Human Rights Watch / World Report 2010 / Events 2009
John O | 21.01.2010 08:11 | Migration | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
Taking Back the Initiative from the Human Rights Spoilers
The 20th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in 80 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2009 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question.
The 20th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in 80 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2009 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question.
Download the full report: Abusers Target Human Rights Messengers
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/wr2010.pdf
This message from Human Rights Watch
Every government is at times tempted to violate human rights. To encourage governments to resist that temptation, the human rights movement seeks to raise theprice of abuse-to shift the cost-benefit calculus behind a government's actions.
The human rights movement's ability to raise that price has grown substantially in recent years. Today, activists are capable of exposing abuses most anywhere in the world, shining an intense spotlight of shame on those responsible, rallying concerned governments and institutions to use their influence on behalf of victims, and in severe cases, persuading international prosecutors to bring abuser sto justice. These are effective tools, and they have retained their power even ascertain traditional allies wavered in their support for human rights. That effective-ness has spawned a reaction, and that reaction grew particularly intense in 2009.
Certain abusive governments, sometimes working together, sometimes pursuin g parallel tracks, are engaged in an intense round of attacks on human rights defenders, organizations, and institutions. The aim is to silence the messenger, to deflect the pressure, to lessen the cost of committing human rights violations.
These attacks might be seen as an unwitting tribute to the human rights movement. If governments were not feeling the heat, they would not bother trying to smother the source. But the cynicism of their motives does not mitigate the danger. Under various pretexts, these governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement.
The techniques vary from the subtle to the transparent, from the refined to the ruthless. In some cases, human rights activists-be they advocates, journalists,lawyers, petition-gatherers, or others who document and publicize abuses or defend victims-have been harassed, detained, and sometimes killed.Organizations have been shut down or crippled. The tools used range from the classic police raid to the more novel use of regulatory constraints.
Detailed reports:
In the Migration Trap: Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Europe
Europe and Central Asia
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, European Union, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Asia
Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
Americas
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, United States
Africa
Angola, Burundi, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Middle East and North Africa,
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco/Western Sahara, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen
End of Bulletin:
Source for this Message:
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/wr2010.pdf This message from Human Rights Watch
Every government is at times tempted to violate human rights. To encourage governments to resist that temptation, the human rights movement seeks to raise theprice of abuse-to shift the cost-benefit calculus behind a government's actions.
The human rights movement's ability to raise that price has grown substantially in recent years. Today, activists are capable of exposing abuses most anywhere in the world, shining an intense spotlight of shame on those responsible, rallying concerned governments and institutions to use their influence on behalf of victims, and in severe cases, persuading international prosecutors to bring abuser sto justice. These are effective tools, and they have retained their power even ascertain traditional allies wavered in their support for human rights. That effective-ness has spawned a reaction, and that reaction grew particularly intense in 2009.
Certain abusive governments, sometimes working together, sometimes pursuin g parallel tracks, are engaged in an intense round of attacks on human rights defenders, organizations, and institutions. The aim is to silence the messenger, to deflect the pressure, to lessen the cost of committing human rights violations.
These attacks might be seen as an unwitting tribute to the human rights movement. If governments were not feeling the heat, they would not bother trying to smother the source. But the cynicism of their motives does not mitigate the danger. Under various pretexts, these governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement.
The techniques vary from the subtle to the transparent, from the refined to the ruthless. In some cases, human rights activists-be they advocates, journalists,lawyers, petition-gatherers, or others who document and publicize abuses or defend victims-have been harassed, detained, and sometimes killed.Organizations have been shut down or crippled. The tools used range from the classic police raid to the more novel use of regulatory constraints.
Detailed reports:
In the Migration Trap: Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Europe
Europe and Central Asia
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, European Union, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Asia
Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
Americas
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, United States
Africa
Angola, Burundi, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Middle East and North Africa,
Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco/Western Sahara, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen
End of Bulletin:
Source for this Message:
Human Rights Watch
John O
e-mail:
JohnO@ncadc.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk