP’s history to suggest he would abscond from custody. The high court judge found that Serco, the private company that runs Colnbrook and Dungavel, acted in violation of the detainee's right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.   Read More...

The United Nations, in collaboration with Stop The Traffick, has created an exciting and innovative project called GIFT box to help communities raise awareness of human trafficking during, and beyond, the 2012 Olympics. Using an enticing community sculpture, people will be able to encounter real life trafficking stories mostly across London and also at football venues nationwide by being invited to enter inside a box to find out more.    Read More...

Terri Judd, Indpendent, 27/06/12
The Foreign Office will be challenging the Israelis over their treatment of Palestinian children after a report by a delegation of senior British lawyers revealed unconscionable practices, such as hooding and the use of leg irons. In the first investigation of its kind, a team of nine senior legal figures examined how Palestinians as young as 12 were treated when arrested. Their shocking report 'Children in Military Custody' details claims that youngsters are dragged from their beds in the middle of the night, have their wrists bound behind their backs, and are blindfolded and made to kneel or lie face down in military vehicles.    Read More...

Shell has a murky history in Nigeria, where it has a practical monopoly on the country's oil. The multinational's environmental infractions in Nigeria are well documented, with spill after spill ruining ecosystems and people's lives. There have been over 2,000 oil spills in the Niger delta, many extremely serious. Clean up and compensation has been scanty, when it exists at all. In a US court case, the corporation is also accused of "aiding and abetting" gross human rights violations. The UK Government has decided to intervene in the case on Shell's behalf, based on a very narrow (but convenient) interpretation of international law.

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Mining giant Rio Tinto is the official Olympic supplier of the metal used to make the 2012 Olympic medals – yet it locked out 780 workers who are standing up against the company’s aggressive contracting-out demands at a highly profitable aluminum smelter in Alma, Quebec.
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Though the index will show that some countries have moved down the index, this does not mean that conditions have got better;  just that they have been replaced by countries with deteriorated conditions moving up the index. Top ten worst countries: Somalia, DR Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Haiti, Yemen, Iraq, Central African Republic   Read More...

EDM 95     DETENTION OF TORTURE SURVIVORS 
EDM 96     TRIDENT REPLACEMENT
EDM 117   HUMAN RIGHTS, DEVELOPMENT AND ARMS TRADE TREATY
  

The Olympic torch relay and the symbolism of the Olympic torch - respect, excellence and friendship - provide a fantastic opportunity for us to demand a Games that truly respects the human rights of all the workers who make it possible. Please stand in solidarity with exploited supply chain workers producing Olympic branded goods. You can email the International Olympic Committee and call on them to light the flame for workers’ human rights 
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Read the new report Fair Games? on the conditions of workers making goods for the Olympic games. Official Olympic clothing sold by Next is claimed to have been produced in sweatshop conditions in Sri Lanka. The allegation comes days after the high street chain unveiled the formal outfits that Team GB will wear at the opening ceremony. TAKE ACTION: Following the shocking findings of the report, you can contact brands producing kit for Olympic consumers, athletes and volunteers, to tell them to do more to protect workers' rights. Read more at the Independent on Sunday   

Hundreds of migrant workers continue to live in a climate of fear, poverty stricken, subjected to inhuman conditions and indebted to gangmasters, a report published today reveals. 'Experiences of Forced Labour in the UK Food Industry', a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and one of the largest studies into the plight of those in the industry from farm and factory workers through to those toiling in restaurants, found a catalogue of abusive practices.  Its researchers discovered workers were subjected to racist or sexist bullying and threats. Isolated, unable to speak English and unaware of their rights, many complained of feeling depressed and some were driven to self harm. Terri Judd, Independent, 15/05/12
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The Co-operative Group has become the first major European supermarket group to end trade with companies that export produce from illegal Israeli settlements.   Read More...

