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Category: Human Rights

  • Buscarita Roa: one of the last of the Abuelas

    A group of women dressed in black and wearing white headscarves

    Women dressed as the mothers and grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo gather in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in March. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP

    On Wednesday 6 August 2025 the Guardian carried an interview with Buscarita Roa, one of the last of the Abuelas.” ..

    Argentina’s 1976-83 military dictatorship tortured, killed and “disappeared” an estimated 30,000 people – political opponents, students, artists, union leaders: anyone it deemed a threat. Hundreds of babies were also taken, either imprisoned with their parents, or given to military families. The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have fought for almost 50 years to find these grandchildren. Buscarita Roa is one of two surviving active members.

    On 28 November 1978, my 22-year-old son, José, his wife, Marta, and their baby daughter, Claudia, joined the list of those “disappeared”. A squad of Argentina’s military police stormed their home and I couldn’t find out any more. I went everywhere to look for them – police stations, courthouses, army camps, churches. I was desperate. But nobody would answer me. Every door was closed. It was a suffocating, hermetic time.

    Then one day, not long after they were taken, I watched as a group of women walked in circles around the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. These mothers and grandmothers had started to gather, demanding answers about their missing relatives. I recognised one of the women. She said come with us, and I did.

    We – who would become known as the Abuelas – didn’t know each other before. But we would meet every week and walk round and round the square, identifying each other with our white headscarves.

    At first some of the husbands came, but we knew they risked being “disappeared” too, so then the men stayed at home and we went alone. It was still dangerous, a terrifying time, and some of the first mothers were taken themselves.

    When the police ordered us to leave, and we didn’t, they charged at us on horseback. But we were younger then, so we could run.

    Together we started going to the police stations and the courts, searching for answers. We cried in front of them, and they told us to go away, they didn’t want to see us. We knew the dictatorship was watching us from afar.skip past newsletter promotion

    My granddaughter’s disappearance haunted my life. She was only eight months old when she was taken, and whenever I would see a little girl who looked like her, I would follow her, unable to stop until I saw her face. If there were people at my front door I would think, oh she must have come home. Other times, people would tell us they had seen a neighbour with a new baby. So we would go to their houses, trying to glimpse the child, to see if they looked like one of ours. We were doing crazy, desperate things, but it was all we had.

    Many years passed before we started to receive any information. Most people didn’t believe us, and those that did thought our sons were terrorists. Still, we continued to go to Plaza de Mayo to pray for the return of our children. And when the country’s economic situation improved, we started travelling abroad to share our story too.

    In 2000, I found my granddaughter, and was able to hug her again for the first time in two decades. People had come forward with their suspicions, and a judge agreed to investigate. We learned that Claudia had been taken to the clandestine detention centre “El Olimpo” with her mother, where she was kept for three days before being illegally adopted by a military family. They created a fake birth certificate, signed by a military doctor. My son and daughter-in-law were tortured and killed.

    Claudia was in my heart every day that she was missing. I can’t explain what I felt when I found her. It was a pure, overwhelming joy. But I was also afraid, fearful that she would reject me. By then she was 21, and had been raised by a military family. I couldn’t invade my granddaughter’s life just like that, she needed to figure out the terrible truth and start trusting us. Slowly, over long afternoons of mate [a traditional herbal drink], we got to know each other and have built a beautiful relationship.

    Belonging to the Abuelas helped me to heal. We laughed, we cried and we became friends. We were relentless too – we women have not rested once in half a century. But while some of us found our grandchildren, others only found bodies, and most of us found nothing at all. And then there is the battle of time; it is cruel and many of the Abuelas have died. There were once many of us, and now there are fewer than 10.

    Estela de Carlotto, the president of the Abuelas, and I are the two last active members. But we are growing old too, and I don’t know how much further life will take us. We have found 140 of the grandchildren, with the last reunited last month, but we estimate that nearly 300 are still missing.

    The ones we have found have now taken up the mantle. This is the legacy de Carlotto and I leave behind: a generation of grandchildren still looking for the others.

    My lifelong work has consisted of searching for my son and daughter-in-law. I am 87 years old now, but I will never give up.

    As told to Harriet Barber

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/aug/06/grandmothers-argentina-disappeared-legacy-reunited

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

  • ‘Gross abuse of state power’: defiance grows over UK ban on Palestine protest group

    More than 200 have been arrested for alleged support of Palestine Action – and hundreds more are expected to protest on Saturday

    At 81, Deborah Hinton, a former British magistrate who was honoured by the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to the community, seems an unlikely terrorist suspect. In the quiet town in south-west England where she lives, much of her retirement is spent walking along the cliffs, raising funds for the nearby cathedral choir, and supporting local charities.

    But last month she was detained in a police cell for seven hours, fingerprinted and had a DNA swab taken from her mouth. It was the first time she had ever been arrested, and the experience left her “in a state of trauma” and “shaking uncontrollably”. She could face a jail sentence of six months under UK terrorism legislation.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Republicans Call for Investigation Into State Senator Who Posted ICE Sighting

    The president of the Arizona Senate has called for a criminal investigation into State Sen. Analise Ortiz (D) after she posted a sighting of ICE officers on her Instagram story, informing her followers about potential immigration raids. “I spoke with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona and referred this matter to his office to investigate, as it appears she may be in violation of…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Zadie Smith, Michael Rosen, Irvine Welsh and Jeanette Winterson sign letter calling for Israel boycott

    More than 200 writers request cessation of all trade until people of Gaza given adequate food, water and aid

    Zadie Smith, Michael Rosen, Irvine Welsh and Jeanette Winterson are among more than 200 writers who have signed a letter calling for an “immediate and complete” boycott of Israel until the people of Gaza are given adequate food, water and aid.

    Hanif Kureishi, Brian Eno, Elif Shafak, George Monbiot, Benjamin Myers, Geoff Dyer and Sarah Hall also signed the letter, which advocates the cessation of all “trade, exchange and business” with Israel.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Greenpeace condemns NZ’s ‘dodgy reforms’ plan weakening ocean protection

    By Emma Page

    Greenpeace says moves to weaken ocean protection through dodgy fisheries “reforms” will be met with strong opposition, as Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announces he wants to proceed with a raft of proposed changes to fisheries laws.

    The controversial changes are some of the largest in decades, and would restrict public access to cameras on boats footage, remove the requirement for fishers to land all their catch, and stop legal challenges to catch limits that have been successful in protecting species in recent years.

    The reforms will also give the minister the ability to set catch limits for five years.

    Greenpeace oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper said these proposals would give the industry carte blanche on ocean destruction, weaken transparency and block the public from having input into fisheries decisions.

    “These changes spell disaster for the already struggling ocean around us,” she said.

    “Championed by the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, the changes green light ocean destruction and remove the already minimal checks and balances designed to keep the fishing industry accountable.

    “It is yet another example of how this government is pandering to the fishing industry while ignoring the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders who want more ocean protection, not less.

    “New Zealanders want a healthy, thriving ocean where fish are plentiful and ecosystems are thriving.

    ‘More destruction’
    “These reforms will mean more destruction, more decline in fish populations, and will allow the industry to go back to operating in the dark — hiding the impact they have.”

    One of the proposed reforms is to restrict access to footage from cameras on boats to industry and government only.

    “This is not how it should work,” said Hooper.

    “There are far more people in this country than just the commercial fishing industry who have a right to know how the ocean is being impacted, and have a say on what happens about protecting it.”

    Hooper also warns that setting catch limits for five years could spell disaster for fish numbers, noting the recent collapse of the Chatham Rise Orange Roughy fishery, which has been so mismanaged it could now be at 8 percent of its original size.

    “Greenpeace, backed by thousands of New Zealanders, stands for defending nature and ocean health. We are calling for an urgent end to destructive bottom trawling on seamounts and other vulnerable features, and for all footage from cameras on boats to be made accessible via the OIA (Offical Information Act),” she said.

    “During a biodiversity and ocean crisis, we will strongly oppose moves to expedite destruction at the hands of the commercial fishing industry, as will the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who also back ocean protection.”

    Republished from Greenpeace News.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • University Student on Visa Released From ICE Detention After Public Outcry

    A 20-year-old Purdue University student who was abducted by ICE on July 31 as she walked out of her visa hearing in a Manhattan courthouse was released on an ankle monitor on August 5, after being detained in Louisiana. Although Yeonsoo Go’s visa is valid until December, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed it expired two years ago and called Go an “illegal alien from South…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • ‘Horrific’: report reveals abuse of pregnant women and children at US Ice facilities

    Report from senator Jon Ossoff’s office found 510 credible reports of human rights abuses since Trump’s inauguration

    A new report has found hundreds of reported cases of human rights abuses in US immigration detention centers.

