Human Rights Action Update Feb. 18-25

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

GOOD NEWS  

We were about to ask you to petition for clemency for Rodney Reed who was scheduled to be executed for a murder that he may not have committed. Now we are told that a stay of execution has been granted for the presentation of new evidence. Also, A Dominican man arbitrarily deported to Haiti on 19 February was able to return to his hometown in the Dominican Republic, Thanks to all who wrote in these cases.
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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 usually 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 focus on the aboriginal people of Australia.  Their fate since the English invasion in the 18th century has been terrible and although the government and judiciary have helped them in recent decades, their situation remains difficult. Please read the article and write to your local Australian ambassador. There is no pre-written letter so be creative on your own. In particular, we suggest that the legal hurdles preventing the implementation of the land rights legislation be mitigated so that the Aboriginal people may recover their stolen land.

An Aboriginal child is being painted for a dance festival in Northern Queensland, Australia.

© John Miles/Survival

TURKEY 

Legal amendments pending before Turkey’s Parliament, dubbed the “domestic security package” threaten human rights, including the prospect of increased arbitrary detention, excessive use of firearms by police and politically motivated criminal investigations if passed into law. Please add your voice to the protest.

COLOMBIA 

Four Indigenous men have been killed and several enforced disappearances and death threats have been reported in northern Cauca Department, south - western Colombia. Please act in this matter.

CHINA

The husband and brother of detained women’s rights activist Su Changlan have themselves been criminally detained in China . They were held after submitting an application for permission to visit her on 12 February, during which her brother held a sign declaring her innocence.  Please join the call for their immediate and unconditional release.

OIL REFINERY STRIKE IN US 

The number of striking oil refinery workers has reached 5,000. United Steelworkers (USW) members at BP refineries in Whiting, Ind., and Toledo, Ohio, joined the union’s unfair labor practice strike Sunday against the oil industry. The strike began Feb. 1, after the companies failed to address serious concerns regarding the health and safety of workers and their communities, according to the USW.


The 1,100 BP workers join some 3,800 USW members on strike at nine refineries operated by Shell, Marathon, Tesoro and LyondellBasell in California, Kentucky, Texas and Washington. Please sign the petition for workplace safety in the oil refining industry.
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Human Rights Action Update Feb. 12-18

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

EMBASSY FINDER 

Survival International provides a useful tool for locating the embassy of any country in your country.
http://embassy.goabroad.com/

GOOD NEWS

USA

The governor of the State of Pennsylvania in the United States has declared a moratorium on all execution.  Governor Tom Wolf, who took office on 20 January 2015, has declared that he will grant a reprieve in each case in which an execution is scheduled until any recommendations of the forthcoming report of the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment has been “satisfactorily addressed”. We praise Governor Wolf and hope that the next step will be abolition.

MEXICO

You may recall the case of Claudia Medina who was tortured and sexually abused by the marines who forced her to confess to a number of trumped up charges. A judge has just dropped the last remaining charge against her, arguing that the sole piece of evidence – a report filed by the marines – is a lie.

The judge confirmed that after her arrest Claudia was tortured and sexually assaulted by marines in order to force her to incriminate herself and others in drug-related crimes. The offenses took place on 7 August 2012 at a Navy barracks in Veracruz state, Eastern Mexico.

Claudia Medina was tortured and sexually assaulted by marines in Mexico ©Amnesty International.

Claudia Medina's struggle is not over. Her torture complaint is not being pursued by the Federal Attorney General and impunity reigns supreme. Please take the actions requested at the end of the report and let the Federal government of  Mexico know that the eyes of human rights activists are upon them.

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.

Young Mursi shepherds looking after livestock, Ethiopia.

© Ingetje Tadros/ingetjetadros.com

This week we focus on the tribes of Ethiopia, in particular, the Omo Valley tribes. A massive hydroelectric dam and associated land grabs for plantations threaten the tribes of the Lower Omo River The tribes have lived in this area for centuries and have developed techniques to survive in a challenging environment. They have not been consulted about the dam or the plantations and stand to lose their livelihoods based on the river’s natural flood cycle. Please read about the tribes and take the steps proposed at the end of the article.

CHINA 

At least 27 people remain behind bars in China after showing support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Nine people have not been given access to their lawyers, the whereabouts of four are unknown, and at least two have reported being tortured in detention. All of them continue to be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Please act on their behalf.

BRAZIL

Twelve people were shot dead and four others injured by military police officers during an operation in the neighborhood of Cabula in Salvador, north-east Brazil. Residents report feeling threatened and afraid as the military police have maintained their presence in the neighborhood ever since. Please call for an investigation and protection for the people of Cabula.

GREECE/GERMANY 

Prominent leaders of the trade union movement in Germany have issued a call for a new policy towards Greece and other struggling EU countries. They point out that the bailouts so far have benefited banks, but have done nothing for the structural problems and needs of the people, You are invited to join their call.

 

Human Rights Action Update Feb. 5-11

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

EMBASSY FINDER 

Survival International provides a useful tool for locating the embassy of any country in your country.
http://embassy.goabroad.com/

MEXICO

Key eyewitnesses into the killings of two human rights defenders have been harassed in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. This is an apparent attempt to stop them from giving testimony in court. Their lives could be at risk. Please act.

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 focus on the the Ogiek of Kenya. They  are hunter-gatherers – some in the deep forest live purely by hunting and gathering, while the majority grow vegetables and keep livestock also. They have traditionally hunted such animals as antelope and wild pigs, which is now generally illegal. Now they are in danger of eviction from their forest home. Please join the protest to the Kenyan government.

Ogiek ritual masks

PERU  

Intimidation by the police--Máxima Acuña and her family, subsistence farmers in northern Peru, have reported further acts of intimidation and harassment by the police. They are in an ongoing legal dispute against a mining company over the ownership of a plot of land where the family lives. They believe this harassment and intimidation by the police is an attempt to drive them away. Please protest for them.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  

Four journalists have been harassed and received death threats in the Dominican Republic as the result of their advocacy for the respect of the rights of Dominicans of Haitian descent.  
On 2 February, four Dominican journalists, Juan Bolívar Díaz, Huchi Lora, Amelia Deschamps and Roberto Cavada, known for taking a strong stand against discrimination towards Dominicans of Haitian descent, reported a number of threats and acts of harassment they have suffered as a result of their work. Please protest to the Domincan authorities on their behalf. 

ETHIOPIA AND MALDIVES 

Worker abuse by Sheraton Hotel chain. 

Recently, workers at Sheraton hotels in Ethiopia and Maldives sought to exercise a basic human right: negotiate through their unions their employment terms and conditions. They got Sheraton management's full service abuse treatment - brutal mass dismissals and intimidation. Please click to register your protest to Starwood, the owners of Sheraton.

Human Rights Action Update Jan.28-Feb. 4

Miriam, human rights defender, 1947-2012

 EMBASSY FINDER 

Survival International provides a useful tool for locating the embassy of any country in your country.

GOOD NEWS 

Last week we asked for your support for the workers of International Flavours and Fragrances (IFF) factory in Dandenong, Australia. The occupation of the factory has ended with a strong union agreement. The workers wish to thank the more than 6,000 supporters who quickly responded to the IUF call for messages to the company. Cheers!

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 focus on the Masaai of Kenya and Tanzania. They are a nomadic people of whom you are invited to read at this site. They are under stress because of pressures to settle
and land grabs by government and corporations.  The most immediate threat to the Maasai is against those from Loliondo, an area in northern Tanzania. Here, Maasai villages have been burnt to the ground, and thousands have been evicted, allegedly to provide a safari hunting company, Otterlo Business Corporation Ltd (OBC), with easier access to hunting land. Survival International asks you to raise the issue of the Masaai with your local Kenyan embassy. You may use the tool linked above to find it. This time there is no letter template, so use your own creativity or our letter as an example.

A Maasai woman in Southern Kenya. © Adrian Arbib/Survival

SIERRA LEONE 

Eight people have been arbitrarily detained by a Presidential order under the State of Emergency powers in Sierra Leone for over three months following an alleged riot concerning a suspected Ebola patient in October 2014. Please write to call for their immediate release.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 

Thousands of individuals of foreign descent remain stateless in the Dominican Republic in spite of a law facilitating restoration of the Dominican nationality for some, and providing access to a naturalization scheme for others. Please appeal on their behalf.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 

Elena Klimova, a journalist from the Urals city of Nizhniy Taghil and founder of the online project Children 404 aimed at supporting LGBTI teenagers, was found guilty of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” and ordered to pay a fine. Children 404 risks being shut down. Please appeal to the Russian authorities on her behalf.

CHINA 

Chinese activist and prisoner of conscience Chen Xi has been suffering from a number of serious health problems and has not received the treatment he needs in prison. His health has deteriorated severely and there are serious concerns for his well-being.  Chen Xi was detained in November 2011 after he announced his intention to run for the Guiyang City People’s Congress Election as an independent candidate. On 26 December 2011, the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court convicted him of “inciting subversion of state power” for posting articles on a foreign website. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Please call for his release and medical care.