Human rights and a passion for small places
Keeping track of the human rights and democratic status of 232 nations is, to say the least, a challenge. Having completed a third cycle or "tour" as I've come to think of them, I am ever mindful of the time I invest per week (about 15 hours) to keep these reports as current and timely as possible. Of course it is a healthy regurgitation of my daily news consumption as I spit out those relevant morsels of data that reflect the status of human rights and democracy in the world.I took a few weeks off after the last "tour" to weigh my options and await publication of the 2009 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report, which is released in the first quarter of the following year. I often wonder if my passion for human rights and the advancement of democracy is enough of a reason to continue maintaining the 700+ page website and to keep up with the data as religiously as I do. I took that time to assess my next step and contemplated abandoning the project and focusing on editing my novel which has been on the back burner for this and, well, there are so many reasons that I'll have to make another posting specifically for that purpose. But as I rolled around my options, four seemingly random events took place which brought me right back here to doing what I am compelled to do.
The first came shortly after I completed the final report of the last cycle which was on the African nation of Niger. They had recently undergone a coup led by a lower level Army officer which had done little to capture the attention of even the Nigerien newspapers as no photo of him had ever been published. I found a video of a speech by coup members on YouTube, but the only identified member of the group was a spokesmen who read from a sheet on behalf of the group. I watched the video over and over and tried to figure out which of the 30 or so men may be the coup leader and no one obviously jumped out. After watching it a few dozen times I was about to pack it in when I caught the flash of a name tag on one of the officers. I played the segment over and over and finally convinced myself that those blurry letters indeed said Djibo so I vid-captured the image and published it, the first identified photo published of him as far as I can ascertain. His identity was confirmed a few weeks later when the BBC published an interview of him with accompanying photo. I had, indeed, found the right man and opted to keep my more candid photo; however, I did use their photo of the Prime Minister who, as it turns, was the spokesman who read the statement. Interestingly, my mother-in-law commented on that photo. She's a news junkie and keeps up with the posts, and she noted how quickly I had info on the coup members (just slightly behind Reuters, BBC and AFP but a full day ahead of domestic news sources). It was a proud moment.
The second was a note I got from someone who had seen one of my photos of Guinea and wanted to let me know that I had misidentified it. I corrected it, replacing it and added the appropriate citation on the Mali page and marveled that someone had been there and knew those houses on that road in a distant African nation. I was fascinated and impressed.
The third incentive was a conversation I had with the president of my Union Lodge. Being that our facility is way in the middle of nowhere with only a dozen members, it is a rare occasion when the Lodge President makes a foray into the swamp to see us. While we were talking, he made mention of the fact that we have so little participation with many of the committees our IAM supports, and he mentioned the Human Rights Committee and how he was the sole member from the region. My ears perked and I directed him to the website. I think he was somewhat impressed. I have to give serious consideration if I have the time and energy to commit to the effort but, it is my passion so, I'm considering it.
The most recent incentive was my daughter's school play. Elea just starred as A Baby Kangaroo in the Musical "Seussical Jr.", an ambitious effort staged by her Elementary School (1 1/2 hours, no intermission and four performances.) It's cute and it's hard to hate Dr. Seuss even in musical form but there was this song, Alone In The Universe, and, I must confess, the song really captured the importance of seemingly quixotic endeavors such as this.
It was for this reason that I launched back into project this week. While many may be aware of the major human rights issues which periodically filter into the news such as the conflicts surrounding immigration reform and Guantanamo, it is the small issues that fascinate me particularly from those tiny places on the map that most people have never heard of. Because we seldom hear or think of these places, we have no idea how greatly people struggle everyday just to have the most basic of rights. The few dozen people worldwide who may be involved in either directly liberating, repressing or reporting on these struggles both profit and lose because of their obscurity. For them, these victims of isolation, they are Alone in The Universe and invisible because they lack any voice. Mine may be small, but it is free, and perhaps in this forum I can amplify their pleas just a bit.
So, now I add a few more dimension to my reportage. Every weekday you can learn more about the Country of the Day and breaking events via Twitter or My Space (eventually Facebook will follow. It is, alas, inevitable.)
