This conference, the first of its kind in 20 years, served as a crucial platform to address the pressing challenges and core issues faced by Pacific media.
Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, the convenor of the conference and co-editor of the new book, emphasised the conference’s primary goals — to stimulate research, discussion, and debate on Pacific media, and to foster a deeper understanding of its challenges.
“Our region hasn’t escaped the calamitous impacts of the two biggest events that have shaken the media sector — digital disruption and the covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
“Both events have posed significant challenges for news media organisations and journalists, to the point of being an existential threat to the industry as we know it. This isn’t very well known or understood outside the news media industry.”
Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, authored by Dr Singh, Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad, and Dr Amit Sarwal, offers a comprehensive collection of interdisciplinary research, insights, and analyses at the intersection of media, conflict, peacebuilding, and development in the Pacific – a region experiencing rapid and profound change.
Dr Singh noted that media issues had grown increasingly complex due to heightened poverty, underdevelopment, corruption, and political instability.
“Media and communication play vital roles in the framing of conflict, security, and development in public and political discourses, ultimately influencing progression or regression in peace and stability. This is particularly true in the era of digital media,” Dr Singh said.
Launching the Waves of Change book . . . contributor Dr David Robie (from left), co-editor Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad, PNG Minister of Information and Communication Technology Timothy Masiu, co-editor Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, and co-editor Dr Amit Sarwal. Image: The Australia Today
Dr Amit Sarwal said that the primary aim of the new book was to address and revisit critical questions linking media, peacebuilding, and development in the Pacific. He expressed a desire to bridge gaps in training, publishing, and enhance practical applications in these vital areas particularly amongst young journalists in the Pacific.
Winds of Change . . . shedding light on the intricate relationship between media, peace, and development in the Pacific. Image: APMN
Professor Biman Prasad is hopeful that this collection will shed light on the intricate relationship between media, peace, and development in the Pacific. He stressed the importance of prioritising planning, strategising, and funding in this sector.
“By harnessing the potential of media for peacebuilding, stakeholders in the Pacific can work towards a more peaceful and prosperous future for all,” Professor Prasad added.
Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific has been published under a joint collaboration of Australia’s Kula Press and India’s Shhalaj Publishing House.
The book features nine chapters authored by passionate researchers and academics, including David Robie, John Rabuogi Ahere, Sanjay Ramesh, Kalinga Seneviratne, Kylie Navuku, Narayan Gopalkrishnan, Hurriyet Babacan, Usha Sundar Harris, and Asha Chand.
Dr Robie is founding editor of Pacific Journalism Review, which also celebrated 30 years of publishing at the book launch.
The 2024 Pacific International Media Conference was organised in partnership with the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN).
As I write this, I am sitting in a tiny, unventilated cell five stories high at Stateville Correctional Center, a prison located about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. It is a decrepit, 100-year-old prison deemed unfit for human habitation. When the temperatures outside rise into the mid-90s, which has been occurring repeatedly this summer, the heat index in my cell rises to at least 110 degrees…
Here is the livestream of Dr David Robie’s keynote address “Frontline Media Faultlines: How Critical Journalism Can Survive Against the Odds” at the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference in Suva, Fiji, earlier this month.
Asia Pacific Media Network deputy chair Dr David Robie . . . giving his keynote address at the 2024 Pacific Media Conference. Image: TOT screenshot/Café Pacific
The voters in the second round of France’s national elections last weekend staved off an expected shift to the far-right. But the result in the Pacific territory Kanaky New Caledonia was also in many ways historic.
Of the two assembly representatives decided, a position fell on either side of the deep polarisation evident in the territory — one for loyalists, one for supporters of independence. But it is the independence side that will take the most from the result.
Turnout in the vote was remarkable, not only because of the violence in New Caledonia over recent months, which has curbed movement and public transport across the territory, but also because national elections have been seen particularly by independence parties as less relevant locally.
Voting was generally peaceful, although a blockade prevented voting in one Kanak commune during the first round.
After winning the first round, a hardline loyalist and independence candidate faced off in each constituency. The second round therefore presented a binary choice, effectively becoming a barometer of views around independence.
Sobering results for loyalists
While clearly not a referendum, it was the first chance to measure sentiment in this manner since the boycotted referendum in 2021, which had followed two independence votes narrowly favouring staying with France.
The resulting impasse about the future of the territory had erupted into violent protests in May this year, when President Emmanuel Macron sought unilaterally to broaden voter eligibility to the detriment of indigenous representation. Only Macron then called snap national elections.
These are sobering results for loyalists.
So the contest, as it unfolded in New Caledonia, represented high stakes for both sides.
In the event, loyalist Nicolas Metzdorf won 52.4 percent in the first constituency (Noumea and islands) over the independence candidate’s 47.6 percent. Independence candidate Emmanuel Tjibaou won 57.4 percent to the loyalist’s 42.6 percent in the second (Northern Province and outer suburbs of Noumea).
The results, a surprise even to independence leaders, were significant.
It is notable that in these national elections, all citizens are eligible to vote. Only local assembly elections apply the controversial voter eligibility provisions which provoked the current violence, provisions that advantage longstanding residents and thus indigenous independence supporters.
Even in the constituency won by the loyalist, the independence candidate, daughter-in-law of early independence fighter Nidoïsh Naisseline, won 47 percent of the vote.
These are sobering results for loyalists.
Jean-Marie Tjibaou, founding father of the independence movement in Kanaky New Caledonia, 1985. Image: David Robie/Café Pacific
Independence party candidate Emmanuel Tjibaou, 48, carried particular symbolism. The son of the assassinated founding father of the independence movement Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Emmanuel had eschewed politics to this point, instead taking on cultural roles including as head of the Kanak cultural development agency.
He is a galvanising figure for independence supporters.
Emmanuel Tjibaou is now the first independence assembly representative in 38 years. He won notwithstanding France redesigning the two constituencies in 1988 specifically to prevent an independence representative win by including part of mainly loyalist Noumea in each.
A loyalist stronghold has been broken.
Further strain on both sides While both a loyalist and independence parliamentarian will now sit in Paris and represent their different perspectives, the result will further strain the two sides.
Pro-independence supporters will be energised by the strong performance and this will increase expectations, especially among the young. The responsibility on elders is heavy. Tjibaou described the vote as “a call for help, a cry of hope”. He has urged a return to the path of dialogue.
At the same time, loyalists will be concerned by independence party success. Insecurity and fear, already sharpened by recent violence, may intensify. While he referred to the need for dialogue, Nicolas Metzdorf is known for his tough uncompromising line.
Paradoxically the ongoing violence means an increased reliance on France for the reconstruction that will be a vital underpinning for talks. Estimates for rebuilding have exceeded 2 billion euros (NZ$3.6 billion), with more than 800 businesses, countless schools and houses attacked, many destroyed.
Yet France itself is reeling after the snap elections returned no clear winner. Three blocs are vying for power, and are divided within their own ranks over how government should be formed. While French presidents have had to “cohabit” with an assembly majority of the opposite persuasion three times before, never has a president faced no clear majority.
It will take time, perhaps months, for a workable solution to emerge, during which New Caledonia is hardly likely to take precedence.
As New Caledonia’s neighbours prepare to meet for the annual Pacific Islands Forum summit next month, all will be hoping that the main parties can soon overcome their deep differences and find a peaceful local way forward.
Denise Fisher is a visiting fellow at ANU’s Centre for European Studies. She was an Australian diplomat for 30 years, serving in Australian diplomatic missions as a political and economic policy analyst in many capitals. The Australian Consul-General in Noumea, New Caledonia (2001-2004), she is the author of France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics (2013).
The Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights and other protesters took to the streets of Fiji’s capital Suva yesterday in a rare demonstration demanding freedom, decolonisation and human rights in Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua.
The peaceful “pre-Bastille Day” protest came after recent events in Kanaky New Caledonia led to 10 deaths and a heavy build-up of French police and paramilitary forces.
It also followed ongoing human rights abuses and violations by Indonesia in West Papua.
“As France commemorates Bastille Day on July 14 and celebrates their own principles of ‘liberty, equality, and fraternity’, its own action in the Pacific contradicts the national day,” said West Papuan activist Rosa Moiwend of the Pacific Network on Globalisation.
PANG’s Rosa Moiwend of West Papua and Asia Pacific Media Network’s Del Abcede of New Zealand in Suva . . . French actions in Pacific “contradict Bastille Day” principles of liberty. Image: APMN
“French colonisation of Pacific territories and its continued acts of suppression in Māohi Niu and Kanaky New Caledonia are quite the opposite of what the French revolution achieved.
“Today, they are symbolic of the Bastille and the monarchy oppressing and abusing the people and denying their right to self-determination in their own lands,” she said.
The May riots and unrest in Kanaky New Caledonia has led to 3500 security personnel being deployed from France.
“At best, this is based on the severely misguided notion that the challenges of the decolonisation process can be resolved by force,” Moiwend said.
France’s true objectives ‘disguised’
“However, it is becoming clearer that the restoration of order and peace is just a disguise for France’s true objectives — a deliberate retrenchment and extension of colonial control.”
Liberation for Kanaky, Palestine and West Papua. Image: FWCC
Almost two months after the outbreak of violence, tensions remain high and there is serious concern about the continuing restrictions on Kanaks.
Widespread reports of atrocities and police brutality against Kanaky youth have angered protest groups across the Pacific.
French authorities have extradited seven indigenous Kanak activists to prisons in France while awaiting trial on “conspiracy” charges over the rioting.
“French President Emmanuel Macron must be responsible for the current state of Kanaky New Caledonia,” said PANG in a statement.
“Blaming Kanak leaders and having them arrested and detained in France is a coverup and tactic to assert power. We call on President Macron to release the Kanak leaders and allow them legal representation.”
Olivia Baro from the Pacific Conference of Churches added that the issue of West Papua and the ongoing human rights abuse must not be forgotten, and Indonesia must be held responsible.
West Papuan voices ‘silenced’
Indonesia’s ongoing influence on the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and the Pacific Islands Leaders Forum has continued to silence the voices of West Papuans.
As Pacific peoples, we will continue to stand in solidarity with West Papua and their right to self-determination.
“As we commemorate the Biak massacre this month and remember the many lives lost in West Papua, the continuous suppression of West Papua by Indonesia is a similar struggle to Kanaky New Caledonia, Palestine and many human rights struggles globally,” said Baro.
Despite restrictions set by authorities to prevent Palestine flags and banners at the march, the coalition stands in solidarity with our brothers, sisters and families in Palestine.
The Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji and their allies have been hosting vigils at the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre compound for Palestine, West Papua and Kanaky every Thursday over the last eight months.
The call on the Fiji government and Pacific leaders to support the ceasefire in Gaza, and protect the rights of Palestinians, West Papuans and Kanaks.
“The struggles of Palestinians are no different to West Papua, Kanaky New Caledonia,” FWCC Coordinator and NGOCHR Chair Shamima Ali.
