Human Rights Action Update, June 25-July 1

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/ You can also find embassies at https://embassy-finder.com/

 

CHARITY CORNER 

In the wake of the closing of the Titan and Pollyanna blogs, we are continuing the charity corner here. This week, we are referring you to  Orbis International. This is a nonprofit that works to prevent blindness in Third World countries. It has a high transparency and efficiency rating with Charity Navigator with 93.5% of its budget going to program work. The mission statement:
ORBIS is a global development organization whose mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness in developing countries. We do this by strengthening the capacity of our local eye health partners to prevent and treat avoidable blindness. Through capacity building, our partners gain self-sufficiency in providing quality eye care, and residents enjoy quality treatment that is affordable, accessible and sustainable. As part of ORBIS's broad-based capacity building program, our organization works with carefully selected local partners on projects typically lasting at least three years. ORBIS has approximately 100 active partners. These include hospitals, health centers, universities and training centers, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), eye banks and government health departments. We call upon you to donate.

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.

Members of the Paraguayan Ayoreo-Totobiegosode group on the day they were contacted for the first time, in 2004.

© GAT 2004

This week we call your attention to the illegal land grab by a Spanish construction giant Grupo San Jose. Grupo San José’s subsidiary Carlos Casado SA, a South American agricultural firm, was caught illegally bulldozing and constructing roads and reservoirs on the ancestral land of uncontacted Ayoreo Indians in the Chaco forest in Paraguay. The company has also allegedly attempted to forge Ayoreo signatures for the construction of an access road through the tribe’s territory. Please give a hand to the struggle of these most vulnerable people. Ways to help are given in detail at the end of the page.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY  

We have added a new section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. We refer you to the site of Walk Free 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.   Look for this logo:
 
This week we call your attention to the brutal exploitation and abuse of Filipino and Filipina workers in Kuwait. Please click on the petition to the government of the Philippines to stop the actions of worker recruitment agencies that are luring Filipinos into modern slavery in Kuwait.

Please note that Amnesty have changed their UA format to make it even easier to respond.

ERITREA 

Aster Fissehatsion has been held incommunicado without charge or trial since September 2001 after being arrested in Eritrea together with 10 other political dissidents. For close to 14 years, her family has not seen or heard from her.

Aster Fissehatsion was arrested together with 10 other members of a group of political dissidents known as the Group of 15 (or G-15), including her former husband, former vice-president and foreign minister of Eritrea, Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo. Please raise your voice and call for the release of these prisoners of conscience.

IRELAND 

A rape victim cannot obtain a legal abortion in Ireland. She is not a criminal. She has a human right to an abortion. Please call upon the Irish government to change its abortion laws.

BELARUS 

Two years ago police dragged Ihar Tsikhanyuk from his hospital bed and beat him in custody. Why?
 
He’s gay and proud. In Belarus that can be dangerous.  Please demand justice for him.

Human Rights Action Update June 17-24

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/ You can also find embassies at https://embassy-finder.com/

 

CHARITY CORNER 

In the wake of the closing of the Titan and Pollyanna blogs, we are continuing the charity corner here.  This week, we are referring you to Unitaf, the social initiative of the Yehuda Tribitch Fund for Social Involvement, which operates a network of day care and after-school centers for the children of migrant workers and asylum seekers in Tel Aviv. 
 
The initiative has a high transparency rating from Israel Gives.
Please donate to this worthy organization.

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 expulsion of indigenous people from their ancestral homes in order to create parks. Survival contends that parks need people. The lives of tribal people across India are being destroyed in the name of tiger conservation. This is illegal under national and international law. And it will not save the tiger. Please act as requested in the site. Tourists will damage the tigers more than the local people.

Tourists watching a tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park.

© Brian Gratwic

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY

We are adding a new section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. We refer you to the site of Walk Free 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.  Just look for this logo:
This week we deal with palm oil and we focus on the Pepsico Corporation. We say:PepsiCo: Commit to Slavery-Free, Responsible Palm Oil! Pepsico uses much palm oil and has not make efforts in the past to ask how the cheap palm oil that it needs is produced. The campaign is ongoing. Campaign Update: We recently received PepsiCo’s new palm oil procurement policies. We commend PepsiCo for making a public commitment against forced labour in its supply chain but are calling on the company to: commit to 100% independent traceability of all palm oil, and effective, immediate enforcement, monitoring and independent verification at all levels of their palm oil supply chain to ensure that this commitment is implemented. Please join the campaign using the clickable form.

Please note that Amnesty have changed their UA format to make it even easier to respond.

NIGERIA 

7,000 have died at the Nigerian military’s hands. Demand justice.
Since 2011 the Nigerian military has arrested at least 20,000 people in north-east Nigeria on suspicion of being Boko Haram members. More than 7,000 suspects died in military detention from torture, starvation, disease or were simply shot.