    The alleged abuses uncovered include deaths in custody, physical and sexual abuse of detainees, mistreatment of pregnant women and children, inadequate medical care, overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions, inadequate food and water, exposure to extreme temperatures, denial of access to attorneys, and child separation.

    Continue reading…

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

  • I am one of the last of the Abuelas – the grandmothers still searching for Argentina’s ‘disappeared’. I’m 87, but I will never give up

    Nearly 50 years ago, my son and his wife were tortured and killed and their baby was taken by the military regime. Two decades later, I found her – but hundreds of grandchildren are still missing

    Argentina’s 1976-83 military dictatorship tortured, killed and “disappeared” an estimated 30,000 people – political opponents, students, artists, union leaders: anyone it deemed a threat. Hundreds of babies were also taken, either imprisoned with their parents, or given to military families. The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have fought for almost 50 years to find these grandchildren. Buscarita Roa is one of two surviving active members.

    As Argentina’s military sank its claws into our country, our young people, the ones with ideas, started disappearing. They were taken from the streets, from their homes, from work.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Gazans Are Starving. It’s a Manmade Catastrophe.

    In the last few months, widespread starvation has gripped the Gaza Strip. United Nations-backed food security experts say the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza, home to an estimated 2 million Palestinians. One of the few organizations still on the ground trying to feed Palestinians at risk of famine is the Gaza Soup Kitchen. This week’s guest on More To The Story with Al Letson is Abe Ajrami, a Palestinian who now lives in the US and helps coordinate the organization’s food aid. Ajrami talks about the kitchen’s extraordinary efforts to help prevent famine in Gaza, the debate over whether the Israeli government is committing genocide against Palestinians, and whether a two-state solution is still achievable.

    Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Digital producer: Nikki Frick | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson

    Read: “It’s Abhorrent”: A Whistleblower Contractor Speaks Out as Gaza’s Famine Spreads (Mother Jones)

    Listen: Kids Under Fire in Gaza (Reveal)

    Learn more: Gaza Soup Kitchen

    Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Soaring food prices prove the Gaza famine is real – and will affect generations to come

    ANALYSIS: By Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    The words and pictures documenting the famine in the Gaza strip are horrifying.

    The coverage has led to acrimonious and often misguided debates about whether there is famine, and who is to blame for it — most recently exemplified by the controversy surrounding a picture published by The New York Times of an emaciated child who is also suffering from a preexisting health condition.

    While pictures and words may mislead, numbers usually don’t.

    The Nobel prize-winning Indian economist Amartya Sen observed some decades ago that famines are always political and economic events, and that the most direct way to analyse them is to look at food quantities and prices.

    This has led to decades of research on past famines. One observation is that dramatic increases in food prices always mean there is a famine, even though not every famine is accompanied by rising food costs.

    The price increases we have seen in Gaza are unprecedented.

    The economic historian Yannai Spitzer observed in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz that staple food prices during the Irish Potato Famine showed a three- to five-fold increase, while there was a ten-fold rise during the Great Bengal Famine of 1943. In the North Korean famine of the 1990s, the price of rice rose by a factor of 12.

    At least a million people died of hunger in each of these events.

    Now, The New York Times has reported the price of flour in Gaza has increased by a factor of 30 and potatoes cost 50 times more.

    Israel’s food blockade
    As was the case for the UK government in Ireland in the 1840s and Bengal in the 1940s, Israel is responsible for this famine because it controls almost all the Gaza strip and its borders. But Israel has also created the conditions for the famine.

    Following a deliberate policy in March of stopping food from coming in, it resumed deliveries of food in May through a very limited set of “stations” it established through a new US-backed organisation (the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation), in a system that seemed designed to fail.

    Before Israel’s decision in March to stop food from coming in, the price of flour in Gaza was roughly back to its prewar levels (having previously peaked in 2024 in another round of border closures). Since March, food prices have gone up by an annualised inflation rate of more than 5000 percent.

    The excuse the Israeli government gives for its starvation policy is that Hamas controls the population by restricting food supplies. It blames Hamas for any shortage of food.

    However, if you want to disarm an enemy of its ability to wield food supplies as a weapon by rationing them, the obvious way to do so is the opposite: you would increase the food supply dramatically and hence lower its price.

    Restricting supplies and increasing their value is primarily immoral and criminal, but it is also counterproductive for Israel’s stated aims. Indeed, flooding Gaza with food would have achieved much more in weakening Hamas than the starvation policy the Israeli government has chosen.

    The UN’s top humanitarian aid official has described Israel’s decision to halt humanitarian assistance to put pressure on Hamas as “cruel collective punishment” — something forbidden under international humanitarian law.

    The long-term aftermath of famines
    Cormac Ó Gráda, the Irish economic historian of famines, quotes a Kashmiri proverb which says “famine goes, but the stains remain”.

    The current famine in Gaza will leave long-lasting pain for Gazans and an enduring moral stain on Israel — for many generations.

    Ó Gráda points out two main ways in which the consequences of famines endure. Most obvious is the persistent memory of it; second are the direct effects on the long-term wellbeing of exposed populations and their descendants.

    The Irish and the Indians have not forgotten the famines that affected them. They still resent the British government for its actions. The memory of these famines still influences relations between Ireland, India and the UK, just as Ukraine’s famine of the early 1930s is still a background to the Ukraine-Russia war.

    The generational impact is also significant. Several studies in China find children conceived during China’s Great Leap Forward famine of 1959–1960 (which also killed millions) are less healthy, face more mental health challenges and have lower cognitive abilities than those conceived either before or after the famine.

    Other researchers found similar evidence from famines in Ireland and the Netherlands, supporting what is known as the “foetal origins” hypothesis, which proposes that the period of gestation has significant impacts on health in adulthood. Even more worryingly, recent research shows these harmful effects can be transmitted to later generations through epigenetic channels.

    Each day without available and accessible food supplies means more serious ongoing effects for the people of Gaza and the Israeli civilian hostages still held by Hamas — as well as later generations. Failure to prevent the famine will persist in collective memory as a moral stain on the international community, but primarily on Israel. Only immediate flooding of the strip with food aid can help now.The Conversation

    Dr Ilan Noy is chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Civil Rights Groups Sue to Stop ICE Abductions in New York Courthouses

    Civil rights groups are suing the Trump administration to stop ICE officers from abducting people who show up to New York courthouses for their immigration appointments. On August 1, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), and others filed suit in the Southern District of New York on behalf of The Door and African Communities Together…

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    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Peruvian Environmental defender Hipólito Quispe Huamán killed

    cover image

    Environmental activist Hipólito Quispe Huamán was shot and killed Saturday night in the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru, in what authorities suspect was a targeted attack linked to his work defending the Amazon rainforest, AFP reported on 29 July 2025.

    Quispe Huamán was driving along the Interoceanic Highway when he was gunned down, according to local prosecutors. Karen Torres, a regional prosecutor, told reporters that investigators are considering his environmental advocacy as the likely motive.

    “This is a murder with a firearm of yet another defender of the Madre de Dios region,” she was quoted as saying by AFP.

    Quispe Huamán had served as an active member of the Tambopata National Reserve Management Committee and was a vocal opponent of deforestation and illegal land use in the Peruvian Amazon. His killing has sparked outrage from human rights and environmental organizations, which say the attack reflects a growing pattern of violence against Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders in the region.

    “We condemn the murder of environmental defender Hipólito Quispe Huamán in Madre de Dios, another victim of the growing violence against those who protect our territories and ecosystems,” said the National Coordinator for Human Rights (CNDDHH) in a statement posted on social media. “Not one more death!”

    Hipólito Quispe Huamán. Photo courtesy of CNDDHH (on X).
    Hipólito Quispe Huamán. Photo courtesy of CNDDHH (on X).

    Quispe Huamán’s brother, Ángel, called for accountability. “I demand justice for my brother’s death. This kind of thing cannot happen,” he told local media.

    The Ministry of Justice has pledged to support the legal defense of Quispe Huamán’s family and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. However, critics say the government’s response mechanisms remain under-resourced. The Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, led by the Ministry of Justice, has faced ongoing criticism for lacking the budget and personnel needed to respond effectively to threats.

    Attacks against environmental defenders have increased across Peru’s Amazonian regions, where extractive industries, drug trafficking, and illegal land grabs often operate with impunity. In July 2024, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP) declared a state of emergency after an Indigenous leader was tortured and killed in central Peru, citing escalating threats from coca growers and criminal networks.