“These are struggles of self-determination, and their human rights must be upheld.”
Fiji police at Parliament yesterday on watch for the Pacific human rights protest. Image: Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
Media professionals have been urged to undergo gender sensitisation training to produce more inclusive, accurate and ethical representation of women in the news.
Fiji Women’s Rights Movement executive director Nalini Singh emphasised that such training would help avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes and promote diverse perspectives, ensuring media coverage reflects the realities of all genders.
She made these comments during her keynote address at a panel discussion on “Gender and Media in Fiji and the Pacific” at the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference at the Suva Holiday Inn in Fiji on July 4-6.
In her presentation, Singh highlighted the highest rates of gender violence and other forms of discrimination against women in the region.
She said the Pacific region had, among the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world, with ongoing efforts to provide protection mechanisms and work towards prevention.
Head of USP Journalism Associate Professor Shailendra Singh (from left); ABC journalist Lice Movono; Communications adviser for Pacific Women Lead Jacqui Berrell; Tavuli News editor Georgina Kekea; and Fiji Women’s Rights Movement executive director Nalini Singh during the panel discussion on Gender and Media in the Pacific. Image: Monika Singh/Wansolwara
She highlighted that women in Fiji and the Pacific carried a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, spending approximately three times as much time on domestic chores and caregiving as men.
This limits their opportunities for income-generating activities and personal development.
Labour participation low
According to Singh, women’s labour force participation remains low — 34 percent in Samoa and 84 percent in the Solomon Islands. The underemployment of women restricts economic growth and perpetuates income inequality, leaving families with single earners, often males with less financial stability.
She highlighted that women were significantly underrepresented in leadership positions as well. In Fiji, women held only 21 percent of board seats, 11 percent of board chairperson roles, and 30 percent of chief executive officer positions.
Despite numerous commitments from the United Nations and other bodies over past decades, including the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Singh pointed out that gender equality remained a distant goal.
The World Economic Forum estimates that closing the overall gender gap will take 131 years, with economic parity taking 169 years and political parity taking 162 years at the current rate of progress.
Singh shared that women were more negatively impacted on by climate change due to limited access to resources and information, adding that media often depicted women as caregivers and community leaders during climate-related disasters, highlighting their increased burdens and risks.
The efforts made by FWRM in addressing sexual harassment in the workplace was also highlighted at the conference, with a major reference to the research and advocacy by the organisation that has contributed to policy changes that include sexual harassment as a cause for disciplinary action under employment regulations.
Fiji Women’s Rights Movement’s programme director Laisa Bulatale (from left); Tavuli News editor Georgina Kekea; ABC journalist Lice Movono; and head of USP Journalism Associate Professor Shailendra Singh. Image: Monika Singh/Wansolwara
Singh challenged the conference attendees to prioritise creating safer workplaces for women in media. She urged academics, media organisations, students, and funders to take concrete actions to stop sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
“We must commit to fostering workplaces and online platforms where everyone feels safe and respected.
‘Free from fear’
“Together, we can create environments free from fear and discrimination. Enough is enough,” Singh urged, emphasising the need for collective commitment and action from all stakeholders.
The conference, the first of its kind in 20 years, was organised by The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme in collaboration with the Pacific Islands News Association and the Asia Pacific Media Network.
It was officially opened by chief guest Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji and the Minister for Trade, Co-operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications Manoa Kamikamica.
Kamikamica said the Fijian government stood firm in its commitment to safeguarding media freedom, as evidenced by recent strides such as the repeal of restrictive media laws and the revitalisation of the Fiji Media Council.
Papua New Guinea Minister for Communication and Information Technology Timothy Masiu was also present at the official dinner of the conference on July 4.
Conference chief guest Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji and the Minister for Trade, Co-operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications Manoa Kamikamica (left) and Papua New Guinea Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Timothy Masiu. Image: Wansolwara
He said the conference theme “Navigating Challenges and Shaping Futures in Pacific Media Research and Practice” was appropriate and timely.
“If anything, it reminds us all of the critical role that the media continues to play in shaping public discourse and catalysing action on issues affecting our Pacific.”
Launch of PJR
The official dinner included the launch of the 30th anniversary edition of the Pacific Journalism Review (PJR) and launch of the book Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, which is edited by the Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad and Dr Amit Sarwal, a former senior lecturer and deputy head of school (research) at USP.
The PJR is the only academic journal in the region that publishes research specifically focused on Pacific media.
The conference was sponsored the US Embassy in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu, the International Fund for Public Interest Media, the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, New Zealand Science Media Centre and the Pacific Women Lead – Pacific Community.
With more than 100 attendees from 11 countries, including 50 presenters, the conference provided a platform for discussions on issues and the future.
The core issues that were raised included media freedom, media capacity building through training and financial support, the need for more research in Pacific media, especially in media and gender, and some other core areas, and challenges facing the media sector in the region, especially in the wake of the digital disruption and the covid-19 pandemic.
Ivy Mallam is a final-year student journalist at The University of the South Pacific, Laucala Campus. Republished in collaboration with Wansolwara.
As an economy, Fiji has paid a “very high price for being unable to protect freedom” but people can speak and criticise the government freely now, says Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad.
Prasad, a former University of the South Pacific (USP) economics professor, said that he, in a deeply personal way, knew how the economy had been affected when he saw the debt numbers and what the government had inherited.
Professor Prasad says the government had reintroduced media self-regulation and “we can actually feel the freedom everywhere, including in Parliament”.
USP head of journalism associate professor Shailendra Singh and former USP lecturer and co-founder of The Australia Today Dr Amrit Sarwal also co-edited the book with Professor Prasad.
While also speaking during the launch, PNG Minister for Information and Communications Technology Timothy Masiu expressed support for the Fiji government repealing the media laws that curbed freedom in Fiji in the recent past.
He said his Department of ICT had set up a social media management desk to monitor the ever-increasing threats on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and other online platforms.
Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad speaking at the book launch. Video: Fijivillage News
The new book, Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific. Image: Kula Press
promote media self-regulation;
improve government media capacity;
roll out media infrastructure for all; and
diversify content and quota usage for national interest.
He said that to elevate media professionalism in PNG, the policy called for developing media self-regulation in the country without direct government intervention.
Strike a balance
Masiu said the draft policy also intended to strike a balance between the media’s ongoing role in transparency and accountability on the one hand, and the dissemination of developmental information, on the other hand.
He said it was not an attempt by the government to restrict the media in PNG and the media in PNG enjoyed “unprecedented freedom” and an ability to report as they deemed appropriate.
The PNG Minister said their leaders were constantly being put in the spotlight.
While they did not necessarily agree with many of the daily news media reports, the governmenr would not “suddenly move to restrict the media” in PNG in any form.
The 30th anniversary edition of the research journal Pacific Journalism Review, founded by former USP Journalism Programme head Professor David Robie at the University of Papua New Guinea, was also launched at the event.
The PJR has published more than 1100 research articles over the past 30 years and is the largest media research archive in the region.
Republished from Fijivillage News with permission.
Crown prince criticised ‘bad laws’ for Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s death sentence months before second conviction
Fresh questions have been raised about the suppression of free speech in Saudi Arabia after the brother of a man facing the death penalty for tweeting to 10 followers was handed a 20-year sentence for largely innocuous tweets.
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had said Mohammed al-Ghamdi was a victim of “bad laws” after being sentenced to death, yet the crown prince permitted the same laws to be used to sentence Ghamdi’s younger brother, Asaad al-Ghamdi.
Crown prince criticised ‘bad laws’ for Mohammed al-Ghamdi’s death sentence months before second conviction
Fresh questions have been raised about the suppression of free speech in Saudi Arabia after the brother of a man facing the death penalty for tweeting to 10 followers was handed a 20-year sentence for largely innocuous tweets.
The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had said Mohammed al-Ghamdi was a victim of “bad laws” after being sentenced to death, yet the crown prince permitted the same laws to be used to sentence Ghamdi’s younger brother, Asaad al-Ghamdi.
On June 30, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over Sinjah, the capital of Sinnar province in southeastern Sudan, and they have continued to expand their control over the surrounding areas since then. Tens of thousands of residents have fled this latest RSF incursion, deepening the crises of displacement and hunger that have spread across Sudan since war broke out between the RSF and the…
Updated: Hasan Moosa Jaafar Ali was a 16-year-old Bahraini student with learning disabilities when he was arrested for the first time without a warrant on 23 September 2013. During his detention, he endured torture, enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, denial of attorney access, isolation, reprisals, religious discrimination, and medical neglect. He was sentenced to a total of 32 years imprisonment through a series of unfair trials, including the “Bahraini Hezbollah” case. Hasan is currently imprisoned at Jau Prison. On 18 September 2020, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted an opinion regarding nine Bahraini prisoners convicted in the “Bahraini Hezbollah” case, including Hasan, urging Bahrain to release them immediately and unconditionally and to provide them with compensation.
On 5 September 2012, officials raided Hasan’s family home in an attempt to arrest him, but he was not home at the time. Hasan’s mother asked the officers to see the arrest warrant, but they only said Hasan’s name was on a list of wanted fugitives and would not provide her with a warrant.
After being chased by the authorities for over a year, Hasan was arrested for the first time on 23 September 2013 while he was in a car with his cousin. The officers provided no arrest warrant or reason for the arrest. The officers took Hasan to Samaheej police station, where he was forcibly disappeared and tortured by burning the soles of his feet and thighs and by beating him on his head, abdomen, and “sensitive areas.” As a result of the torture, Hasan developed burns on his feet and thighs, along with green bruises on his body. Two days after his arrest, Hasan was transferred to the AlHadd police station, where he was interrogated for a week without the presence of his lawyer. Officials then allowed him to contact his family for the first time. As a result of torture, Hasan was coerced into confessing to fabricated charges against him. Furthermore, he was not examined by a forensic pathologist following interrogations.
Hasan was not promptly brought before a judge, was unable to present evidence and challenge evidence presented against him, did not have adequate time and facilities to prepare for his trials, and was denied access to his lawyer during the trial period. Additionally, the confessions extracted from him under torture were used as evidence against him. On an unknown date, Hasan was charged with illegal assembly and arson. The Bahraini court sentenced him to a total of nine and a half years in prison and a fine of 200 Bahraini dinars. After his conviction, Hasan was transferred to Jau Prison. Hasan appealed his rulings, however, the Court of Appeals rejected all the appeals and upheld the verdicts.
On 10 March 2015, a prison protest broke out when a family was denied access to visit a prisoner. In retribution, at approximately 10:00 P.M., a group of prison guards attacked a group of detainees, including Hasan. The officers tortured Hasan and the other detainees, beating them with batons until they were unable to move. They threw the detainees to the floor, jumped on their bodies, forcibly cut their hair, and refused to give them access to a bathroom. Hasan was also beaten on the head, causing a deep injury. In May 2015, officials transferred him to the New Dry Dock Prison, the section of Jau Prison reserved for inmates under the age of 21.
