Whenever I open my *mail.human-rights* folder, I get depressed.
Why am I forcing myself to read through at least part of it from day to day? If I just ignore it, I’ll become part of the silent majority. Does the silent majority approve or disapprove? Nobody knows. But it sure doesn’t change a but. It reminds me of what I heard about Nazi-Germany after the war: Nobody knew a think. If only they knew! Same thing today: Who is claiming that they don’t know a thing? In this day and age, people are *actively looking away*, because the information is there for the taking. Looking away is the first step towards the dark side.
Here’s from the *Human Rights Watch Weekly Digest*. I could quote selected paragraphs for pages. I’m not sure you’d read it. I’m not even sure you’re going to read through the list.
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Bush Policies Led to Abuse in Iraq
The torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was the predictable result of the Bush administration’s decision to circumvent international law, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/iraq8785.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/iraq8785.htm
June 9, 2004
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The Road to Abu Ghraib
This 38-page report examines how the Bush administration adopted a deliberate policy of permitting illegal interrogation techniques – and then spent two years covering up or ignoring reports of torture and other abuse by U.S. troops. The torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was the predictable result of the Bush administration’s decision to circumvent international law. The Bush administration has denied having a policy to torture or abuse detainees. Human Rights Watch calls on President Bush to provide evidence for those denials by publicly releasing all relevant government documents. Human Rights Watch also urges the administration to detail the steps being taken to ensure that these abusive practices do not continue, and to prosecute vigorously all those responsible for ordering or condoning this abuse.
Report: http://hrw.org/reports/2004/usa0604/
http://hrw.org/reports/2004/usa0604/
June 9, 2004
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Malaysia: Detention Center Visits Will Not End Abuse
The Malaysian government’s unprecedented opening of its detention facilities to select observers is a welcome gesture, but it will not end abuses under Malaysia’s security law, Human Rights Watch said today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/malays8787.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/malays8787.htm
June 9, 2004
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Preventing Torture and other Ill-Treatment In U.S. Military and Intelligence Detention Facilities
The ever-widening reports of torture and other ill-treatment at U.S. military and intelligence detention centers abroad highlights the need for a fundamental reevaluation by the United States of its treatment of persons in custody. This document sets out seven general proposals followed by numerous specific recommendations.
Special Focus: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/usint8788.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/usint8788.htm
June 9, 2004
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Afghanistan: G-8 Should Help Ensure Security
In the face of worsening security, Afghanistan urgently needs support from the United States and the other G-8 countries to protect the integrity of the nationwide elections scheduled for September, Human Rights Watch said today as Afghan President Hamid Karzai begins a visit to the G-8 summit and the White House.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/08/afghan8779.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/08/afghan8779.htm
June 8, 2004
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Britain: Reject Immunity for U.S. Troops U.S. Seeks U.N. Resolution to Exclude Its Troops from War Crimes Prosecutions
Britain should not rally behind U.S. demands for the renewal of a U.N. Security Council resolution that grants U.S. troops serving in U.N. forces immunity from international war crimes prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today. The United States recently demanded a vote to renew contentious Security Council Resolution 1487, although the resolution does not require renewal until July.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/08/uk8780.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/08/uk8780.htm
June 8, 2004
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U.N. Security Council Must Give Guidance and Clarity to Iraqi Interim Government Letter to Members of Security Council on Resolution Regarding Iraq
Human Rights Watch offers its comments on the pending U.N. Security Council resolution regarding the establishment of a new Interim Government for Iraq and the rights and responsibilities of this new government and the multinational force in Iraq.
Letter: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/08/iraq8781.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/08/iraq8781.htm
June 8, 2004
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“Like the Dead in Their Coffins” Torture, Detention, and the Crushing of Dissent in Iran
This 73-page report provides the first comprehensive account of the treatment of political detainees in Tehran’s Evin Prison and in secret prisons around the capital since the government launched its current crackdown in 2000. Human Rights Watch has documented systematic abuses against political detainees, including arbitrary arrest, detention without trial, torture to extract confessions, prolonged solitary confinement, and physical and psychological abuse. Human Rights Watch calls on the Iranian government to release all political prisoners and effectively prohibit torture immediately.