    According to Global Witness, at least 54 land and environmental defenders have been murdered in Peru since 2012—more than half of them Indigenous. Many of these killings remain unsolved.

    Quispe Huamán’s death has reignited calls for stronger protections for those who safeguard the rainforest and Indigenous territories. As investigations continue, activists and family members are demanding not only justice—but a systemic response to end the violence.

    Peruvian rainforest defender shot dead in suspected targeted killing

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

  • Gladys Mbuya, a human rights defender from Cameroon

    Gladys Mbuya is a lawyer by profession, a human rights defender, and a peace crusader. She is the founder of the Liberal Law Office in Cameroon and serves as the president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers for Cameroon. She also holds a role as a traditional leader.

    Her work centres on promoting the recognition and respect of human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls. She represents women and girls in court who cannot afford legal fees and actively advocates for the revision of laws that discriminate against them.

    Gladys faced intimidation, threats, and even attempts at arrest for her activism, yet remains steadfast in her mission. She has defended numerous individuals – including prominent activists – in cases involving arbitrary detention and violations of free expression and assembly. She was part of the legal team that defended Mimi Mefo, Ndoki Michèle, and Agbor Balla, which led to their cases being dropped at the court.

    ‘Human rights defence work is a noble cause. The international community should continue standing by human rights defenders. They should increase the volume of political pressure on our governments for them to fulfil their obligations under all the international conventions they have ratified.’

    https://ishr.ch/defender-stories/human-rights-defenders-story-gladys-fri-mbuya-epse-luku-from-cameroon

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

  • The west ignores Rwanda’s dark side – and political prisoners like my mother pay the price | Rémy Amahirwa

    She was arrested after planning to run against Paul Kagame. It’s time democracies woke up to the true nature of his regime

    • Rémy Amahirwa is the oldest son of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza

    When I see the “Visit Rwanda” logo stitched on to the jerseys of famous football clubs like Arsenal or printed in glossy travel magazines, I feel a rush of pride for the natural beauty and warm hospitality of the country of my birth. Yet, I wonder whether the tourists being courted truly understand the darker side of Rwanda. This side has torn my family apart for nearly two decades; it is the reason my mother sits behind bars, once again, as a political prisoner.

    My mother, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, is a political activist who first returned to Rwanda from exile in 2010. Our family had a stable and comfortable life in the Netherlands for many years, but my mother could not stop thinking about her native Rwanda and was deeply troubled by the events unfolding there. The president, Paul Kagame, heralded as the man who stopped the 1994 genocide, was quietly becoming yet another strongman on the African continent. My mother could not silently watch from the sidelines in Europe as Rwanda’s citizens lost their freedoms and suffered persecution.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Marshall Islands president warns of threat to Pacific Islands Forum unity

    By Giff Johnson, Marshall Islands Journal editor/RNZ Pacific correspondent

    Leaders of the three Pacific nations with diplomatic ties to Taiwan are united in a message to the Pacific Islands Forum that the premier regional body must not allow non-member countries to dictate Forum policies — a reference to the China-Taiwan geopolitical debate.

    Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, in remarks to the opening of Parliament in Majuro yesterday, joined leaders from Tuvalu and Palau in strongly worded comments putting the region on notice that the future unity and stability of the Forum hangs in the balance of decisions that are made for next month’s Forum leaders’ meeting in the Solomon Islands.

    This is just three years since the organisation pulled back from the brink of splintering.

    Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu are among the 12 countries globally that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

    At issue is next month’s annual meeting of leaders being hosted by Solomon Islands, which is closely allied to China, and the concern that the Solomon Islands will choose to limit or prevent Taiwan’s engagement in the Forum, despite it being a major donor partner to the three island nations as well as a donor to the Forum Secretariat.

    President Surangel Whipps Jr
    President Surangel Whipps Jr . . . diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Richard Brooks/RNZ Pacific

    China worked to marginalise Taiwan and its international relationships including getting the Forum to eliminate a reference to Taiwan in last year’s Forum leaders’ communique after leaders had agreed on the text.

    “I believe firmly that the Forum belongs to its members, not countries that are non-members,” said President Heine yesterday in Parliament’s opening ceremony. “And non-members should not be allowed to dictate how our premier regional organisation conducts its business.”

    Heine continued: “We witnessed at the Forum in Tonga how China, a world superpower, interfered to change the language of the Forum Communique, the communiqué of our Pacific Leaders . . . If the practice of interference in the affairs of the Forum becomes the norm, then I question our nation’s membership in the organisation.”

    She cited the position of the three Taiwan allies in the Pacific in support of Taiwan participation at next month’s Forum.

    Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo
    Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo . . . also has diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Ludovic Marin/RNZ Pacific:

    “There should not be any debate on the issue since Taiwan has been a Forum development partner since 1993,” Heine said.

    Heine also mentioned that there was an “ongoing review of the regional architecture of the Forum” and its many agencies “to ensure that their deliverables are on target, and inter-agency conflicts are minimised.”

    The President said during this review of the Forum and its agencies, “it is critical that the question of Taiwan’s participation in Forum meetings is settled once and for all to safeguard equity and sovereignty of member governments.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Marshall Islands president warns of threat to Pacific Islands Forum unity

    By Giff Johnson, Marshall Islands Journal editor/RNZ Pacific correspondent

    Leaders of the three Pacific nations with diplomatic ties to Taiwan are united in a message to the Pacific Islands Forum that the premier regional body must not allow non-member countries to dictate Forum policies — a reference to the China-Taiwan geopolitical debate.

    Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, in remarks to the opening of Parliament in Majuro yesterday, joined leaders from Tuvalu and Palau in strongly worded comments putting the region on notice that the future unity and stability of the Forum hangs in the balance of decisions that are made for next month’s Forum leaders’ meeting in the Solomon Islands.

    This is just three years since the organisation pulled back from the brink of splintering.

    Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu are among the 12 countries globally that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

    At issue is next month’s annual meeting of leaders being hosted by Solomon Islands, which is closely allied to China, and the concern that the Solomon Islands will choose to limit or prevent Taiwan’s engagement in the Forum, despite it being a major donor partner to the three island nations as well as a donor to the Forum Secretariat.

    President Surangel Whipps Jr
    President Surangel Whipps Jr . . . diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Richard Brooks/RNZ Pacific

    China worked to marginalise Taiwan and its international relationships including getting the Forum to eliminate a reference to Taiwan in last year’s Forum leaders’ communique after leaders had agreed on the text.

    “I believe firmly that the Forum belongs to its members, not countries that are non-members,” said President Heine yesterday in Parliament’s opening ceremony. “And non-members should not be allowed to dictate how our premier regional organisation conducts its business.”

    Heine continued: “We witnessed at the Forum in Tonga how China, a world superpower, interfered to change the language of the Forum Communique, the communiqué of our Pacific Leaders . . . If the practice of interference in the affairs of the Forum becomes the norm, then I question our nation’s membership in the organisation.”

    She cited the position of the three Taiwan allies in the Pacific in support of Taiwan participation at next month’s Forum.

    Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo
    Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo . . . also has diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Image: Ludovic Marin/RNZ Pacific:

    “There should not be any debate on the issue since Taiwan has been a Forum development partner since 1993,” Heine said.

    Heine also mentioned that there was an “ongoing review of the regional architecture of the Forum” and its many agencies “to ensure that their deliverables are on target, and inter-agency conflicts are minimised.”

    The President said during this review of the Forum and its agencies, “it is critical that the question of Taiwan’s participation in Forum meetings is settled once and for all to safeguard equity and sovereignty of member governments.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Eugene Doyle: Recognise Palestine? Then free Marwan Barghouti

    COMMENTARY:  By Eugene Doyle

    The world’s most important hostage — must be released. The powerful Western countries have signalled that in the face of the genocide they may recognise the state of Palestine.

    States need leaders. That’s why Marwan Barghouti – often dubbed the Palestinian Mandela — must be freed.

    A former head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Ephraim Halevy, agrees with calls by leaders from across the Middle East for Barghouti’s release: “Barghouti is popular with his people, he has a clear position, he speaks Hebrew well and can negotiate; all of which qualifies him to lead a new path.

    “We have to be creative in dealing with the future in the West Bank as well and the rest of the territories, as there are millions of Palestinians, and transferring two million Palestinians from Gaza is unrealistic,” Halevy told Middle East Monitor.

    States need leaders
    The UK, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a baker’s dozen of Western-aligned states have signalled they may finally join humanity and recognise the right of Palestine to exist as a state.

    They are doing so at a moment when the physical existence of the Palestinian people in Palestine is in peril due to the US-Israeli genocide.