On 3 June 2016, approximately three years after his arrest, Hasan escaped with some prisoners from the New Dry Dock Prison. On the same day, plainclothes officers and riot police officers raided his home while searching for him. The officers returned several times in search of Hasan, but he remained in hiding for approximately two years.
On 23 January 2018, officers in plain clothing forcibly entered Hasan’s grandfather’s home, arrested Hasan, and took him to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), where he was subjected to enforced disappearance for two days. He was charged with prison break, hiding from arrest, and for his alleged participation in the Bahraini Hezbollah case. The officers called Hasan’s family two days later to inform them of his arrest and to tell them that he was “fine.”
Officials interrogated Hasan at the CID for 45 days and tortured him to coerce a confession. Hasan did eventually confess to the charges against him, and his confession was used against him during his trial. His lawyer was not allowed to be present during his interrogation. After 45 days at the CID, Hasan was transferred to the “isolation building” of Jau Prison.
The Bahraini court sentenced him to an additional 23 years in prison, a fine of 100,000 Bahraini dinars, and revoked his citizenship, resulting in a total sentence of 32 years. One of the verdicts against him was issued during the “Bahraini Hezbollah” mass trial on 16 April 2019. Hasan was denied access to his attorney and did not have adequate time or facilities to prepare for his trial. The court rejected all of Hasan’s appeals and upheld his convictions. On 21 April 2019, Hasan’s nationality was restored by royal order.
On 21 April 2019, Hasan stated in a voice recording shared on social media that he was isolated from other prisoners, prohibited from interacting with them, and deprived of basic rights such as medical care and religious rituals. He mentioned that he had not met with any prison administrative officials, and his requests to do so were consistently denied.
On 15 August 2019, Hasan joined other detainees at the “isolation building” in a hunger strike to protest poor prison conditions. They demanded to be moved from the isolation building and placed with other prisoners, allowed to practice their religious rituals, and have the restrictions on their phone calls and outdoor time removed. They also protested against constant surveillance of their movements, conversations, and personal belongings by prison officers. The strike continued until the first week of September when the prison administration promised to fulfill their demands. However, after the strike ended, the administration refused to keep its promises, leading the prisoners to resume the strike. In response, prison officers tied Hasan’s hands behind his back and forced him into his cell to prevent him from reciting Ashura’s eulogies with his fellow inmates in the corridor, threatening him with further sanctions if he attempted to recite these eulogies. The prison administration also denied him family visits and placed him in solitary confinement for a few days. Hasan remained in the isolation building of Jau Prison for three years before being moved to another building in 2021.
On 18 September 2020, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted an opinion regarding nine Bahraini prisoners convicted in the “Bahraini Hezbollah” case, including Hasan, determining their detention to be arbitrary. The WGAD urged Bahrain to release them immediately and unconditionally and to provide them with compensation.
In September 2020, scabies spread among prisoners in Jau Prison due to a new inmate suffering from it, resulting in Hasan becoming infected. In August 2021, Hasan contracted COVID-19. Between 2015 and 2024, he has been repeatedly placed in solitary confinement. Throughout his detention, he has been repeatedly denied medical treatment for a knee injury, sinusitis, and a deviated septum, and has been denied three necessary nose surgeries for four years. Recently, in March 2024, an officer at Jau Prison prevented Hasan from attending a scheduled ENT appointment for his nose issues under the pretext of his “inappropriate hairstyle”, though his hairstyle complied with prison regulations. He has also been denied follow-up ophthalmology appointments. Hasan’s family has submitted numerous complaints to the Ombudsman, requesting medical care. Although the Ombudsman promised to follow up on the issue, no action has been taken, and the family has yet to receive a response. Additionally, traces of cigarette burns on the soles of Hasan’s feet, inflicted during the interrogation period, are still visible.
Hasan’s first warrantless arrest as a minor, torture, enforced disappearances, solitary confinement, denial of attorney access, unfair trials, isolation, reprisals, religious discrimination, and medical neglect all constitute clear violations of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment (CAT), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Bahrain is a party.
Riots in Kanaky New Caledonia claimed their 10th victim yesterday.
The death took place as a result of an exchange of fire between a group of rioters in the village of Saint Louis (near the capital Nouméa) and French gendarmes, local news media reported.
Nouméa Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas yesterday confirmed the incident and the fatality, saying the victim had opened fire on the French gendarmes, who then returned fire.
Gunfire exchanges had also been reported on the previous day, since French security forces had arrived on site.
A group of armed snipers were reported to have entered the Church of Saint Louis, including the victim who was reported to have opened fire, aiming at the gendarmes from that location.
The victim is described as the nephew of prominent pro-independence politician and local territorial Congress president Roch Wamytan.
Wamytan is also the Great Chief of Saint Louis and a prominent figure of the hard-line pro-independence party Union Calédonienne (UC).
On Sunday, during an election night live broadcast, he told public television NC la 1ère that “as the High Chief of Saint Louis and as President of the Congress, I find what is going on in Saint Louis really regrettable”.
“We will try to address the situation in the coming days,” he said.
On Sunday night, French gendarmes had to evacuate two resident religious sisters from the Saint Louis Marist Mission after armed rioters threatened them at gunpoint and ordered them to leave.
French security forces had launched an operation in Saint Louis on Tuesday in a bid to restore law and order and dismantle several roadblocks and barricades erected by rioters in this area, known to be a pro-independence stronghold.
Car jacking Several other incidents of car jacking had also been reported near the Saint Louis mission over the past few days on this portion of the strategic road leading to the capital Nouméa.
The incidents have been described by victims as the stealing of vehicles, threats at gunpoint, humiliation of drivers and passengers, and — in some cases — burning the vehicles.
Some of the victims later declared they had been ordered to take off their clothes.
A maritime ferry was set ablaze in Nouméa’s Port Moselle on Tuesday. Image: FB/RNZ
Nearby Mont-Dore Mayor Eddie Lecourieux strongly condemned the actions as “unspeakable” and “unjustifiable”.
On Tuesday evening, another incident involved the burning of one of the maritime ferries – used by many as an alternate means to reach Nouméa.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The cruelties inflicted years ago at Nyayo are barely known in Kenya. Now survivors want to help the nation remember
The 56 days that Patrick Onyango spent in Kenya’s dark, damp Nyayo House torture chambers remain clear in his mind. It was three deacdes ago that Onyango, now 66, knew that his opposition to the autocratic rule of Kenya’s second president, Daniel arap Moi, was to be punished when uniformed policemen seized him in the middle of a class he was teaching in Kisumu, the port city in western Kenya, bundling him on to a helicopter and whisking him to the capital, Nairobi.
There he was shuttled from one prison cell to another for nearly a week, he says, before being blindfolded and taken through a narrow tunnel to the cells of the infamous Nyayo torture chambers.
Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa,
We write to you urgently on 8 July 2024, which marks three years since award-winning academic, blogger, and human rights defender Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace went on a liquid-only hunger strike in response to prison authorities’ confiscation of his manuscript on Bahraini dialects of Arabic that he spent four years researching and writing.
Dr. Al-Singace, aged 62, is serving a life sentence and has spent over 13 years arbitrarily detained solely for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
On 3 April 2024, 28 rights groups wrote to you to mark 1,000 days since he began his hunger strike. For the past three years, Dr. Al-Singace has been sustaining himself only on multivitamin liquid supplements, tea with milk and sugar, water, and salts. We reiterate our calls for you to immediately release Dr. Al-Singace, who is wrongfully detained, and ensure that he receives the healthcare he urgently needs.
We regret that Dr. Al-Singace, along with other high-profile political leaders and activists, were not included in the recent royal pardons issued on the occasion of Eid by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on 8 April and 15 June 2024, respectively. According to research conducted by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), the 8 April pardon resulted in the release of over 650 political prisoners, accounting for an estimated 41% of the total royal pardon. In contrast, the 15 June pardon included only eight political prisoners, representing an estimated only 1.5% of the total royal pardon, and most were serving short or alternative sentences. BIRD estimates that 546 political prisoners remain imprisoned in Bahrain, the majority of whom are held in Jau Prison. Additionally, BIRD found that opposition leaders have been largely excluded from alternative sentencing measures and open prisons, which are cornerstones of Bahrain’s prison reform plans.
We are concerned by recent updates received from Dr. Al-Singace through his family, wherein earlier this June, authorities twice failed to refill his medical prescriptions in a timely and appropriate manner. On both occasions, Dr. Al-Singace gave authorities three days to resolve the issue and then he escalated his hunger strike, consuming nothing but water. Shortly after his escalation, authorities provided him with his proper medications. All detainees must receive adequate healthcare, which is required under international law.
According to his doctors, Dr. Al-Singace has a low white blood cell count due to his hunger strike, and suffers from complex health issues including tremors, prostate issues, and shoulder pain. He also requires prescription glasses.
Dr. Al-Singace continues to be held in prolonged solitary confinement within his room in Kanoo Medical Centre, where he has been prohibited from going outside, having exposure to direct sunlight, and receiving the physiotherapy he requires for his disability. Additionally, authorities refuse to provide him with adequate crutches or provide replacements for the worn rubber tips for his crutches as well as other necessary items, such as medical slippers to prevent him from falling in the bathroom and a hot water bottle to relieve pain.
We respectfully request your urgent intervention and urge you to release Dr. Al-Singace immediately and unconditionally. In the meantime, we request that you ensure he is held in conditions that meet international standards, receives his medication without delay, has access to adequate healthcare, including access to specialists in compliance with medical ethics, and that his arbitrarily confiscated research is immediately transferred to his family members.
Sincerely,
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
ALQST for Human Rights
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Amnesty International
Article 19
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
DAWN
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
FairSquare
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
Human Rights First
Human Rights Sentinel
Human Rights Watch
IFEX
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
No Peace Without Justice
PEN America
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)
The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights
Rights Realization Centre
Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
Scholars at Risk
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Fossil fuel companies could be reasonably charged with homicide for deaths caused by a 2023 heatwave in Arizona, a group of lawyers say in a public memo.
In Washington DC, Abraham Lincoln’s head melted off his wax statue at an elementary school thanks to the ongoing heatwave, which has reached record temperatures.
It’s got to a point where politicians are telling Americans to not stay at home if they don’t have air conditioning, calling heat the “deadliest weather we have”.
Down south in Arizona, heatwaves were highly lethal in 2023, killing 645 people in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The state’s capital also endured 31 consecutive days of temperatures over 110 °F (43 °C), making July the hottest month for any US city, ever.
This year, things have gotten worse. Last month was the hottest June on record in Phoenix, and by June 29, the Maricopa County’s medical examiner estimated a possible 175 heat deaths. This was an 84% hike from the same period last year.
Now, a group of lawyers warn that prosecutors could reasonably press homicide charges against fossil fuel companies because of those heatwave-related deaths. “[T]he case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for climate-related deaths is strong enough to merit the initiation of investigations by state and local prosecutors,” they write in a prosecution memorandum.
