Newsroom

Update

As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8th, it’s time to recognize the struggles and achievements of women’s rights activists around the world.  One of the most vibrant women’s rights movements is in Iran, where every day courageous women risk their freedom and safety to fight for their rights.  While most use peaceful means to end discriminatory treatment of women in Iranian family law, they face increasing persecution from the Iranian government: Women are routinely arrested, imprisoned, threatened and banned from traveling abroad. Even the most prominent women’s rights activist in Iran, lawyer and 2003 Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, is…

March 2, 2009

Update

Tonight just after 10 pm EST, Condoleeza Rice's former history professor will argue in a debate with Colorado State Senator Shawn Mitchell that the former Secretary of State should be tried as a war criminal. The webcast debate will follow a showing of the documentary film Courting Condi, which follows Ms. Rice's path from a childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama to her former post as U.S. Secretary of State. The film depicts Rice's defense of Guantanamo and the invasion of Iraq, and her apparent approval of the use of torture of detainees, but also revisits a host of other debacles including her role…

March 2, 2009

Update

Former President Jimmy Carter is the latest to weigh in on the death penalty repeal debate going on in New Mexico.  The AP reported that he and his wife Rosalyn wrote a letter to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson encouraging him to back abolition of the death penalty.  Referring to the package of legislation that pairs a death penalty repeal bill with two bills to support victims’ families, the letter encourages Governor Bill Richardson to endorse “this comprehensive and visionary approach.”  According to a press release issued by the Carter Center, the letter praises “New Mexico's leadership regarding the death…

March 2, 2009

Update

Jenni Williams, founder and activist in the human rights organization Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) faces trial next week for her role in a protest on October 16, 2008. Jenni was arrested and detained for "disturbing the peace" even though the protest was a peaceful demonstration demanding that the government provide necessary food aid. Police used excessive force to break up the peaceful protest of over 200 people, and Jenni was arbitrarily arrested with Magodonga Mahlangu, another WOZA activist. After being granted bail and released on November 6, 2008, Jenni's trial has been postponed three times, leaving her in a…

March 1, 2009

Update

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made headlines last week when she removed human rights from the agenda of discussion topics with China.  In today's USA Today, a Duke colleague of mine and a former researcher for Human Rights watch, Robin Kirk, explains why removing human rights from discussions simply isn't possible if America wants to achieve its other diplomatic goals. "Human rights aren't a side dish on a crowded buffet," wrote Kirk, director of the Duke Human Rights Center. "Human rights support and frame each of these other important issues. To overlook them is to court failure on the themes…

February 27, 2009

Update

It has been a busy week with developments on multiple fronts concerning the abuse of detainees held in the War on Terror. Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) has announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings next Wednesday to explore ideas on how best to establish a commission to examine past national security policies. In an interview broadcast on MSNBC House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California 8th District) expressed support for the Commission of Inquiry proposed by Senator Leahy but only if it were to conduct its business without offering immunity to those who appear before it: “Some of the…

February 27, 2009

Update

The big news today is the announcement from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) that his committee plans to hold a hearing in the near future to consider possible approaches to investigating the use of torture during the Bush administration. Committee member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat, Rhode Island) told Salon.com that he was convinced that a torture commission would be soon be established: "When push comes to shove, we are the legislative branch of government. We have oversight responsibilities. And we don't need the executive branch's approval to look into these things just as a constitutional matter... The…

February 26, 2009

Update

Major General Antonio Taguba speaks with Salon.com about why he supports a commission to examine torture: "You can't sweep unlawful activities under the table and just forget about it. I feel strongly about this because we have future generations who will be the beneficiaries of these actions... We have a lot of unanswered questions on accountability, questions that need to be answered and hold responsible officials -- civilians and military -- accountable. These include contractors... We have an integrity issue to contend with if we are to prevent this matter from recurring." Read the entire interview on Salon.com here. Momentum…

February 25, 2009

Update

The death penalty costs money – more money than the alternatives – and, as Wonkette notes “basically every state in the union is broke”.  This is why (or at least one of the reasons why) more states than ever before are having serious death penalty repeal debates.  In Kansas, a Republican Senator has filed an abolition bill, telling FoxNews.com: "This will save significant money -- money that could be used toward education programs and toward community corrections programs."  In Colorado, they don’t have enough money to solve cold cases, and a bill to pass along the savings from death penalty abolition…

February 25, 2009

Update

Amnesty International released a report today 'Fuelling conflict: Foreign arms supplies to Israel/Gaza' calling for a comprehensive arms embargo on both Israel and Hamas.  Amnesty researchers during their fact finding mission in Gaza found both Israel and Hamas used weapons supplied from abroad to carry out attacks on civilians. The report states that Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes. Their attacks resulted in the death of hundreds of children and other civilians and destoyed homes on a massive scale while Hamas and other Palestinian armed…

February 24, 2009

Update

After serving nearly 10 years of a life sentence in Myanmar (Burma), prisoner of conscience and long-time AIUSA priority case Ma Khin Khin Leh was freed this past weekend along with 18 others widely considered to be political prisoners. Ma Khin Khin Leh, a school teacher and young mother, had been serving a life sentence because her husband, a student activist, helped plan a demonstration to be held in Bago on July 19, 1999, to protest government policies and to show support for the National League for Democracy (NLD), a pro-democracy political party that sought to counter the military junta that…

February 24, 2009

Update

Yesterday, the U.S. State Department leaked an upcoming pledge of $900 million to reconstruct Gaza and support the Palestinian Authority.  No money will pass through Hamas but will be filtered through non-governmental organizations.  I applaud this assistance but question the effectiveness of aid without negotiations and opening the borders. Daniel Levy, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and an Israeli citizen, wonders whether money will pass into Gaza at all: “The next step is opening the border crossings, and that requires more than just signing a check.” The irony, of course, is that the US is supplying aid to…

February 24, 2009