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Category: Human Rights

  • Philippines testimony reveals torture, abuses by police, says Amnesty

    Asia Pacific Report

    Philippines police unlawfully targeted protesters with unnecessary and excessive force during anti-corruption marches in September, according to harrowing new testimony gathered by the human rights watchdog Amnesty International ahead of fresh protests planned across the country this weekend.

    Ten people interviewed by Amnesty International detailed physical abuse — including violations that may amount to torture and other ill-treatment — by state forces following demonstrations in the capital Manila on 21 September 2025.

    The research comes as thousands prepare to return to the streets on November 30 in renewed protests against government corruption, said the Amnesty International report.

    “The disturbing evidence we have gathered of unlawful force unleashed by the police against protesters and others on September 21 makes a mockery of the Philippine government’s repeated claim that it exercises ‘maximum tolerance’ during protests,” said Jerrie Abella, Amnesty International regional campaigner.

    “Victims have described how police punched, kicked and hit people — including children — with batons as they were arrested, with appalling ill-treatment continuing in detention. The police must change course and respect people’s right to protest on November 30 and beyond.”

    Police only stopped beatings “when they saw the media coming”.

    The Philippines’ biggest demonstrations in years took place on September 21, as tens of thousands in Manila and elsewhere protested against corruption by government officials, high-level politicians and contractors in flood-control and infrastructure projects.

    Isolated incidents
    Isolated incidents of violence from some protesters, including setting vehicles on fire and throwing stones at the police, were reported in Manila.

    Manila police said they arrested and detained 216 people who were allegedly involved in the violence, including 91 children. Many are facing criminal charges.

    However, Amnesty’s research indicates that peaceful protesters and bystanders were also violently targeted by the police.

    Rey*, 20, recounted how three men in plain clothes — who he believes were police as they later handed him to uniformed officers — grabbed and punched him in the face as he tried to run away while holding a sign calling on people to take to the streets.

    The assault on Rey was captured in a video, by an unknown individual, which he found online and showed to Amnesty International.

    “Police in uniform joined in to punch, kick and hit me with their batons. I briefly lost consciousness but woke up to pain as they dragged me by my hair,” Rey told Amnesty International.

    He said police accused him of taking part in violence that killed two officers, despite the fact that no police were killed in the protests.

    Beating stopped when media came
    Rey said the beating only stopped when one officer warned the others that members of the media were approaching. He also described how he and his friend were taken by uniformed police into an ambulance, where they were beaten further.

    Omar*, 25, said he was watching the protests with relatives in Mendiola Street, Manila, when he was arrested.

    Police accused him of being among those who caused violence, including attacking the police.

    While walking with the police who arrested him, Omar said they passed other officers who punched and hit him with batons.

    He said he was then held in a tent with about 14 other people, one of whom “had blood dripping from a head wound” which he said was from being hit with a gun by a police officer.

    Ahmed*, 17, was arrested alongside his relatives Yusuf*, 18, and Ali*, 19, who all live and do construction work near the protest site.

    They said they went out to buy rice and were waiting for police to allow them to pass through a protest area on their way back to the construction site when they were arrested.

    ‘Hit with batons, kicked’
    “The police took us to a tent where they hit us with their batons. They punched us in the face and kicked our torsos,” Ali told Amnesty International. He said they were accused of attacking the police and subsequently detained.

    ‘I saw people coming out of the tent bloodied and bruised’

    Greg*, 18, and Ryan*, 22, were arrested in separate incidents in Mendiola and Ayala Bridge in Manila for their alleged involvement in attacks against the police. Like all those interviewed, they were brought by the police to a blue tent in Mendiola, where police beat them further.

    Lawyer Maria Sol Taule, from a legal aid group representing those interviewed, said the “notorious blue tent” served as a temporary holding area for those arrested. While it showed no outward sign of police affiliation, it appeared to be supervised by the police, according to the group’s investigation.

    “I was so scared. I saw people coming out of the tent bloodied and bruised. Inside, they made me spread my hands and repeatedly hit both sides with their batons,” said Greg, who showed Amnesty International welts on his back where he said he was struck.

    Ryan said police hit him on his head and neck. “They saw me lift my head up and accused me of ‘verifying’ or looking at the faces of police to identify them,” he said. Others interviewed reported being similarly hit following the same accusation by police.

    “I told myself, I was done for. I’d never make it out of this tent alive,” said Michael*, 23, who described being punched, kicked and hit with batons by police. He was arrested with his girlfriend Sam*, 21, and their friend Lena*, 22, before all three were detained at a police station. They said they went to the protest just to watch and take videos but were arrested for allegedly committing violence.

    Sam and Lena were not hurt but could hear people being beaten nearby. “Even now, I can still hear the cries coming from the tent. I have problems sleeping, imagining how they beat up Michael,” Sam said.

    Needed medical treatment
    The beatings were so severe that some victims needed medical treatment, according to Taule. She said one individual sustained injuries including a dislocated jaw when he was hit by the police with a baton in the face. Others – including Michael, Sam and Lena – lost their jobs after failing to report to work as they were detained.

    All those interviewed maintained they were not involved in the violence of which they were accused by the police.

    On November 4, police said 97 individuals had been charged with conspiracy, sedition and other crimes over the protests.

    *Names were changed in the Amnesty International report upon request for safety reasons

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Piers Morgan accepts Russia’s war crimes — shame he won’t do the same with America’s

    In a conversation with Jeffrey Sachs, Piers Morgan got a brutally honest response on the consequences Russia will face for invading Ukraine:

    Morgan wasn’t wrong to speak out against Russia’s actions. However, his criticism masks the double standards of the Western establishment, which conveniently glosses over its own imperial misadventures.

    The grim truth

    Morgan was speaking to the American economist and analyst Sachs when he asked:

    What happens to a country like Russia, which by common consent has committed myriad war crimes in the last three years?

    It’s targeted and killed civilians. I think that’s inarguable. It’s kidnapped a reported 20,000 Ukrainian children. There was the massacre at places like Bucha. I’ve been there. Absolutely horrific what went on down there. There have been the sexual assaults and rapes of Ukrainian women and so on. So it seems inarguable. There’s been a number of war crimes committed.

    Is it fair and just that at the end of this, assuming you’re right and this is the beginning of the end of this, that Russia emerges unpunished for any of this?

    It’s not an unfair question.

    The people who order and commit these inhumanities should be held accountable, but this seldom happens, as Sachs explained:

    Well, if the United States were punished for all its war crimes, the world would be a better place. And if all countries were punished for their war crimes; if Israel was punished for its genocide before our eyes; if the United States was punished for overthrowing so many regimes and causing so many wars; if the United States were punished for the Iraq war; if the United States were punished for the coup in Iraq, Maidan in February 2014, I’d agree with you.

    It would be great if governments were accountable. But what we like to do is say the other side is the wrong one and not to acknowledge our own sins.

    For this, Jesus had it right. Why do you always point to the moat in the other eye when you have the plank or the beam in your own eye? To my mind, this is the basic point.

    I would love to follow your line, Piers. I agree with it. We should have accountability for all the crimes that are committed. And the United States’ list is so long.

    I have been tracking it for more than 40 years professionally. It’s just one war crime after another, including complicity in a genocide in Gaza during the last two years.

    War crimes

    After WWII, it was possible to hold the Nazis accountable. Germany was completely defeated — ignoring the Nazis who went to work for the Americans, obviously.

    Nations like America, Russia, Israel, and the UK, have not been defeated. Therefore, it’s not possible to hold foreign politicians accountable in the same way.

    Of course, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push for accountability or demand an international response to war criminals. Our politics would be in a much better state if Blair and New Labour had been punished for invading Iraq on unfounded claims. And it goes without saying, that everyone should support the International Criminal Court’s attempts to hold Israel responsible for the genocide.

    The problem is that the mechanisms for justice and accountability are limited to waging war — which rarely works out … or sanctions — both of which make things worse.

    Morgan isn’t wrong about Russia’s crimes. The issue is that he’s selectively correct. You won’t hear mainstream journalists like him arguing that Western nations should face accountability, and that’s a massive problem.

    Featured image via Piers Morgan Uncensored

    By Willem Moore

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Chile plans to launch global campaign seeking to expel ‘pariah’ Israel from United Nations

    Ma’an News Agency in Santiago

    Civil society forces in Chile are preparing to launch an international campaign to demand the expulsion of Israel from the United Nations.

    This is based on Article 6 of the United Nations Charter against the backdrop of what the campaign describes as “continuous and systematic violations” of international law and resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council.

    The official launch of the campaign is due to take place tomorrow during a public event in the capital Santiago while a collection of signatures by electronic petition has already begun.

    Campaign data indicated that the petition addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had already exceeded 57,000 signatures, with a goal of quickly reaching 100,000 signatures.

    The organisers of the civil society initiative say the rapid response reflects a “broad popular response” to the dire humanitarian situation in Palestine, and embodies “international civil pressure” to get the international system moving after decades of inaction.

    At the media event introducing the initiative, lawyer and former Chilean ambassador Nelson Haddad presented the legal framework for the campaign, explaining that Israel had become a “pariah state according to the definitions of international law,” and that it “does not abide by UN resolutions, nor by the basic rules of international humanitarian law, and practises systematic violations that have been ongoing for more than seven decades”.

    Campaign organisers say this mechanism has been used in historical moments, such as the Korean War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that activating it now could constitute an “institutional pressure tool” capable of overcoming obstruction within the UN Security Council.

    ‘Reforming the UN’
    The organisers also believe that the goal is not limited to imposing measures against Israel, but extends to “reopening the file of reforming the structure of the United Nations”, restricting the power of the veto, and restoring the principle of legal equality between states in order to limit the ability of one state to “disrupt international justice.”

    The petition read as follows:

    “We, the undersigned, respectfully but firmly appeal to you to initiate formal procedures to expel the State of Israel from the Organisation, in accordance with Article 6 of the Charter of the United Nations, because of its repeated violations of the principles contained therein.”

    The letter continues:

    “Emphasising that Israel, through official statements, declares its intention to eliminate the State of Palestine with all its inhabitants, infrastructure, and memory, and accuses every party that criticises its policies of ‘anti-Semitism,’ and practices repression even against Jewish citizens who oppose genocide, thus making its violations extensive, deep, and directed against everyone who disagrees with its orientations.”

    The letter describes what is happening in the Gaza Strip as a “complex war crime,” noting that the occupying state is killing “Palestinians with bombs and missiles, destroying medical infrastructure, and exterminating nearly two million people through hunger and thirst”.

    ‘Starving population, poisoning the land’
    Israel is also depriving the population of water, food, and medicine, and destroying and poisoning the land, representing “one of the most serious documented crimes in the modern era”.

    The letter adds that the continued dealings of international and academic institutions with Israel are “unjustified and unacceptable”, and that “Israel must be immediately expelled from all international activities, all institutional relations with it must be severed, and a comprehensive arms embargo imposed that contributes to the continuation of the genocide.”

    The message concluded by saying: “With Gaza, humanity dies too. We want Palestine to live, for it is the heart of the world.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Leading lawyers condemn ‘contrived’ Bangladesh trial of former UK minister

    Exclusive: High-profile lawyers suggest ex-City minister Tulip Siddiq has not enjoyed basic rights during her trial in absentia

    The trial in Bangladesh of the former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq has been “contrived and unfair”, leading lawyers including a former Conservative justice secretary have told Bangladesh’s ambassador before Thursday’s verdict.

    Siddiq, who resigned from the UK government in January, is due to receive her verdict and sentence in absentia, with the prosecution seeking a maximum life sentence term.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Leading lawyers condemn ‘contrived’ Bangladesh trial of former UK minister

    Exclusive: High-profile lawyers suggest ex-City minister Tulip Siddiq has not enjoyed basic rights during her trial in absentia

    The trial in Bangladesh of the former UK City minister Tulip Siddiq has been “contrived and unfair”, leading lawyers including a former Conservative justice secretary have told Bangladesh’s ambassador before Thursday’s verdict.

    Siddiq, who resigned from the UK government in January, is due to receive her verdict and sentence in absentia, with the prosecution seeking a maximum life sentence term.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Starving Gaza: Israel weaponises food, Palestinians refuse to capitulate

    New figures published by the Israeli body overseeing food delivery expose a deliberate policy of mass starvation against 2.4 million Gazans

    This tactic of genocidal coercion is intended to crush their spirit and force their submission.

    Dr. Ismail Al-Thawabta, the Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, confirmed the figures published by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), criticising them as morally indefensible.

    Upholding a farcical image of itself as a benevolent humanitarian agency, COGAT is restricting and seizing critical food supplies.

    A population on the brink

    COGAT claims to be delivering 1.4 million meals to the Strip daily. However, compared with Gaza’s population size, only 58.3 percent receive a daily meal — leaving the remainder without. The single meal provided weighs between 300 and 500 grams, with an average of just 400 grams. This means that only 560 tonnes of food enters the Strip each day.

    The people of Gaza need between 2,400 and 2,600 tonnes of food per day, while only 560 tonnes has been getting through. That’s less than 25 percent of the required amount. Let that sink in.

    COGAT reported that 3.5 million loaves of bread are delivered daily, amounting to 1.46 loaves per person.

    Surviving on these rations is laughable especially for families enduring prolonged displacement without access to potable water.

    Children bear the additional hardship of needing a diverse, ample diet in support of their developmental needs.

    Starvation as a method of warfare

    The occupation claims it had delivered 270,000 parcels in November, which it uncritically deemed ‘sufficient’ for one million people. In reality, a single food parcel barely covers the needs of a family of five.

    Supplies that are supposed to last a month barely last a week.

    This is a deliberate strategy the callous occupation repeatedly resorts to — warfare by alternative means.

    For many observers, these latest figures serve as an official acknowledgement that the occupation deliberately imposes restrictions on food aid to achieve its political ambitions in Gaza — ultimately to empty the city of its indigenous population.

    Al-Thawabta points to the occupation’s continued failure to comply with the terms of the humanitarian truce. The ceasefire stipulates that sufficient and regular aid must be allowed to enter. Allowing only a quarter of the required amount is a clear violation. It punishes the local population and compounds the  humanitarian crisis families endure, particularly southern and northern Gaza.

    Starvation is a war crime

    He views the latest figures issued by the occupation as explicit evidence of the policy of starvation to force the population into capitulation. It is not the result of emergency circumstances. The risk of famine is manmade, deliberate, morally reprehensible, and intended to break the will of the people of Gaza.

    He points out that one million people aren’t receiving a single daily meal. Only one and a half loaves of bread are provided for each person, and families receive one measly food parcel per month. These figures reveal the scale of the crisis and show that the occupation is directly responsible for orchestrating this man-made disaster.

    Featured image via Reuters

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Nauru president floats returning NZYQ refugees to home countries, in interview Australia tried to suppress

    In an interview kept secret since February, David Adeang wrongly stated the people Australia has begun deporting to his country are not refugees

    Nauru may seek to return refugees from the NZYQ cohort to their home countries, the Nauruan president has said, in an interview officially translated into English for the first time, and which the Australian government sought to keep hidden.

    David Adeang’s interview erroneously claimed those being sent to Nauru were not refugees and said Nauru may seek to return them to their countries of origin where possible.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Fiji journalists condemn police over lack of courtroom security after another reporter attacked

    Pacific Media Watch

    The Fijian Media Association (FMA) has demanded better police protection after a  journalist working for the state broadcaster Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) was violently attacked outside a courthouse

    In a statement today, the FMA again called for police to be more vigilant in managing security and threats outside the Suva High Court in the capital after another Fijian journalist was violently attacked by a convicted murderer leaving under police guard.

    Journalist Apenisa Waqairadovu of the FBC suffered injuries to his arms and hands after he was attacked by Sairusi Ceinaturaga, who had just been convicted of murdering the one-year-old child of his de facto partner, the FMA stated.

    After his conviction, Ceinaturaga walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs, followed a metre or two behind by a police officer who was outrun and scrambled to catch up when Ceinaturaga chased the journalist.

    Ceinaturaga threatened Waqairadovu, swore and ran after him before pushing him down the stairs.

    “This has been happening too often to journalists outside the courtroom, and we do not see any improved process despite our repeated calls for stronger security and protection,” the FMA stated.

    “We have been consistently calling for urgent action from police to protect media workers — even after another convicted murderer Tevita Kapawale tried to attack journalists outside the courthouse in August.

    ‘Physical threats every year’
    “Journalists have faced physical threats every year while covering court cases, and the Fiji Police Force’s repeated failure to provide adequate security for media personnel is unacceptable.

    “The media plays a vital role in ensuring transparency and accountability in our justice system. Journalists have the right to report on matters of public interest without fear of violence or intimidation.”

    The FMA is now demanding the Fiji Police Force immediately implement proper security protocols for court proceedings, including secure perimeters during prisoner transport and adequate police presence to protect journalists from violent offenders — the same call it made following the August incident.

    The FMA says police must do better and relook at how they provide security at the courthouse.

    “In the past officers would surround the accused person and escort him out, not let them just walk out with officers strolling at the back.

    “In this case the journalist kept their distance but was still chased down and attacked and this is totally unacceptable.”

    The FMA said reporters covered court stories in order to inform the public and to ensure that justice was served under the law.

    “We are again urging the public to appreciate and understand the role journalists play in providing the coverage of how justice and the rule of law is administered in this country.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PM hits back at PINA and PFF over Samoa Observer ‘ethics’ ban

    Pacific Media Watch

    Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt has defended his decision to ban the Samoa Observer in response to a joint letter from the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF).

    In a statement issued by the Press Secretary, Nanai Lave Tuiletufuga yesterday, the office of the Prime Minister acknowledged concerns raised by the PINA and the PFF, writing that the criticism was “respected and understood” but urged them “to seek full information before forming conclusions”, reports Sulamanaia Manaui Faulalo of the Samoa Observer.

    “This is not a ban on media freedom — it is a response to persistent unprofessional and unethical conduct,” the release said.

    “The action taken relates solely to the Samoa Observer, following sustained unprofessional behaviour, breaches of industry ethics, and continuous inaccurate and misleading reporting over an extended period.

    “Samoa remains firmly committed to upholding media freedom, transparency, and open engagement with the media,” the statement said.

    “However, it is equally important to clarify the context and the basis of the government’s decision.”

    The release said that the move targets one media outlet and does not represent a broader clampdown.

    ‘Multiple opportunities’
    According to the statement, the Samoa Observer was given “multiple opportunities for correction, dialogue, and improvement,” and that “No other media organisation in Samoa is affected. Engagement with all other local and regional media continues uninterrupted.”

    The release also said it would follow due process.

    “The Prime Minister has already indicated that a formal review will be undertaken in due course, once all matters surrounding the Observer’s conduct are addressed and resolved and the facts are fully documented,” the statement said. “This review will include an opportunity for the media organisation concerned to respond to the issues raised.”

    The release also reiterated its recognition of the importance of a free press.

    “The government reiterates that it welcomes robust scrutiny, responsible journalism, and constructive criticism,” it said. “At the same time, media freedom carries the corresponding responsibility of accuracy, professionalism, and respect for the truth.”

    “The government invites PINA and PFF to engage constructively and to review the documented evidence of unprofessional reporting and breach of media ethical standards that led to this action,” the statement said.

    “Samoa remains available to provide clarification and to work collaboratively to strengthen media standards across the region.”

    No response to Samoa Observer
    “The decision relating to the Samoa Observer is specific, justified, and based on conduct, not on an attempt or attack to suppress the free flow of information or journalism,” it said.

    “The government of Samoa remains open to fair, balanced, and ethical engagement with all media organisations, both local and overseas.”

    The Samoa Observer reached out to the government on November 19 to offer the opportunity to make corrections and provide clarifications on the five points originally raised as the reasons for the ban but no response has been received.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Israel has lost social media battle over Gaza, says military ex-spokesperson

    Pacific Media Watch

    Former Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says Israel has “lost the war on social media,” describing the online space as the most dangerous and complex arena shaping global public opinion, especially among younger generations.

    Speaking at the annual conference of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, DC, Hagari urged the creation of a powerful new propaganda apparatus modelled on the capabilities and structure of Unit 8200, Israel’s elite cyber intelligence division, reports Middle East Monitor.

    He argued that Israel must now fight “a battle of images, videos, and statistics—not lengthy texts.”

    Hagari proposed establishing a unit capable of monitoring anti-Israel content across platforms, in real time and in multiple languages, supplying rapid-response messaging and data to government and media outlets.

    His plan also calls for the systematic creation of fake online identities, automated bot networks, and the use of unofficial bloggers — “preferably mostly young women” — to shape global perceptions.

    He warned that the decisive phase of this battle would unfold a decade from now, when students using artificial intelligence tools searched for information on the events of October 7 and encountered “two completely contradictory narratives.”

    Hagari, a former navy officer who served in sensitive military roles, became Israel’s top military spokesperson in 2023 before being dismissed from the position earlier this year.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Showing their aroha for the activist ‘power couple’ of Māngere East

    Asia Pacific Report

    Māngere East community stalwarts and activists from across Tamaki Makaurau Auckland have gathered at the local Village Green to pay tribute to their popular ‘power couple’ and entertainers Roger Fowler and Lyn Doherty with their whānau.

    MC Emily Worman of Science in a Van summed it up best yesterday morning by declaring the event as the “perfect opportunity to show our aroha for both Roger and Lyn” after a lifetime or service and activism for the community.

    Fowler recently retired from his community duties at the Māngere East Community Centre and is seriously ill with cancer.

    The community presented both Fowler and Doherty with stunning korowai and their “main stage” entourage included Māori land rights lawyer and activist Pania Newton and former MP Aupito Sua William Sio.

    “This is the perfect place to acknowledge them,” said Worman. “Right in the heart of our community beside the Māngere East Community Centre which started out as Roger and Lyn needed after school care for their kids — so you put your heads together and started an after school programme in the late 1990s.

    “Right in front of the library that you campaigned to protect and rebuild back in 2002,
    over the road from the Post Shop which you organised the community to successfully fight to stop its closure in 2010.

    “Next to the Metro Theatre where the Respect Our Community Campaign, ROCC Stars, met with the NZ Transport Authority over 10 years ago now to stop a motorway from going through our hood.

    ‘Putting in the mahi’
    “Next to Vege Oasis which would have been another alcohol outlet if it wasn’t for you and your whānau putting in the mahi!

    “Right here in this festival — where, in previous years, we’ve gathered signatures and spread the word about saving the whenua out at Ihumatao.”

    Worman said her words were “just a highlight reel” of some of the “awesomeness that is Roger Fowler”.

    “We all have our own experiences how Roger has supported us, organised us and shown us how to reach out to others, make connections and stand together,” she added

    Former MP Sua said to Fowler and the crowd: “In the traditional Samoan fale, there is a post in the middle – some posts have two or more — usually it is a strong post that hold up the roof and everything else is connected to it.

    Roger Fowler about to be presented with a korowai by activist Brendan Corbett
    Roger Fowler about to be presented with a korowai by activist Brendan Corbett. former MP Aupito Sua William Sio (right) liked Fowler to the mainstay post in a Samoan fale. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    “And I think, you are that post. You are that post for Māngere East, for our local community.”

    While paying tribute to Fowler’s contribution to Mangere East, Sua also acknowledged his activism for international issues such as the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

    Fowler had set up Kia Ora Gaza, a New Zealand charity member of the global Gaza Freedom Flotilla network trying to break the siege around the enclave. He wore his favourite “Kia Ora Gaza” beanie for Palestine during the tribute.

    ‘Powerful man in gumboots’
    Worman said: “Roger, we all know you love to grab your guitar and get the crowd going.

    “But you’ve shown us over the years, it’s not about getting the attention for yourself — it’s about pointing us to where it matters most.

    “I’ve never met such a quiet yet powerful man who wears gumboots to almost every occasion!”

    Turning to Roger’s partner, “Lyn, on the other hand, always looks fabulous.

    “She is the perfect match for you Roger. We might not always see Lyn out the front but — trust me — she’s a powerhouse in her own right!

    “Lyn, who knows intuitively what our families need, and then gets a PhD to prove it in order to get the resources so that our whānau can thrive.”

    Part of the crowd at Māngere East's Village Green
    Part of the crowd at Māngere East’s Village Green. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    The work of health and science psychologist Dr Lyn Doherty (Ngati Porou and Ngapuhi) with the Ohomairangi Trust is “vast and continues to have a huge impact on the wellbeing of our community”.

    Worman also said one of the couple’s biggest achievements together had been their four children — “they are all amazing, caring, capable and fun children, Kahu, Tawera, Maia and Hone”.

    “And they are now raising another generation of outstanding humans,” she said.

    Other Asia Pacific Report images and video clips
    Other Asia Pacific Report images and video clips are here. Montage: APR

    The three grandchildren treated the Village Green crowd to a waiata and also songs from Fowler’s recently released vinyl album “Songs of Struggle and Solidarity” and finishing with a Christmas musical message for all.

    The whānau are also working on a forthcoming book of community activism and resistance with a similar title to the album.

    Fowler thanked the community for its support and gave an emotional tribute to Doherty for all her mahi and aroha.

    Roger Fowler's grandchildren sing a waiata
    Roger Fowler’s grandchildren sing a waiata on Māngere East’s Village Green yesterday. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • International Federation for Human Rights keeps growing

    In 2025 the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) welcomed 14 new organisations, on the occasion of its 42nd Congress, which took place in Bogotá at the end of October. The federation now has 194 members in 120 countries. Of varied origins, cultures, organisations, issues and sizes, yet united by a common struggle: the universal defence of human rights. These 14 memberships demonstrate the vitality of the human rights movement across the world, the relevance of the growth of an international federation dedicated to this universalist cause, and the need to bring together the strengths of civil society worldwide in the face of the challenges it is faced with. Local struggles, global problems, the organisations of FIDH find within the federation a space of solidarity where they can exchange ideas and collectively develop solutions to the shrinking civic space observed throughout the world.

    “With these new arrivals, our federation is growing and becoming stronger, particularly on the Asian continent“, says Alexis Deswaef, President of FIDH, elected at the same congress in Bogotá.

    https://www.fidh.org/en/about-us/What-is-FIDH/fidh-joined-by-14-new-member-organisations-for-a-stronger-federation

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Report: US Mercenary Firm Behind Aid Massacres Returning To Gaza

    UG Solutions, a US military subcontractor that guarded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites, is ramping up recruitment for a new deployment as plans advance for 12 to 15 distribution locations to reopen in Gaza next month, Drop Site News reported on 19 November.

    A former US Army officer, who spoke anonymously citing security concerns, said a UG Solutions recruiter told him in late October that the company “was going to need a lot more guys” for a Gaza operation expected to begin in early to mid-December.

    The officer was offered $800 per day for static guard duty and $1,000 for mobile roles, plus a steady allowance of $180 per day.

    The post Report: US Mercenary Firm Behind Aid Massacres Returning To Gaza appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • In Courting Saudi Arabia, Trump Emulates Mohammed Bin Salman’s Authoritarianism

    Fascism thrives in societies that grow desensitized to violence. Once cruelty is normalized, political life collapses into a spectacle of force, lies, and corruption. Under such conditions, the humanity of selected populations becomes disposable. Bodies disappear, injustice parades as lawful, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security reveal themselves as…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Samoan PM takes aim at local journalists, claims overseas media ‘in the dark’

    By Sulamanaia Manaui Faulalo of the Samoa Observer

    Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt says international media are “in the dark” about the reasons behind his decision to ban the Samoa Observer from government press conferences, arguing that overseas attention has created “support for one newspaper at the expense of the entire country.”

    He also addressed concerns raised locally, directing criticism at the Journalists Association of Samoa (JAWS) for advising him to reconsider the ban.

    “Now you have given me advice, but you should advise where the problem came from,” he said at a media conference this week. “Why are you advising me to lift the ban when you should be advising them [Samoa Observer]?”

    La’aulialemalietoa said his duty was to the nation. “Who do I stand for? It is the country I represent. I will not back down from protecting the people of Samoa.”

    He said he remained firm in his decision but hoped for a “constructive resolution” ahead. “As the Prime Minister, I will stand strong to do the right thing.”

    On international reactions, he said some overseas commentators “do not understand Samoa” and claimed outside support was being used “to support one business and throw away the whole country that is trying to protect its future.”

    He said the media was “part of democracy,” but argued that global reporting had focused on the ban itself rather than what he described as the issues that led to it.

    Questioned actions of journalists
    Turning to domestic matters, the Prime Minister also questioned the actions of local journalists, saying JAWS did not engage with ministries affected by earlier Samoa Observer reporting.

    “You are talking to me, but why didn’t you talk to the ministries impacted?” he asked.

    He also raised questions about the role of a media council. “Where do I go, or where does the government go, if this sort of thing happens?” he said, adding he was unsure whether such a body existed or had convened.

    The Prime Minister said his concerns extended beyond media conduct to the protection of the Samoan language and culture.

    “My whole being is about the Gagana Samoa. If there is no language, there is no country,” he said.

    He also accused the Samoa Observer of showing disrespect and said harmful reporting left lasting effects.

    “If you say something that hurts a person, it will stay with the person forever,” he said.

    JAWS calls for lifting of ban
    JAWS has called on the Prime Minister to lift the ban, saying the decision raises concerns about the safety and independence of the media whenever the government feels threatened.

    La’aulialemalietoa said he made it clear upon taking office that his position “is Samoa’s chair,” and the government must correct misinformation when it believed reporting was inaccurate or misleading.

    “The government has to say something if a journalist is in the wrong,” he said, arguing that overseas commentary did not reflect local realities.

    He said the government supported the media but insisted that cooperation depended on factual reporting.

    “If you want to work together, the opportunity is open, but we cannot move forward until the writings are corrected.”

    He dismissed one allegation as “a pure lie,” accusing journalists of trespassing onto his land.

    “People do not walk onto my land like it’s a market,” he said, urging respect for aganuʻu and cultural protocol.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Protesters march to Warehouse in Auckland city, demand halt to Israeli SodaStream products

    Asia Pacific Report

    New Zealand pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched peacefully on The Warehouse in downtown Auckland today to protest over the sale of products by the genocidal state of Israel.

    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) co-chair Maher Nazzal and fellow protesters delivered a giant letter calling on the management to stop selling SodaStream products.

    SodaStream — an Israel-based company since 1978 — is at the centre of the global BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) campaign.

    The letter was reluctantly accepted by The Warehouse city branch duty manager Alyce, who needed to take a management phone call before agreeing to take the letter mounted on a board.

    “The Warehouse’s complicity in Israel’s war crimes must stop,” said Nazzal in the letter. “I know you will be appalled as we are at Israel’s cruel and depraved war crimes against Palestinians.”

    The letter was handed over by a small deputation on behalf of about 200 protesters who stood peacefully by the shop entrance escalator in Elliott Street as they chanted “Blood on your hands” and other condemnation of Israel over the genocide in Gaza that has killed at least 69,000 people, mostly women and children.

    The letter addressed to The Warehouse management said that “trading in SodaStream products . . . supports Israel to continue its war crimes against Palestinian people. It encourages Israel to expand its illegal occupation and its genocidal oppression of Palestinians.”

    One third of aid trucks
    In spite of the so-called “ceasefire” brokered by US President Donald Trump commencing on October 10, only one third of the promised 600 aid trucks a day had been allowed into Gaza.

    “Arrest warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. But this is not enough,” said the letter, signed by scores of the protesters.

    PSNA co-chair Maher Nazzal explains the purpose of the giant protest letter to The Warehouse city branch duty manager Alyce in Auckland today
    PSNA co-chair Maher Nazzal explains the purpose of the giant protest letter to The Warehouse city branch duty manager Alyce in Auckland today. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    “On 19 July 2024 the International Court of Justice, in a landmark ruling, declared Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories — the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza strip — is illegal and no one should give ‘aid or assistance’ to Israel in maintaining its illegal occupation.

    “However, The Warehouse is giving direct ‘aid and assistance’ to Israel’s racist policies through selling SodaStream. This must stop.

    “Since 2005, Palestinian civil society organisations have called for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel, to build international, non-violent pressure on Israel to end its brutal oppression of Palestinians.

    "Sanction Israel Now" declares a banner at today's Palestine rally and march in downtown Auckland
    “Sanction Israel Now” declares a banner at today’s Palestine rally and march in downtown Auckland. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    “BDS aims to pressure Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, end its apartheid policies towards Palestinians and allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and land in Palestine.

    The PSNA letter said the protesters supported BDS against Israel — “just as we supported the international boycott of apartheid South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s”.

    ‘New Zealanders support sanctions’
    “New Zealanders support sanctions against Israel by the ratio of two to one amongst those who give an opinion. New Zealanders expect The Warehouse to end its collaboration with Israeli apartheid and genocide and swap out of SodaStream for alternative brands,” the letter said.

    Auckland's central city branch of The Warehouse in Elliott Street
    Auckland’s central city branch of The Warehouse in Elliott Street . . . plea to drop SodaStream products. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    The Warehouse Group’s says “ethical sourcing” policy was cited in the letter, quoting in part: “Like our customers,  we  care about doing the right thing — not only here in New Zealand but everywhere we operate.

    “Our aim is to ensure our customers have confidence  that  our products have been ethically sourced.”

    The letter continued: “Selling SodaStream directly violates this policy. So why do The Warehouse and it’s subsidiary, Noel Leeming, continue to sell these products linked to ethnic cleansing and genocide?”

    Nasser said PSNA wanted the opportunity to speak with The Warehouse management directly about the stocking of SodaStream and looked forward to hearing from the business.

    Earlier, at a rally in Te Komititanga Square several speakers about BDS policies included PSNA secretary Neil Scott and South African-born activist Achmat Esau, who explained how global sanctions had forced the brutal racist minority white regime in his homeland to abandon apartheid and bow to genuine democracy.

    Esau recalled how in 1968 white South African Prime Minister John Vorster banned a tour by the England cricket team because it included a mixed-race player, Cape Town-born Basil D’Oliveira.

    Boycott of apartheid South Africa
    “After this incident, South Africa was excluded from international cricket until the release of political prisoner Nelson Mandela 22 years later.

    “The anti-apartheid boycott of the South African regime from the 1960s until the 1980s was instrumental in bringing the racist apartheid regime to its knees,’ Esau said.

    He said the success of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa was an indicator of how it could also succeed through the BDS movement against apartheid Israel.

    “We must draw in the politicians and political parries to isolate, expose and oppose this evil Zionist regime that is guilty of state terrorism.”

    Pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Elliott Street entrance to The Warehouse in Auckland
    Pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Elliott Street entrance to The Warehouse in Auckland. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • They knew we were journalists — Israel bombed us anyway

    On 21 November 2023, Farah Omar stood in the shade of a tree after finishing her live report for Al Mayadeen TV. Beside her were cameraman Rabih Maamari and their local guide — Hussein Akil, a resident of Ter Harfa — only a few kilometers from the Lebanese–Israeli border. None of the three knew that this live broadcast would be their final one. Minutes later, an Israeli drone fired a missile at the marked journalists, killing them all. If history has taught us anything: It’s never by accident, Israel kills journalists deliberately.

    Farah (25), Rabih (44), and Hussein (26) were killed while covering exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel during the first year of the war — the incident condemned by the head of UNESCO. Their murders came just one month after an Israeli Merkava tank shot and killed Reuters photojournalist Issam Abdullah (37) in Alma al-Shaab on 13 October 2023. The same strike injured six other journalists working for AFP and Al Jazeera. A year later, on 25 October 2024, another deliberate Israeli strike targeted journalists as they slept in Hasbaya, killing three and injuring several others.

    Israel kills journalists with full knowledge

    All three incidents share the same pattern — the journalists notify the UN and military personnel of their presence, clearly identifying themselves to both warring sides, but Israel shoots to kill anyway. The targeting was intentional and far from “exceptional.” Israel has repeatedly killed journalists — during the genocide in Gaza and in its aggression against Lebanon. The United Nations reports that Israel has killed at least 248 journalists in Gaza — more than in any conflict in modern history — in addition to 13 journalists in Lebanon, six of them on duty — since October 7. Israeli forces also struck a media center in Sanaa, Yemen, killing 31 journalists and media workers — according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

    Elsy Moufarrej — head of the independent Union of Journalists in Lebanon — tells The Canary that:

    targeting journalists is not surprising from an enemy that represses the image exposing its crimes. That’s a war crime! Israel goes far with it because the international silence indirectly grants it impunity… There was no accountability for Israel, and that gives it a green light to continue.

    Moufarrej and her colleagues have tried to pursue justice — since the killing of Issam Abdullah — through the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has been in coordination with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, CPJ, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — yet progress remains stalled.

    Moufarrej tells us:

    We blame the Lebanese government for not taking any measures to ensure accountability. There should be a serious investigation here. Internationally, the ICC must be authorised to investigate the war crimes committed in Lebanon since 7 October — including the direct killing of journalists.

    Had this happened, journalists today would not be facing increasing restrictions, nor would the population of the south be systematically displaced from their homes even after the ceasefire.

    Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanese researcher at Human Rights Watch, echoes this sentiment saying:

    Israel’s apparently deliberate killing of Issam Abdullah should have served as a crystal-clear message for Lebanon’s government that impunity for war crimes begets more war crimes…

    Since the killing of Issam, scores of other civilians in Lebanon have been killed in apparently deliberate or indiscriminate attacks that violate the laws of war and amount to war crimes.

    On the ground, Lebanese journalists describe a climate of constant fear.

    Constant state of fear

    Reporter Rola Atwi recalls the moment she and her colleagues were targeted during a media tour in Yaroun— 300 meters away from the Lebanese border with ‘Israel’ — while accompanying UNIFIL and the Lebanese military on 14 November 2023.

    Atwi tells The Canary:

    I felt like life stopped. I felt direct danger. I was afraid I would never see my colleagues again.

    Even after the ceasefire, reporting from the south has become extremely difficult:

    There isn’t a single moment of safety. Roads are sometimes blocked or monitored by drones. Even gathering information is harder because people are afraid and under psychological pressure… We’re reporting about our own people and our own households.

    Local journalist Dalia Bazzi, who lives in Bint Jbeil — about three kilometres from the border — tells The Canary:

    We want to impose the law. There have been thousands of Israeli violations since the ceasefire, while Lebanon has fully abided by the agreement. The truth is evident.

    She describes the horror she witnesses:

    It kills me to know that a little girl has witnessed death. A 12-year-old once described to me the dismembered bodies of civilians after a massacre. She ran toward the site when she heard the strike, wanting to help. No child should have to live with that.

    About 45 kilometers north, in Nabatieh, journalist Tarek Mrouwe describes the same reality:

    We’re cautious but not afraid. We’ve gotten used to the situation. You start asking yourself: when will this end? Why are our areas always targeted? It’s sad that the government isn’t doing much, and those opposed to the resistance are indifferent.

    Covering Israeli violations across the south, Tarek notes that:

    Israel targets civilian cars and structures while claiming they’re military targets—but that’s false. They strike forests, and after the fires burn out, we see there was no military site.

    Dalia confirms this with a recent example:

    In Bint Jbeil, Shady Sharara and his three daughters were killed, while his wife and another daughter were wounded. It’s a massacre. Are these military targets?

    She adds:

    We woke up one day to two airstrikes on a civilian car in a crowded street as everyone was heading to work. The first strike was a few meters from my house. Have you ever replaced ‘good morning’ with ‘airstrike’? I ran to cover the news before even washing my face.

    Despite this reality, international bodies remain largely indifferent. Israel’s long history of targeting journalists — in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and elsewhere — continues with impunity. As Elsy Moufarrej put it: Israel is “oppressing the image” of those who expose its crimes—especially the journalists who dare to report them.

    Featured image via LBCI

    By Mohamad Kleit

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Iqbal Mohamed quits Your Party blaming ‘false allegations’… apparently….

    Dewsbury and Batley independent MP Iqbal Mohamed has followed Blackburn colleague Adnan Hussain in resigning from the new Your Party and, like Hussain, has done so with a blast at his treatment during his time with the Corbyn/Sultana outfit, claiming that he was subject to “many false allegations and smears… reported as fact without evidence”.

    Iqbal Mohamed: off

    His full resignation statement insists that he and his colleagues “have acted professionally, patiently and in good faith” at all times during his period with Your Party – the launch period of the new party that has been marked by rows, divisions, and chaos:

    Over the past few months at the invitation of organisers, I have helped steward the launch of Your Party alongside Parliamentary colleagues Adnan Hussain (who voluntarily left Your Party on 14 Nov 2025), Ayoub Khan, Jeremy Corbyn, Shockat Adam and Zarah Sultana (who voluntarily left the Independent Alliance and the Your Party stewarding group on 18 Sept 2025).

    After careful consideration, I have decided to leave Your Party and continue serving as I was elected as an Independent Member of Parliament for Dewsbury & Batley.

    The many false allegations and smears made against me and others, and reported as fact without evidence, have been surprising and disappointing.

    However, I am confident that my colleagues and I have acted professionally, patiently, and in good faith throughout.

    I thank everyone who has dedicated time, energy, and commitment to building and supporting Your Party, and wish them success in their future endeavours. British politics needs a genuine, inclusive force for positive change, and I hope Your Party fulfils that role.

    I will continue working with my colleagues in the Independent Alliance, which has proven highly effective in advocating for the common good in Parliament over the past eighteen months. I am grateful for the sincerity, unity and trust that has defined our work, and look forward to continuing our shared commitment to peace, justice, equality, and truth.

    However, not every allegation made against Iqbal Mohamed has been false. He told the Canary that he “fully” supports April’s Supreme Court ruling on gender that has horrified trans and human rights activists and set back the rights of trans people by decades. He also claimed as a cis man that this is not a “transphobic” view:

    I fully support the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex being defined as biological male and biological female.

    I fully support the rights of biological women to safe protected spaces from biological men. I also support the human rights of trans and all LGBTQ+ people.

    None of the above views are transphobic. It would be misogynistic for anyone to advocate for biological women’s rights to safe and private spaces to be shared with biological males.

    The EHRC trans code

    The Supreme Court ruling has led directly to the appalling Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on single-sex spaces that means that any woman, trans or not, whom attendants or security consider to look a bit ‘too’ masculine can be excluded from both women’s and men’s toilets by “proportionate means”, whatever that vague phrase is considered to mean.

    This guidance has been presented, both by the EHRC and by the media, as if only trans women could possibly fall foul of it and as if that would make it acceptable. As our trans Canary colleague Alex/Rose Cocker has pointed out today:

    The EHRC and its transphobic stenographers in the BBC and the Times would like you to believe that this code will only impact trans people. This is a lie, and a deliberate one at that. Transphobes like to believe that they can tell who is trans just by looking at them, because they’ve convinced themselves that all trans women look like men in dresses, and all trans men look like tomboys.

    This is false. If it wasn’t, having sex without disclosing that you’re trans wouldn’t be a crime. If trans people always looked like their assigned sex, the EHRC wouldn’t have to suggest that trans men could be banned from men’s and women’s toilets. Likewise, trans advocacy and education group TransActual UK reported that:

    Our research has uncovered many stories of cis people, especially gender non-conforming women, being humiliated and excluded by staff or vigilante gender police when using the appropriate facilities and shown that this has already increased since the publication of the EHRC’s draft guidance.

    Trans people already face grotesque discrimination that has needed decades of work and courage to unpick to reach the already deeply-flawed situation that prevailed before the Supreme Court ruling and those gains were wiped out with the stroke of a judge’s pen to please anti-trans bigots who dress their prejudice up as ‘women’s rights’. Few of them will mourn the departure of two MPs who oppose their efforts, even if those leaving give lip service to the rights stripped by the court.

    Enough, now, in Your Party

    Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn said in April that he is “really saddened by the level of vitriol and hatred being directed toward the trans community. We are losing our common humanity.” Zarah Sultana went much further, saying that there is no room for transphobia on the left or in Your Party and that an “ironclad commitment to trans rights is non-negotiable” for any socialist party.

    The party needs to decide whose position it is taking and whether trans rights really are human rights that it will fight for as hard as those of any other minoritised person or community. If it does, then it must stop ignoring the rampant transphobia that exists in its ranks – and make sure that Your Party is not a place for anyone with those views.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Leaked trans code is a victory for women everywhere, provided they don’t look a bit too mannish

    Despite being handed the 300-page document months ago, the government still hasn’t implemented the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) new trans code. It deals with the practical implementation of the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Equality Act defines women according to sex assigned at birth.

    The EHRC immediately chose to interpret this as the basis for the complete exclusion of trans people from the single-sex facilities of their lived gender. However, it has since taken down the ‘interim’ guidance.

    The lack of the new code has left trans people in a legal limbo. My community has been left without a clue to the extent of exclusion we are about to face.

    However, the new code has now been leaked to the press. The news outlets of the UK managed to get their reporting out just in time for Trans Day of Remembrance, on which we mourn the lives lost to transphobic violence and discrimination around the world. This, I’m sure, was a coincidence.

    The big reveal that has taken so long? The promised solution to the trans question? The service providers of the UK will be asked to take a guess at who they reckon is a tranny, and chuck people out accordingly.

    EHRC trans code: ‘based on how they look’

    The BBC wrote that:

    Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance or behaviour, according to proposed new guidance seen by the BBC.

    Likewise, the Times claimed that:

    Under the guidance, which has been seen by The Times, places such as hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres will be able to question transgender women over their use of single-sex services based on how they look, their behaviour or concerns raised by others.

    Note the language used here: “trans people could be asked” and “question transgender women”. These statements are a rhetorical attempt to mislead the reader – either on the part of the EHRC or the news outlets. What’s more, the articles themselves expose them as such. Both go on to state some variation on the following:

    The code reportedly notes that “there is no type of official record or document in the UK which provides reliable evidence of sex” because people are able to change their sex on passports and driving licences without a GRC. Instead, where there is “genuine concern about the accuracy of the response”, the code reportedly states it may be proportionate to exclude a transgender person.

    ‘Humiliated and excluded’

    So, walk with me here. There’s no way to tell whether or not someone is trans by official documentation. As such, a service provider is allowed to exclude someone from single-sex spaces purely according to how they look and act.

    Therefore, someone doesn’t have to be trans in order to be excluded under the new anti-trans guidance. So stating that “trans women could be questioned” etc. isn’t actually true, is it? Anybody could be questioned, and anybody could be excluded, based purely on “concerns raised by others”.

    The EHRC and its transphobic stenographers in the BBC and the Times would like you to believe that this code will only impact trans people. This is a lie, and a deliberate one at that. Transphobes like to believe that they can tell who is trans just by looking at them, because they’ve convinced themselves that all trans women look like men in dresses, and all trans men look like tomboys.

    This is false. If it wasn’t, having sex without disclosing that you’re trans wouldn’t be a crime. If trans people always looked like their assigned sex, the EHRC wouldn’t have to suggest that trans men could be banned from men’s and women’s toilets. Likewise, trans advocacy and education group TransActual UK reported that:

    Our research has uncovered many stories of cis people, especially gender non-conforming women, being humiliated and excluded by staff or vigilante gender police when using the appropriate facilities and shown that this has already increased since the publication of the EHRC’s draft guidance.

    ‘Get this right’

    It falls on equalities minister Bridget Phillipson to make the EHRC’s guidance into law. The EHRC’s Kishwer Falkner – a woman criticised for her bigotry by the fucking Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide – has urged Phillipson to implement the new code. Likewise, the Guardian reported that the code was leaked by government figures who believe Labour is “delaying publication to avoid a potential backlash”.

    Addressing these claims, Phillipson told reporters:

    I have responsibilities to make sure that’s done properly and we’re taking the time to get this right.

    This is an important area and we want to make sure that women have access to a single-sex provision – that’s incredibly important for domestic violence services, rape crisis centres, so that women are able to heal from the trauma they’ve experienced.

    But of course, trans people should be treated with dignity and respect.

    Let’s not mince words. If a trans person is trying to access a rape crisis centre, it is because they have been raped. However, that fact is less important than the possibility that they might make a cis woman uncomfortable. There’s no “dignity and respect” in that.

    Similarly, there is no way to “get this right”, with all the time in the world. This transphobic code necessarily involves an assault on the rights of anyone who could be perceived as trans, regardless of their gender status. Trans+ Solidarity Alliance founder Jude Guaitamacchi called out that very fact, stating:

    These leaks reveal that not only does the EHRC’s proposed code of practice seek to require trans exclusion, it instructs service providers to police this based on appearance and gender stereotypes.

    This is a misogynist’s charter, plain and simple, and the government must reject it.

    Echoing the sentiment, a spokesperson for TransActual stated:

    We’ve seen this before – people trying to make our society into a place that is only safe for ‘normal’ ladies. Not just loos. But sports centres, changing rooms and more. We know from experience that women of colour and butch lesbians are more likely to be seen as unfeminine by strangers, so this policy would have racist and homophobic impacts as well as being obviously incredibly harmful for trans people.

    We offer our solidarity to the many cis women who have been targeted and harassed for their appearance by ‘gender critical activists’ who believed they were trans, and who would be put even further at risk by these rules.

    We cannot believe that government would be so foolish – so hell-bent on shooting itself in the foot – as to go along with this. We therefore trust that Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson will treat it with the contempt it deserves and reject this costly, cruel and unworkable guidance, sending it back to the EHRC to be completely rewritten.

    Congratulations to the anti-trans left. You’d better own the EHRC trans code.

    I want to finish this article with a direct address. Almost every time I – or one of my colleagues – write a piece on trans issues, the comment section is populated by people who cheer on the anti-trans policies. Some, I’m sure, are right-wing trolls who merely pretend to be on the left to muddy the water.

    However, I’m also sure that some of you genuinely believe that you are on the left. Lets ignore for a minute the fact that trans bans were a policy priority for the fascist Trump regime. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

    You might believe that trans women don’t belong in women’s sport. In turn, that opened the door to your wholesale opposition of trans people living their lives as they see fit. Maybe you believe that women’s oppression is rooted wholly in biology. Accordingly, you fight against the rights of the trans men you believe to be women, because they can’t be allowed to make decisions for themselves.

    I want to congratulate you. I am now wholly defined by my biology, or at least, whatever anybody cares to guess is my biology. This is your great victory. Please do celebrate.

    Only, own your victory with your whole chest, because all of it belongs to you. I cordially invite you to comment with expressions of joy, invectives for trans people to stay out of single-sex spaces, and explanations of why you’re actually the true leftist and all of the fascists you keep company with are mere coincidence.

    Just remember to append your comment with the following:

    I believe that the accompanying discrimination against intersex people, butch lesbians, femme gays, and gender non-conformists is worthwhile to achieve this goal.

    You fucking cowards.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alex/Rose Cocker

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Out for blood: Israel ramps-up sweeping military assault on West Bank refugee camps

    The Israeli occupation launched Operation Iron Wall on 21 January 2025. It targeted West Bank refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, displacing 32,000 Palestinians and obliterating homes and civilian infrastructure.

    Israel continues to deny displaced populations the right of return, making this the largest West Bank forced displacement since 1967.

    Operation Iron Wall: Israel’s goes after refugee camps

    A new Human Rights Watch report, documents this military campaign.

    The timing is difficult to ignore.

    Two days after a temporary ceasefire in Gaza was reached, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) undertook massive raids. They deployed Apache helicopters, drones, armoured vehicles, bulldozers, and hundreds of ground troops to clear the three refugee camps.

    Soldiers stormed homes, ransacked possessions, interrogated civilians, and issued evacuation orders via drones and loudspeakers, giving little time or explanation.

    Displacement occurred under active military operations and threat of sniper fire. Vulnerable groups, including wheelchair users, faced extra hardships. Occupation forces often cruelly forcing them to abandon their assistive devices.​

    Plans to permanently displace 32,000 Palestinians

    Satellite imagery analysed by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Satellite Centre confirm the scale of destruction.

    Israel has demolished and damaged more than 850 buildings across Palestinian refugee camps. Meanwhile, extensive bulldozing of roads cleared the way for military access.

    The IOF claim these measures are necessary “to reshape and stabilise” the area and combat “terror”.