Climate deaths deserve same justice as ‘street-level homicides’
Courtesy: Matt Hrkac/Wikimedia Commons
Published by the consumer advocacy non-profit Public Citizen, the document suggests that the Arizona state could argue a case for reckless manslaughter or second-degree murder for the hundreds of deaths that would have been “virtually impossible”, but for human-caused climate change.
“As Americans reeled from another lethal heatwave last week, it’s important to remember that these climate disasters didn’t come out of nowhere,” Aaron Regunberg, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s climate programme and co-author of the report, told the Guardian. “They were knowingly caused by fossil fuel companies that chose to inflict this suffering to maintain their profits.”
The fossil fuel industry is the number one cause of climate change. Calls for a fossil fuel phaseout have been ringing for years, but leaders at COP28 last year failed to agree to a phaseout, instead stipulating a shift away from oil, coal and natural gas this decade and vowing to triple renewable energy sources by 2030, with a net-zero goal for 2050.
But analysis has shown that none of the production and transition plans for the world’s 25 largest fossil fuel companies align with the temperature goals agreed at the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris. Big Oil attended COP28 in the UAE – a petrostate – in huge numbers, and there aren’t many signs of change, with this year’s COP29 also being held in an oil state that has vowed to keep investing in fossil fuels.
The victims of last summer’s heatwaves were diverse, with some older with pre-existing health conditions, and others young and healthy. “Some were homeless, like the man who died after breaking both legs jumping over a fence in a desperate attempt to find shade outside an elementary school; others were well off, like the woman who died in her $1 million home in Scottsdale,” the memo states.
“These companies have made trillions of dollars from their reckless conduct, while regular people, like the victims of the July 2023 heat wave, pay the price,” it adds. “These victims deserve justice no less than the victims of street-level homicides.”
A starting point for prosecutors
Courtesy: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The number of fossil fuel and climate lawsuits has grown sharply in the last few years. In the US, 40 states and cities have sued Big Oil operators for their contribution to climate change and climate denial. Each of these cases is based on civil charges like tort law and racketeering protections.
Public Citizen has proposed filing criminal charges against these companies too, most notably homicide. While it feels like a far-fetched theory, it is gaining interest from experts, officials and even likely voters. And while such litigation would still be tough to file, the memo is a step towards putting the idea into action.
“Although civil remedies are, of course, vital, sometimes only our criminal laws can measure up to the harm someone has inflicted,” said Cindy Cho, a former federal prosecutor and co-author of the memo. “If human-generated climate change is killing people, and the organisations that generated it knew the risks, then it stands to reason that criminal charges may be exactly what society expects.”
Although the memo focuses on Arizona, its authors outline how this climate event was “not a unique occurrence”, with extreme weather events like heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. killing thousands of Americans in both the mainland and continental US.
“The charges described in this memo provide a starting point for similar analyses that could, and should, be undertaken by prosecutors in every jurisdiction that experiences loss of life due to climate disasters,” they write.
The memo comes just as another report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment revealed that since 2015, around 230 climate change lawsuits have been filed against corporations and trade associations, two-thirds of which began in 2020 and after. The US accounted for more than half (129) of these, although only 15% of cases were against companies.
The importance of climate litigation was highlighted by a UNEP report last year, with the programme’s head of international environment law saying it “has become an undeniably significant trend in how stakeholders are seeking to advance climate action and accountability”.
Fossil fuel companies could be reasonably charged with homicide for deaths caused by a 2023 heatwave in Arizona, a group of lawyers say in a public memo.
In Washington DC, Abraham Lincoln’s head melted off his wax statue at an elementary school thanks to the ongoing heatwave, which has reached record temperatures.
It’s got to a point where politicians are telling Americans to not stay at home if they don’t have air conditioning, calling heat the “deadliest weather we have”.
Down south in Arizona, heatwaves were highly lethal in 2023, killing 645 people in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The state’s capital also endured 31 consecutive days of temperatures over 110 °F (43 °C), making July the hottest month for any US city, ever.
This year, things have gotten worse. Last month was the hottest June on record in Phoenix, and by June 29, the Maricopa County’s medical examiner estimated a possible 175 heat deaths. This was an 84% hike from the same period last year.
Now, a group of lawyers warn that prosecutors could reasonably press homicide charges against fossil fuel companies because of those heatwave-related deaths. “[T]he case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for climate-related deaths is strong enough to merit the initiation of investigations by state and local prosecutors,” they write in a prosecution memorandum.
Climate deaths deserve same justice as ‘street-level homicides’
Courtesy: Matt Hrkac/Wikimedia Commons
Published by the consumer advocacy non-profit Public Citizen, the document suggests that the Arizona state could argue a case for reckless manslaughter or second-degree murder for the hundreds of deaths that would have been “virtually impossible”, but for human-caused climate change.
“As Americans reeled from another lethal heatwave last week, it’s important to remember that these climate disasters didn’t come out of nowhere,” Aaron Regunberg, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s climate programme and co-author of the report, told the Guardian. “They were knowingly caused by fossil fuel companies that chose to inflict this suffering to maintain their profits.”
The fossil fuel industry is the number one cause of climate change. Calls for a fossil fuel phaseout have been ringing for years, but leaders at COP28 last year failed to agree to a phaseout, instead stipulating a shift away from oil, coal and natural gas this decade and vowing to triple renewable energy sources by 2030, with a net-zero goal for 2050.
But analysis has shown that none of the production and transition plans for the world’s 25 largest fossil fuel companies align with the temperature goals agreed at the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris. Big Oil attended COP28 in the UAE – a petrostate – in huge numbers, and there aren’t many signs of change, with this year’s COP29 also being held in an oil state that has vowed to keep investing in fossil fuels.
The victims of last summer’s heatwaves were diverse, with some older with pre-existing health conditions, and others young and healthy. “Some were homeless, like the man who died after breaking both legs jumping over a fence in a desperate attempt to find shade outside an elementary school; others were well off, like the woman who died in her $1 million home in Scottsdale,” the memo states.
“These companies have made trillions of dollars from their reckless conduct, while regular people, like the victims of the July 2023 heat wave, pay the price,” it adds. “These victims deserve justice no less than the victims of street-level homicides.”
A starting point for prosecutors
Courtesy: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The number of fossil fuel and climate lawsuits has grown sharply in the last few years. In the US, 40 states and cities have sued Big Oil operators for their contribution to climate change and climate denial. Each of these cases is based on civil charges like tort law and racketeering protections.
Public Citizen has proposed filing criminal charges against these companies too, most notably homicide. While it feels like a far-fetched theory, it is gaining interest from experts, officials and even likely voters. And while such litigation would still be tough to file, the memo is a step towards putting the idea into action.
“Although civil remedies are, of course, vital, sometimes only our criminal laws can measure up to the harm someone has inflicted,” said Cindy Cho, a former federal prosecutor and co-author of the memo. “If human-generated climate change is killing people, and the organisations that generated it knew the risks, then it stands to reason that criminal charges may be exactly what society expects.”
Although the memo focuses on Arizona, its authors outline how this climate event was “not a unique occurrence”, with extreme weather events like heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. killing thousands of Americans in both the mainland and continental US.
“The charges described in this memo provide a starting point for similar analyses that could, and should, be undertaken by prosecutors in every jurisdiction that experiences loss of life due to climate disasters,” they write.
The memo comes just as another report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment revealed that since 2015, around 230 climate change lawsuits have been filed against corporations and trade associations, two-thirds of which began in 2020 and after. The US accounted for more than half (129) of these, although only 15% of cases were against companies.
The importance of climate litigation was highlighted by a UNEP report last year, with the programme’s head of international environment law saying it “has become an undeniably significant trend in how stakeholders are seeking to advance climate action and accountability”.
Fossil fuel companies could be reasonably charged with homicide for deaths caused by a 2023 heatwave in Arizona, a group of lawyers say in a public memo.
In Washington DC, Abraham Lincoln’s head melted off his wax statue at an elementary school thanks to the ongoing heatwave, which has reached record temperatures.
It’s got to a point where politicians are telling Americans to not stay at home if they don’t have air conditioning, calling heat the “deadliest weather we have”.
Down south in Arizona, heatwaves were highly lethal in 2023, killing 645 people in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The state’s capital also endured 31 consecutive days of temperatures over 110 °F (43 °C), making July the hottest month for any US city, ever.
This year, things have gotten worse. Last month was the hottest June on record in Phoenix, and by June 29, the Maricopa County’s medical examiner estimated a possible 175 heat deaths. This was an 84% hike from the same period last year.
Now, a group of lawyers warn that prosecutors could reasonably press homicide charges against fossil fuel companies because of those heatwave-related deaths. “[T]he case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for climate-related deaths is strong enough to merit the initiation of investigations by state and local prosecutors,” they write in a prosecution memorandum.
Climate deaths deserve same justice as ‘street-level homicides’
Courtesy: Matt Hrkac/Wikimedia Commons
Published by the consumer advocacy non-profit Public Citizen, the document suggests that the Arizona state could argue a case for reckless manslaughter or second-degree murder for the hundreds of deaths that would have been “virtually impossible”, but for human-caused climate change.
“As Americans reeled from another lethal heatwave last week, it’s important to remember that these climate disasters didn’t come out of nowhere,” Aaron Regunberg, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s climate programme and co-author of the report, told the Guardian. “They were knowingly caused by fossil fuel companies that chose to inflict this suffering to maintain their profits.”
The fossil fuel industry is the number one cause of climate change. Calls for a fossil fuel phaseout have been ringing for years, but leaders at COP28 last year failed to agree to a phaseout, instead stipulating a shift away from oil, coal and natural gas this decade and vowing to triple renewable energy sources by 2030, with a net-zero goal for 2050.
But analysis has shown that none of the production and transition plans for the world’s 25 largest fossil fuel companies align with the temperature goals agreed at the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris. Big Oil attended COP28 in the UAE – a petrostate – in huge numbers, and there aren’t many signs of change, with this year’s COP29 also being held in an oil state that has vowed to keep investing in fossil fuels.
The victims of last summer’s heatwaves were diverse, with some older with pre-existing health conditions, and others young and healthy. “Some were homeless, like the man who died after breaking both legs jumping over a fence in a desperate attempt to find shade outside an elementary school; others were well off, like the woman who died in her $1 million home in Scottsdale,” the memo states.
“These companies have made trillions of dollars from their reckless conduct, while regular people, like the victims of the July 2023 heat wave, pay the price,” it adds. “These victims deserve justice no less than the victims of street-level homicides.”
A starting point for prosecutors
Courtesy: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The number of fossil fuel and climate lawsuits has grown sharply in the last few years. In the US, 40 states and cities have sued Big Oil operators for their contribution to climate change and climate denial. Each of these cases is based on civil charges like tort law and racketeering protections.
