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Category: migration

  • PNG suspended defence chief claims ‘political interference’ in court

    By Jacob Pok in Port Moresby

    Concerns over alleged political interference in the command and control of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force are among the grounds that will be pursued by the suspended Chief of Defence, Major-General Mark Goina, if the court grants him leave to appeal.

    Goina seeks leave to review the decision of the National Executive Council (NEC) that suspended him from his substantive role as the major-gene­r­al of the PNGDF on August 17, 2023, and appointed Commodore Philip Polewara as acting commander of the PNGDF.

    While pursuing his application for leave to review at the Waigani National Court yesterday, General Goina, through his lawyer David Dusal, when giving the background of the matter, submitted that the Minister for Defence Win Bakri Daki, who is the third defendant in the proceeding, had been allegedly interfering with the command, control and operation of the PNGDF.

    It was submitted that Goina became gravely concerned in recent times of the minister’s insistence and instructions to the general as the commander of the PNGDF to appoint and discharge certain officers within the PNGDF, which raised significant concerns of
    political interference into the functions of the military.

    It was submitted that such authority was vested in the Commander of the Defence Force and not, the minister, nor was the commander subject to directions from a civilian.

    In his affidavit, General Goina indicated that the minister had to sponsor the NEC submission for him to be suspended without him being informed on the reasons for his suspension.

    Presiding judge Justice Oagile Dingake had to direct Goina’s lawyer to first make submissions on leave to review and not on the substantive merits of the case until leave was decided.

    Leave requirements met
    General Goina’s lawyer Dusal then submitted that leave should be granted since Goina had met all the requirements of leave.

    It was submitted that Goina, as the plaintiff, had standing as a person directly affected by the decision of the NEC on August 16, 2023, and the subsequent gazettal by the Governor-General on August 17, 2023, giving effect to the NEC decision.

    It was also submitted that General Goina had arguable grounds on the basis that there was an error of law relating to his suspension since it was made without consultation with the Public Services Commission under s.59 of the Constitution and that he was not given the right to be heard.

    It was further submitted that there was also no delay in the filing of the leave application.

    The state through lawyer Alice Kimbu opposed the application for leave and argued that Goina’s suspension was still active and the proceeding would pre-empt or interfere with a pending inquiry into the death of two soldiers during a military training.

    Kimbu further argued that although she had no issue with the plaintiff’s standing or the delay in filing of the application, leave should not be granted and must be refused on the basis that the proceeding would be destructive to the inquiry.

    Justice Dingake noted that although General Goina may have met all requirements for leave, it had reached the third month of Goina’s three-month suspension period and there would be “no utility” in pursuing the matter further.

    Suspension coming to end
    “Suspension is almost coming to an end, what’s the utility?” he asked.

    “Just when it is coming to an end, you’re coming to the court.

    “Am I entitled to take into account that the suspension is coming to an end?

    “What happens if I reserved my decision for six months?” Justice Dingake asked.

    Lawyer Dusal in response submitted that as indicated in the suspension instrument, it was indicated that General Goina be suspended for three-months or, pending the final outcome of the inquiry.

    He submitted that the inquiry would take six to 12 months and the status of General Goina’s suspension would depend on the final outcome.

    Kimbu for the state argued that the grant of leave was discretionary and as per the circumstance, the court should not grant leave.

    Justice Dingake reserved his ruling to a date to be advised.

    Jacob Pokis a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • McDonald’s and Amazon’s ties to alleged labor trafficking: five key takeaways

    Foreign workers at the Middle East locations of US and UK brands allege low pay, harsh conditions and a legal limbo with few protections

    Today the Guardian has published an investigation into labor conditions at the Persian Gulf locations of major US and UK brands, including Amazon, McDonald’s and the InterContinental Hotels Group.

    Almost 100 current and former migrant laborers spoke to reporters, and many claimed they were misled into taking poorly paid jobs, subject to extortionate and arbitrary fees, or had their passports confiscated. These practices are broadly considered to be indicators of labor trafficking.