    They failed to justify the displacement and demolition as crucial military necessities, and did not take appropriate measures to safeguard displaced populations. They provided no shelter, food or water, nor evacuation routes, as required under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.​

    Statements by senior Israeli occupation officials made clear their intent to make displacement permanent. Defense Minister Israel Katz told the IDF:

    not to allow residents to return and terrorism to grow again.

    Meanwhile Bezalel Smotrich threatened that camps:

    will be turned into uninhabitable ruins.

    Forced displacement constitutes a war crime when the displacement is the result of illegal attacks. But when it is part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population, it is classified as a crime against humanity. The scale, organisation, and deliberate nature of Operation Iron Wall’s forced displacement fulfil these criteria.

    A campaign of ethnic cleansing

    According to Human Rights Watch the campaign amounts to ethnic cleansing. The policy is specifically designed to violently remove an ethnic or religious group from a geographic area.

    Displaced Palestinians are living in terrible conditions.

    Médecins Sans Frontières has reported worsening health, unmet needs, and inadequate access to healthcare, food, and water supplies.

    The occupation’s restrictions on movement and limited humanitarian access make these challenges worse. Israel’s closure of camps has barred UNRWA school access for thousands of children.

    Many families live in cramped makeshift shelters, where privacy and dignity are strained.

    They face repeated forced relocations and Israeli occupation authorities have failed to meet their obligations under international law.

    Unspeakable terror

    The report’s testimonies speak of the terror experienced.

    Nadim M. from Tulkarem described being zip-tied and threatened by snipers while being forced out with his family. Anoud C., who was undergoing intensive treatment for lung cancer, was at home in Jenin camp at the time of the raid. She said:

    I could hear explosions, there were four explosions first, before the helicopter began to shoot over our heads and at the people.

    Anoud and her family fled from their home with nothing, holding a white cloth. Fatima B. escaped the Jenin raid under airstrikes and warnings broadcast by drones. There were also fatalities, including the pregnant Rahaf al-Ashqar, who the Israeli forces killed when they detonated an explosive at her home in Nur Shams.

    Since the camps’ evictions, the IOF has consistently barred residents from returning. They have made sure the damage has been long lasting damage. These actions breach Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting “wanton destruction”. But the occupation’s military has failed to justify demolitions or prove an operational need. Civilians continue to suffer the consequences.​

    Israel must answer for its crimes

    UNRWA established the three refugee camps in the early 1950s. They were to house Palestinians expelled from their homes following ‘Israel’s’ creation in 1948.

    Those refugees, and their descendants, had resided in these camps since then.

    The occupation’s military campaign against these refugee camps perpetuates a familiar pattern of repression and dispossession. Israeli occupation policies reflect apartheid and persecution. ‘Israel’ has carried out decades of settlement growth and violence against Palestinian communities. Administrative detentions have reached record highs since the genocide started.

    Human Rights Watch is urging governments to investigate and prosecute the growing litany of Israeli war crimes — and they must act now.

    Governments must also use sanctions, arms embargoes, trade suspensions, and enforcement of ICC arrest warrants to pressure Israel to stop its crimes. Without international intervention, human rights violations and ethnic cleansing risk becoming entrenched and normalised, worsening the humanitarian catastrophe, and prolonging injustice.​

    Featured image via Electronic Intifada/Mohammed Nasser.

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Things Happen: Trump, the Crown Prince and Killing Khashoggi

    The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is at it again. Gulling, wooing, and grinning his way into the establishment of another country, he is greasing palms and making deals. Effusive and flattering of his host, this time US President Donald Trump, he received a state welcome on November 18 rarely afforded visiting dignitaries: a red carpet viewing of fighter jets, a horse-mounted guard of honour, and a feast in the East Room. He was also promised the much-sought-after F-35 fighter jets as part of a defence arrangement, elevating Saudi Arabia to the status of a “major non-NATO ally”. Along the way, MBS has done much to deter those who wish to remind him of a wretched human rights record and the barbaric habits of a state he claims to be modernising.

    The gaudy occasion risked being sullied by a question from Mary Bruce of ABC News. Intended for the Crown Prince, it inquired about his role behind the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. The death squad responsible for strangling and dismembering the unsuspecting Khashoggi had been dispatched with his blessing, numbering among them a forensic specialist, a bone saw, and a body double. Many of its members hailed from bin Salman’s own protective guard, the Rapid Intervention Force.

    Trump’s intervention was abrupt: “You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen. But he [MBS] knew nothing about it.  You don’t have to embarrass our guest.”

    His guest has much to be embarrassed about, and more besides. With surliness and much petulant audacity, the opportunistic princeling has seized such power in the realm as to marginalise all other decision makers, including rival family members.  The most important decisions, be they on vast investment agreements, the refurbishment of the country’s medieval bearing, or authorising the extrajudicial killing of an irritating scribbler, would issue from him.

    To therefore suggest that the Crown Prince was ignorant of his own misdeeds is to fly in the face of hardened reality. When she was UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary killings, Agnès Callamard found that state responsibility for Khashoggi’s death was the only plausible conclusion.  “His killing was the result of elaborate planning involving extensive coordination and significant human and financial resources. It was overseen, planned, and endorsed by high-level officials.  It was premeditated.”

    Most importantly, Trump’s breezy acquittal of MBS’s culpability resoundingly ignores the findings by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a 2021 declassified report submitted to Congress by the then Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. “We assess,” the report avers, “that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” This was the only reasonable conclusion given bin Salman’s “control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom”, the seminal role played by one of his key advisors and members of the Crown Prince’s protective detail in the operation, along with bin Salman’s appetite “for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”

    The report goes on to make a most telling observation: that the Crown Prince’s assumption (one might even say seizure) of “absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations” since 2017 made it “highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without” his approval. Some equivocation is expressed about “how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm” Khashoggi.

    Bin Salman, for his part, reverted to his role as high-minded reformer while citing the defence of mistake. This was at least partially in keeping with previous admissions that his hands were not entirely clean on the subject. (Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan, reiterated that point in an interview with BBC Newsnight.) It had been “painful for us in Saudi Arabia”, he told Bruce. “We did all the right steps of investigating, etc., in Saudi Arabia, and we’ve improved our system to be sure that nothing happens like that again. And it’s painful, and it was a huge mistake.” Trump also gave his guest the needed ballast: “What’s he done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else.”

    Since Khashoggi’s murder, the response from the Kingdom has been one of denial, distancing, and detachment. It has involved isolating the killers as wayward enthusiasts and adventurers, lacking the force of a mandate. They were to be the convenient scalps, the necessary sacrifices. Of the group, five were subsequently sentenced to death while three were given prison sentences. Saud al-Qahtani, bin Salman’s disseminator of venomous social media, along with Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Asiri, were acquitted for lack of evidence. Callamard was compelled to remark that “The executioners were found guilty and sentenced to death,” while “those who ordered the executions not only walk free but have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial.” That’s the MBS version of modern Saudi Arabia for you.

    The post Things Happen: Trump, the Crown Prince and Killing Khashoggi first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Human Rights Defenders in Greece on trial for baseless charges for assisting people on the move

    On 18 November 2025 Frontline published an urgent appeal that I – as a resident of Greece – with some shame share [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/07/28/human-rights-defenders-in-greece-my-adopted-country-not-doing-well/]:

    On 4 December 2025, 24 human rights defenders, including Seán Binder and Athanasios (Nassos) Karakitsos, will appear before the Mytilene Court of Appeals, on the island of Lesvos. This comes seven years (!!) after their initial arrests. The human rights defenders are facing felony charges of ‘membership of a criminal organisation’, ‘facilitation of the entry of third country nationals into the country’, and ‘money laundering’. The charges stem from work carried out by the defenders in Greece between 2016 and 2018, where they assisted people on the move whose lives were at risk while trying to reach safety to the island of Lesvos. If convicted, they face up to 20 years of imprisonment.

    Seán Binder and Athanasios (Nassos) Karakitsos are migrant rights defenders who worked with Emergency Response Center International (ERCI) between 2016 and 2018. The humanitarian work carried out by ERCI was extensive, and included helping more than 1000 people reach safety, organising workshops and swimming classes for migrant children in the Kara Tepe camp, and providing residents in the Moria camp with medical assistance. ERCI was registered as a non-governmental organisation and regularly cooperated with Greek authorities, including with the Greek Coast Guard on rescue operations. The organisation was dissolved after the criminalisation of its members and volunteers.

    In September 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals’ decision, delivered on 13 January 2023, to dismiss four misdemeanour charges of ‘forgery’, ‘espionage’, ‘possession of unlicensed radio’ and ‘infringement of state secrets’ faced by Seán Binder and seven other non-Greek speaking defenders. This was due to procedural flaws, including key documents, such as the indictments, having not been translated for the accused. In January 2024, the remaining sixteen human rights defenders, including Athanasios (Nassos) Karakitsos, were acquitted of the same charges. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2021/11/17/greeces-mistaken-deterrence-migrants-and-aid-workers-facing-heavy-prison-sentences/]

    On 21 August 2018, Lesvos Police arrested Seán Binder after he attended the police station voluntarily, having learned that another human rights defender had been arrested earlier that day. In the following days, they also arrested Athanasios (Nassos) Karakitsos, the field director of ERCI at the time. The human rights defenders were kept in pre-trial detention for more than one hundred days, accused of ‘people smuggling’, ‘money laundering’, ‘espionage’, and ‘membership of a criminal organisation.’ In December 2018, the human rights defenders were conditionally released on bail.

    The upcoming trial is the second court case since 2018 initiated against the 24 human rights defenders based on their work, aiding, assisting and saving the lives of migrants and refugees, who were trapped in the Aegean Sea between Türkiye and Greece.

    Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities in Greece to:

    Immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Seán Binder and Athanasios (Nassos) Karakitsos, and the other 22 human rights defenders who are also on trial;

    1. Cease the criminalisation of human rights defenders who peacefully defend the rights of the migrants and refugees, including the humanitarian assistance to save the lives of people stranded at the marine and land borders;
    2. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Greece are able to carry
    3. out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.

    Download the urgent appeal

    https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/human-rights-defenders-trial-baseless-charges-assisting-people-move

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Ramzy Baroud: Pathetic attempt to achieve by Gaza decree what US-Israel failed to gain through brute force

    COMMENTARY: By Ramzy Baroud

    UNSC Resolution 2803 is unequivocally rejected. It is a direct contravention of international law itself, imposed by the United States with the full knowledge and collaboration of Arab and Muslim states.

    These regimes brutally turned their backs on the Palestinians throughout the genocide, with some actively helping Israel cope with the economic fallout of its multi-frontal wars.

    The resolution is a pathetic attempt to achieve through political decree what the US and Israel decisively failed to achieve through brute force and war.