Public Citizen has proposed filing criminal charges against these companies too, most notably homicide. While it feels like a far-fetched theory, it is gaining interest from experts, officials and even likely voters. And while such litigation would still be tough to file, the memo is a step towards putting the idea into action.
“Although civil remedies are, of course, vital, sometimes only our criminal laws can measure up to the harm someone has inflicted,” said Cindy Cho, a former federal prosecutor and co-author of the memo. “If human-generated climate change is killing people, and the organisations that generated it knew the risks, then it stands to reason that criminal charges may be exactly what society expects.”
Although the memo focuses on Arizona, its authors outline how this climate event was “not a unique occurrence”, with extreme weather events like heatwaves, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. killing thousands of Americans in both the mainland and continental US.
“The charges described in this memo provide a starting point for similar analyses that could, and should, be undertaken by prosecutors in every jurisdiction that experiences loss of life due to climate disasters,” they write.
The memo comes just as another report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment revealed that since 2015, around 230 climate change lawsuits have been filed against corporations and trade associations, two-thirds of which began in 2020 and after. The US accounted for more than half (129) of these, although only 15% of cases were against companies.
The importance of climate litigation was highlighted by a UNEP report last year, with the programme’s head of international environment law saying it “has become an undeniably significant trend in how stakeholders are seeking to advance climate action and accountability”.
Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show psychologists and youth workers raised concerns and pleaded with youth justice authorities for a transfer to a safer facility
Authorities repeatedly ignored pleas that a 13-year-old boy was at risk of harm in the days before the child was allegedly sexually assaulted in an overcrowded Queensland police watch house cell.
Documents seen by Guardian Australia show psychologists and youth workers separately raised the alarm to the youth justice department about the size and vulnerability of the boy and sought his transfer out of the Cairns police watch house for his own safety.
By Maria Pournara, lecturer in criminology, Swansea University; and Filippos Proedrou, associate professor of global political economy, University of South Wales
Average global air temperatures breached 1.5°C for the first time at the start of 2024 — at least five years earlier than predicted. So, while developing countries burn, global climate injustice persists.
No high-emitting country has complied with the 1.5°C target set by the Paris agreement. Governments in the UK and Scotland are exacerbating the crisis by reneging on their climate pledges to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, paving the way for net zero the latest by 2050.
The catastrophic effects of climate breakdown hit people in developing countries the hardest, even though historically, the highest emitters of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change are primarily in the west — notably the US, EU as well as Russia, with China and India joining these ranks most recently.
Hence, the spotlight must be turned to countries that are highly vulnerable to a warming planet by ensuring that the organisation that acts as their advocate is given a platform to right this injustice. This organisation is the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international partnership of 58 countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet.
Founded in 2009, it serves as a cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change and advocate for the rights of people in developing countries. Based on our research, three practices stand out.
1. Debt relief
Courtesy: Reuters
The CVF advocates for debt-for-climate swaps. These involve debt relief in exchange for climate projects, such as renewable energy or conservation parks, that will either halt emissions or help these countries adapt to climate change, or both.
Costa Rica has signed two such deals with the US. Debt totalling US$53 million (£42 million) has been swapped under the agreement for afforestation (planting of trees in areas where there were previously no forests) and conversation projects, enabling Costa Rica to rise as a climate champion.
In Barbados, a debt-for-climate swap worth US$150 million unleashed US$50 million in funding for marine conservation.
Such deals are not exclusive to CVF members, though. Other developing countries that are not members of the CVF have entered into similar agreements. Peru, for example, signed a deal with the US to channel more than US$20 million of debt to the protection and conservation of three priority areas in the Peruvian Amazon, with positive effects for the climate.
With the most vulnerable countries losing 20% of their GDP over the first two decades of the century, and with their debt rocketing to unsustainable levels, debt-for-climate-swaps can help the weakest countries contribute to climate action and build resilience.
2. Climate prosperity
Courtesy: UNICEF Zambia
While developed countries view the energy transition as a new growth strategy, CVF members approach it as an opportunity to rethink growth and transform their social and economic systems. They prioritise wellbeing alongside economic growth and link climate action with other social measures such as universal basic income, participation, gender equality and inclusivity.
Developing countries’ climate prosperity plans – that’s their strategies to tackle environmental and socioeconomic problems – strike a new balance between support for business and human rights. The Sri Lankan climate prosperity plan focuses on universal protection of workers from heat and promoting nature-based solutions in the economy.
In Sri Lanka’s capital city Colombo, wetlands, including freshwater lakes and swamps, are being protected and restored to build a natural defence to flooding and reduce the risk of landslides in the monsoon season.
3. Support for ecocide law
Courtesy: Squiff Creative Media
Climate change has become an existential threat for CVF members. In 2019, two CVF members, Vanuatu and the Maldives, proposed adding ecocide to the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court as the fifth crime against humanity.
This law would hold wealthy countries accountable for acts and omissions that severely contribute to climate change and disproportionately adversely affect CVF states.
An ecocide law that highlights a critical breach of the most vulnerable states’ sovereignty is considered by many activists, legal scholars and politicians as a last resort to prevent catastrophic change due to climate change. While the CVF does not stand behind this proposal collectively, several members support it.
With ecocide now firmly on the climate political agenda, especially since the EU recently passed a law of ecocide, the CVF has solid grounds to press further for the enshrining of a law of ecocide in international law as a tool that will protect the rights of present and future generations in the most vulnerable countries.
Without concerted action, climate disasters will only proliferate. Climate-focused practices, like debt-for-climate swaps, nature-based wellbeing and support for a law of ecocide are steps in the right direction. These policies, and their advocates, should move closer to centre stage in the upcoming climate summit, COP29, taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan in November.
Here is the speech by Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Timothy Masiu, at the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference dinner at the Holiday Inn, Suva, on July 4:
I thank the School of Journalism of the University of the South Pacific (USP) for the invitation to address this august gathering.
Commendations also to the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) for jointly hosting this conference – the first of its kind in our region in two decades!
It is also worth noting that this conference has attracted an Emmy Award-winning television news producer from the United States, an award-winning journalism academic and author based in Hong Kong, a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, a finalist in the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, and a renowned investigative journalist from New Zealand.
Mix this with our own blend of regional journalists, scholars and like-minded professionals, this is truly an international event.
Commendation to our local organisers and the regional and international stakeholders for putting together what promises to be three days of robust and exciting interactions and discussions on the status of media in our region.
This will also go a long way in proposing practical and tangible improvements for the industry.
My good friend and the Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, the Honourable Manoa Kamikamica, has already set the tone for our conference with his powerful speech at this morning’s opening ceremony. (In fact, we can claim the DPM to also be Papua New Guinean as he spent time there before entering politics!).
We support and are happy with this government of Fiji for repealing the media laws that went against media freedom in Fiji in the recent past.
In PNG, given our very diverse society with over 1000 tribes and over 800 languages and huge geography, correct and factful information is also very, very critical.
Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad and Timothy Masiu, PNG’s Minister for Information and Communications Technology, at the conference dinner. Image: Wansolwara
Our theme “Navigating Challenges and Shaping Futures in Pacific Media Research and Practice” couldn’t be more appropriate at this time.
If anything, it reminds us all of the critical role that the media continues to play in shaping public discourse and catalysing action on issues affecting our Pacific.
We are also reminded of the power of the media to inform, educate, and mobilize community participation in our development agenda.
IT is in the context that I pause to ask this pertinent question: How is the media being developed and used as a tool to protect and preserve our Pacific Identity?
I ask this question because of outside influences on our media in the region.
I should know, as I have somewhat traversed this journey already – from being a broadcaster and journalist myself – to being a member of the board of the largest public broadcaster in the region (National Broadcasting Corporation) – to being the Minister for ICT for PNG.
From where I sit right now, I am observing our Pacific region increasingly being used as the backyard for geopolitical reasons.
It is quite disturbing for me to see our regional media being targeted by the more developed nations as a tool to drive their geopolitical agenda.
As a result, I see a steady influence on our culture, our way of life, and ultimately the gradual erosion of our Pacific values and systems.
In the media industry, some of these geopolitical influences are being redesigned and re-cultured through elaborate and attractive funding themes like improving “transparency” and “accountability”.
This is not the way forward for a truly independent and authentic Pacific media.
The way we as a Pacific develop our media industry must reflect our original and authentic value systems.
Just like our forefathers navigated the unchartered seas – relying mostly on hard-gained knowledge and skills – we too must chart our own course in our media development.
Our media objectives and practices should reflect all levels of our unique Pacific Way of life, focusing on issues like climate change, environmental preservation, the protection and preservation of our fast-fading languages and traditions, and our political landscape.
We must not let our authentic ways be lost or overshadowed by outside influences or agendas. We must control WHAT we write, HOW we write it, and WHY we write.
Don’t get me wrong – we welcome and appreciate the support of our development partners – but we must be free to navigate our own destiny.
If anything, I compel you to give your media funding to build our regional capabilities and capacities to address climate change issues, early warning systems, and support us to fight misinformation, disinformation, and fake news on social media.
I don’t know how the other Pacific Island countries are faring but my Department of ICT has built a social media management desk to monitor these ever-increasing menaces on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram and other online platforms.
This is another area of concern for me, especially for my future generations.
Draft National Media Development Policy of PNG Please allow me to make a few remarks on the Draft National Media Development Policy of PNG that my ministry has initiated.
As its name entails, it is a homegrown policy that aims to properly address many glaring media issues in our country.
In its current fifth draft version, the draft policy aims to promote media self-regulation; improve government media capacity; roll-out media infrastructure for all; and diversify content and quota usage for national interest.
These policy objectives were derived from an extensive nationwide consultation process of online surveys, workshops and one-on-one interviews with government agencies and media industry stakeholders and the public.
To elevate media professionalism in PNG, the policy calls for the development of media self-regulation in the country without direct government intervention.
The draft policy also intend to strike a balance between the media’s ongoing role on transparency and accountability on the one hand, and the dissemination of developmental information, on the other hand.
It is not in any way an attempt by the Marape/Rosso government to restrict the media in PNG. Nothing can be further from the truth.
In fact, the media in PNG presently enjoys unprecedented freedom and ability to report as they deem appropriate.
Our leaders are constantly being put on the spotlight, and while we don’t necessarily agree with many of their daily reports, we will not suddenly move to restrict the media in PNG in any form.
Rather, we are more interested in having information on health, education, agriculture, law and order, and other societal and economic information, reaching more of our local and remote communities across the country.
It is in this context that specific provision within the draft policy calls for the mobilisation – particularly the government media – to disseminate more developmental information that is targeted towards our population at the rural and district levels.
I have brought a bigger team to Suva to also listen and gauge the views of our Pacific colleagues on this draft policy.
The fifth version is publicly available on our Department of ICT website and we will certainly welcome any critique or feedback from you all.
Before I conclude, let me also briefly highlight another intervention I made late last year as part of my Ministry’s overall “Smart Pacific; One Voice” initiative.