    If this is not simply another hollow, performative gesture, real things must happen: first and foremost the lifting of the siege and the ending of the man-made famine.

    Simultaneously, Palestine needs a credible leadership to negotiate its future. Why call for recognition of a state when hundreds of the top leadership of that future state are held in cruel captivity?

    These hostages seldom receive any attention — in contrast to the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and other groups.

    Who decides who represents Palestine?
    In typical Western fashion the announcement of potentially recognising the Palestinian state comes with a swag of conditions — foremost that Hamas, the most popular movement in Palestine, the winner of the last free and fair elections in both the West Bank and Gaza, must not be part of any government.

    OK, so, if the Palestinians bow to that condition, who will be the leaders of this state? Who has the standing with all the factions of the Palestinian polity?

    Marwan Barghouti could be such a man. The geriatric and thoroughly discredited Mahmoud Abbas, unelected leader of the Palestinian Authority, is largely seen as a tool of the US and Israel.

    More than 90 percent of Palestinians want him gone. In contrast, Barghouti is a revered figure, respected by all Palestinian organisations. He consistently polls as the most popular leader.

    The Israelis have murdered many of the Palestinian leaders (along with targeted assassinations of hundreds of writers, professors, lawyers, doctors and other people crucial to state-building). They even killed the lead negotiator in the hostage release process.

    It is vital that the West ensures Barghouti is protected from further mistreatment. It is also worth dismissing the lie that Israel has no Palestinian partner to negotiate with; Barghouti has the will and the attributes.

    The blockage is actually Western complicity in ethnic cleansing, land stealing and the overall Greater Israel Project.

    Barghouti: the most important political prisoner
    During the past 23 years in Israeli prisons Barghouti has been beaten, tortured, sexually molested and had limbs broken, as documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. What hasn’t been broken is the spirit of the greatest living Palestinian — a symbol of his people’s “legendary steadfastness” and determination to win freedom from occupation.

    As I wrote in 2024:

    “Barghouti, the terrorist, rotting in jail. Barghouti, the indomitable leader who has not given up on peace. Barghouti, loved by ordinary people as ‘a man of the street’. Barghouti, supporter of the Oslo Accords. Barghouti, the 15 year-old youth leader standing beside Yasser Arafat.

    “Barghouti, once a member of parliament and Fatah secretary-general. Barghouti, leader of Tanzim, a PLO military wing, choosing militancy after the betrayal of the Oslo promise by the Americans and Israelis became fully clear.

    “Barghouti, a leader of the intifada that restored hope to a broken people. Barghouti, the scholar and thinker. Barghouti, the political strategist and unifier.”

    Marwan is the most famous Palestinian prisoner but it should never be forgotten that the entire Palestinian people have been held in bondage for generations.

    The West should force the Israelis to release Barghouti — and thousands of other hostages held by Israel. To do so publicly and successfully would be a powerful statement of future intentions.

    The release of one man cannot, however, change the world: it will take a genuine course correction by the West to use their collective power to force the Israelis to abandon the endless killings, starvation, land thieving and other lawlessness in the Palestinian lands.

    The West must stop posturing and start acting
    If the Western states fail to quickly move to change facts on the ground, it will suggest that the whole exercise was only intended to achieve political cover for the pro-genocidal forces of the US and the other enablers like Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

    Netanyahu is driving both the Palestinians and Israel to destruction.

    Ironically, the Palestinian Marwan Barghouti could save Israel from moral death and, simultaneously, the Palestinians from further physical destruction. He is a leader that the West and the Israelis, if they chose, could negotiate with.

    As Alon Liel, formerly Israel’s most senior diplomat, said a couple of years ago: Barghouti is “the ultimate leader of the Palestinian people,” and “he is the only one who can extricate us from the quagmire we are in.”

    One final point: negotiating with ‘terrorists’
    The West has made it clear they believe Hamas are too monstrous, too terroristic to be involved in a peace process.

    But the West is entirely comfortable with the racist, fascist, genocidal leaders of Israel remaining at the helm of their country. There is a reason for this and one the West needs to front up to: racism and contempt for the Palestinians as a people.

    Barghouti and hundrds of other leaders have endured torture and worse without our side raising even an eyebrow. The recent skite videos posted by IDF soldiers committing rape-murder inside Sde Temein prison says it all — they rightly assumed their depraved criminality would be sanctioned by the state and silently tolerated by the West.

    War crimes are fine and no barrier to leadership if these crimes are committed by regimes that we are deeply committed to. After all, as our leaders repeatedly tell us: we share values with the Israelis.

    I’ll give the last word to Marwan Barghouti.

    “Resistance is a holy right for the Palestinian people to face the Israeli occupation. Nobody should forget that the Palestinian people negotiated for 10 years and accepted difficult and humiliating agreements, and in the end didn’t get anything except authority over the people, and no authority over land, or sovereignty.”

    It is time to change that and to stand with humanity. Free Marwan Barghouti!

    Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report and Café Pacific, and hosts the public policy platform solidarity.co.nz

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ICE is Enticing New Recruits With Student Loan Forgiveness

    With an influx of funding from President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is ramping up recruitment efforts to implement its plans to arrest, detain, and deport millions of people living in the United States. ICE is trying to entice recruits with signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan forgiveness of up to $60,000.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • NYT Suppressed Genocide Discussion When It Could Have Made a Difference

     

    NYT: I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.

    Omer Bartov (New York Times, 7/15/25): “Israel’s actions could be understood only as the implementation of the expressed intent to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable for its Palestinian population.”

    More than a year ago, the Intercept (4/15/24) reported on a leaked internal New York Times memo from the newspaper’s management, telling its reporters covering Gaza to “restrict the use of the terms ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing.’” About “genocide” specifically, the memo decreed, “We should…set a high bar for allowing others to use it as an accusation, whether in quotations or not.”

    That bar appears to have extended to paid advertising at the paper: The American Friends Service Committee (1/8/25), a Quaker organization, said it had “canceled planned advertising with the New York Times after the paper refused to allow an ad that referred to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

    The Times made waves, then, when it published an op-ed by prominent Israeli genocide scholar Omer Bartov (7/15/25) arguing that it is “no longer possible to deny that the pattern of IDF operations was consistent with the statements denoting genocidal intent made by Israeli leaders.” Bartov concluded: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

    Two weeks later, the opinion page also ran an op-ed (7/30/25) by three writers, two of whom are from Physicians for Human Rights Israel, which said: “Through the wholesale destruction of Gaza’s health care system, Israel is committing genocide, but on a longer timeline than direct killing would imply.” The writers argued: “This is not a genocide that can still be prevented. That threshold has already been crossed. What remains is a long trajectory of harm.”

    ‘War for a just cause’

    NYT: No, Israel Is Not Committing Genocide in Gaza

    Bret Stephens (New York Times,  7/22/25): “If genocide…is to retain its status as a uniquely horrific crime, then the term can’t be promiscuously applied to any military situation we don’t like.”

    From July 15, when Bartov’s op-ed ran, through the end of July, the opinion page published eight pieces that used the word “genocide” in the context of Gaza, whether accusatory, defensive or neutral; in the entire 12 months prior, it had only run 38 such pieces, or less than one a week.

    True, the Times‘ own columnists and readers were quick to decry Bartov’s conclusion. Columnist Bret Stephens (New York Times, 7/22/25) argued that Israel’s actions couldn’t be considered genocidal because many Palestinians were still alive, which is like saying the existence of the Kardashians disproved the Armenian genocide.

    In a piece acknowledging Israel’s war is “unjust,” Times columnist Ross Douthat (7/26/25) likewise flatly denied the “genocide” label in his very first sentence, while applying it (“potentially”) to Hamas:

    Israel’s war in Gaza is not a genocide. It is a war for a just cause, the elimination of a cruel, fanatical, itself potentially genocidal terrorist organization that oppresses its own people, holds innocent hostages and will pose a severe danger to the state of Israel so long as it holds power.

    Nor does the publication of Bartov’s op-ed appear to mark a change in the editors’ willingness to apply the label themselves. The Times editorial board (7/30/25) ran a subsequent piece calling the starvation in Gaza a “moral crisis,” but refuses to invoke the accusation of genocide in its plainest form, instead painting the forced starvation as the opposite of intentional: “Israel’s often reckless administration of its war and occupation has helped create this emergency.”

    Late last year, the Times (12/5/24) reported that Amnesty International “became the first major international human rights organization to accuse Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza,” adding that the accusation drew “rebuke from Israeli officials who denied the claim.”

