tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52102431746045615372024-03-14T03:34:36.733-04:00The Human Rights CornerA blog about human rights, democracy and the rule of lawUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-71324355009135254912010-06-30T07:27:00.001-04:002010-06-30T10:48:41.893-04:00Fighting Rape in the CongoThe Daily Beast currently has several features on rape in Congo. A blog post by Dana Goldstein checks in on a $17 million US government program.
The State Department has provided The Daily Beast with documents detailing how the $17 million to fight sexual violence have been allocated, mostly toward treatment programs for rape survivors. But human rights advocates hope for more. They Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-84517279740783216702010-06-15T22:58:00.000-04:002010-06-15T22:58:05.202-04:00State Department's Annual Trafficking in Persons Report ReleasedOn Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the 10th Annual Trafficking in Persons Report. For the first time, there was reporting on forced labor and prostitution in the United States.
In her remarks, Secretary Clinton said:
The United States takes its first-ever ranking not as a reprieve but as a responsibility to strengthen global efforts against modern slavery, including Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-75628189271917481232010-06-10T22:59:00.002-04:002010-06-15T23:08:02.673-04:00ICTY Convicts 2 of GenocideThe International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted 7 Bosnian Serbs Army officials of genocide for their role in the 1995 Srebenica massacre.
Two defendants, Vujadin Popović, the Chief of Security of the Drina Corps of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) and Ljubiša Beara, Chief of Security in the VRS Main staff were found guilty of genocide, extermination, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-31749699344217499782010-03-03T19:07:00.003-05:002010-03-03T19:10:12.424-05:00The POW who Broke INTO AuschwitzIn today's Times, there's a fascinating story about a British POW who traded places with a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz.Avey was a troublesome prisoner. In the summer of 1943 he was deported to Auschwitz, in Poland, and interned in a small PoW camp on the periphery of the IG Farben factory. The main Jewish camps were several miles to the west. “I’d lost my liberty, but none of my spirit,” he saysUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-6375042715605167612010-03-03T18:44:00.002-05:002010-03-03T18:52:26.679-05:00Asylum for HomeschoolersThe latest issue of Time magazine has a story about a German family that was granted asylum in the US because homeschooling is illegal in Germany. In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights decided that the German law prohibiting homeschooling was acceptable under the European Convention on Human Rights.So why did he seek asylum in the U.S. rather than relocate to nearby Austria or another Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-44594904094706271972010-02-13T09:42:00.001-05:002010-03-09T02:34:18.837-05:00Immigration Removal ReportEarlier this month, the American Bar Association endorsed a report titled “Reforming the Immigration System: Proposals to Promote Independence, Fairness, Efficiency, and Professionalism in the Adjudication of Removal Cases." It was prepared pro bono by the law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP. The ABA's press release is available here.The report included dozens of suggestions for changes, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-84592159460512123332009-12-10T16:25:00.001-05:002009-12-10T16:28:00.480-05:00International Human Rights Day...is today. It's the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-75504803810224122032009-12-03T04:25:00.002-05:002009-12-03T04:28:48.058-05:00The Holocaust and Modern Day GenocideForeign Policy has an article by Andrew Stroehlein about what the Holocaust can't teach us about modern-day genocide.I suspect too many people in the wider international community still onlyrecognize genocide in this one most specific sense. They are always looking forBirkenau -- expecting industrialized killing rather than seeing genocide the wayit unfolds today. They ignore the evidence that inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-63415161947571193152009-12-01T04:47:00.003-05:002009-12-01T04:55:39.158-05:00Gay and Lesbian Asylum SeekersNewsweek has an article on the anecdotal evidence that suggests that there has been an increase in sexual orientation-based asylum claims in the US."When sexual orientation became an option [as a basis for asylumclaims] in 1994, the Internet was in its infancy, and it was difficult forpeople to find out they could seek safe haven in the U.S.," says Rachel B.Tiven, executive director of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-62809013094976838342009-10-02T18:07:00.002-04:002009-10-02T18:10:35.888-04:00Angelina Jolie on Iraqi RefugeesThe actress, a UNHCR goodwill ambassador, met with Iraqi refugees in Syria."Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services," a UNHCR statement quoted Jolie as saying. "They will, therefore, be in need of continued support from the international Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-10250747710303188362009-10-02T07:00:00.002-04:002009-10-02T07:05:28.260-04:00International Criminal Court to Address Post-Election Violence in KenyaAfter Kenya missed the deadline to address last year's post-election violence, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has said the ICC will now prosecute those believed to be responsible.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-67166052957967391392009-09-03T08:42:00.001-04:002009-09-03T08:44:56.048-04:00"King of Gypsies" Praises MadonnaFlorin Cioaba, the self-styled "King of the Gypsies" praised Madonna for speaking out on behalf of Roma people during a concert, saying, "Madonna is the only international personality to have raised the problem of discrimination against the Roma in Europe."