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Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Rights (10) Gender@ (404) new

Refugees and Displaced Persons@ (118) new Women's Issues@ (71)

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The Netherlands: Discrimination in the Name of Integration  new

n the past years, the authorities in the Netherlands have introduced a series of measures with the stated aim of better integrating its migrant population. One of these measures is the integration test administered to would-be family migrants from some countries before they can join spouses or family members in the Netherlands. This report documents how the overseas integration test is discriminatory...

http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/2008/netherlands0508/

(Added: Fri May 16 2008   Hits: 2)

Assyrians Face Escalating Abuses in "New Iraq"

The Assyrian Christian population of Iraq, historically traceable to the Mesopotamian cradle of civilisation, has increasingly become the target of both ethnic and religious attacks since the U.S.-led invasion and the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003. This article reports on patrons and human rights defenders, who say that if the world doesn't wake up to the plight of this people, they will soon be shoved through the door of extinction. (Lisa Söderlindh, IPS News, 3 May 2006)

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33109

(Added: Fri May 05 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 240)

"They Do Not Own This Place": Government Discrimination Against "Non-Indigenes" in Nigeria (pdf)

This 64-page report documents the harmful impact of discriminatory policies against those citizens defined as "non-indigenes" in Nigeria. These policies have a harmful impact on the human rights of many Nigerians and are in violation of the Nigerian constitution and international human rights law. The report also shows how these policies of discrimination exacerbate interethnic and interreligious tension in ways that have sparked violence in many different parts of the country. (Human Rights Watch, 25 April 2006)

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/nigeria0406/nigeria0406web.pdf

(Added: Fri May 05 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 189)

Americans on Hold: Profiling, Citizenship, and the "War on Terror"

The U.S. government is illegally delaying the naturalization applications of thousands of immigrants by profiling individuals it perceives to be Muslim and subjecting them to indefinite security checks, charged the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) in a new report. The 63-page report documents the impact of expanded security checks on the lives of those experiencing citizenship delays, often for years on end. The report analyzes these delays and their impact within an international human rights framework, and offers specific policy recommendations to help end discrimination in access to citizenship and other human rights violations. (CHRGJ at NYU Law, 2007).

http://www.chrgj.org/docs/AOH/AmericansonHoldReport.pdf

(Added: Wed Aug 08 2007   Hits: 141)

Chronic Indifference: HIV/AIDS Services for Immigrants Detained by the United States

This report documents the experiences of HIV-positive detainees in immigration custody whose HIV treatment was denied, delayed, or interrupted, resulting in serious risk and often damage to their health.

http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us1207/

(Added: Thu Dec 13 2007   Hits: 50)

HIV-related Stigma, Discrimination and Human Rights Violations: Case Studies of Successful Programmes [PDF]

Stigma and discrimination have fuelled the transmission of HIV and increased the negative impact of the epidemic. How can HIV-related discrimination be addressed in order to achieve public health goals and overcome the epidemic? UNAIDS examines this question, drawing on a range of case studies from all over the world. Stigma, discrimination and human rights violations are intimately linked, reinforcing and legitimising each other. Multi-faceted action, sustained over time, is needed to prevent stigma, challenge discrimination and promote and protect HIV-related human rights. UNAIDS (2005).

http://data.unaids.org/UNA-docs/JC999-HRViolations_en.pdf

(Added: Wed Mar 01 2006   Modified: Mon Mar 20 2006   Hits: 297)

Howard's New Tampa - Aboriginal Children Overboard

Howard's new Tampa children overboard are our Aboriginal children. The Little Children are Sacred report does not advocate physically and psychologically invasive examinations of Aboriginal children, which could only be carried out anally and vaginally. It does not recommend scrapping the permit system to enter Aboriginal lands, nor does it recommend taking over Aboriginal 'towns' by enforced leases. These latter two points in the Howard scheme hide the true reason for the Federal Government's use of the latest report for blatant political opportunism. It has been an openly stated agenda that Howard wants to move Aboriginal people off their lands, and has made recent attempts to buy off Aboriginal people by offering them millions for agreeing to lease their lands to the Federal Government, e.g. Tiwi Islands and Tangentyere in Alice Springs. There was also the statement by the Federal Government that it could not continue (?!) to provide essential services to remote communities, which raised an uproar of responses in the press. The focus on the sexual abuse of children is guaranteed to evoke the most emotive responses, and therefore command attention, just like the manipulation of the Tampa situation. But while the attention of the media and the public is being emotionally coerced, what is being sneaked in under the covers? (Jennifer Martiniello, Project Safecom.Inc, 25 June 2007).