    And even before the Intercept story dropped, the Times (1/26/24) reported on the International Court of Justice “ordering Israel to take proactive steps to ensure genocide doesn’t occur in the future.”

    But the recent Bartov piece is different than these types of articles, in that it is a full-throated accusation of genocide against Israel, not a debate or a winding discussion about the use of the word in conflicts, as the Times had featured in its magazine (8/20/24). Bartov is an Israeli, and a noted scholar on the subject of genocide. It’s tough even for hardened partisans like Stephens to counter that with sanctimonious bluster on the opinion page.

    ‘Crucial to warn’

    Jewish Currents: A Textbook Case of Genocide

    Raz Segal (Jewish Currents, 10/13/23): “Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza is quite explicit, open and unashamed. Perpetrators of genocide usually do not express their intentions so clearly.”

    However, Bartov is not the first of his kind. Raz Segal is also a noted Israeli scholar of genocide, and published his essay “A Textbook Case of Genocide” (Jewish Currents, 10/13/23) in the earliest stages of Israel’s retribution campaign in Gaza. (Bartov cited Segal in his Times opinion piece.) Segal’s piece was covered in the wider press (including, belatedly, the Times—10/23/24), because it led to the University of Minnesota revoking a job offer to him (Democracy Now!, 6/18/24; Center for Constitutional Rights, 7/31/24).

    Interestingly, Bartov wrote in the Times (11/10/23) two years ago that while he admitted war crimes were taking place, “as a historian of genocide, I believe that there is no proof that genocide is currently taking place in Gaza.” In both his latest op-ed and an interview with the Times (7/23/25), he said his opinion fundamentally changed in May of 2024.

    Bartov spoke to other news outlets, like Democracy Now! (12/30/24), about the application of the genocide label in Gaza in that time period. And he wrote publicly (Guardian, 8/13/24) of his change in opinion, citing his 2023 Times op-ed:

    On 10 November 2023, I wrote in the New York Times: “As a historian of genocide, I believe that there is no proof that genocide is now taking place in Gaza, although it is very likely that war crimes, and even crimes against humanity, are happening…. We know from history that it is crucial to warn of the potential for genocide before it occurs, rather than belatedly condemn it after it has taken place. I think we still have that time.”

    I no longer believe that. By the time I traveled to Israel, I had become convinced that at least since the attack by the IDF on Rafah on 6 May 2024, it was no longer possible to deny that Israel was engaged in systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal actions.

    But while Bartov’s change in opinion was published in the Guardian, his latest for the Times came a year later. Bartov explained to FAIR in an email:

    I was approached by Dan Wakin of the New York Times in May to write an op-ed and we worked on it intensely together until its publication. I have learned not to propose op-eds—never had luck with that—but am happy to write them when asked.

    Other witnesses

    UN News: Rights expert finds ‘reasonable grounds’ genocide is being committed in Gaza

    Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese (UN News, 3/26/24): “The genocide in Gaza is the most extreme stage of a longstanding settler-colonial process of erasure of the native Palestinians.”

    But even in the early days of the war, others called attention to the possibility of genocide. The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (11/16/23) said, only a month after the Hamas attack on Israel that instigated the current crisis in Gaza:

    Grave violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the aftermath of 7 October, particularly in Gaza, point to a genocide in the making, UN experts said today. They illustrated evidence of increasing genocidal incitement, overt intent to “destroy the Palestinian people under occupation,” loud calls for a “second Nakba” in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the use of powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure.

    Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has also made the case to invoke the genocide charge clear (UN News, 3/26/24):

    Following nearly six months of unrelenting Israeli assault on occupied Gaza, it is my solemn duty to report on the worst of what humanity is capable of, and to present my findings…. There are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide…has been met.

    Said Christopher Lockyear, secretary general of Doctors Without Borders (12/19/24):

    What our medical teams have witnessed on the ground throughout this conflict is consistent with the descriptions provided by an increasing number of legal experts and organizations concluding that genocide is taking place in Gaza.

    In the early days of the war, around 800 genocide scholars—including Segal and Bartov—signed a public statement (OpinioJuris, 10/18/23; Common Dreams, 10/18/23) sounding “the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” More than a year and half ago, Israeli columnist Gideon Levy (Haaretz, 1/14/24) wrote a piece called “If It Isn’t a Genocide in Gaza, Then What Is It?”

    ‘They have no right to exist’

    Middle East Monitor: Israel ‘racing to wipe out Gaza, eliminate its people’: Heritage minister

    “We do not need to deal with Gaza’s hunger,” said Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Middle East Monitor, 7/24/25). Gaza will become “entirely Jewish.”

    In other words, there was plenty of talk outside of the Times in the time after the Intercept leak and before the Bartov piece describing what Israel was doing as not just heavy-handed war, but actual genocide. After Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch (10/9/23) said, “Those are animals, they have no right to exist…. They need to be exterminated,” a warning about genocide on the Times opinion page could have forced more people to grapple with this reality.

    There are many other examples of genocidal declarations, like a former lawmaker saying on Israeli television (X, 5/21/25): “The enemy is not Hamas. Every child, every baby in Gaza is an enemy.” A prominent Israeli television producer (New Arab, 5/5/25) made

    social media posts in which he called for a “Holocaust” against the people of Gaza…referencing the methods used during the Nazi genocide of European Jews, including gas chambers and deportation trains.

    Israel’s government is “racing against time to wipe out Gaza and its Palestinian population,” Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu told Israeli radio (Middle East Monitor, 7/24/25). “We are eliminating this evil. We are eliminating its residents.”

    ‘What they do shapes standards’

    Nation: The World’s Top Medical Journal Is Giving Cover to Genocide

    Eric Reinhart (The Nation, 3/26/25) has called out other elite publications for whitewashing genocide–such as the New England Journal of Medicine (3/22/25), which published without disclosure a piece on Gaza about “the power of healthcare to overcome animosity” that was co-authored by a veteran of  the Israeli military’s Special Intelligence Unit.

    For Eric Reinhart, an anthropologist and clinician who has written for the Nation and Scientific American, this has been incredibly frustrating, because he and other writers have been trying, unsuccessfully, to submit articles on the Gaza genocide issue for the Times since the beginning of this war. “There was a rather systematic exclusion,” he said, noting that he and other scholars were writing that “there was a genocide as declared by the intent of the Israeli government.”

    Reinhart noted that after these attempts to print the issue of genocide at the Times the Bartov piece was finally published in the Times, as well as the Physicians for Human Rights Israel op-ed. This seemed to confirm his suspicion that the Times preferred Israelis speak to this issue, rather than non-Israelis. “It’s an absolutely obscene way to approach this,” he said.

    This isn’t just a stylistic criticism. Reinhart said that the Times’ opinion page carries political weight, and sounding the alarm on genocide earlier could have had an impact. “What they do shapes standards, which influences policies and influences politicians,” he said.

    With Gaza practically obliterated and starvation raging, the Bartov piece is welcome, but it might be too little, too late in terms of pressuring world powers into making substantive change. Even if it does lead to a change in US policy in the region to restrain Israel, the world will look at Gaza as it once gazed upon the ruins in Bosnia and Rwanda. And the people will wonder why outlets like the New York Times didn’t change their tune sooner.

    Research assistance: Shirlynn Chan

    This post was originally published on FAIR.

  • DHS Says DACA Recipients Are “Illegal Aliens,” Tells Them to “Self-Deport”

    Despite previous statements indicating that the president wanted to protect Dreamers, the Trump administration is now calling DACA recipients “illegal aliens” and encouraging them to self-deport. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a program that began under President Barack Obama which allows people who came to the United States as children no later than June 15, 2007…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • 59th Session of the Human Rights Council: what NGOs thought of the session

    At the 59th Human Rights Council session, civil society organisations share reflections on key outcomes and highlight gaps in addressing crucial issues and situations. Full written version below.

    We join others who have expressed grave concern about the UN’s financial situation throughout the session. We deplore that we are in this position primarily due to the failure of some States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time. We regret that this crisis is currently affecting the Council’s ability to deliver its mandate. Today, UN Member States are sending a clear message that human rights and their implementation are optional and not inalienable. We call on all States to pay their dues to the UN in full and without delay, both now and in future years, and strengthen the human rights pillar of the UN by substantially increasing its regular budget. [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/united-nations/]

    We welcome the Council’s decision to renew, once more, the Mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, following a call from more than 1,259 organisations from 157 countries and territories.  While the mandate was supported by the overwhelming majority of Council members, we regret that a mandate focusing on core human rights issues such as freedom from violence and discrimination was once again put for a vote.