Report: http://hrw.org/reports/2004/iran0604/
http://hrw.org/reports/2004/iran0604/
June 7, 2004
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Iran: Torture Used to Suppress Dissent
The Iranian government has intensified its campaign of torture, arbitrary arrests, and detentions against political critics, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Iran’s outgoing reformist parliament in May passed legislation to prohibit torture, but without effective implementation, the law remains an empty gesture.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/07/iran8774.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/07/iran8774.htm
June 7, 2004
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Bush Administration Lawyers Greenlight Torture Memo Suggests Intent to Commit War Crimes
The Bush administration should immediately explain who reviewed and approved a high-level classified Pentagon memorandum that sought to justify the use of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. As reported by the Wall Street Journal on June 7, the lengthy memorandum argued that the U.S. President could order the torture of detainees with legal impunity. Human Rights Watch said the administration should make the full text of the memorandum public and disclose any actions taken in response to it, including whether President George W. Bush or Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in fact ultimately authorized the use of torture.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/07/usdom8778.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/07/usdom8778.htm
June 7, 2004
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Afghanistan: Aid Workers Under Fire
Attacks on humanitarian aid workers throughout Afghanistan are endangering the delivery of assistance to those most in need, Human Rights Watch said today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/04/afghan8731.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/04/afghan8731.htm
June 4, 2004
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Burma: Demobilize Child Soldiers U.N. Committee Finds Burma in Violation of International Law
The Burmese government should take immediate steps to demobilize child soldiers from its national army, Human Rights Watch said today. Earlier today, a U.N. committee found that Burma is violating international law by recruiting and using children as soldiers.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/04/burma8734.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/04/burma8734.htm
June 4, 2004
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Lay Down the Law to the Killers of Khartoum
By Kenneth Roth, published in The International Herald Tribune, June 3, 2004. When foreign ministers from major countries meet in Geneva on Thursday, June 3, to address the horror in Darfur, they must demand in no uncertain language that Sudan’s government stop the ethnic cleansing there.
Commentary: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/04/sudan8744.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/04/sudan8744.htm
June 4, 2004
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China: Stifling the Memory of Tiananmen
Fifteen years after the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Chinese authorities are harassing activists to discourage them from publicly discussing the events of June 4, 1989, Human Rights Watch said today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/china8732.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/china8732.htm
June 3, 2004
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US: Lead the World in Rights for People with Disabilities Letter to House Majority Leader Tom Delay
We write you regarding America’s commitment to people with disabilities. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the United States has been a world leader in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. Now, as countries around the world work to draft a convention to protect the rights of those with disabilities, we urge you to support and call for a vote on House Concurrent Resolution 169.
Letter: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/usint8730.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/usint8730.htm
June 3, 2004
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Sudan: Darfur Needs Action on Human Rights Donor Governments Must Do More Than Provide Aid
Donor governments meeting in Geneva today should address the human rights crisis in Sudan as well as the humanitarian crisis, Human Rights Watch said today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/sudan8725.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/sudan8725.htm
June 3, 2004
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South Africa: Government Fails Rural Schoolchildren
The South African government’s neglect of schools on commercial farms prevents thousands of rural children from receiving an adequate education, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Farm schools provide the only educational opportunity for farm workers’ children in South Africa.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/safric8724.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/03/safric8724.htm
June 3, 2004
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Forgotten Schools Right to Basic Education for Children on Farms in South Africa
This 59-page report found that the government’s failure to negotiate contracts with farm owners impedes children’s right to basic education. In the worst cases, farm owners have deliberately obstructed children’s access to the schools. The report documents cases where farm owners or managers prevent learners and teachers from getting to school by locking school facilities or obstructing access otherwise, generally due a lack of contractual arrangements. While the police and authorities from the provisional departments of education intervene on occasion to ensure access, such intervention has not prevented further interference at the same schools.
Report: http://hrw.org/reports/2004/southafrica0504/
http://hrw.org/reports/2004/southafrica0504/
June 3, 2004
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Russia: Fair Retrial Needed in ’Spy’ Case Treason Conviction of Russian Scientist Appears to Be Politically Motivated
Igor Sutiagin, the Russian arms researcher convicted in April on what appear to be politically motivated treason charges, should be given a prompt retrial that meets international standards of fairness, five international and Russian human groups said today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/02/russia8677.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/02/russia8677.htm
June 2, 2004
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Indonesia: End Pre-Election Crackdown on Critics
Indonesia’s decision to expel Sidney Jones, a prominent American political analyst, raises concerns about the country’s crackdown on critical observers ahead of the July 5 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today.
Press Release: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/02/indone8681.htm
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/02/indone8681.htm
June 2, 2004