"Children in Northern Mali are no longer on the brink of disaster," says UNICEF Mali Deputy Representative Frederic Sizaret, "Now it is here." Citing recent reports, Sizaret adds: "Far too many are suffering from under nutrition, displacement,  many are out of school, and now there are credible reports of grave violations of child rights." According to UNICEF, more than 300,000 people from the north, half of them children, are now displaced elsewhere in Mali or in neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, the insecurity is hampering the delivery of aid to those who remain. Recent reports say women and girls are being kidnapped and children are being recruited into the armed groups. Landmines on the ground have already killed several children.  Reliefweb, 08/05/12    Read More...

Many of Brazil's Awá are still uncontacted, and they are running for their lives. A wave of illegal loggers, settlers and ranchers have invaded their lands, and time is running out. A major new campaign is being launched to save the Awá, and your help is needed. ‘One man has the power to stop the loggers: Brazil’s Minister of Justice. But it’s just not his priority. Let’s push it up his list.’ Please watch the new film, and take a few seconds to send a message to Brazil's Minister of Justice: he can send in the federal police to catch the loggers, and keep them out for good.   Read More...

The Fairtrade Foundation has expressed outrage and shock at the news that Israel has ordered nine Palestinian olive farmers of Deir Istiya, Salfit on the West Bank to uproot 1,400 olive trees in Wadi Qana area by 1 May 2012. For farmers in this district olives are the primary source of income. Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation said: ‘We are dismayed and appalled at this devastating news of what is a blatant act of aggression attacking people’s livelihoods. Sign the petition   Read More...

Eight indigenous people were brutally murdered by criminal loggers - simply because they were trying to protect their forest. A staggering 80 percent of the trees and their livelihood have been cleared by illegal loggers. However, so far police has failed to start investigations.
Please demand the protection of the Purépecha and their forest. (Rainforest Rescue)   Read More...

Suspected Islamic terrorists killed as many as 20 Christian worshippers in an attack on a makeshift church at a university in northern Nigeria. Several small bombs, believed to have been fashioned from fizzy drinks cans, were thrown into a lecture hall that was being used for a Sunday morning service in Kano, a city that has been repeatedly attacked by Muslim radicals. The explosions killed one person and injured many others. But as the crowd fled the lecture hall, gunmen waiting outside opened fire with automatic rifles. Within minutes, as many as 19 others were killed, and their bodies littered the campus grounds as the gunfire continued for up to half an hour more, witnesses said.  Telegraph 29/04/12
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EDM 2951: Greenwash Gold
EDM 2969: Ethical Trading Standards and the London 2012 Olympics
please ask your MP to sign both EDM's. find out who your MP is at http://www.writetothem.com/
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Men account for more than two-fifths (41%) of adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales helped by the Salvation Army, contrary to the public perception that the crime almost exclusively affects women. The finding comes in a survey by the charity, which provides specialist support for the adult victims of trafficking on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. The charity's survey found that 45% of those it supported had been forced into sexual exploitation, 43% were involved in labour exploitation and 8% were trafficked into domestic servitude. The Guardian 26 April 2012
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In the Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea sexual violence against young girls, and the shame and stigma that follows, is forcing many out of school and others into early marriage.  A recent study by Médecins Sans Frontières, one of the country's main providers of medical and psychological assistance to survivors of family and sexual violence, showed that from 2008 to 2011, a significant proportion of patients who received treatment as a result of violence were children, some under the age of five. Reliefweb, 06/04/12
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The Turkmen government's clampdown on freedom of expression and repression of civil society activism, torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, and the lack of an independent judiciary topped the committee's concerns. The committee also criticized the government's "refusal to grant entry visas to international human rights organisations," including no fewer than 10 UN rapporteurs, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and nongovernmental organizations. Human Rights Watch, 30/03/12

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The Afghan government should release the approximately 400 women and girls imprisoned for 'moral crimes', Human Rights Watch said in a new report. These 'crimes' usually involve flight from unlawful forced marriage or domestic violence. The fall of the Taliban  in 2001 promised a new era of women's rights. Significant improvements have occurred, yet the imprisonment of women and girls is just one sign of the difficult present and worrying future faced by Afghan women and girls. Human Rights Watch, March 28, 2012   Read More...