    Continue reading…

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

  • ‘Incoherence and inconsistency’: the inside story of the Rwanda deportation plan

    There were so many warnings it would fail. How did it get this far?

    On the afternoon of 14 June 2022, as the clock ticked nearer to takeoff, Hamza was sitting alone in a van, handcuffed, crying. Like dozens of other men selected for removal to Rwanda, he had come to Britain in search of refuge after fleeing mortal danger in his home country. The first he had heard of Rwanda was when he received a letter from the Home Office in mid-May, sent to the detention centre where he was being held a few weeks after he crossed the Channel from France.

    “I’m being relocated to Rwanda – what does this mean for me?” read the title of a factsheet Hamza was later given. “Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country,” the document continued. “It is known as ‘the land of a thousand hills’ due to its striking landscape and is home to a wide array of wildlife.” Rwandans, it added, “are friendly to visitors”.

    Continue reading…

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

  • After more than 30 years fighting Dawn Raids practices – Soane Foliaki still hopes NZ will give migrants a fair go

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    A Tongan RSE worker, whose case sparked an independent review of Immigration New Zealand’s “out-of-hours compliance visit” practices, is still on edge.

    Pacific community members have compared the actions to the infamous “Dawn Raids”.

    Keni Malie’s lawyer, Soane Foliaki, said his client’s case should have ended such exercises.

    However, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Immigration Compliance and Investigations team has only temporarily suspended “out-of-hours compliance visits” to residential addresses.

    “At least until this work is completed,” MBIE Immigration Investigations and Compliance General Manager Steve Watson said.

    He said the visits would not resume until new standard operating procedures came into effect and staff had been fully trained in the new procedures.

    It is uncertain how these new procedures will be different, and what this will mean for migrant workers.

    Detained in front of wife, family
    In the early hours on April 19 this year immigration officials showed up at Keni Malie’s residence and detained him in front of his wife and children. He was then taken away and shortly after served with a deportation order.

    An overstayer who cannot be named for privacy reasons
    An overstayer who cannot be named for privacy reasons sharing his story at a public meeting in Ōtara on 6 May 2023 that was sparked by a recent Dawn Raid of a Pasifika overstayer in Auckland. Image: RNZ Pacific/Lydia Lewis

    “Four children were in the house, with three sleeping downstairs and at least one woken up by the activity,” the independent review states.

    Malie’s lawyer broke the story to the media, out of desperation. The story gained traction and following a public outcry, Immigration New Zealand admitted this was not a one-off incident.

    Keni Malie has since been granted a temporary visa while he and his lawyer work though his residency application but he said he was still nervous about it.

    Malie explained in Tongan, as his lawyer translated:

    “The hardest thing for me was trying to make sure that I can put a loaf of bread on the table for my children. I hope for the day that I can feel secure and get residence,” Malie said.

    Immigration New Zealand has confirmed it has been conducting out-of-hours compliance visits — known as “Dawn Raids” — for the past eight years.

    Auckland lawyer Soane Foliaki
    Auckland lawyer Soane Foliaki represented a Tongan man who was arrested for overstaying in New Zealand. He spoke at a meeting on overstaying and Dawn Raids in Otahuhu, Auckland. Image: Lydia Lewis/RNZ

    Figures released under the Official Information Act show Pacific community members were the third highest after Indian and Chinese nationals of the total number of people located, between July 1, 2015, and May 2, 2023.

    Out of 95 out-of-hours compliance visits, which in some cases multiple people were found, 51 were Chinese, 25 Indian and 17 Pacific.

    There was one from the USA and one person from Great Britain on the list.

    MBIE reviews
    An independent review of what Pasifika community leaders have called MBIE’s Dawn Raids-style visits has now been completed.

    The review was led by Mike Heron.

    Leaders and members of the Pacific, Indian and Chinese communities were interviewed, along with immigration lawyers and advisers and representatives.

    One of the reasons given for this review was that the raids of the 1970s were a “racist application of New Zealand’s law”.