http://www.safecom.org.au/howards-new-tampa.htm

(Added: Fri Jul 06 2007   Hits: 167)

International Dalit Solidarity Network

This is the site of the International Dalit Solidarity Network, working globally against discrimination by work and descent. Originally formed in March 2000 to provide support and assistance for the Dalits of India (the former "untouchables"), we have been working since against any form of caste discrimination across the world. Members of the network coordinate their efforts to promote Dalit human rights and those of other caste affected communities, working at the global, regional, national and local level. We are currently looking to create a global coalition of those affected by caste, from Japan and South Asia to Sub Saharan Africa. Let us cast out caste!

http://www.dalitfreedom.org

(Added: Fri Sep 06 2002   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 293)

It's time for empowerment

Madeleine Albright, former US secretary of state, argues that not just aid but ideas-in particular the idea of legal rights-will be crucial for reducing poverty. (Civicus, July 2007).

http://www.undp.org/legalempowerment/pdf/ALBRIGHT.pdf

(Added: Thu Jul 05 2007   Hits: 102)

Microsoft in human rights row

Technology sold by Microsoft to the Chinese government has been used by Beijing to censor the internet, and resulted in the jailing of its political opponents. An Amnesty International report has cited Microsoft among a clutch of leading computer firms heavily criticised for helping to fuel 'a dramatic rise in the number of people detained or sentenced for internet-related offences' (The Observer, February 1, 2004).

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1136045,00.html

(Added: Mon Feb 02 2004   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 319)

Minorities Under Siege: Pygmies today in Africa

This 36-page report looks at the status of pygmies in the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It examines treatment of indigenous peoples globally, and the issues confronting pygmies in particular: discrimination, land rights, human rights, political representation - and survival. It includes interviews with individuals relevant to the pygmy cause, and links and references. (IRIN, April 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/pygmy/Pygmies-today-in-Africa-IRIN-In-Depth.pdf

(Added: Tue May 16 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 184)

Neither Just Nor Effective: Indefinite Detention Without Trial in the UK (PDF)

Under Part 4 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, June 24, 2004. The U.K. government is detaining foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely, a serious violation of its international human rights obligations. Rather than crafting counterterrorism measures that comply with domestic and international human rights law, the government instead declared a state of emergency and officially suspended ... key human rights protections. Part 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) allows for the indefinite detention of foreign nationals designated as terror suspects. Those currently detained without charge under it have no expectation of release. Their detention amounts to internment with no end in sight. Some of those detained under the act have been held since December 2001 in maximum security facilities, with an adverse impact on their physical and their mental health ... In seeking a solution to indefinite detention, the U.K. government is considering deporting the suspects to third countries, including to countries where the suspects face a risk of torture or ill-treatment. International human rights law forbids governments from sending people to places where they face a risk of torture.

http://hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/uk/anti-terrorism.pdf

(Added: Fri Dec 17 2004   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 279)

New Internationalist: The Judeophobia issue

Published in response to a rise in anti-semitism, this issue of New Internationalist looks at: the meaning and history of "Judeophobia"; Jewish stereotypes and bigotry; popular anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and their seductions; Arab antisemitism and Israel's use of antisemitism as moral cover for its policies; Judeophobia and its impacts on one peace activist's life and work; Jew hatred in art, music and writing; the scapegoating of Jews by various leaders; Holocaust denial. The magazine also has links to anti-racist resources and ways in which to take action. (New Internationalist, August 2004)

http://www.newint.org/issue372/contents.htm

(Added: Mon May 01 2006   Hits: 175)

Old Hates Fueled By Fear

This article comments on the new alignments being corporate-dictated globalization and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The so called "antiglobalization," movement is all about self-determination: the right of people everywhere to decide how best to organize their societies and economies, whether that means introducing land reform in Brazil, or producing generic AIDS drugs in India, or, indeed, resisting an occupying force in Palestine. However, it is important that the movement be wary of being misused as a tool for promoting anti-Semitism. It is possible to criticize Israel while also forcefully condemning the rise of anti-Semitism. And it is equally possible to be pro-Palestinian independence without adopting a simplistic "pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel" dichotomy. Klein argues that while nothing is going to erase anti-Semitism, Jews outside and inside Israel might be a little safer if there was a campaign to distinguish between diverse Jewish positions and the actions of the Israeli state, which uses anti-Semitism as a political weapon. This is where an international movement can play a crucial role. (Naomi Klein, No Logo, 24 April 2002, Toronto Globe & Mail)

http://www.zmag.org/content/Activism/klein_oldhates.cfm

(Added: Mon May 01 2006   Hits: 197)

Project on a mechanism to address laws that discriminate against women [pdf]

