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Update

Yesterday, the U.N. General Assembly marked Human Rights Day by unanimously adopting the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR). This historic step fills in a crucial gap in the human rights framework; former High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has described the OP-ICESCR as making human rights whole. But to the media this looks like U.N. inside baseball, and they haven't so much as mentioned it. (ReliefWeb, a U.N. humanitarian information portal, covered it; and here's AI's press release.) So what's it all about? In a word, it provides a means for redress…

December 12, 2008

Update

The New York Times reported yesterday that “[t]he Australian government plans to test a nationwide Web filtering system that would force Internet service providers to block access to thousands of sites containing questionable or illegal content, prompting cries of censorship from advocacy groups.”   Not surprisingly, according to the article, Australia is using the same tried-and-true justification of needing to protect itself (and its citizens) from terrorism and child pornography.   It’s not to say that child pornography and terrorism aren’t legitimate concerns. It’s just that these are the same, all-too-often abused excuses used to cast a much wider net…

December 12, 2008

Update

Today, the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment made it official, formally recommending in its Final Report that Maryland repeal the death penalty. The report’s final recommendation concludes: “For all of these reasons—to eliminate racial and jurisdictional bias, to reduce unnecessary costs, to lessen the misery that capital cases force victims of family members to endure, to eliminate the risk that an innocent person can be convicted—the Commission strongly recommends that capital punishment be abolished in Maryland.” The Maryland General Assembly (which created the Commission) will take up the issue when its 2009 session begins about a month from now, on…

December 12, 2008

Update

The Death Penalty Information Center has released its Year End Report (pdf) for 2008.  It reveals clearly that the trend towards growing skepticism and diminishing (and more regional) use of capital punishment is continuing.  There were 37 executions in 2008, the lowest total since 1994, and there were only 111 death sentences passed.  For the second straight year, this was the lowest number of death sentences since capital punishment was reinstated since 1976.  (In the peak year, 1999, there were 98 executions and 284 death sentences.) Four men were exonerated for America’s death rows this year, increasing already substantial public…

December 11, 2008

Update

CongressDaily reports yesterday: "The House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat said Tuesday he has recommended that President-elect Barack Obama keep the country's current national intelligence director and CIA chief in place for some time to ensure continuity in U.S. intelligence programs during the transition to a new administration. Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he also recommended to Obama's transition team that some parts of the CIA's controversial alternative interrogation program should be allowed to continue. He declined to say what he specifically recommended, however." Personnel issues aside, the Obama team needs to send a clear message, that it repudiates the…

December 11, 2008

Update

Anniversaries are a dime a dozen. We’ve got days for everything. Sled Dog Day. Bubble Gum Day. Ballet Day. Dump Your Significant Jerk Day.  I’m not kidding. Today is different. 60 years ago this December 10th – after the horrors of World War II – the world came together to unanimously pass the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Not one nation dissented (though a few abstained). The declaration says that every human being deserves dignity, freedom and respect.  It’s the first blueprint for global rights, establishing fundamental freedoms for every human being. I guess years of a hellish war…

December 10, 2008

Update

The practice of “mock execution”, where prisoners are led to believe they are going to be killed by their captors, only to be spared at the last minute, is widely recognized as a form of torture.  So when a scheduled execution is stayed at the last minute, does that constitute torture? Last week in Iran, an unnamed man was pardoned by the victim’s family just moments after his hanging began.  He was cut down and rushed to the hospital and ultimately saved.  Amnesty International has issued a statement pointing out that in other circumstances: “Any person subjected to similar treatment…

December 10, 2008

Update

Today is a day when I feel especially grateful for all my rights--that I can write this blog entry, that I am free, that I am not in prison just for expressing my beliefs, that I can choose my religion, that I am able to make my own choices about marriage and family, that I have an education, that I can work, that I can rest, and that I can get care when I'm sick. Human Rights Day is not a happy day for everyone, though. Right this minute, there are prisoners of conscience languishing in cells, people on death…

December 10, 2008

Update

The United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), proposed by Eleanor Roosevelt and adopted by the United Nations in 1948 established 30 articles of universal Human Rights. This document establishes and protects the framework for civilized and respectful interaction between all people and nations no matter what their political, religious or cultural beliefs. Over 190 nations have ratified this declaration; and yet surveys show that more people can name 3 members of the Homer Simpson TV Cartoon family than they can name three of their basic human rights. You can't defend what you do not know. At a time when…

December 10, 2008

Update

Reflections on its 60th anniversary by former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, author and former child soldier Ismael Beah, doctor and human rights activist Farai Madzimbamuto, and our own Larry Cox. And a classic 1988 Amnesty International animated guide to the UDHR -- with voice over by Debra Winger and Jeff Bridges, and music by David Byrne (among other '80s alt-rock luminaries). Happy Human Rights Day -- write a letter and help save a life this week!

December 10, 2008

Update

At 1 p.m. today, the federal appeals court in Atlanta will hear oral arguments in the case of Troy Anthony Davis.  Davis’ conviction in the killing of a police officer in Savannah was based solely on eyewitness testimony, and since trial seven of the nine eye-witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.  You can read more about the case here. The three judge panel will decide whether Davis can continue to challenge his conviction.  That is, whether Davis has met the conditions required to file a second, or successive, habeas corpus petition continuing to ask for a hearing on evidence…

December 9, 2008

Update

Yesterday I saw this clever, 2 minute video called the Girl Effect that basically says that a girl can save the world!  It shows how by giving a girl an education and opportunities she can improve the situation of an entire community.  It is thought provoking and inspiring and takes 2 minutes to watch. For me, the video underlines the importance of acheiveing human rights for women and girls.  Too many people argue that social practices that harm girls or in some way disadvantage them are just "culture" or "tradition" and therefore the West should not interfere.  My response? Human rights…

December 9, 2008