Human Rights Action update January 27-February 3

Miriam,  human rights defender, 1947-2012

HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Erasmus (1466-1536)

Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to "The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam".

 

EMBASSY FINDER 

Survival International provides a useful tool for locating the embassy of any country in your country.
http://embassy.goabroad.com/ You can also find embassies at https://embassy-finder.com/

EUROPE OUTRAGE 

There are over 10,000 migrant children missing in Europe and it is feared that many of them have been trafficked into slavery or the sex industry according to Europol reports. 

Children pose as they wait with other migrants and refugees in line for a security check after crossing the Macedonian border into Serbia, near the village of Miratovac, on January 26, 2016. AFP Photo

 If you would like to get involved with helping to find them, go to the site of Missing Children Europe.  You can also join Malala and Muzoon in pleading for the children of Syria. In just a few days, Malala and Muzoon will stand in front of world leaders at a global conference in London and demand a better future for millions of Syrians. They will raise their voices for the 3.5 million Syrian children who some fear have become a "lost generation" because their education has been put on hold, or even worse, has not even started yet.

Nearly half of Syrian children displaced in neighboring countries are not in school, a new report says

They will say they believe the children of Syria are #notlost , not yet, not if we act right now.

Will you stand with Malala and Muzoon, adding your voice to ensure world leaders hear us loud and clear? The hashtag is #notlost.

CHARITY CORNER 

In the wake of the closing of the Titan and Pollyanna blogs, we are continuing the charity corner here. This week we call your attention to the issue of malaria.

Why malaria?

Malaria kills more than one million people every year, yet nobody need die. Half a billion people fall ill. We recommend the AntiMalaria Foundation which  provides funding for long-lasting insecticide-treated net distributions (for protection against malaria) in developing countries.

    

It has a high evaluation from the monitor GiveWell.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. This week we call your attention to the worldwide campaign for land rights of indigenous peoples everywhere. This is a Global Call to Action aiming to engage and mobilize communities, organizations, governments, and individuals worldwide in promoting and securing Indigenous Peoples and local communities' land rights. Please sign up and tweet your support at #LandRightsNow 

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY  

We have added a new section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the site of the CNN Freedom Project  where you can find a large number of campaigns against manifestations of slavery in different countries. The number of people living in slavery is of the order of 35 million, which indicates the extent of the problem. We suggest that you look up the Fair Trade movement in your country and make an effort to avoid buying slave-produced products.   

 

This week we  call upon you to join the fashion campaign, to clean up the supply chain of clothing.

Why fashion?  

Because we don't know if the clothes we wear have been made by someone who has been trafficked.

It is a little known fact that among India's garment workers there are over 200,000 young women and girls who have been trafficked to work in the cotton industry in the Tamil Nadu region of India.

 
Human Trafficking and Fashion

The clothes that we buy and wear arrive on shop shelves after a long journey that starts at the source, cotton being a main contributor. Cotton is grown and harvested in faraway fields, then spun, dyed and woven into fabric in factories, to be sold to consumer markets all over the world.Choose your action. The most important thing you can do is to flood your social media with information about the clothing and fashion market.

You might start with Gap. We're asking GAP to help end human trafficking in their supply chain by committing to the Make Fashion Traffik Free Protocol.

Why GAP?
Gap are one of the largest international buyers of cotton and garments from the Tamil Nadu region in India where we know thousands of young women and girls are trafficked to work in hard and exploitative conditions in cotton mills.

CHINA 

Four labor activists in China have been formally arrested on charges believed to be solely as a result of their legitimate activities defending workers’ rights in Guangdong province, south-east China. Two labor activists detained with them have since been released. Please call for their immediate release.

He Xiaobo

 

 TIMOR-LESTE 

Two members of Timor-Leste’s security forces visited the office of the human rights NGO Yayasan HAK on 26 January and the police has been harassing its Executive Director by telephone for organizing and participating in a peaceful demonstration. Please join the protest.

ANGOLA 

The ongoing trial of 15 youth activists arrested after attending a meeting in Luanda in June 2015 to discuss politics and governance concerns is in breach of international fair trial standards. Two female activists are also part of the trial. Please act and call upon the government of Angola to stop harassment of activists.

DJIBOUTI 

Omar Ali Ewado, Deputy General Secretary of the Education International-affiliated teachers' union SEP (Syndicat des Enseignants du Premier Degré) and President of the Human Rights League of Djibouti (Ligue djiboutienne des droits humains - LDDH) has been arrested and sentenced to 3 months in prison for publishing a list of victims following the massacre of civilians perpetrated by the security forces on 21 December 2015 in the neighborhood of Balbala in Djibouti. This is totally unacceptable. Please join the protest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAMBODIA 

Eleven members of the IUF-affiliated Cambodian Food and Service Workers' Federation (CFSWF) employed by transnational brewery giant Carlsberg's joint venture local brewer Cambrew have been dismissed in retaliation for taking strike action on January 16. Workers are fighting the company's attempt to impose short-term employment contracts and late working hours. Please click to join the protest and to demand respect for workers' rights.