“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Today marks the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This year, Human Rights Day is devoted to non discrimination and the right to equality; it is celebrated around the world with the motto “Embrace Diversity, End Discrimination”.

The following message is from Navi Pillay the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The concept of non-discrimination lies at the heart of human rights.

For this reason, it has been designated the official theme of this Human Rights Day, which occurs every year on the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And for this and many other reasons it should be an unofficial theme every day, every year, for everyone.

Twenty-six of the Universal Declaration’s 30 Articles begin with the words “Everyone…” or “No one…” Everyone should enjoy all human rights. No one should be excluded. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Non-discrimination must prevail.

Today, we have a whole range of rights-based international treaties imbued throughout with the concept of non-discrimination. These include, for example, Conventions on the rights of the child, rights of people with disabilities, rights of refugees and of migrant workers; Conventions dedicated to the elimination of racial discrimination and discrimination against women; as well as treaties dealing with labour, health and religion. These legally binding standards are complemented by important UN declarations detailing minority rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

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A newly released report, Cruel Britannia contains detailed accounts from victims and their families of 5 UK citizens of Pakistani origin who were tortured by Pakistani security agencies in Pakistan. The report, published by Human Rights Watch, found no evidence of UK officials being directly involved in the torture, however they did find evidence of complicity.

Whilst the UK government has issued general denials of complicity in torture, the specific allegations made by HRW and others have not been addressed.

The government has also failed to respond adequately to the findings and recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) and the Foreign Affairs Committee. The JCHR has called for an independent judicial inquiry in its report ‘Allegations of UK Complicity in Torture‘, published in July 2009

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A 29 year old woman was stoned to death on the 17th November after being convicted of adultery by an Islamic court in the Al-Shabab controlled village of El-Bon 45km west of Wajid district in Bakool region.
The village judge Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Abdurrahman verified that the woman pledged that she was guilty of committing adultery.
“This lady who admitted she is guilty of going into illegal sex with a certain boy and after we have viewed seriously followed the case we came to realize that the lady was previously married and separated with her husband, while the boy has never married, so hence according to the Islamic religious law if a person who has legally married go for adultery or fornication he or she is supposed to be stoned to death and in this case Halima has become liable while the boy has received 100 whips” said Sheikh Ibrahim.

Al-Shabab control large areas of southern Somalia where they have imposed their strict interpretation of Sharia Law

Earlier this month in the port of Marka in the lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia a 33 year old man was put to death by stoning after he has was found guilty of forcefully raping a woman.

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Last week Aminatou Haidar, the 42-year old Sahrawi human rights campaigner, was arrested and expelled by Morocco. She visited the US last month to receive the Civil Courage Award from the Train Foundation and was also awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. On her return to El Ayoun airport in Western Sahara she was arrested after refusing to declare her nationality as Moroccan on an airport customs clearance form, then had her passport confiscated and was subsequently deported to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.  Aminatou Haidar is the chairwoman of the Collectif des Défenseurs Sahraouis des Droits de l´Homme – CODESA (Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders).

Amnesty International have described seven other Sahrawis being held in detention by Morocco after visiting the Sahrawi camps at Tindouf, Algeria run by the Polisaio Front in October as prisoners of conscience.
The seven, Ahmed Alansari, Brahim Dahane, Yahdih Ettarouzi, Saleh Labihi, Dakja Lashgar, Rachid Sghir and Ali Salem Tamek  belong to a number of human rights organizations and other civil society groups including Western Saharan branches of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (Association Marocaine des Droits Humains, AMDH), theSahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (Association sahraouie des victimes des graves violations des droits de l’homme commises par l’état du Maroc, ASVDH) and the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (Collectif des défenseurs sahraouis des droits de l’homme, CODESA). Some of the seven have long association with monitoring and reporting on human rights violations in Western Sahara.

Human Rights Watch have condemned the Moroccan government for blocking ‘unauthorised’ visits by foreigners to the homes of Sahrawi campaigners in Western Sahara. HRW document five cases where Spanish journalists and human rights lawyers were told by local police that their visits require prior clearance from the authorities.