After an absence for several years, I invited our Pacific ICT Ministers to a meeting in Port Moresby in late 2023.
At the end of this defining summit, we signed the Pacific ICT Ministers’ Lagatoi Declaration.
For a first-time regional ICT Ministers’ meeting, it was well-attended. Deputy Prime Minister Manoa also graced us with his presence with other Pacific Ministers, including Australia and New Zealand.
This declaration is a call-to-arms for our regional ministers to meet regularly to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by the all-important ICT sector.
Our next meeting is in New Caledonia in 2025.
In much the same vein, I was appointed the special envoy to the Pacific by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) in Mauritius in 2023.
Since then, I have continuously advocated for the Pacific to be more coordinated and unified, so we can be better heard.
I have been quite bemused by the fact that the Pacific does not have its own regional offices for such well-meaning agencies like AIBD to promote our own unique media issues.
More often than not, we are either thrown into the “Asia-Pacific’ or “Oceania” groupings and as result, our media and wider ICT interests and aspirations get drowned by our more influential friends and donors.
We must dictate what our broadcasting (and wider media) development agenda should be. We live in our Region and better understand the “Our Pacific Way” of doing things.
Let me conclude by reiterating my firm belief that the Pacific needs a hard reset of our media strategies.
This means re-discovering our original values to guide our methods and practices within the media industry.
We must be unified in our efforts navigate the challenges ahead, and to reshape the future of media in the Pacific.
We must ensure it reflects our authentic ways and serves the needs of our Pacific people.
In 2021, dozens of Tamils were fleeing Sri Lanka for Canada when their boat sprang a leak. They were taken to Diego Garcia by the British navy. Three years later, they remain there in desperate, dangerous limbo
It was 10 days into the journey when the boat sprang a leak. Dozens of men, women and children were crowded on to a fishing boat, all Tamils fleeing persecution in their home country, Sri Lanka. They had hoped to reach sanctuary in Canada.
Instead, on 3 October 2021, as their vessel began to sink, they were spotted and rescued by British navy ships, then taken to the secretive US-UK military base on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
This year, the 300th anniversary of the birth of German philosopher Immanuel Kant was commemorated. Born on April 22, 1724, Kant was a significant philosophical figure of the Enlightenment. Three centuries later, Western formulations of freedom, dignity and equality are still inseparable from his name and work. But on this anniversary, we cannot ignore the legacy of racism that Kant’s liberal…
Pacific Journalism Review has challenged journalists to take a courageous and humanitarian stand over Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza in its latest edition with several articles about the state of news media credibility and the shocking death toll of Palestinian reporters.
It has also taken a stand in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who was set free in a US federal court in Saipan and returned to Australia the day before copies of the journal arrived back from the printers.
In the editorial provocatively entitled “Will journalism survive?”, founding editor Dr David Robie wrote: “Gaza has become not just a metaphor for a terrible state of dystopia in parts of the world, it has also become an existential test for journalists — do we stand up for peace and justice and the right of a people to survive under the threat of ethnic cleansing and against genocide, or do we do nothing and remain silent in the face of genocide being carried out with impunity in front of our very eyes?
“The answer is simple surely.”
Launching the 30th anniversary edition, adjunct USP professor Vijay Naidu paid tribute to the long-term “commitment of PJR to justice and human rights” and noted USP’s contribution through hosting the journal for five years and also continued support from conference convenor associate professor Shailendra Singh.
Papua New Guinea’s Communication Minister Timothy Masiu also launched at the PJR event a new book, Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific, edited by Professor Biman Prasad (who is also Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji), Dr Singh and Dr Amit Sarwal.
The PJR editors, Dr Philip Cass and Dr Robie, said the profession of journalism had since the covid pandemic been under grave threat and the journal outlined challenges facing the Pacific region.
The cover of the 30th anniversary edition of Pacific Journalism Review. Image: PJR
Among contributing writers, Jonathan Cook, examines the consequences of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) legal cases over Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, and Assange’s last-ditch appeal to prevent the United States extraditing him so that he could be locked away for the rest of his life.
Both cases pose globe-spanning threats to basic freedoms, writes Cook.
New Zealand writer Jeremy Rose offers a “Kiwi journalist’s response” to Israel’s war on journalism, noting that while global reports have tended to focus on the “horrendous and rapid” climb of civilian casualties to more than 38,000 — especially women and children — Gaza has also claimed the “worst death rate of journalists” in any war.
The journalist death toll has topped 158.
Independent journalist Mick Hall offers a compelling research indictment of the role of Western legacy media institutions, arguing that they too are in the metaphorical dock along with Israel in South Africa’s genocide case in the ICC.
PJR designer Del Abcede with Rosa Moiwend at the PJR celebrations. Image: David Robie/APMN
He also cites evidence of the wider credibility implications for mainstream media in the Oceania region.
Among other articles in this edition of PJR, a team led by RMIT’s Dr Alexandra Wake, president of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (Jeraa), has critiqued the use of fact check systems, arguing these are vital tool boxes for journalists.
The edition also includes articles about the Kanaky New Caledonia decolonisation crisis reportage, three USP Frontline case study reports on political journalism, the social media ecology of an influencer group in Fiji, and a photo essay by Del Abcede on Palestinian protests and media in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
Book reviews include the Reuters Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2024, Journalists and Confidential Sources,The Palestine Laboratory and Return to Volcano Town.
The PJR began publication at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1994.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pacific Journalism Review with a birthday cake . . . Professor Vijay Naidu (from left), Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad, founding PJR editor Dr David Robie, PNG Communications Minister Timothy Masiu, conference convenor and PJR editorial board member Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, and current PJR editor Dr Philip Cass. Image: Joe Yaya/Islands Business
Campaigner for human rights and director of Justice, the organisation that pushes for legal reform
As a veteran activist, Leah Levin was still delivering rousing speeches into her 90s. Her childhood escape from eastern Europe and experience of South African apartheid fuelled a lifetime’s commitment to upholding human rights. Levin, who has died aged 98, was director of the legal reform organisation Justice for a decade – between 1982 and 1992 – when it was investigating large numbers of claims of miscarriage of justice that were emerging from Britain’s prisons and courts.
Under her lead, the charity called for “an independent review body … to examine allegations of miscarriage of justice” and warned that, without reform, “it may well be necessary to consider creating a new [criminal justice] system”.
US president Joe Biden attacked Republican climate deniers as he proposed a new standard to protect American workers from extreme heat.
“More people die from extreme heat than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined. These climate-fuelled extreme weather events don’t just affect people’s lives. They also cost money. They hurt the economy, and they have a significant negative psychological effect on people.”
These were the words of US President Joe Biden at the Washington DC Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday, hours after his administration proposed a new rule to protect workers from climate-change-induced extreme heat.
If finalised, this would be the first federal workplace safety standard for extreme heat, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of 36 million workers across the US.
What are the new proposed extreme heat rules?
Proposed by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the new rules aim to “substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths for over 36 million workers to whom it will apply, from farmworkers to construction workers, postal workers, manufacturing workers, and so much more”, Biden said.
First called for by agricultural worker groups, the rule would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces that can be affected by excess heat.
It includes specific safeguards for when the heat index in the workplace crosses 80°F (27°C), requiring employers to provide increased access to drinking water and temperature-controlled break rooms. At 90°F (32°C), the rule would trigger protocols that include 15-minute paid breaks every two hours, observation of all employees, and hazard alerts.
The rule would also mandate a plan to protect new and returning workers via a heat acclimatisation process so they can gradually increase their exposure to high temperatures. Moreover, companies would need to appoint heat safety coordinators, undertake extreme heat safety training, and create and regularly update emergency response plans.
This would apply to all 50 US states, including Texas and Florida, which have passed laws that prevent municipalities from introducing heat safety measures in workplaces.
Employers who fail to comply could be subject to fines – OSHA’s general duty clause stipulates that workplaces with dangerous heat stress levels face penalties of up to $16,000, but a new standard would increase that sum significantly.
Why are these protections needed?
Courtesy: Tom Wang/Shutterstock
As Biden explained, extreme heat is the top weather-related killer in the US, and this threat is only increasing thanks to climate change.
Between 2011 and 2022, 479 workers in the US died from heat exposure – an average of 40 fatalities a year. In this period, there were nearly 34,000 work-related heat injuries and illnesses as well, resulting in many days away from work. But experts suggest that these figures are vast underestimates.
The Environmental Protection Agency released a new Climate Indicators report the same day, which estimated that 2,3000 Americans had died from heat-related illnesses in 2023 alone, which was the hottest year ever recorded globally.
And between 1992 and 2022, nearly 1,000 workers across all industries died from heat exposure, with construction accounting for 34% of the share. There’s a 66% chance that 2024 will end up being the warmest year on record, highlighting the need for such policy protections.
What happens next?
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced nearly $1B in grants for over 650 climate projects that would help communities protect against climate disasters and natural hazards, including extreme heat, storms and flooding.
Additionally, Washington DC will receive more than $3.5B for infrastructure upgrades, according to mayor Muriel Bowser.
These are the latest examples of public climate finance in the US, which aim to adapt to and mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on the country’s population and its economy. Last year, 28 individual climate disasters caused a total of $90B in economic damage in the US.
The White House will convene state, local, tribal and territorial leaders for a first-ever summit on extreme heat this summer.
A Trump reelection would be fatal
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, Jarino47/Getty Images | Composite by Green Queen Media
Biden’s speech came just a week after his disastrous performance during the first presidential debate, which exacerbated concerns about his age and ability to lead the nation. While Biden stepping away and Democrats choosing another candidate is highly unlikely, it cannot be ruled out at this stage.
But the president provided a reminder of what really is at stake in November. Donald Trump – who last week lied more than any other candidate has in a presidential debate, according to the Biden campaign –taking office could prove deadly for the fight against climate change.
When he was president, Trump pulled out from the Paris Agreement (something he scoffed about in the debate last week too), and made policy rollbacks that – if implemented – would have increased the US’s greenhouse gas emissions by 3%. The federal target is to reduce emissions by at least half come 2030 (from a 2005 baseline).
The proposed rule faces potential legal challenges from trade groups and the tranche of “Maga Republicans in Congress” who are working to “undo” the administration’s climate progress, Biden said. He took aim at Republican lawmakers and voters who continue to “deny that climate change even exists”, outlining how not a single congressional Republican signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate protection bill in US history.
“It’s not only outrageous, it’s really stupid. When disaster strikes, there are no red states or blue states,” said Biden.
If Trump is elected for a second term, his administration could quash this effort, playing to businesses and lobbying groups that oppose such measures. The former president has suggested fossil fuel executives raise $1B for his presidential campaign, and in return, he would pull back climate regulations and unleash oil and gas drilling.
But fossil fuels are the most polluting industry on Earth, and no country has ever produced more oil and gas in a single year than the US did in 2023. Reelecting a man who will phase in – not out – the biggest threat to the planet will spell climate disaster in more ways than one.