    “Immigration officials and police officers entered homes of Pacific people, dragged them from their beds, often using dogs and in front of their children. They were brought before the courts, often barefoot, or in their pyjamas, and ultimately deported,” Heron report reads.

    Tongan community leaders were outraged to find out Keni Malie, who is Tongan, went through what they see as a similar trauma.

    According to the report, Malie was in New Zealand as an RSE worker when he did not turn up to work because he was getting married.

    Added to ‘process list’
    After being stopped by police for driving without a licence, Crime Stoppers were also sent a notification for another issue. He was then added to Immigration’s National Prioritisation Process list.

    In the Immigration Officers’ view, their “compliance visit” to Malie was carried out reasonably and respectfully.

    “They stressed that the operation was calm, respectful and did not require any use of force,” the review states.

    But his lawyer, Soane Foliaki disagrees that it was “respectful”.

    “In the dark of the night they were back at it, you know, without any consideration? Why did the Prime Minister apologise?” Foliaki said.

    To him this was reminiscent of the Dawn Raids. Something the former Prime Minister had only just apologised for.

    An INZ spokesperson told RNZ Pacific at a Pacific community event earlier this year that in some cases officers sit down with a cup of tea to build rapport with overstayers.

    Trauma for community
    “I want to again acknowledge the impact the Dawn Raids of the 1970s had on the Pacific community and that the trauma from those remains today,” MBIE’s Steve Watson said.

    We know we have more to do as we learn from the past to shape the future. This continues to be at the centre of our thinking as we move forward,” he said.

    Lawyer Soane Foliaki who has been fighting for justice for 30 years still has hope, hope for his client and hope that there will be change.

    “We always felt that New Zealand was always a decent country, they’ll always give us a fair go. This is also our home here,” Foliaki said.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Braverman suggests support for immigration is a ‘luxury belief’ and claims ‘hurricane’ of mass migration is coming – as it happened

    Home secretary says Tories were ‘too squeamish’ in past to deal with immigration properly from fear of being called racist. This live blog is closed

    The proceeedings in the main hall at the Conservative conference opened this morning with a speech from a member praising the party’s record on gay rights. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, is speaking now, and he will be announcing plans to ban trans women from female hospital wards. The Daily Telegraph has splashed on the story.

    On a visit this morning Suella Braverman, the home secretary, said she backed the idea. She said:

    Trans women have no place in women’s wards or indeed any safe space relating to biological women.

    And the health secretary is absolutely right to clarify and make it clear that biological men should not have treatments in the same wards and in the same safe spaces as biological women.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Suella Braverman claims ‘hurricane’ of mass migration coming to UK

    Home secretary uses populist speech at Tory conference to attack Human Rights Act and ‘luxury beliefs’ of liberal-leaning voters

    Suella Braverman has warned of a “hurricane” of mass migration and attacked the “luxury beliefs” of liberal-leaning people in a populist speech aimed at cementing her position as a standard bearer of the Conservative right.

    In a claim that will anger lawyers, judges and some within her own party, the home secretary told delegates at the Tory party conference that the Human Rights Act should be renamed the “Criminal Rights Act”.

    Continue reading…

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

  • EU fails to agree changes to migration laws as Germany and Italy clash

    Hopes fade of deal being struck, with one sticking point being right to occasionally breach detention centre standards

    European Union member states have failed to reach an agreement on changes to the bloc’s migration laws after Germany and Italy clashed over key proposals relating to human rights guarantees in detention centres and the role of NGOs in facilitating migrant arrivals.

    But, as hopes faded on Thursday of a deal being struck, ministers said they expected “fine tuning” in coming days to lead to a pact that would apply in the event of a sudden refugee crisis such as that of 2015 when more than 1 million people arrived from Syria and beyond.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Tory MPs criticise Suella Braverman’s ‘alarmist’ speech on migration

    Two MPs distance themselves from home secretary’s talk of ‘existential challenge’ as she called for human rights reform

    Suella Braverman has been criticised by two Conservative MPs for an “alarmist” speech about the need for human rights reform due to the “existential challenge” posed by illegal migration.