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-86398089143190924192009-08-27T17:29:00.002-04:002009-08-27T17:34:09.045-04:00Mali Women's Rights Bill HaltedMalian President Amadou Toumani Toure has decided not to sign the country's new family bill into law; instead he sent it back to the parliament for review. The law was protested by Muslim groups. Some of the provisions that have proved controversial give more rights to women. For example, under the new law women are no longer required to obey their husbands, instead husbands and wives owe each Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-31331514600461256322009-08-24T19:54:00.005-04:002009-08-26T22:07:10.325-04:00Memory in the Aftermath of an AtrocityIn Strength in What Remains, writer Tracy Kidder tells the true story of Deogratias Niyizonkiza, a 24-year-old man who survived the genocide in Burundi and Rwanda. Johann Hari reviews the book for Slate:Deogratias fled across a river already beginning to choke with Tutsi corpses into the forests. After days hiding out in the woods—to echoed screams—he realized he had to get out of Burundi. He Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-15472966658151462942009-08-23T00:13:00.005-04:002009-08-23T02:37:59.511-04:00The Right Way to HelpI finally went to one of the few museums in DC you have to pay to enter- the Newseum. It was a terrific experience and totally worth it! There is an interactive exhibit on ethics and one of the questions revolved around this famous Pulitzer Prize-winning photo:The photo, of a Sudanese toddler on her way to a food distribution center, was taken by South African freelance photographer Kevin CarterUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-70389671308314282302009-08-21T09:09:00.004-04:002009-08-21T09:53:42.292-04:00An International Tribunal to Try Guantánamo Detainees?Guénaël Mettraux, international criminal tribunal defense lawyer and author of “The Law of Command Responsibility” has a proposal in the New York Times:Trying these men stateside would necessarily require the compromise of long-cherished principles of American law. Yet continuing to hold them without the prospect of a fair trial or delivering them to undemocratic governments are alternatives not Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-48369247811703378112009-08-20T22:05:00.002-04:002009-08-20T22:20:40.147-04:00Fighting Poverty by Helping WomenNicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have written a great article for the New York Times Magazine on the importance of improving the lives of women and girls in the developing world. It's adapted from their book, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.”In the early 1990s, the United Nations and the World Bank began to proclaim the potential resource that women and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-90986177579518225222009-08-19T09:03:00.003-04:002009-08-20T15:22:29.138-04:00World Humanitarian Day...is today. The UN General Assembly created it to remember those who have lost their lives while providing humanitarian aid.UPDATE 8/20: On World Humanitarian Day, UNHCR announced the first phase of its plan to relocate some Somali refugees from the Dadaab camp in eastern Kenya to the Kakuma camp in northwest Kenya. The Dadaab camp house 3 times the residents it was intended to accommodate. The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-37330362909470449492009-08-18T11:21:00.003-04:002009-08-18T11:26:19.244-04:00Event in DC: Documentary Screening and Panel DiscussionI heard about this on the radio this morning: On Mon., August 24 at 7pm, Woolly Mammoth co-hosts a screening of the acclaimed documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell with a panel discussion to follow. Community Partner co-host organizations include the World Organization for Human Rights USA, InterAction, Peace X Peace, and the Washington, DC Film Society. At Landmark E Street Cinema (E StreetUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-4559088119984441732009-08-17T15:27:00.004-04:002009-08-17T16:02:24.107-04:00ICTYAgain, my apologies for the light posting, especially in the later part of the summer. Unfortunately, my dog had to be put down a few days after the bar exam... he was 16 years old and had cancer, but it was still very difficult.I am finally back on track and getting ready for what's next. In September, I will be starting an internship with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-68924373362739059372009-07-23T10:09:00.002-04:002009-07-23T10:15:29.885-04:00Post-Bar ReadingI caught part of a radio interview with Dr. Michael Stone, author of The Anatomy of Evil. He created a 22-level scale of evil, which he applies to murderers in the book. As an undergrad psychology major and soon-to-be lawyer, I thought it sounded fascinating! Dr. Stone also mentioned that he's planning on another book about evil during wartime.This is definitely on my post-bar exam reading Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-15219346471477548082009-07-20T16:07:00.004-04:002009-07-20T16:14:01.946-04:002 Bosnian Serbs Convicted of War CrimesTwo Bosnian Serb cousins were convicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). They were convicted for locking at least 192 Muslims in two houses and burning them alive in 1992.Yugoslav war crimes tribunal judge Patrick Robinson said burning at least 119 Muslims to death in the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad "exemplified the worst acts of inhumanity that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-50392174721348161472009-07-20T15:59:00.002-04:002009-07-20T16:02:10.736-04:00Event in DC: Spying on Democracy- Colombia's Intelligence ScandalFrom the Washington Office on Latin America: Spying on Democracy: Colombia's Intelligence Scandal Featuring: Rafael Barrios, José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers AssociationIván Cepeda Castro, National Movement for Victims of State CrimesConor Carrigan, Colombian Commission of JuristsHollman Morris, JournalistDanilo Rueda, Intereclesial Commission for Justice and Peace In May 2009, ColombianUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-13303162126922711192009-07-18T17:12:00.001-04:002009-07-18T17:15:10.188-04:00Human Rights Lawyer Detained In IranAccording to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr has been detained.Amnesty International said arrests in Iran of civil society activists like Shadi Sadr appear to be intensifying."This was an illegal, arbitrary and violent arrest in which no attempt was made by the authorities to show identification or provide any explanation for their action," saidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5210243174604561537.post-47290624611821913892009-07-16T18:06:00.003-04:002009-07-16T18:19:07.185-04:00Too LateThe New York Times has a thought-provoking op-ed by a Cambodian-American on the United Nations trial of a Khmer Rouge commander. Now I read about the United Nations trial of Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, the Khmer Rouge commander of the Tuol Sleng prison. I read the testimony of victims and witnesses, like me, of torture and murder.And I find myself asking, what sort of justice is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0