CZECH REPUBLIC 

End the ethnic discrimination of Romani children in schools. Romani children in the Czech Republic are not getting the education that is their right. Please act.

SOUTH KOREA 

Persuade the South Korean authorities to stop the imprisonment of conscientious objectors. There are 10.000 of them in prison. Please plead on their behalf.

THE HOLY SEE 

Pope Francis is coming to Washington, D.C. to canonize Junipero Serra as a Saint. It is imperative he be enlightened to understand that Father Serra was responsible for the deception, exploitation, oppression, enslavement and genocide of thousands of Indigenous Californians, ultimately resulting in the largest ethnic cleansing in North America. Please join the call to stop the canonization of this evil man.

Human Rights Action Update June 10-17

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/ You can also find embassies at https://embassy-finder.com/

CHARITY CORNER 

In the wake of the closing of the Titan and Pollyanna blogs, we are continuing the charity corner here.  This week, we are referring you to the Global Fund for Women. This is a nonprofit that provides grants to organizations around the world which function in the interest of women and girls. They have a high rating from Charity Watch. The mission and vision statement: Our Mission

We advance the rights of women and girls worldwide by increasing the resources for and investing in women-led organizations and women’s collective leadership for change.
Our Vision

After the earthquake: Women are rebuilding Nepal

We envision a just, equitable and sustainable world in which women and girls have resources, voice, choice and opportunities to realize their human rights. Please donate to this worthy organization.

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 take you to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia. Survival has reports of a massacre to Hamar tribespeople and great tensions between the people and the military units in the area. The Hamar, like the other tribes of the Lower Omo Valley, are victims of the government’s policy of “villagization.”

Hamar family outside their home in Ethiopia's Lower Omo Valley

© Magda Rakita/Survival

They are being evicted to roadside villages without their consent, and their ancestral grazing lands are being sold off to investors for commercial plantations. These land grabs have already led to starvation in some parts of the Lower Omo Valley. A major dam project by the government would inflict harm on the people who would be driven off their land. Please act as requested in the site.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY  

We are adding a new section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. We refer you to the site of Walk Free 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 stay close to home and call for the government of Israel to take steps to put an end to domestic slavery of foreign  workers in Israel. For the first time ever, there’s a global standard to protect domestic workers. It’s called Convention 189.1 17 key countries have already signed on and momentum is growing for an international surge of support. If Israel ratifies now it will be crucial to ensure other countries in the region feel compelled to take action.

Call on the Government of Israel to ratify Convention 189 immediately and help end domestic slavery.

CHINA 

Prominent activist Wu Gan (also known as ‘Butcher’) has been criminally detained in China on suspicion of ‘picking quarrels and provoking troubles’ and defamation. This follows his demonstration outside a courthouse in support of a group of lawyers’ demand to examine court documents from an alleged case of miscarriage of justice. Please act on his behalf.

Wu Gan

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 

Elena Milashina, a Russian journalist covering Chechnya at the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, received death threats passed through an article on the Chechen government’s online news agency Grozny-Inform. Please act.

Human Rights Action Update June 4-10

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/ You can also find embassies at https://embassy-finder.com/

CHARITY CORNER 

In the wake of the closing of the Titan and Pollyanna blogs, we are continuing the charity corner here.  This week, we are referring you to the Center for Reproductive Rights. This is a nonprofit that works with courts and legislators to enhance the spectrum of choice for women. Their mission statement: The Center for Reproductive Rights uses the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill. Their operations budget is 79% of the total with 14% spent on fundraising and 7% on administration, which is quite respectable. Please donate.

Immigrant women in the US are especially targeted

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 share with you a report from a Survival International field worker. She reports on improvements for some members of the Awa tribe, but deterioration for others and calls for donations to help.

Dying of tuberculosis brought by outsiders

We focus this week on the uncontacted native peoples of Brazil and ask you to help. The recent editorial in Science magazine calling for enforced contact with tribes is indeed pernicious and wrong.

Anthropologists have been attacked for endorsing contact with highly vulnerable uncontacted tribes, which they deem 'not viable in the long term.'

© G. Miranda/FUNAI/Survival

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY  

We are adding a new section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. We refer you to the site of Walk Free 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.  Look for this logo:

This week we call you attention to slavery in in the run-up to the 2012 World Cup of football (soccer to the colonials). Call on FIFA to tackle modern slavery fueling the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Migrant workers in Qatar are living, working and dying in modern slavery to bring the world the 2022 World Cup. FIFA must use its influence over Qatar to improve the working conditions for these workers. Please go to the site and take action.

RUSSIA/CHECHNYA

The office of Joint Mobile Group, a human rights group working in Chechnya, was attacked by a group of masked men in the Chechen capital, Grozny, on 3 June. Two JMG members had to evacuate the office through a window to escape a violent mob.  Please join the protest.