Guidance drawn up by Conservative ministers which told civil servants to ignore Strasbourg rulings and remove asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful, the high court has ruled.
The FDA trade union, which represents senior civil servants, brought legal action claiming senior Home Office staff could be in breach of international law if they implement the government’s Rwanda deportation bill.
Amnesty Ireland said it was “appalled” at the decision by Helen McEntee to add Egypt, an act it called “deeply reckless”.
On 2 July 2024 Cate McCurry in breakingnews.ie reported that human rights groups have criticised the decision to add countries such as Egypt and Malawi to Ireland’s list of “safe” countries for asylum applications as concerning and “reckless”. The Irish Government made five additions to its list of safe countries on Tuesday: Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco.
Countries added to this list are viewed by the Government as places where “there is generally and consistently no persecution”, no torture, and no armed conflicts. The proposal by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee was approved at Cabinet on Tuesday, meaning protection applications from these countries are to be accelerated from Wednesday following an “extensive review” by the department.
Amnesty Ireland said it was “appalled” at the decision by Ms McEntee to add Egypt, an act it called “deeply reckless”.
“This categorisation is particularly shocking, given the protracted human rights and impunity crisis in Egypt, where thousands are arbitrarily detained, and where Amnesty International has consistently documented the use of torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearances.”
“No country is safe for everyone. But, putting Egypt with its abysmal human rights record on such a list is deeply reckless. Under Irish and EU law, the Minister for Justice may do so only if there is generally no persecution, torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment in that state. That absolutely cannot be said of Egypt.” As an illustration only, see https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/egypt/
Egypt Researcher at Amnesty International, Mahmoud Shalaby, said that since 2013 the Egyptian authorities have been “severely repressing” the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
“Dissidents in the country remain at risk of persecution solely for expressing critical views,” he said. “Thousands of arbitrarily detained solely for exercising their human rights or after grossly unfair trials or without legal basis.”
Chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, Nick Henderson, said they were very concerned at the designation of Morocco, Malawi and Egypt as “safe”.
“Frankly, when you look at some of the human rights information from countries such as Egypt, I’m quite staggered and flabbergasted how they could be designated as safe,” he told RTE’s News at One.
The introduction of accelerated processing in November 2022 has had a significant impact on the number of applications from those countries, which have dropped by more than 50 per cent in that time.
Osama Nezar AlSagheer was a 19-year-old Bahraini student when he was arrested in 2017 during the suppression of peaceful protests inDuraz, which concerned the denaturalization of prominent Shia religious figure Sheikh Isa Qasim. During his detention, he was subjected to torture, enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, religious-based insults, religious discrimination, isolation, retaliation, medical neglect, unfair trials, harassment, assaults, and ill-treatment. He is currently serving a 61-year prison sentence in Jau Prison. Osama went on several hunger strikes during his detention to protest his ill-treatment and medical neglect but to no avail.
On 20 June 2016, Bahraini citizens started a sit-in in solidarity with prominent Shia religious figure Sheikh Isa Qasim in front of his house in Duraz. on 23 May 2017, the Bahraini authorities’ violent dispersion of protesters in front of Sheikh Qasim’s house resulted in the death of five people, the injury of more than 100 people, and the arrest of 286 people, including Osama.
Osama had previously participated in demonstrations and had been arrested on multiple occasions when he was a minor for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly. He was first arrested in February 2013 when he was only 14 years old and was detained for 11 days. He was re-arrested during a demonstration in December 2014 and was heavily beaten.
On 23 May 2017, riot police (Special Security Force Command officers) and officers in plain clothing arrested Osama after shooting him during the demonstration with expanding bullets, which led to shrapnel scattering throughout his body. The officers beat him before transporting him to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and forcibly disappearing him for 45 days. After detaining Osama for 20 days, officers took him to the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) without providing him with adequate time or facilities to prepare for trial. Authorities charged Osama with multiple crimes, including the attempted murder of a policeman.
During Osama’s detention in the CID, officers repeatedly beat him on the head and both hands, which had been injured by pellets during his arrest, in order to extract a confession. They also forced Osama to insult his Shia beliefs, imitate animal noises as a form of degradation, and utter obscenities. Officers allegedly prevented Osama’s family from visiting him for two and a half months until visible injuries had subsided, in order to conceal evidence of torture.
As a result of the torture, Osama suffers from chronic headaches and has lost mobility in his right ring finger. When transferred to the prison clinic on four different occasions, he did not receive effective treatment. Even during one hospital examination, he was still denied treatment despite having shrapnel scattered throughout his body, causing severe pain. After submitting a complaint to the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, Osama went an additional 19 months without receiving medical treatment but was forced to sign a form stating that he had received treatment.
The court convicted and sentenced him in several cases, totaling 71 years in prison on multiple charges, including 1) illegal assembly, 2) assaulting security forces, 3) possession and use of Molotov cocktails, iron bars, knives, and unlicensed axes to assault police officers for a terrorist purpose, and 4) destroying police cars. He was also stripped of his nationality twice. Throughout these trials, Osama was denied access to his attorney and reported that he was unable to prepare for trials or present evidence in his defense. One of these trials was the mass trial, the rulings of which were issued on 27 February 2019 against 171 Bahraini citizens, known as the “Duraz case.” Osama appealed the various convictions against him, resulting in the reduction of his sentence to 61 years, and his citizenship was restored.
On 14 March 2019, Osama began a hunger strike demanding his right to treatment, the removal of shrapnel from expanding bullets in his body, and his transfer from the ward he shared with ISIS terrorist prisoners who were convicted of rape. He also sought to improve prison conditions and protest against the ill-treatment he had endured from a policeman who entered Osama’s cell several times, shouting, mocking, insulting, and cursing at him for no reason. During this strike, there wasno news of him for more than a week.
On 11 September 2019, Osama began another hunger strike, demanding that he be able to have a private visit after refraining from meeting his family, who had come to visit him in prison since 28 January 2019 due to intense pressure and humiliating inspections. He also requested a special visit for his mother, who has heart disease, to ensure she would not be treated harshly. Ten months prior to this strike, Osama had submitted a request for a private family visit that would take place without a barrier separating him from his visitors, but it was not approved. During this strike, he also demanded a quilt and a coat to protect himself from the cold, as the shrapnel from expanding bullets in his body caused him pain accompanied by cold. On 24 September 2019, 13 days after starting his hunger strike, the New Dry Dock Prison administrationdeprived Osama of his right to call his family and go out to access sunlight in the prison’s outdoor yard as an additional punishment for continuing his strike. During this strike, his blood sugar level dropped to 3.8, and he fainted in the bathroom, suffering a head bleed. This was compounded by ongoing feelings of cold and an inability to sleep due to his deteriorating health condition. On 3 October 2019, after entering the 23rd day of his hunger strike, Osama wastransferred to solitary confinement in retaliation for continuing his strike. From his cell, he complained about the extreme cold he was enduring, saying, “I am freezing from the cold, I need a quilt and medical care! Convey my voice to the world!”
On25 December 2019 and13 February 2020, the New Dry Dock Prison administration refused to transfer Osama to pre-scheduled medical appointments to address the issue of shrapnel from expanding bullets in his body, without providing reasons.
In May 2020, Osama was transferred from New Dry Dock Prison to Jau Prison. On 15 December 2020, he was transferred from Building 12 of Jau Central Prison to isolation in Building 23 without knowing the reason, but he was returned to Building 12 three days later. On 3 January 2021, Osama wastransferredto solitary confinement for unknown reasons.
On 22 March 2021, Osama spoke in anaudio recording about being severely beaten and injured in his head, eye, face, and back. He described being dragged down the corridor on 17 March 2021 by prison police officers while staging a peaceful sit-in in Building 12 inside Jau Prison in solidarity with prominent religious figure and political prisonerSheikh Zuhair Abbas (Ashoor), who was subjected to a violent and sudden beating by a criminal prisoner, which may amount to attempted murder. He mentioned that there was video footage of the incident captured by surveillance cameras in the prison and demanded his right to file a torture report, but the Jau Prison administration did not respond to his requests. Following the spread of the audio recording on social media platforms, the prison administrationdeprived Osama of his right to contact his family for a month.
On 7 July 2021, a group of Jau Prison officerstookOsama out of the ward where he was held and transferred him to solitary confinement without mentioning the reason. He remained there for 14 days, bound with iron shackles, and there was no news of him during this period. On 21 July 2021, officers moved Osama to isolation in Building 12 of Jau Prison, placing him in a small cell where he could not see anyone inretaliation for his persistent demands for his most basic rights as a prisoner. The officers then placed a mentally ill foreign criminal prisoner in the same cell with Osama. While he was in this cell, Osama’s cellmate – who did not speak Arabic and did not share Osama’s religion- harassed him, intruded on him while he was in the bathroom multiple times, and engaged in repeated altercations with him. Osama feared being harmed during his sleep by his cellmate due to the ongoing harassment. Throughout this period, Osama was deprived of prayer as he was unable to hear the call to prayer, and the prison administration refused to provide him with a watch to know the prayer times. Contact between Osama and his family was cut off for over a month after he was transferred to isolation. On 1 September 2021, during a phone call with his family, Osama mentioned being deprived of contact with them for no reason. He also reported harassment from an officer in prison named Ahmed. When Osama asked the officer for the reason behind this treatment, Officer Ahmed stated it was ordered by the prison administration. The officer also threatened and insulted Osama, saying, “You will see when they attack you with a group of police officers and beat you for no reason,” and “You are not even worthy of a shoe!”
On 27 January 2022, Osama was transferred to Building 3 of the Jau Prison, where he was once more placed in isolation with foreign criminal prisoners and drug addicts, despite his refusal to sign the transfer to this building. In March 2022, Osama was placed for several weeks in solitary confinement, and there was no news of him until the end of his solitary confinement on 3 April 2022.
On 18 July 2022, the Special Forces assaulted the prisoners in Building 7 of the Jau Prison who were protesting the deteriorating prison conditions, most notably medical negligence. Osama was among them. The Special Forces sprayed prisoners with pepper spray and tried to force them into their cells. The next day, Osama was transferred to Salmaniya Hospital with his hands handcuffed and his legs chained. On 30 July 2022, Osama spoke in an audio recording about being deprived, along with all Shia prisoners in Jau Prison, of practicing their religious rites and being targeted sectarianly, contrary to allegations published in the official Bahraini media.
On 13 August 2023, during Osama’s participation in a mass hunger strike that lasted 40 days with more than 800 prisoners in Jau prison to protest the poor conditions, Osama fainted and fell to the ground.
Osama continues to suffer from medical negligence for injuries sustained from fissionable bullets fired at him during his arrest, as well as from injuries and health problems resulting from the torture he endured. Moreover, reprisals against him continue intermittently, including repeated solitary confinement, isolation, humiliation, enforced disappearance, and denial of contact with his family. In addition, he still faces discrimination and humiliation based on religion, reprisals, harassment, assaults, and ill-treatment. Since his last arrest, Osama’s family has filed several complaints about the abuse their son endured with the Ombudsman, but to no avail.