Every weekend I hope to recap that week's updates with a brief SUMMARY of most current events. You may wonder what difference the rights of a person in a far off, obscure nation means to you. Setting aside the obvious compassion component, it is important to realize that every thing, every where, is a result of American and western foreign policy. What Americans do, think and buy directly impacts people in distant places because every nation reacts to what we do. It is for this reason that our government selectively highlights its efforts on behalf of and to the detriment of rights. Our news media is too concerned with titillating you to actually inform you and our schools, both elementary and secondary, cynically believe that Americans are too dim-witted or distracted to want to learn anything beyond pop trivia and subjects that will contribute to a six figure income.
I don't believe that. More accurately, I can't believe that. I believe we are products of our influences and when properly steered and motivated, we can do great things no one thinks WE can do. I think the 2008 election is a perfect example.
So, without further adieu, here are this week's reports. Some are familiar detailing important nations conducting significant human rights efforts. Others are much less familiar, and, from them, I hope you have a chance to learn important things about these small places. Their efforts, in my view, are most intriguing.
We lead off with the first nation I ever reported on, North Korea. They are back in the news with concerns that they were somehow linked to the sinking of a South Korean Navy ship which went down in the maritime border waters, though at present no concrete evidence nor claim of responsibility has been issued. As has been the case since the first U.S. State Department Human Rights Report, North Korea was generally condemned for its denial of even the most fundamental human rights, a fact which North Korea annually dispute passionately. Few nations or rights bodies are sympathetic to the North Korean government as detailed by Amnesty International urging the United Nations not to let North Korea stave off transparent reportage through a "No Action Motion." Human Rights Watch stayed on that theme reminding the United Nations that North Korea is the only nation which has continually denied the Human Rights Special Rapporteur access to the nation. Freedom House continued to issue their lowest "freedom" score, highlighting the general disappointment shared by rights activists who had hoped that a first of its kind visit to Pyongyang by the New York Philharmonic would inspire that nation's leaders to begin opening the nation to more cultural exchange with the west and South Korea. In their defense, North Korea Foreign Minister Pak Kil Yon tried to argue that their sovereign rights trumped any effort by any body, including the United Nations, to use sanctions for human rights concerns as a fundamental attack on their sovereignty. As hostile as North Korea is towards international rights bodies, their absolute control over all elements of society eliminates any possibility of domestic human rights groups to operate within the country, thus domestic rights groups tend to be organization ran by North Korean defectors writing from South Korea and the west. Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights issue a report on the state of education in North Korea culled from defector interviews and the crisis due to the controls of the state and the proliferation of the black market which trades in everything, including pulp wood meant for textbooks. Likewise NKNET, an award-wining human rights group based in Seoul, South Korea issued a report detailing the systematic destruction of houses and the forced eviction of hundreds of thousands of North Korea's poorest people to make way for the construction of an upscale housing community.
The State Department, not surprisingly, does not issue an annual assessment of the United States or its dependents. Instead, the U.S. Human Rights Network issues an annual "Shadow Report" to fill the breech. This year strongest criticism was leveled on the United States to embrace The Campaign for a New Domestic Human Rights Agenda, a program devised by a coalition of rights groups which calls on the Obama Administration to establish a form of accountability for forwarding human rights at home and abroad. The UN Human Rights Council leveled its own criticism on the U.S, and the changing face of American homelessness brought on by the recent financial crisis and its disproportional effect on the housing market. Amnesty International dovetailed its observations into the health care debate to highlight the shockingly dismal state of maternity and prenatal care in America while Human Rights Watch appealed to the United States to drop charges against a child soldier apprehended in Afghanistan when he was 15 and is presently being held at Guantanamo.In contrast to North Korea, Freedom House gave the highest marks for freedom to the United States. During his Nobel Prize acceptance lecture, President Obama waxed eloquently his aspirations for American human rights. Despite America's long promotion of human rights, it is one of the few western nations that lacks an official human rights institution or ombudsman. Rather the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights generally serves this purpose as detailed in a letter to the Department of Justice regarding voter intimidation in recent elections. The Center For Constitutional Rights which has been one of the most harsh critics of Guantanamo Prison, reports on the dismissal of a lawsuit by family members of two men who died in U.S. custody at Gitmo.