UZBEKISTAN

Uzbekistani human rights defender Elena Urlaeva was detained by police officers on 31 May and subjected to torture, sexual violence and humiliation to force her to surrender her camera’s memory card. The memory card contained photographic evidence of human rights violations documented by Elena Urlaeva. Please act on her behalf.

Human Rights Action Update May 28-June 3

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/ You can also find embassies at https://embassy-finder.com/

NEBRASKA USA:MORE GOOD NEWS 

The state legislature has overridden the governor's veto and the law to abolish the death penalty in the state is now the law of the land.  Cheers to the lawmakers of Nebraska.

VERMONT ENDS PHILOSOPHICAL EXEMPTION FROM VACCINATION 

Just a year after Vermont became the first state to require labels for products made with genetically modified organisms, Governor Peter Shumlin on Thursday signed an equally controversial but very different kind of legislation: the state has now become the first to remove philosophical exemptions from its vaccination law. Cheers to the legislature and governor of Vermont!!

CHARITY CORNER 

In the wake of the closing of the Titan and Pollyanna blogs, we are continuing the charity corner here.  This week, we are referring you to NALA. The NALA Foundation, a company for public benefit, is the executive arm of CEMTA, the Center for Emerging Tropical Diseases and AIDS at the Ben-Gurion University.  It was established by Prof. Zvi Bentwich and Dr Leslie Lobel. Their involvement over the past several decades in both clinical infectious disease work and biomedical research, has led them to conclude that there is a significant connection between Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The Foundation was found worthy of a grand grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We quote the mission statement:

•     Fighting Infectious Diseases and Overcoming Poverty, focusing mainly in Africa.

•     NALA is committed to the values of TIKUN OLAM - "repairing the world", caring for the poor and the underprivileged, taking responsibility for global citizens 

Free of the Bilharzia parasite

Please donate.

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 turn our attention to the Ayoreo tribe of Paraguay. Satellite images have caught a Brazilian cattle ranching firm, Yaguarete Porá S.A., illegally clearing land inhabited by uncontacted natives in Paraguay.  This is a question not only of stealing land but also a lethal danger to the uncontacted tribespeople who can be wiped out by diseases for which they have no immune system protection. Please write a letter to Yaguarete boss, Marcelo Bastos Ferraz, asking that he immediately suspend all work on the Ayoreo’s ancestral land, and return his property to its rightful owners. A template text is available on the site.

THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY  

We are adding a new section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. We refer you to the site of Walk Free 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. Look for this logo.
 
This week we call you attention to slavery in Mauritania. According to the recently-published 2014 Global Slavery Index, there are over 155,000 people trapped in modern slavery in the country, accounting for over 4 percent of the entire population. This makes Mauritania the country with the highest prevalence of slavery in the world. Despite outlawing slavery three times and making it a criminal offence in 2007, the Mauritanian Government has failed to genuinely tackle the problem. Anti-slavery activists Biram Dah Abeid, Brahim Bilal, Djiby Sow have been sentenced to two years in prison. Please join the call for their release. For more details on the struggle against slavery go here.

Biram Dah Abeid

UKRAINE

Hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists are at risk of being denied their right to peaceful assembly and at risk of violence during the Pride march planned in Kyiv on 6 June as the police fail to show full commitment to protect the march. Please call for security for the marchers.

ANGOLA 

Human rights lawyer,  Arão Bula Tempo, was conditionally released on 13 May. However, human rights activist, José Marcos Mavungo, remains in detention at Cabinda civil prison (Cadeia Civil de Comarca de Cabinda) as authorities continue to conduct investigations into his case. They have both been charged separately with crimes against the security of the state and risk jail sentences of between 10 – 15 years. Please call for a stop to these prosecutions and the release of José Marcos Mavungo. Multilingual reports are available at the link.

USA NORTH CAROLINA 

Workers in the tobacco fields of North Carolina work in appalling conditions. Tobacco farm workers in North Carolina whose employer, the North Carolina Growers Association, has signed an agreement with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) for representation work in better conditions than their unorganized peers, and have access to a grievance mechanism when problems arise.

ACT NOW to call on Reynolds American to sign the same agreement with FLOC, and encourage their suppliers to give the workers who grow the tobacco in Reynolds’ cigarettes the voice they deserve! Whatever we may think of the use of tobacco products, the growers have no right to abuse their workers. Please take a moment to send off your message of protest:

LABOR UNIONS IN CHINA 

The Chinese government has long repressed any non-government labor organization efforts. The sole independent union is in Hongkong. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, the only independent trade union in the country, has launched a major global campaign to demand that the Chinese government respect workers' rights and end police violence.
 
 It just needs a click and send, so please join the protest.