    It is doomed to fail, but not before it further exposes the bizarre, corrupted nature of international law under US political hegemony. The very country that has bankrolled and sustained the genocide of the Palestinians is the same country now taking ownership of Gaza’s fate.

    It is a sad testimony of current affairs that China and Russia maintained a far stronger, more principled position in support of Palestine than the so-called Arab and Muslim “brothers.”

    The time for expecting salvation from Arab and Muslim states is over; enough is enough.

    Even more tragic is Russia’s explanation for its abstention as a defence of the Palestinian Authority, while the PA itself welcomed the vote. The word treason is far too kind for this despicable, self-serving leadership.

    Recipe for disaster
    If implemented and enforced against the will of the Palestinians in Gaza, this resolution is a recipe for disaster: expect mass protests in Gaza, which will inevitably be suppressed by US-led lackeys, working hand-in-glove with Israel, all in the cynical name of enforcing “international law”.

    Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about the history of Palestine knows that Res 2803 has hurled us decades back, resurrecting the dark days of the British Mandate over Palestine.

    Another historical lesson is due: those who believe they are writing the final, conclusive chapter of Palestine will be shocked and surprised, for they have merely infuriated history.

    The story is far from over. The lasting shame is that Arab states are now fully and openly involved in the suppression of the Palestinians.

    Dr Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story (Pluto Press, London). He has a PhD in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter (2015) and was a Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. This commentary is republished from his Facebook page.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Trump’s Anti-Trans Policies Embolden Far Right

    In 2025, over a thousand anti-transgender bills were introduced in 49 states across the country. Of those, over 100 have passed so far this year, continuing the trend of five consecutive record-breaking years of anti-trans legislation from 2020 to 2024.

    In recent years, I have watched these state-level attacks on transgender people spread across more than half the country, with many of these policies now being embraced at the federal level. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care was constitutional, effectively opening the door for similar bans in 26 states.

    The post Trump’s Anti-Trans Policies Embolden Far Right appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Pacific climate leaders ‘deeply disappointed’ as Australia loses bid to host COP31

    By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Pacific climate leaders are disappointed that Australia has lost the bid to host the United Nations Climate Conference, COP31, in 2026.

    Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr said he was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome.

    Australia had campaigned for years for the meeting to be held in its country, and it was to happen in conjunction with the Pacific.

    The new agreement put forward by Australia’s Climate Minister Chris Bowen is for Bowen to be the COP president of negotiations and for a pre-COP to be hosted in the Pacific, while the main event is in Türkiye.

    Bowen told media at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the new proposal would allow Australia to prepare draft text and issue the overarching document of the event, while Türkiye will oversee the operation side of the meeting.

    In a statement, Whipps said the region’s ambition and advocacy would not waver.

    “A Pacific COP was vital to highlight the critical climate-ocean nexus, the everyday realities of climate impacts, and the serious threats to food security, economies and livelihoods in the Pacific and beyond,” he said.

    “Droughts, fires, floods, typhoons, and mudslides are seen and felt by people all around the world with increasing severity and regularity.”

    No resolution with Türkiye
    Australia and the Pacific had most of the support to host the meeting from parties, but the process meant there was no resolution from the months-long stand-off with Türkiye, the default city of Bonn in Germany would have hosted the COP.

    It would also mean a year with no COP president in place.

    Australia's Climate Minister Chris Bowen
    Australia’s Climate Minister Chris Bowen . . . “It would be great if Australia could have it all. But we can’t have it all. This process works on consensus.” Image: RNZ

    Bowen said it would have been irresponsible for multilateralism, which was already being challenged.

    “We didn’t want that to happen, so hence, it was important to strike an agreement with Turkiye, our competitor,” he said.

    “Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all. But we can’t have it all. This process works on consensus.”

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s head of Pacific campaigns Shiva Gounden said not hosting the event is going to make the region’s job, to fight for climate justice, harder.

    “When you’re in the region, you can shape a lot of the direction of how the COP looks and how the negotiations happen inside the room, because you can embed it with a lot of the values that is extremely close to the Pacific way of doing things,” he said.

    Gounden said the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process had failed the Pacific.

    “The UNFCCC process didn’t have a measure or a way to resolve this without it getting this messy right at the end of COP30,” Gounden said.

    “If it wasn’t resolved, it would have gone to Bonn, where there wouldn’t be any presidency for a year and that creates a lot of issues for multilateralism and right now multilateralism is under threat.”

    No safe ‘overshoot’
    Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) international policy lead Sindra Sharma said the decision on the COP31 presidency in no way shifts the global responsibility to deliver on the Paris Agreement.

    “There is no safe ‘overshoot’ and every increment of warming is a failure to current and future generations.

    “We cannot afford to lose focus. We are in the final hours of COP30 and the outcomes we secure here will set the foundation for COP31.

    “We need to stay locked in and ensure this COP delivers the ambition and justice frontline communities deserve.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • New Caledonia’s pro-independence split widens – another party quits FLNKS

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    A rift within New Caledonia’s pro-independence movement has further widened after the second component of the “moderates”, the UPM (Progressist Union in Melanesia), has officially announced it has now left the once united Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS).

    The UPM announcement, at a press conference in Nouméa, comes only five days after the PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party), another moderate pro-independence group, also made official it was splitting from the FLNKS.

    It was in line with resolutions taken at the party’s Congress held at the weekend.

    Both groups have invoked similar reasons for the move.

    UPM leader Victor Tutugoro told local media on Wednesday his party found it increasingly “difficult to exist today within the [FLNKS] pro-independence movement, part of which has now widely radicalised through outrage and threats”.

    He said both his party and PALIKA did not recognise themselves anymore in the FLNKS’s increasingly “violent operating mode”.

    Tutugoro recalled that since August 2024, UPM had not taken part in the operation of the “new FLNKS” [including its political bureau] because it did not accept its “forceful ways” under the increasing domination of Union Calédonienne, especially the recruitment of new “nationalist” factions and the appointment of CCAT leader and UC political commissar Christian Téin as its new President,.

    Téin was arrested in June 2024 for alleged criminal-related charges before and during the May 2024 riots and then flown to mainland France.

    After one year in jail in Mulhouse (North-east of France), his pre-trial conditions were released and in October 2025, he was eventually authorised to return to New Caledonia, where he should be back in the next few days.

    Christian Téin’s return soon
    Téin remains under pre-trial conditions until he is judged, at a yet undetermined date.

    Téin and a “Collectif Solidarité Kanaky 18” however announced Téin was to hold a public meeting themed “Which way for the Decolonisation of Kanaky-New Caledonia?” on 22 November 2025 in the small French city of Bourges, local media reported.

    “This will be his last public address before he returns to New Caledonia,” said organisers.

    Tutugoro says things worsened since the negotiations that led to the signing of a Bougival agreement, in July 2025, from which FLNKS pulled out in August 2025, denouncing what they described as a “lure of independence”.

    “This agreement now separates us from the new FLNKS. And this is another reason for us to say we have nothing left to do [with them],” said Tutugoro.

    UPM recalls it was a founding member of the FLNKS in 1984.

    UPM, PALIKA founding members of FLNKS 41 years ago
    On November 14, the PALIKA [Kanak Liberation Party] revealed the outcome of its 50th Congress held six days earlier, which now makes official its withdrawal from the FLNKS (a platform it was part of since the FLNKS was set up in 1984).

    It originally comprised PALIKA, UPM (Progressist Union in Melanesia), Union Calédonienne (UC) and Wallisian-based Rassemblement démocratique océanien (RDO).

    PALIKA said it had decided to formally split from FLNKS because it disagreed with the FLNKS approach since the May 2024 riots.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Labour’s asylum plans strike at the heart of Britain’s commitment to fairness and justice | Letters

    Readers respond to news articles and analysis on Shabana Mahmood’s proposals to change the asylum system

    The government’s asylum proposals, rendering subsistence support discretionary and compelling refugees to return once their countries are deemed “safe”, represent a profound departure from both legal obligations and moral responsibility. These are not minor administrative adjustments; they are structural erosions of rights that strike at the heart of Britain’s commitment to fairness and justice.

    The United Kingdom remains bound by the 1951 refugee convention and the Human Rights Act 1998. These instruments enshrine non‑discretionary duties, including the provision of subsistence and protection against refoulement. To reframe such duties as optional is to mischaracterise international law and invite judicial challenge. More importantly, it undermines the principle that rights are universal and inalienable, not favours dispensed at political whim.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • 10 NGOs Taking Action for Transitional Justice

    Human Rights Careers

    In the aftermath of conflict, dictatorship, or mass human rights violations, societies face the challenge of addressing past atrocities while rebuilding for the future. Transitional justice refers to a set of legal and social mechanisms designed to achieve justice, accountability, and reconciliation in such contexts. These processes include truth commissions, criminal prosecutions, reparations for victims, and institutional reforms aimed at preventing future abuses. Rooted in the principles of human rights and international law, transitional justice seeks to balance the need for justice and survivor healing with the complexities of political and social stability.

    Across the world, many charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a crucial role in supporting transitional justice efforts. Whether by documenting human rights abuses, advocating for victims, or facilitating truth and reconciliation initiatives, these organisations help societies navigate the difficult journey toward justice and peace. This article by Barbara Listek explores some of the key NGOs working in the field, highlighting their impact in post-conflict and post-authoritarian contexts.

    #1. International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)

    The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) supports societies recovering from mass human rights violations by helping them confront the past and build more just and inclusive futures. Working alongside victims, local communities, and institutions, ICTJ provides expertise on truth commissions, reparations, criminal accountability, and institutional reform. Whether advising on the creation of truth-seeking bodies or supporting prosecutions of those responsible for serious crimes, the organisation’s work is rooted in the belief that acknowledging harm and delivering justice are essential for healing and long-term peace.

    Since its founding, ICTJ has played a key role in transitional justice processes across the globe, including in Colombia, Tunisia, and The Gambia. Its approach is deeply grounded in the lived experiences of survivors, ensuring that justice efforts are not only technically sound but also meaningful to those most affected. By focusing on systemic change and survivor-centred solutions, ICTJ works to prevent the recurrence of violence and strengthen democratic institutions in countries emerging from repression and conflict.

    #2. REDRESS

    Redress is a London-based organisation founded by British businessman Keith Carmichael after he was unlawfully detained and tortured in Saudi Arabia. Frustrated by the lack of legal support and accountability available to survivors like himself, Carmichael launched REDRESS to fill a critical gap in access to justice. His personal experience became the driving force behind the charity’s mission: to secure justice and reparation for victims of torture and other grave human rights violations.