The aim of the project was to examine the advisability of creating a new mechanism to address laws that discriminate against women. This report considers the existing UN frameworks and the extent to which they address discriminatory laws as well as national data on laws that discriminate against women (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 6 March 2008)

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/laws_that_discriminate_against_women.pdf

(Added: Thu Mar 20 2008   Modified: Fri Apr 04 2008   Hits: 43)

Refugees Have Rights

Amnesty International. Human beings have human rights, whatever label they are given and wherever they are Every day people make decisions to leave their homes, communities and countries. Some leave because they are afraid. They are afraid for their lives, and for the lives of their children and loved ones. Others leave because their social or economic situation has compelled them to do so. One of the most important rights common to all refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is the right to non-discrimination. This right is at the core of all human rights. This website contains information about refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and the internally displaced.

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/refugees-index-eng

(Added: Wed Dec 15 2004   Modified: Thu Jan 25 2007   Hits: 301)

Say 'Yes' to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Over five hundred million people, nearly 10 percent of the world's population, have a disability. The United Nations (UN) is currently negotiating a treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to ensure that human rights standards are extended to people with disabilities. In order to help promote the adoption of the Convention, which is being considered by member states for the next seven months, the Centre for International Rehabilitation (CIR) has launched the ConventionYES! Website. The website has a petition to sign and other ways to take action on the rights of people with disabilities.

http://www.conventionyes.org/

(Added: Wed Apr 05 2006   Modified: Tue Jun 20 2006   Hits: 302)

Sexuality a human right for HIV positive women

Many campaigns have preached abstinence from sex as the best way to prevent the disease, inviting criticism from those who question the efficacy of the strategy. In the case of women with HIV, would abstinence be a desirable alternative? Most women interviewed by PlusNews said abstinence was a personal option, but none of them seemed to embrace it. (IRIN, 9 July 2007).

http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=73133

(Added: Fri Jul 13 2007   Hits: 191)

SOUTH AFRICA: Attacks on Somalis expose xenophobia

A wave of violent attacks against Somali-run businesses around Cape Town is exposing tensions between poor South Africans and the millions of refugees who have flocked to the country in the hope of a better life. (IRIN, 31 August 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55361

(Added: Mon Sep 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 163)

Stocktaking on efforts to combat racism on the Internet

Studies show that there is a 25% annual increase in websites promoting racial hatred and violence, which indicates that the problem of racism and xenophobia is growing over the Internet. These disturbing developments have informed the global fight against racism, and provide a backdrop for this paper. A significant number of international instruments acknowledge and attempt to address the problem without limitating the freedom of expression. (Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, for the UN Commission on Human Rights)

http://www.cyber-rights.org/reports/ya_un_paper_int_06.pdf

(Added: Tue May 23 2006   Hits: 188)

The intersection of caste and women's rights in India

An article from AWID on caste and gender discrimination in India (Rochelle Jones, AWID, 26 October 2007)

http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/AWID%20Friday%20File.doc

(Added: Wed Nov 07 2007   Hits: 109)

The Refugee Action Committee

The Refugee Action Committee is a network of concerned citizens around Australia seeking the fair and humane treatment of refugees in Australia. They work to raise public awareness of the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers by the Australian government and to mobilise public protest. The Refugee Action Committee is composed of individuals from a broad range of backgrounds and is not associated with any political party.

http://www.refugeeaction.org/

(Added: Thu Jan 12 2006   Hits: 219)

The Tsunami exacerbates Dalit women's sufferings from caste discrimination

Dalits are the lowest caste people in India , the so-called untouchables. Most Dalit villages in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, from Tiruvallur to Nagapattinam, have been affected by the tsunami. Families who lost their houses are not eligible for housing assistance as for generations they lived on their land without land titles. Over a million Dalit survivors of the tsunami have been living as refugees in 'warehouse' type temporary shelters set up near graveyards or garbage dumps without sanitation and/or electricity. The relief supplies are handed to men who spend the money on alcohol leading to increased domestic violence. Even the tsunami failed to wash away caste discrimination in the Indian society. (Fatima Burnad, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development)

http://www.apwld.org/tsunami_dalitwomen.htm

(Added: Thu Jun 08 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 191)

Unprotected Migrants: Zimbabweans in South Africa's Limpopo Province

This 54-page report, documents how state officials arrest, detain and deport undocumented foreign migrants in ways that flout South Africa's immigration law. It also documents how commercial farmers ignore basic employment law protections even when they employ documented foreign migrants. (Human Rights Watch, August 2006)

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/southafrica0806/index.htm

(Added: Tue Aug 08 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 166)