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Tags: Morocco, Western Sahara

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Claims that British military personnel committed sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.
Lawyers acting for former Iraqi detainees are calling for a full public inquiry into 33 abuse claims made during British military involvement in Iraq, among the allegations is that two soldiers raped a 16-year-old boy in 2003.

The Public Interest Lawyers Report, “British Forces in Iraq: The Emerging Picture of Human Rights Violations and the Role of Judicial Review“, summarised the allegations as at 30 June 2009.

Since British forces left Iraq in the summer there have been a surge in allegations of abuse and torture.

Tags: Iraq, Torture, UK

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A report published today on International Tolerance Day by OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concludes that hate crimes continue to be a serious problem in many OSCE participating States.

The report finds there were numerous instances of intimidation, threats, vandalism, assault, arson and murder during 2008 however the lack of reliable data masks the true extent of hate crimes. Some countries don’t collect any statistics on hate crimes while others collect but don’t make hate crime data publically available.

“Hate crimes have become a frequent occurrence in many participating States. But, unfortunately, the scarcity of data on these crimes makes it difficult to assess the true scope and nature of the problem and to devise effective policies to combat hate crimes,” said Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, ODIHR’s Director.

Link to OSCE Report

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Amnesty International, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch have called on the US to end arbitrary detention in Afghanistan and to fully align US detention practices with international law.

The organizations noted that the US has made some recent changes in its detention policy in Afghanistan. These include providing detainees with “notice of the basis of their internment” and the right to call witnesses and question government witnesses.

“It’s common knowledge that Afghans perceive US detention operations as secretive and lacking in due process,” said Sahr Muhammed Ally, Senior Associate at Human Rights First.  “The US must remedy this problem and take the critical step of bringing its detention practices into an appropriate legal framework that is consistent with international and Afghan law, and allows and provides detainees with a sufficient way to challenge their detention. Such reforms are a necessary precondition to establishing long-term stability in Afghanistan through the rule of law.”

The three human rights organizations urged the US and Afghan governments to take further steps immediately. In particular,  the US and Afghanistan to enter into a public agreement that spells out grounds and procedures for US detentions that are consistent with international and Afghan law.

A US domestic law, the Authorization for Use of Military Force, is currently being used as the basis for the detentions on Afghan soil.

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Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, described the sentencing on the 11th November 2009 of two Azerbaijani bloggers to prison terms on charges of alleged hooliganism and infliction of light bodily injuries as political.

“These new imprisonments cement Azerbaijan’s image as the pre-eminent jailer of journalists in the OSCE region. Five journalists are currently in prison, several of them on clearly trumped-up charges following organized provocations and unfair trials,” Haraszti wrote in a letter to Elmar Mammadyarov, the country’s Foreign Minister.

A court sentenced Emin Milli, an ANTV Online TV blogger and Co-ordinator in the youth organization Alumni Network, to two and a half years in prison, while video blogger Adnan Hajizade was sentenced to two years in prison.

“The severity of the sentences for these young bloggers and other journalists who have criticized the authorities, including the President and the Interior Minister, is self-revealingly political,” Haraszti said.

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Tags: Azerbaijan, OSCE

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Fleeing countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar, refugees are risking their lives on a new smugglers route through Asia in search of a better life.

Tags: Australia, Burma, Malaysia, Myanmar, Refugees, Sri Lanka, UNHCR

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Since 2003, large numbers of Chinese citizens have been held incommunicado for days or months in secret, unlawful detention facilities known as “black jails” by state agents who violate detainees’ rights with impunity.

The Human Rights Watch report, “An Alleyway in Hell,” documents how government officials, security forces, and their agents routinely abduct people off the streets of Beijing and other Chinese cities, strip them of their possessions, and imprison them. These black jails are often located in state-owned hotels, nursing homes, and psychiatric hospitals.

“The existence of black jails in the heart of Beijing makes a mockery of the Chinese government’s rhetoric on improving human rights and respecting the rule of law,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should move swiftly to close these facilities, investigate those running them, and provide assistance to those abused in them.”

Link to HRW

Tags: China

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