    We welcome the adoption of the resolution on civil society space. The resolution acknowledges important civil society initiatives such as Declaration +25 and addresses key and emerging trends such as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), the phenomenon of transnational repression, and foreign funding legislation, as well as other restrictive legislation including counter-terrorism legislation. We regret, however, that language on transnational repression has been weakened throughout the negotiations and does not take a step forward in terms of defining the phenomenon and its patterns. ..

    We welcome the adoption of the resolution on human rights and climate change in relation to climate finance. As acknowledged by the resolution, climate finance is a tool for addressing climate change and it is also important for the enjoyment of human rights when finance prioritises equity, climate justice, social justice, inclusion and just transition processes. … We also regret that, notwithstanding the support expressed by numerous delegations, this resolution is blatantly silent in recognising the positive, important, legitimate and vital role that environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) play in the promotion and protection of human rights and the environment, particularly in the context of climate change. As recognised by the HRC resolution 40/11, EHRDs are one of the most exposed and at risk around the world. The Inter-American Court on Human Rights has recently ruled in its Advisory Opinion on “Climate Emergency and Human Rights” that EHRDs play a fundamental role due to the urgency, gravity and complexity to address the climate emergency. We will not have climate justice without consulting, listening and including EHRDs in climate actions and initiatives, including this annual resolution.

    We express our support for a new strong resolution on the safety of journalists, adopted by consensus and co-sponsored by over 70 countries from all world regions, signalling a renewed international commitment to prevent, protect and remedy all human rights violations against journalists. The resolution becomes the first across the UN to recommend a range of concrete, specific measures to

    It is concerning that the Council could not find consensus on the resolution on access to medicines, vaccines and other health products. States should acknowledge that intellectual property rights can be a barrier for access to health products, especially in public health emergencies and should act with a view to finding human-rights compliant solutions. States should further ensure that the benefits of scientific progress is available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality to all people, without discrimination. 

    We welcome the resolution on new and emerging digital technologies and human rights. The resolution reaffirms the need for human rights due diligence and impact assessments throughout the life cycle of new and emerging digital technologies, and crucially calls upon States to refrain from or cease the use of artificial intelligence applications that are impossible to operate in compliance with international human rights law. The resolution importantly mandates OHCHR to expand its work on UN system-wide promotion, coordination, and coherence on matters related to human rights in new and emerging digital technologies.

    We welcome the rejection by the Council of an unprecedented, harmful draft resolution (L.1/Rev.1) presented in bad faith by Eritrea to discontinue the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. The voting result (25 against, 4 in favour) is clear and will deter similar initiatives to terminate mandates. The Pandora’s Box remains closed for now. We welcome the adoption of resolution L.7, which extends the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and enables continued scrutiny of Eritrea‘s dire human rights situation.

    We welcome the adoption by consensus of the resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar—a strong signal of the Council’s continued prioritization of their plight. As violence between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army escalates, Rohingya face renewed existential threats. We recognize the efforts made to align the resolution closer to the evolving situation on the ground, including its recognition of the role of Arakan Army along with the Myanmar military in perpetuating violence and targeting Rohingya. We also welcome the resolution’s acknowledgment of the worsening humanitarian crisis due to dwindling aid that is driving more Rohingya to risk dangerous journeys by sea. The call for protection of Rohingya across borders and respect for non-refoulement is vital. We support the resolution’s emphasis on accountability and reparations as prerequisites for safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees. However, we regret its failure to call for an end to arms and jet fuel sale and transfers that continue to fuel ongoing violence.

    We emphasize the vital role of investigative mechanisms and, in the context of the UN’s liquidity crisis, we urge all those involved, including the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner, to allocate sufficient resources for these mechanisms to operate. All UN Member States must pay their dues in full and on time. As the conflict in Sudan, now in its third year, shows no sign of abating, resulting in the world’s largest displacement crisis and egregious atrocities against civilians, the work of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) should continue. At HRC60, extending its mandate will be a priority. 

    We continue to deplore this Council’s exceptionalism towards serious human rights violations in China, including crimes against humanity. In his global update to this Council session, High Commissioner Türk indicated he remains ‘concerned about lack of progress on much-needed legal reform to ensure compliance with international human rights law’ and ‘regret[s] that there has not yet been a resolution to the individual cases [the OHCHR has] raised]’. It is imperative that the Council take action commensurate with the gravity of UN findings, by establishing a monitoring and reporting mechanism on China as repeatedly urged by over 40 UN experts since 2020. We urge China to genuinely engage with the UN human rights system to enact meaningful reform, and ensure all individuals and peoples enjoy their human rights, on the basis of recommendations from the OHCHR Xinjiang report, UN Treaty Bodies, and UN Special Procedures.

    This Council’s continued silence on the human rights crisis in Egypt remains of major concern.  The human rights situation in Egypt is worse than at any point in its modern history and continues to deteriorate.  During its UPR process, Egypt rejected or dismissed as “already implemented” recommendations related to serious human rights violations 134 times.  In particular, Egypt either rejected or dismissed recommendations to release political prisoners and end arbitrary arrests 12 times, to stop attacks against independent civil society and journalists 19 times, and to end torture and ill-treatment 6 times. The goverment also refused to ensure accountability for those who have committed torture and other human rights violations 7 times, and rejected or dismissed recommendations to halt violance and discrimination against women, minorities and members of the LGBT+ community 25 times, including repeatedly rejecting calls to criminalize marital rape, as well as forced virginity and anal exams.  In this context, action by the HRC to address these violations is as important as ever. 

    Watch the video of the statement below: 

    Signatories:

    1. African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
    2. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
    3. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
    4. CIVICUS
    5. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
    6. Franciscans International 
    7. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
    8. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
    9. World Uyghur Congress (WUC)

    https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/hrc59-civil-society-presents-key-takeaways-from-the-session/?mc_cid=561653a6d3&mc_eid=d1945ebb90

    https://www.fidh.org/en/international-advocacy/united-nations/human-rights-council/key-outcomes-of-the-59th-human-rights-council-session-progress-and

    https://www.civicus.org/index.php/fr/medias-ressources/112-news/7777-key-highlights-civicus-at-59th-session-of-the-un-human-rights-council

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

  • Palestinian Human Rights Defender Awdah Hathaleen killed by Israeli Settler

    “Despite it all, I hold onto a small hope—that the future might bring justice, that our voices will eventually be heard, and that one day I can celebrate my birthday again, in peace, with the people I love, free from fear and loss.”  – Awdah Hathaleen, April 2025 Photo by: Emily Glick

    An Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian teacher who helped film Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, according to the Palestinian education ministry and an Israeli-American activist who was at the scene of the shooting.

    No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham said on X that a settler shot Odeh (also Awdah) Hathaleen in the lungs in Umm Al-Khair village in the occupied West Bank. Residents allege the shooter was Yinon Levy, who is sanctioned by the UK.

    Attorney Avichai Hajbi said he was representing a resident “who felt his life was in danger, was forced to fire his weapon into the air” after residents were “attacked by an Arab mob, along with foreign activists, with stones and violence”. Mattan Berner-Kadish, an Israeli-American activist at the scene, told the BBC that at about 17:20 local time (15:20 BST) on Monday, a bulldozer from a nearby Israeli settlement was driven through private Palestinian land, crushing a sewage pipe, multiple olive trees and two fences.

    Berner-Kadish and other activists, including Hathaleen’s cousin Ahmad, ran to block the bulldozer. The activist said the driver hit Ahmad in the neck and shoulder with a drill that extended from the bulldozer, with his footage capturing Ahmad falling to the ground. Berner-Kadish did not believe Levy was driving.

    While attending to Ahmad’s injuries, Berner-Kadish heard a pop. Running back to the village to get water, he saw Hathaleen lying bleeding from a gunshot wound and Levy, the only settler he saw, holding a gun.

    In a video believed to be filmed by a relative of Hathaleen and posted on social media, a man identified as Levy is seen holding a pistol with a bulldozer behind him, as men yell at him. Levy pushes at one man, who pushes back. Levy then raises his pistol and shoots ahead of him, then again into the air.

    The clip cuts off when the person filming turns around to run away as women are heard screaming. The footage does not show what or who the shots hit, if anything, and whether anyone else was shooting. There are no other settlers visible. Israeli police said it was investigating the incident in the area of Carmel, an Israeli settlement near Umm Al-Khair.

    “As a result of the incident, a Palestinian man was pronounced deceased. His exact involvement is under investigation,” police told the BBC. Police said on Tuesday morning they had detained an Israeli citizen for questioning. Israeli media later reported Levy was released on house arrest.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also detained five Palestinians on suspicion of involvement in the incident, along with two foreign tourists who were present. Berner-Kadish said on Tuesday evening they were still detained. The activist, who began visiting the village in 2021, said Hathaleen was “one of my best friends in the world” and the two were days away from constructing a football field in the village. He added that Hathaleen was a “warm and loving” father of three young children.