Possession of a nationality is essential for the protection of every child. As set out in article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This is important because while human rights are generally to be enjoyed by everyone, selected rights may be limited to nationals. For example, only 'citizens' have the unrestricted right to enter and reside in a country under international law. Stateless persons may therefore end up without any residence status or, worse, in prolonged detention. Statelessness also causes difficulties in a range of other areas, including travel, access to education and healthcare, and heightens the risk of trafficking. Statelessness may lead to displacement. Refworld   Read More...

Immigration procedures can favour administrative convenience over safeguarding individuals' rights to liberty and security. Periods in detention can be unlawful if release or removal is not imminent. The UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) has criticised Britain's use of fast track detention for asylum applicants for administrative convenience rather than last resort,
 and the lack of adequate safeguards to guarantee fairness of procedure and quality decision making.  The length of time in detention for those who have committed no crime risks breaching the right to liberty and security under Article 5.   Read More...

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe women have been heavily using social media to focus global attention on areas where inequalities prevail. International Women's Day (IWD) 2012 has been a big hit on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, among other networking sites. Each year the United Nations declares an overall International Women's Day theme. Their 2012 theme is "Empower Rural Women - End Hunger and Poverty". (Ekklesia)   Read More...

London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe has come under pressure over revelations that workers in Bangladesh producing clothes for Adidas, the official sportswear partner of the 2012 Games, are illegally paid less than the minimum wage. Claims have also emerged of illegal working hours as well as bullying and violence by factory managers. (Ekklesia)
See also Labour behind the Label   Read More...

Our duty to Sri Lanka, and human rights. It is not just Sri Lanka's people that the UN Human Rights Council must serve this week, but the cause of international law. This week the UN Human Rights Council has an opportunity and a duty to help Sri Lanka advance its own efforts
on accountability and reconciliation. Both are essential if a lasting peace is to be achieved. In doing so, the council will not only be serving Sri Lanka, but those worldwide who believe there are universal rights and international legal obligations we all share. Guardian, 26 February 2012   Read More...

In what are understood to be the Court of Appeal's first rulings on child trafficking for labour exploitation, Lord Judge said implementation of the convention should normally be achieved by "long-established prosecutorial discretion". He said this enabled the CPS, however strong the evidence might be, to decide that it would be inappropriate to proceed with the prosecution of a defendant unable to plead duress as a defence but who falls "within the protective ambit" of article 26. "This requires a judgment to be made by the CPS in the individual case in the light of all the available evidence," Lord Judge said.  Solicitors Journal, 21 February 2012
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Child Recruitment, Forced Marriage, and Attacks on Schools
Somalia's warring parties have all failed to protect Somali children from the fighting or serving in their forces, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Islamist insurgent group al-Shabaab has increasingly targeted children for recruitment, forced marriage, and rape, and attacked teachers and schools.  Human Rights Watch, 21/02/12   

That this House strongly condemns the Chinese security forces' unwarranted use of force  including opening fire on unarmed demonstrators to quash peaceful protests in Tibet; Primary sponsor: Fabian Hamilton, Jeremy Corbyn, date tabled: 08/02/2012   Read More...

The Report  documents human rights abuses worldwide including: mistreatment of migrants in Western Europe; violations of the laws of war in Libya and Afghanistan; the plight of political prisoners in Vietnam and Eritrea; the silencing of dissent in China and Cuba; internet crackdowns in Iran and Thailand; killings by security forces in India and Mexico; election-related problems in Russia and the DR Congo; neglectful maternal health policies in Haiti and South Africa; suppression of religious freedom in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia; torture in Pakistan and Uzbekistan; discrimination against people with disabilities in Nepal and Peru; detention without trial in Malaysia and by the United States.   Read More...

New EDM added 12 Jan 2102
EDM 2589: Christians In Nigeria

EDM 2472 Amendment of the Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court

EDM 2556: Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo

EDM 2558: Guantánamo Bay
  

The Catholic community in Glasgow has been served by several Nigerian priests in recent years. In his New Year message, Archbishop Mario Conti expressed his support and concern for Christians in Nigeria that suffered violent attacks over Christmas.   Read More...