Osama’s arbitrary arrest for participating in a peaceful demonstration, enforced disappearance, torture, unfair trials, solitary confinement, sectarian-based insults, deprivation of practicing his religious rituals, reprisals, isolation, denial of contact with his family, medical negligence, harassment, assaults, and ill-treatment violate the Bahraini Constitution as well as Bahrain’s obligations under international law to which it is a party, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. Furthermore, Osama’s previous arbitrary detentions for participating in peaceful demonstrations when he was a minor and the torture he endured back then are clear violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Bahrain is a party.
As such, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) calls on the Bahraini authorities to uphold their human rights obligations by immediately and unconditionally releasing Osama and investigating all allegations of arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, torture, sectarian-based insults, denial of his right to perform his religious rituals, isolation, reprisals, denial of family contact, medical negligence and ill-treatment, and to hold perpetrators accountable. Furthermore, ADHRB calls on Bahrain to provide Osama with immediate treatment for all his health problems, including those resulting from the torture he suffered in prison and the injuries he sustained from fission bullet fragments during his arrest. ADHRB urges Bahrain to compensate him for those injuries that were worsened by medical negligence or, at the very least, to grant him a fair retrial, leading to his release. ADHRB also sounds the alarm about Osama’s numerous hunger strikes, which have exacerbated his health issues, and highlights the repeated attacks he has been subjected to by prison officers and fellow criminal prisoners, warning of any dangerous developments that may occur as a result. Finally, ADHRB calls on the Bahraini authorities to conduct transparent investigations into these allegations of ill-treatment and abuse, to identify and hold perpetrators accountable, and end the policy of impunity.
According to CCTV’s latest investigative report, the US troops in Syria have been smuggling local wheat crops out of Syria, using more than 10 trucks every day. To cover the smuggling activity, local checkpoints would stop all passers-by and check their phones to delete any related photos. What’s your comment?
Mao Ning: Once a wheat exporter, Syria now finds around 55 percent of its population facing food insecurity. The US is undeniably responsible for this. The US says it’s there to fight terrorism, but the reality says it’s there to plunder. The US keeps emphasizing human rights, but the reality abounds with US violations of people’s rights to subsistence and life in other countries. The US brands itself as a guardian of democracy, freedom and prosperity, but the reality shows its true identity as a manufacturer of humanitarian crises.
The US needs to earnestly respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, immediately end its illegal military occupation in Syria, stop plundering Syria’s resources, and take concrete actions to make up for the damages done to the Syrian people.
The Canadian government repeatedly tells the world that Canada upholds an international rules-based order that is the basis of democracy.
What the Canadian government says is not true. The evidence that it is not true is indisputable.
There is widespread concern that social media is putting out disinformation, that this practice is dangerous and harmful and should be challenged. What about when our government puts out serious disinformation that is dangerous and harmful? Should that not be challenged? What do you think?
I’m not talking about trivial matters. I’m talking about extremely serious issues where the health and survival of people and the planet are threatened. And I’m not talking about pretty words. The Canadian government excels at that. I’m talking about our actions. When words and actions contradict one another, it is the actions that speak the truth. In fact, it makes Canada’s role more destructive because it is dishonest. What do you think?
If the Canadian government told the truth, it would say that Canada does not uphold binding international laws that protect human rights and the environment. What the Canadian government means is that it upholds international trade Agreements that enforce the interests of powerful private corporations, override democracy and harm human rights and the environment.
Does that make sense to you? Does that reflect your values? Is that the world you want for your and everyone’s kids and grand-kids?
Or does that trouble you like it troubles me?
Another question. If we are a democracy as we claim to be, do you think this should be talked about? It isn’t. Why not? I thought democracy meant accountable government. Do you think we should require our political leaders to state where they stand on this issue and hold an open discussion with Canadians as to whether this is what we, who they supposedly represent, want – i.e. a discussion that is not held behind closed doors and under the influence of powerful vested interests and their paid lobbyists, as is the way that Canada’s policy on human rights, the environment and corporate power is typically decided?
Canada, right now, is blatantly violating binding international human rights law
Binding international human rights laws require that, no matter how much economic, military, political power you (and your allies) have, you are legally bound to obey that law. There can be no double standards. All lives are valuable, even the most powerless, especially the most powerless. Human rights are for all. Otherwise, it is not human rights law at all. It is a sham.
The most serious binding international laws address horrific crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The International Court of Justice investigates and makes legally binding rulings against countries that have violated these laws and the International Criminal Court makes rulings against individuals who have violated these laws.
Canada has ratified these international laws. Canada is legally bound to obey them and obey the rulings of these two top world courts. But Canada does not. Canada has sabotaged and continues to violate these laws.
For example, Canada lobbied the International Criminal Court to refuse to investigate documented allegations of war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians. This effort by Canada to prevent the rule of law failed and the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceeded with its investigation. On the basis of overwhelming evidence, the Court ruled that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, had committed war crimes and that the ICC would be seeking arrest warrants for them.
After failing in its attempt to prevent the rule of law, the Canadian government now refuses to say whether it will, as it is legally required to do, obey the court’s ruling. Its pretended commitment to international law is non-existent.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, including Jewish organizations, have challenged the Canadian government to obey international law. The government has ignored their appeal.
Former Liberal Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy and former Liberal Attorney General Allan Rock and a group of 375 prominent former politicians and current academics have sent a letter challenging Prime Minister Trudeau to express clear support for the ICC ruling. The government has ignored their appeal.
Prof. Heidi Matthews of Osgoode Hall Law School notes that along with a panel of experts in international law who independently reviewed the evidence, the ICC Prosecutor concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant are criminally responsible for starvation, murder, intentional attacks against civilians, extermination and persecution, among other crimes.
As Prof. Matthews points out: “This dramatic development marks the first time leaders of a western allied state have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the ICC.” Apparently, Canada believes that binding international law does not apply to western allied states.
The US government, whether under President Biden or President Trump, believes that binding international human rights law does not apply to the US. In the past and currently, Republican and Democrat politicians in the US have threatened to punish and to arrest the ICC prosecutor and ICC officials, if they come to the United States. Human Rights Watch has written to Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly on May 21, 2024, saying, “We urge Canada, as an ICC member committed to a rules-based international order, to protect the court’s independence and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with the court’s work, its officials, and those cooperating with the institution. Canada should also robustly support the ICC’s efforts to advance justice for grave international crimes.”
The Canadian government stays silent and does nothing. Its proclaimed commitment to the rule of international law is nowhere to be seen.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that the evidence shows that Israel has committed plausible genocide. The Court has ordered a number of provisional measures. Under the Genocide Convention, Canada is legally required to implement these measures and take all action possible to prevent genocide. Instead, Canada is aiding and abetting genocide by not immediately stopping the shipment of any weapons to Israel.
Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights, along with others, have filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government to stop arms export to Israel.
Canada supports international “free” trade rules that enforce the interests of corporations
When the Canadian government says it supports the rule of international law, it is referring to its support for international “free” trade rules that override democracy, increase corporate power and harm the environment. These “free” trade rules are colonialism in a new disguise, giving “freedom” to exploit and dehumanize indigenous peoples and populations in the Global South.
The government is providing misleading, deceptive information.
Please note that binding international laws that protect human rights and the environment have no enforcement mechanisms. International trade agreements have enforcement mechanisms, such as secretive World Trade Organization tribunals and Free Trade panels, which can force governments to pay billions of dollars to corporations and get rid of laws the corporations don’t like, such as laws that protect the environment and the rights of indigenous communities.
Think about that. Trade Agreements that protect the huge global power and profits of corporations, such as fossil fuel corporations, mining corporations, agro-chemical corporations, are enforceable.
Legally binding International Conventions that protect the health and survival of people and the planet are not enforceable.
Does that make sense to you? Do you think that we should, if we are a democracy, at least have an open discussion about this?
Right now, for example, the Canadian government together with the U.S. government and powerful agro-chemical corporations (Revealed: Monsanto owner and US officials pressured Mexico to drop glyphosate ban) has threatened to take legal action against Mexico under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (formerly the North America Free Trade Agreement), if the Mexican government does not abandon its decision to place restrictions on the import of GMO corn and glyphosate.
In January 2023, the Council of Canadians and other organizations wrote to the PM Trudeau and government Ministers, stating: “We call on the Canadian Government to back Mexico’s plan to phase out GMO corn and the use of glyphosate by 2024.”
“We oppose the use of trade agreements to undermine democratic rights and prioritize
corporate profit-making ahead of the needs of our communities.”
Farmer associations, environmental and social justice organizations sent a petition to the Canadian government, stating: “We oppose Canada’s role in the trade dispute that challenges Mexico’s restrictions on the use of GM corn. We oppose the use of trade agreements to undermine democratic rights and prioritize corporate profit-ma::king ahead of the needs of our communities.” They asked Canada to withdraw from this dispute. Canada continues to act for the interests of the agro-chemical lobby.
The powerful pesticide lobby organization CropLife Canada stated: “CropLife is pleased that Canada is defending rules-based trade and holding Mexico accountable to the free trade agreement.”
Contrary to what the Canadian government states, Canada is serving the vested interests of the chemical lobby, not democracy. Environmental organizations have expressed concern that Health Canada, which is supposed to regulate pesticides to protect human and environmental health, has been captured by the industry it is supposed to regulate and ignores inconvenient scientific evidence. In the same way, Health Canada was captured by the asbestos industry and supported the corrupt information of the asbestos lobby that asbestos can be safely used.
Another example of how Canada is undermining democracy, the environment and human rights and is instead serving the interests of Canadian mining and resource extraction corporations is Canada’s support for an “investor-State dispute settlement” regime (yes, this is indeed a pretty phrase intended to put you to sleep, but what it means is giving enforceable power for corporations to override democracy) in the free trade Agreement Canada is currently negotiating with Ecuador.
compelling evidence that a secretive international arbitration process called investor-State dispute settlement has become a major obstacle to urgent actions needed to address the planetary environmental and human rights crises. Foreign investors use the dispute settlement process to seek exorbitant compensation from States that strengthen environmental protection, with the fossil fuel and mining industries already winning over $100 billion in awards.
Amnesty International and environmental groups have called on the Canadian government to exclude this investor-State dispute settlement provision, but, as is its practice, the government is serving the financial interests of powerful corporate lobby groups and is violating binding international laws that protect the environment and human rights.
Do you support this? Do you think we should, at least, talk about whether this is the world we want? Does it bother you that the CBC and the establishment media pretend not to see this issue and choose not to challenge the government on it? Supposedly, their role is to hold power accountable, but they do not.
It is up to us to challenge the government’s dangerous misinformation and demand that the government support binding international laws that protect the well-being of people and the planet.
We need to care about one another and the planet. We will be happier and safer if we do so.