    The Palestinian education ministry said Hathaleen was a teacher at a local secondary school. US congresswoman Lateefah Simon, a Democrat from California, said she was “heartbroken” over the killing of Hathaleen. He and his cousin, “both holding valid visas”, were detained and deported from San Francisco airport last month while travelling for a multicultural faith dialogue, she said.

    Abraham said Hathaleen had helped film No Other Land, the 2025 Oscar winner for best documentary feature that follows the legal fight between the Israeli government and Palestinians over Masafer Yatta, a West Bank community of about 20 villages.

    ..Levy, a leader of an outpost farm, was sanctioned by the UK in 2024, along with others, because he “used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities”.

    He was also sanctioned by the US under the Biden administration, along with others, last year, but President Donald Trump lifted those sanctions.

    Gilad Kariv, a member of Israel’s Knesset from the Democrats party, said on X in response to the video that “in the territories, armed Jewish militias operate unchecked”.

    Settler violence, which has also been on the rise for years, has surged since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The UN documented at least 27 attacks by settlers against Palestinians that resulted in property damage, casualties or both, between 15 and 21 July, in the West Bank.

    see also: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/statement-report/optisrael-statement-solidarity-palestinian-human-rights-defenders-risk-occupied

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c776x78517po

    https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Awdah_Hathaleen

    https://mailchi.mp/2a4342b25255/hrdf-10982507?e=51113b9c0e Read here the words of chairperson of the board, Sahar Vardi.

    Israel/OPT: Killing of prominent Palestinian West-Bank activist Awda Al-Hathaleen demands justice and accountability  
    Israel/OPT: Killing of prominent Palestinian West-Bank activist Awda Al-Hathaleen demands justice and accountability  
    Israel/OPT: Killing of prominent Palestinian West-Bank activist Awda Al-Hathaleen demands justice and accountability  

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

  • ‘Right to choose’ key to Cook Islands-NZ relationship, says Peters

    By Teuila Fuatai, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

    New Zealand’s foreign minister says Cook Islanders are free to choose whether their country continues in free association with New Zealand.

    Winston Peters made the comment at a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the constitution of the Cook Islands in Auckland today.

    Peters attended the community event hosted by the Upokina Taoro (East Cook Island Community Group) as part of an official contingent of MPs. Minister for Pacific Peoples Shane Reti and Labour Party deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni also attended.

    “We may not be perfect, but we’ve never wavered from our responsibilities wherever they lay,” Peters said.

    “For six decades, we have stood by ready to support the Cook Islands economic and social development, while never losing sight of the fact that our financial support comes from the taxes of hard working New Zealanders,”

    This week’s anniversary comes at a time of increasing tension between the two nations.

    At the heart of that are four agreements between the Cook Islands and China, which Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown signed in February.

    NZ funding halted
    The New Zealand government said it should have been consulted over the agreements, but Brown disagreed.

    The diplomatic disagreement has resulted in New Zealand halting $18.2 million in funding to the Cook Islands, which is a realm country of New Zealand.

    Under that arrangement — implemented in 1965 — the country governs its own affairs, but New Zealand provides some assistance with foreign affairs, disaster relief and defence.

    Peters today said the “beating heart” of the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was the “right to choose”.

    “Cook Islanders are free to choose where to live, how to live, and to worship whichever God they wish.”

    After his formal address, Peters was asked by media about the rift between the governments of the Cooks Islands and New Zealand.

    ‘Carefully crafted’
    He referred back to his “carefully crafted” speech which he said showed “precisely what the New Zealand position is now”.

    Brown has previously said that if New Zealand could not afford to fund the country’s national infrastructure investment plan – billed at $650 million — the Cook Islands would need to look elsewhere.

    Brown also said in at the time that funding the development needs of the Cook Islands was a major motivator in signing the agreements with China.

    Discussions between officials from both countries regarding the diplomatic disagreement were ongoing.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Debunked – Israel’s top 10 lies on Gaza, as exposed by Zeteo

    Pacific Media Watch

    The New York Times recently revealed that the Israeli military has “never found proof” that Hamas has “systematically stolen aid from the United Nations” — a lie that has been told by Israeli officials for months now, reports the independent media company Zeteo.

    And the lie has also been repeated by multiple Western media outlets, including the New York Times itself.

    With the Israeli and US government telling so many lies about the violence in the Middle East, and with so much false reporting circulating in mainstream media around what even Israeli rights groups are now calling a genocide in Gaza — here’s a full list of groups Zeteo reported — many people are understandably looking for a fresh breeze of truth.

    “We hear you, we feel you, and we will gladly debunk as many falsehoods as we can for you,” says Mehdi Hasan, the British-American progressive broadcaster, writer, and founder of Zeteo.

    “Debunked!” is back. Watch Mehdi shatter the top 10 lies you’ve been seeing and hearing about this genocide for the past 22 months — in under three minutes!


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Australian media faces existential crisis after realising ‘free Palestine’ might extend well beyond university lawns and Instagram

    COMMENTARY: By Clancy Overell, editor of The Betoota Advocate

    After years of sitting on the fence and looking the other way, the Australian media is today reckoning with the fact that showing basic sympathy towards the starving and war-weary people of Gaza is actually a very mainstream sentiment.

    This explosive moment of self-reflection has rocked newsrooms all over the country, from the talk back radio stations to the increasingly gun-shy ABC.

    This comes as the tens of thousands of everyday Australians marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in solidarity in protest against the abhorrent war crimes being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.

    • READ MORE: More satire about Israel’s horrendous war on Gaza

    This existential media feeling of extreme detachment from the general public is only amplified by the undeniable fact this crowd actually isn’t even that representative of the actual number of people who are horrified by the events taking place on the Gaza Strip — as the extreme weather conditions clearly shrank the overall number of people who would have otherwise attended this record-breaking protest.

    The crowd that did make it there is still one of the biggest to ever march the Harbour Bridge, many who braved heavy winds and rain to join the chants “ceasefire now” and “free Palestine”.

    With a large number of high-profile household names such as Julian Assange and former NSW Premier Bob Carr making their presence known, it’s now very difficult for the media to now write these protesters off as “terrorist sympathisers”.

    It’s also clear that the plight of the Palestinians is something that ripples far beyond the university lawns and instagram timelines that have since been dismissed as the musings of “detached inner-city elites” and “brazen antisemites”.

    Sydney’s “Rainy Sunday” march also comes as a blow to both the Federal and State Labor governments, which have worked tirelessly to squash these protests using police powers and anti-free speech laws.

    The Betoota Advocate is an Australian satirical news website that takes its name from the deserted regional western Queensland town of Betoota but is actually published in Sydney.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Palestine surveillance author says Australian protesters ‘outraged’ by Israel’s war on Gaza

    Pacific Media Watch

    Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory, a book on the Israeli arms and surveillance industry, says Australian protesters are “outraged” not just by what Israel is doing in Gaza, but also by the Australian government’s “complicity”.

    Loewenstein, who also spoke at the rally, told Al Jazeera that Australia has, for many years, including since the start of the war, been part of the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jets that Israel has been using in attacking the besieged enclave.

    “A lot of Australians are aware of this,” he said. “We are deeply complicit, and people are angry that their government is doing little more than talk at this point.”

    Asked about opinions within Israel, Loewenstein, who is an Australian-German and Jewish, condemned what he called a prevailing climate of “genocide mania” and also criticised the role of the mainstream media in not reporting accurate coverage of the reality in Gaza.

    Organisers of the Palestine Action Group Sydney-led march across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge have said at least 100,000 people — and perhaps as many as 300,000 — took part in the biggest pro-Palestinian held in Australia. Police say more than 90,000.

    Mehreen Faruqi, the New South Wales senator for the left-wing Greens party, addressed the crowd gathered at central Sydney’s Lang Park before the march, calling for the “harshest sanctions on Israel”, accusing its forces of “massacring” Palestinians.

    At least 175 people, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the enclave since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, according to latest Gaza Health Ministry figures.

    The horrifying images of Gazans being deliberately starved is adding to the pressure on Western governments which have been enthusiastic supporters of Israel’s genocide, reports the Sydney-based Green-Left magazine.

    Former US President Barack Obama has started to push for an end to Israel’s military operations. Sections of Israeli society, including five human rights organisations, now agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

    Media corporations, such as BBC, AFP, AP and Reuters, which have been complicit in manufacturing consent for “Israel has a right to defend itself” line, are now condemning the killing of Palestinian journalists.