Benin is one of those small nations most people know little about. Occupying a narrow strip of West Africa's Gold Coast, Benin is one of the continent's most stable democracies under the leadership of a President Thomas Yayi Boni. Harsh prison conditions and a culture of legal impunity are among the harshest criticisms of the U.S. State Department while food insecurity and its effects on democratic development was the focal point of the UN Special Rapporteur's most recent Mission to Benin. Prison conditions and the death penalty were likewise criticized by Amnesty International while, in contrast it has been nearly seven years since Human Rights Watch and their chief concern was the pressure being exerted by the Bush Administration on aid dependent countries like Benin to not support the International Criminal Court who was then looking to pursue actions against the U.S. for its invasion of Iraq. Freedom House gives Benin a "Free" score of 2 but cites corruption as its chief concern and barrier to the highest marks. In a UN General Assembly Debate, Benin's Foreign Minister highlighted the nations effort to stamp out female genital mutilation and efforts to establish equal rights for women as a triumph of human rights achievement. Benin's Mediateur, the nation's ombudsman,made his first ever appearance before the present an annual report of rights and corruption while it has been nearly 5 years since Institut de Droits de l'Homme et de Promotion de la Democratie, Benin's human rights organization has made any formal report.
When it comes to small places, the South Pacific island nation of Niue is among the smallest. With only 1400 residents (the vast majority living in New Zealand) Niue is a member of the British Commonwealth and requires substantial aid from England due to its geographic isolation and small population. The U.S. State Department includes them in New Zealand's annual human rights report and does not have diplomatic representation on the island but positively acknowledges the participation of women in the political structure. While the United Nations does not specifically report on human rights conditions in Niue, it does cite New Zealand's support for the Niue Declaration on Climate Change. Small, isolated states, particularly those in remote reaches like the South Pacific quite often miss out from human rights protection assured through periodic review. This was pointed out by Amnesty International who noted that, because New Zealand has only a limited amount of control over the affairs of Niue, its people do not enjoy certain rights protection safeguarded in periodic review at the United Nations. In contrast Human Rights Watch cited the influence that even the smallest states like Niue can exert such as President Talagi's chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum and the pressure it can bring to bear on the Fiji junta. Because of Niue's special relationship with New Zealand, Freedom House does not issue an annual report nor, unfortunately did they receive mention in the New Zealand report. And yet, to its Pacific neighbors, Niue played a very important role in addressing climate change as detailed by President Talagi in his farewell address as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum. A critical challenge to Niue is the absence of opportunity available to its citizens. As over 22,000 Niueans live in New Zealand versus the 1,500 who live on the island, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission made steps to protect the distinct language and culture of the island. This unique culture, very center on tribal traditions and families came into conflict with Indian immigrants who were lured to Niue with promises of jobs and land after paying a broker for the opportunity. Neither the jobs nor property manifested and the men were left in squalor according to International Organization for Migrants.
French Guiana is unique to South America as it is the only country that is still a possession of a European nation, as an overseas department of France. French Guiana suffers from chronic illegal immigration as clandestine gold prospectors from Brazil and Suriname pore over the border to mine illegally in lands belonging to indigenous people. Originally settled as a penal colony infamously chronicled in the tales of Devil's Island, poor prison conditions continue to be a hallmark of French Guiana as reported by the U.S. State Department. This brutal reality was also documented by the United Nations Committee against Torture. As with all Caribbean States, Amnesty International counted French Guiana among the nations surveyed with respect to the recent Summit of the Americas. Human Rights Watch has never issued any specific report on French Guiana. In fact, its most recent mention was in a 1992 report on Suriname detailing thousands of Maroons, former slaves, escaping political violence by deeply penetrating the interior of French Guiana. Such was also the case with Freedom House who did not even mention them in the annual report on France. Periodically, bids of independence are raised by segments of the population however, in a recent ballot initiative, 70% of French Guiana's citizens voted to remain part of France. With respect to prison conditions, the Mediateur of French Guiana has undertaken investigating and reporting on conditions with the goal of improvement. Indigenous issues are an on-going concern in French Guiana as France goes about balancing its relationship with native populations while forwarding the commercial goals of France. Mining, both legal and illicit, has made a dramatic impact on indigenous people both in violation of sovereign territories as well as environmental damage, most significantly, mercury poisoning from gold mining as detailed in a letter from indigenous rights organizations to French President Sarkozy.
Advancing human rights is an on-going endeavor. While issues may be local, they often times have global significance when merged into the stream of events and practices that put the interest of the people in confrontation with the goals of the state. Next week, we'll look at the endeavors of rights activists in Iceland, Turkmenistan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Gabon and French Polynesia.
Labels: Benin, French Guiana, human rights, Human Rights Summit, Niue, North Korea, United States
posted by Dave Carroll @ 3/28/2010 01:48:00 PM
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