    Now more than 30 years old, REDRESS continues to lead efforts globally to end impunity for torture. The organisation provides legal representation to survivors, supports strategic litigation before national and international courts, and advocates for stronger laws and policies that prevent torture and ensure reparations. By working directly with survivors, while also influencing governments and international institutions, REDRESS helps ensure that survivors’ voices are heard and that justice becomes a meaningful reality, central to any process of healing and transitional justice.

    #3. The Center for Justice and Accountability

    The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) is an organisation founded in 1998 on the principle, first used during the Nuremberg trials after World War II, that certain crimes are so egregious that they represent offences against all humankind. These crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killing and torture, and as CJA argues, they should never go unanswered.

    CJA’s approach is survivor-led and collaborative. The organisation works closely with local partners and in-country prosecutors to build cases that centre the voices and experiences of those most affected. Alongside this, CJA advocates for stronger laws and policies that make it harder for abusers to escape justice and hold everyone accountable to the human rights standards.

    #4. The African Transitional Justice Legacy Fund

    The African Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) is an organisation launched in 2019 to support African-led responses to past atrocities, rooted in the belief that sustainable peace and justice must be shaped by those directly affected. Backed by the MacArthur Foundation and WellSpring Philanthropic Fund, the ATJLF emerged alongside the African Union’s Transitional Justice Policy, helping translate its goals into practical, community-driven action. Managed initially by the Ghana-based Institute for Democratic Governance, the Fund has since become a nine-year institutionalised effort supporting civil society across West Africa.

    By empowering survivor-led groups and grassroots initiatives, the ATJLF has helped amplify voices often excluded from transitional justice processes. Since its inception, over $2.5 million has been distributed to 46 organisations working in countries including Guinea, Liberia, and The Gambia. As it enters its legacy phase (2024–2026), the Fund is scaling its efforts beyond West Africa and focusing on deeper, long-term partnerships to ensure the impact of its work endures well beyond its closure.

    #5. Impunity Watch

    Impunity Watch is an international non-profit organisation working with victims of violence to deliver redress for grave human rights violations and to promote justice and peace. The organisation approaches transitional justice work through a victim-centred approach, taking into account the long-standing criticism of transitional justice not being sufficiently victim-centred. It is also their aim to overcome systemic impunity and its root causes in order to achieve transformative justice (here we could link the article I wrote on transformative justice, but it is not published yet).

    For more information about the organisation, we recommend visiting their website for an abundant collection of resources and information, such as the charity’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, information about the complex work Impunity Watch does, as well as their multimedia resources section.

    #6. Global Survivors Fund

    The Global Survivors Fund (GSF) is an international charity organisation based in Switzerland, that has it as its mission to enhance the access to reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence around the globe. It was founded in 2019 by Dr Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad – 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

    The organisation’s work is centred around three core pillars: acting to provide interim reparative measures in situations where States or other parties are unable or unwilling to meet their responsibilities; advocating for the legally responsible parties (duty-bearers) and the international community to develop reparation programmes; and guiding States and civil society by providing expertise and technical support for designing reparation programmes.

    To learn more about the organisation’s transformative work, donate or find information about positions openings, visit their website.

    #7. Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation

    Founded in 2014, the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR) is a consortium of nine global organisations dedicated to addressing the transitional justice needs of societies emerging from conflict or periods of authoritarian rule. The initiative collaborates with communities worldwide to amplify survivors’ voices and inspire collective action in confronting human rights violations. By addressing past traumas, GIJTR aims to pave the way for a more just and peaceful future.

    Over the past decade, GIJTR has engaged with communities in over 70 countries, collaborating with more than 800 local civil society organisations and supporting over 500 grassroots projects. Its initiatives include documenting human rights abuses, providing technical assistance to civil society activists, and promoting reparative justice efforts. Notably, the organisation has worked alongside survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in contexts such as Bangladesh, Colombia, and Guinea, supporting them in advocating for their rights and developing community-based programs aimed at meeting survivors’ needs.

    #8. International Coalition of Sites of Conscience

    The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is the only global network of historic sites, museums, and memory initiatives that connects past struggles to today’s human rights movements. With over 350 members in 65 countries, its mission is to ensure that the sites preserve the memory of past injustices while fostering dialogue and learning that prevent future violations.

    Their slogan being “Remembering is a Form of Resistance,” the Coalition works with local communities, governments, and international partners to ensure that these sites serve as platforms for reconciliation, education, and activism. It convenes impactful projects and initiatives as well as training events that bring together site professionals, historians, and activists to develop best practices for memory‑based reconciliation and community empowerment

    If you are interested in how museums can contribute to upholding human rights, or would like to visit one of such sites, we recommend checking out our article on “20 Human Rights Museums Around The World” to discover inspiring spaces that might be worth visiting (perhaps on your next trip!).

    #9. Post-Conflict Research Center

    The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) is a Sarajevo-based, women-led research centre and NGO, dedicated to advancing transitional justice and promoting peace in post-conflict societies. Founded in 2011 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, PCRC works on issues related to justice, accountability, reconciliation, and human rights. Its efforts include conducting research, providing education, and supporting projects aimed at improving social cohesion and fostering sustainable peace. PCRC is also involved in advocacy and works with local and international organisations to develop and implement policies that address the needs of survivors of conflict and promote justice for atrocities.

    PCRC’s signature programmes include Balkan Diskurs, an online platform empowering young journalists to report on regional issues, and Ordinary Heroes, a multimedia project showcasing stories of rescue and courage to promote tolerance and reconciliation. Its work has earned international recognition, including the 2014–15 Intercultural Innovation Award from the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the BMW Group, and praise from the Council of Europe for its exemplary peace education model.

    Are you inspired by PCRC’s blend of research and action? Learn what it takes to follow in their footsteps by reading our guide on “How to Become a Human Rights Researcher.”

    #10. Rights for Peace

    Rights for Peace is a London-based international organisation that seeks to address the root causes of violence and promote peace through human rights advocacy and transitional justice. Focusing on countries in transition from conflict or repression, Rights for Peace engages with local communities to ensure that victims of violence are heard and that justice mechanisms are effective. It works to strengthen the rule of law, promote accountability, and support processes of social healing through legal reforms and community-led initiatives. By fostering a culture of peace and justice, the organisation aims to prevent the recurrence of violence and contribute to long-term stability.

    Currently active in Sudan and South Sudan, Rights for Peace collaborates with local partners to strengthen rule‑of‑law institutions and ensure that victims’ voices shape accountability processes. Its casework includes monitoring identity‑based violations and developing strategic litigation to hold perpetrators accountable, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to survivor‑centred justice.

    10 Charities Taking Action for Transitional Justice

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • UN experts concerned by Interpol red notices against human rights defenders from El Salvador

    The issuance of Interpol red notices against two Salvadoran human rights defenders currently in exile in Spain constitutes a grave misuse of the law enforcement mechanism, UN experts warned on 19 November 2025

    “This move amounts to an act of transnational repression, as it extends the harassment of human rights defenders beyond borders, targeting them in a country where they are seeking safety,” the experts said.

    See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/06/14/qa-transnational-repression/

    Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya have applied for asylum in Spain, fleeing legal harassment in El Salvador stemming from their legitimate human rights work. Both human rights defenders work for the non-governmental organisation UNIDEHC, which has been targeted by the Salvadoran authorities since February 2025 for its support to the La Floresta community, who have been facing attempts of forced eviction since 2024.

    “The charges brought against Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya in El Salvador and related arrest warrants issued by the authorities appear to be without basis and in direct connection with their legitimate human rights work for UNIDEHC to support communities under threat and denounce the actions of the Government under the state of emergency declared in 2022,” the experts said.

    In May 2025, the court presiding over their case in El Salvador ordered the Interpol National Central Bureau to submit a request for the issuance of a red notice to the Interpol General Secretariat. Interpol confirmed the issuance in July 2025.

    The experts pointed to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Interpol, which state that the organisation is “strictly forbidden” from undertaking “any intervention or activities of a political nature”, and that the organisation’s activities will be conducted “in the spirit of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.”

    In September 2025, Rudy Joya was summoned by police under the pretext of his asylum application in Spain. Upon presenting himself to the authorities, he was detained and presented before a Spanish specialised court. Ivania Cruz was also summoned and appeared before the same court, which ordered that both defenders sign-in at a local court every 15 days, not leave the country, surrender their passports and report any change of address.

    “We call on Interpol to immediately revoke the red notices and judicial sanctions against Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya, and on Spain to refuse to accede to the red notice and to ensure their safety by rejecting their forcible return to El Salvador,” the experts said.

    The experts are in contact with Interpol and the governments of Spain and El Salvador on these concerns.

    The experts are:

    https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/11/un-experts-concerned-weaponisation-interpol-red-notices-against-human-rights

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Israel kills entire families in new massacres

    On a day which promised calm, following the ceasefire deal in Gaza, the Israeli occupation violated the truce for the 394th time.

    They launched a bloody attack on various areas of the Gaza Strip, resulting in callous murder of 40 citizens, entire families, wiped from the civil registry.

    A dozen more were wounded, some remain in critical condition.

    Another day, another massacre

    In the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, a building inhabited by displaced persons seeking sanctuary, an Israeli missile struck the family, killing five members of the Zakaria Azzam family, including children, some of whom were only a few years old. After the bombing, a small chair and a child’s dress remained as silent symbols of suffering and lost innocence.

    Shuja’iyya and West Khan Yunis have witnessed repeated massacres despite the ceasefire.

    Israeli rockets destroyed entire houses and neighbourhoods, while paramedics were seen gathering charred and dismembered limbs trapped beneath the rubble.

    The occupation is claiming these raids targeted armed resistance leaders, who they say were convening for a meeting.

    The reality on the ground reveals the victims were mothers, children and ordinary men.

    The mirage of a ceasefire

    In just four hours, forty people have been exterminated, adding to the catalogue of Israel’s butchering of Gazans.

    The following morning, the occupation carried out a military incursion east of Gaza City, expanding the buffer zone by about 300 metres. Dozens of families were trapped inside their homes amid intense shelling. Their fate remains unknown.

    The Government Media Office in Gaza stated that since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, the occupation has carried out about 400 documented violations. They have killed 300 civilians, which is exacerbating crowding in the very few safe areas that remain.

    The office held the mediators and guarantors, led by US President Donald Trump, responsible Israel’s continuing violations. They accused them of impotence by failing to prevent Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure, most notably shelters and hospitals.

    The office cautioned that silence is no longer an option.

    It called for immediate action to stop ‘ongoing crimes and violations’ and pressure the occupation to implement the ceasefire agreement.

    Such a move would ensure the protection of civilians and halt the deterioration of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

    Featured image via Reuters

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.