    These shifts reflect the scale of the horror, but also the success of the global Palestine solidarity movement.

    It is undermining support for Israel — a factor which is starting to weigh on Western governments. Only 32% of Americans approve of Israel’s military action in Gaza, according to a new Gallup poll.

    With the exception of Ireland and Spain, Western governments have refused to describe Israel’s war as an act of genocide.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Hiroshima 80 years on – why AUKUS is imperial madness and needs to be stopped

    Three times this year the world has been close to nuclear catastrophe of one form or another — the India–Pakistan conflict, the ongoing Ukraine–Russia war and more recently the Israel/US–Iran “12 day war”. Here is one of the speeches at the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima Day in Sydney before the “March for Humanity” on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

    COMMENTARY: By Peter Murphy

    I acknowledge the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we are gathered and pay respect to their Elders past and present. I also acknowledge the Pitjantjatjara and other peoples of the APY lands who suffered the direct impact of nuclear weapons tests at Maralinga and nearby in the 1950s and early 1960s.

    I am standing in here for Michael Wright, the national secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, who was unable to take up our invitation to be here today.

    The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has a very solid record for opposing the nuclear industry and nuclear weapons, and really campaigned hard on this issue against Peter Dutton and the Coalition in the May federal elections.

    The ETU campaigned in Dutton’s seat of Dickson and he lost his seat to Labor’s Ali France. You have to conclude that among the many reasons that Australian voters deserted the Coalition and Dutton, the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy was a big one.

    Since the election, the Coalition has continued to entertain the idea of a nuclear-powered Australia, showing that they just refuse to listen to the Australian people. But they are only too happy to listen to and take the money of the fossil fuel corporations and the nuclear power companies like Westinghouse, who are the ones who benefit from government policies to foster nuclear power.

    They are determined to delay the transition to renewable energy as long as possible, whatever the cost to all of us in runaway climate disasters.

    The ETU’s official policy against the nuclear industry dates back to the 1950s, resulting from the shared experiences of ETU members who returned from Japan after the Second World War. In the decades since, the ETU has regularly revisited this policy to learn more about the nuclear fuel cycle, changes and advances to technologies, technical interaction with the network and economic viability.

    Opposed nuclear industry
    Let’s honour those long-gone ETU members who recognised the crimes that took place at Nagasaki and Hiroshima 80 years ago by vigorously opposing the nuclear industry and nuclear weapons today. And let’s remember some other Australians who were there then — Tom Uren saw the mushroom cloud over Nagasaki from the copper mine where he was working as a prisoner of war; and Wilfred Burchett, the journalist, who first told the world from Hiroshima about radiation sickness.

    Nuclear power stations generate radioactive waste such as spent reactor fuel, reprocessing effluents, and contaminated tools and work clothing. These materials can remain radioactive and hazardous to human health for tens of thousands of years.

    And this is the kind of waste that comes from nuclear-powered submarines, during regular maintenance, and at the end of their life — 30 years we have been told for the AUKUS submarine nuclear reactors.

    This waste will need to be trucked across the country on public roads to be disposed of in a nuclear waste facility.

    But, Australia does not have a dedicated national radioactive waste facility. And the Albanese government is refusing to say where they plan to put that waste.

    The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and those at the nuclear tests sites in Nevada, the Marianas, French Polynesia, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and the Monte Bello Islands, Emu Fields, Maralinga in Australia have been living with these nuclear wastes in their environment for up to 80 years.

    We don’t want this to go any further in Australia or anywhere else in the world.

    Democratic failure over AUKUS
    How dare the Albanese government commit future generations to somehow keep that deadly nuclear waste safe for tens of thousands of years.

    The ETU stood up at the August 2023 ALP National Conference and opposed the AUKUS project, spelling out these concerns and also the democratic failure of Labor to consult the public and the Parliament before committing to the AUKUS deal.

    The Albanese leadership tried very hard to make sure that AUKUS was not debated at that ALP National Conference. So it was a victory first of all to have the debate and openly discuss the big problems with AUKUS.

    The pro-AUKUS case was so weak that the Defence Industry Minister at the time, Pat Conroy, defended it by accusing the critics of being like the appeasers of the Nazis in the 1930s. In doing so he was saying that China is a fascist state and it is the enemy we have to fight with these hopeless submarines.

    The grotesque comparison of us and of China to Nazis is ironically more appropriate for Trump and the USA, who are right now purging people of colour from the streets and workplaces of the United States and supporting a genocide in Gaza.

    AUKUS is one building block in the US plan to wage war on China to remove its capacity to challenge US primacy in this region and world-wide. A conga line of US military commanders and cabinet secretaries have made this clear.

    It is imperial madness writ large.

    The deeper reason
    And this is the deeper reason why we must oppose AUKUS, because we have to stop this deadly drive for a war between nuclear-armed superpowers. Such a war would almost certainly go nuclear, the world would go into nuclear winter, there would be no winners and huge huge casualties.

    Japan, the Philippines, and Australia would be very early targets in such a war.

    We remember that 200,000 people, almost all civilians, men women and children of all ages, were killed by those two nuclear bombs 80 years ago, and endless suffering has continued down to this day.

    So we recommit to opposing nuclear weapons and the nuclear industry which produces them. We commit to getting Australia’s signature on the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons.

    We commit to stopping AUKUS. We commit to stopping the active US and Australian plan for a war with China.

    This is edited from Peter Murphy’s speech at the 80th anniversary Horoshima Day rally for the Sydney Peace and Justice Coalition and Sydney Anti-AUKUS Coalition on 3 August 2025.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange joins Sydney Gaza humanitarian protest as thousands cross bridge

    Asia Pacific Report

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was among the tens of thousands of protesters in Australia staging a “humanitarians for Gaza” march today across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

    The transparency media campaigner and activist, who moved back to his native Australia last year, after reaching a plea deal with the US government to avoid possible life imprisonment for publishing classified anti-war government information, was not expected to speak at the protest.

    The bridge was closed for Australia’s biggest pro-Palestine march.

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Sydney Harbour Bridge humanitarian protest for Gaza today
    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Sydney Harbour Bridge humanitarian protest for Gaza today. Image: X/@EllaCoo55777104

    Protesters marched across the bridge this afternoon after the Supreme Court of New South Wales refused an application by police to ban the demonstration.

    Police had raised concerns about public safety and the potential for a “crowd crush”, but Justice Belinda Rigg sided with the organisers, finding that they had convincingly explained the reasons why they believed the Israeli genocide in Gaza demanded an urgent response.

    Palestine Action Group Sydney, the organiser of the march, said before the protest that it expected 50,000 people to attend. However, heavy rain was a dampener but thousands still marched onto the bridge with estimates being put at 25,000.

    The activist group said it wanted to highlight what the United Nations has described as worsening famine conditions in Gaza.

    News media reported that the Israeli military had killed at least 62 people in Gaza yesterday, including 38 people desperately seeking food aid.

    A 17-year-old Palestinian was reported to have died of starvation, one of at least seven Palestinians who died of malnutrition within the past 24 hours across Gaza, report medical sources.

    The death toll from Israel’s 22-month war on the besieged enclave has reached at least 61,709, including including 17,492 children.


    Australia protests for Gaza                              Video: Al Jazeera

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Israel closes 88% of cases of alleged war crimes or abuse without charges – report

    Conflict monitoring group Action on Armed Violence says Israel is seeking to create a ‘pattern of impunity’

    Nearly nine out of 10 Israeli military investigations into allegations of war crimes or abuses by its soldiers since the start of the war in Gaza have been closed without finding fault or left without resolution, according to a conflict monitor.

    Unresolved investigations include the killing of at least 112 Palestinians queueing for flour in Gaza City in February 2024, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) said, and an airstrike that killed 45 in an inferno at a tented camp in Rafah in May 2024.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Human Rights Obligations At Canadian Embassies Dead On Arrival

    Over the winter, hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia denounced a Canadian gold mine owned by Aris Mining in the eastern Andean wetlands. They were rallied by the Comité Santurbán, a collective of activists protecting the vulnerable Santurbán watershed, known as a páramo, from industrial mining.

    Opposition has been ongoing for at least 16 years. But this past December, members of the Comité were designated by a group supporting the Canadian mine as “persona non grata.” In October, they were labelled as “enemies of progress in Santander” and accused of being responsible for “the deterioration of the country’s heritage”.

    The post Human Rights Obligations At Canadian Embassies Dead On Arrival appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.