    Speaking from Washington DC on Wednesday, the home secretary riled some in her party by suggesting that being gay or a woman and fearful of discrimination should not be enough to qualify as a refugee in the UK.

    Continue reading…

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

  • ‘I had to drink my own urine to survive’: Africans tell of being forced into the desert at Tunisia border

    As EU prepares to send money as part of €1bn deal, people trying to reach north African country detail border ‘pushbacks’

    Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have spoken of their horror at being forcibly returned to remote desert regions where some have died of thirst as they attempt to cross the border into Tunisia.

    As the European Union prepares to send money to Tunisia under a €1bn (£870m) migration deal, human rights groups are urging Brussels to take a tougher line on allegations that Tunisian authorities have been pushing people back to deserted border areas, often with fatal results.

    Continue reading…

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

  • South African anti-migrant ‘vigilantes’ register as party for next year’s polls

    Operation Dudula changes tactics from evictions and violence, with plans to fight elections on platform of expelling foreigners

    An anti-migrant vigilante organisation in South Africa has registered as a political party and plans to contest seats in next year’s general elections.

    Operation Dudula, whose name means “to force out” in Zulu, wants all foreign nationals who are in the country unofficially to be deported.

    Continue reading…

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

  • ‘How did he die and I didn’t?’: Hungary’s spate of car crashes involving police and migrants

    People injured in crashes involving Hungarian police are being pushed back to Serbia from hospital, say human rights groups

    When he woke up in the hospital, Karim* had no idea what had happened to him. All he remembered was that he had fallen asleep next to his friend, Yousef*, in the back of the car. Days before, in the summer of 2022, they had climbed the border fence between Serbia and Hungary and were heading towards Austria.

    Karim, 22, had left his home in northern Syria at the end of 2021. After making his way from Turkey through Bulgaria, he reached Serbia. From there he still had to cross Hungary and then on to Austria. “My dream was to reach Germany,” he says.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Colombian President Says Sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela Are Driving Migration

    In Part 3 of our interview with leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro, he describes how hard-line U.S. policies are preventing the Americas from addressing issues like migration, calling on the Biden administration to “open up a plural dialogue” to bring the region closer together. He notes many people moving through Latin America to seek asylum in the United States are from Venezuela…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Papuan academics accuse Indonesia of new ‘indigenous marginalisation’ strategy

    Jubi News in Jayapura

    Academics at Papuan tertiary institutions have accused Indonesian authorities of a new “indigenous marginalisation” programme through the establishment of the autonomous regions of Papua that poses a “significant threat” to the local population.

    The dean of the Faculty of Social Science at Okmin University of Papua, Octaviaen Gerald Bidana, said the new autonomous regions (DOB) established by the central government was a deliberate strategy aimed at sidelining the Indigenous Papuan population.

    This strategy involved the establishment of entry points for large-scale transmigration programmes.

    Bidana made these remarks during an online discussion titled “Demography, Expansion, and Papuan Development” organised by the Papua Task Force Department of the Catholic Youth Center Management last week.

    He said that the expansion effectively served as a “gateway for transmigration”, with indigenous Papuans being enticed by promises of welfare and development that ultimately would turn out to be deceptive.

    Echoing Bidana’s concerns, Nguruh Suryawan, a lecturer of Anthropology at the State University of Papua, said that the expansion areas had seen an uncontrolled influx of immigrants.

    This unregulated migration, he argued, posed a significant threat to the indigenous Papuan population, leading to their gradual marginalisation.

    Riwanto Tirtosudarmo, an Indonesian political demographer, analysed the situation from a demographic perspective.

    He said that with the establishment of DOBs in Papua, the Papuan population was likely to become a minority in their own homeland due to the increasing number of immigrants.

    The central government’s stated objective for expansion in Papua was to promote equitable and accelerated development in eastern Indonesia.

    However, the participants in this online discussion expressed scepticism, saying that the reality on the ground told “a different story”.

    The discussion was hosted by Alfonsa Jumkon Wayap, chair of the Women and Children Division of the Catholic Youth Central Board, and was part of a regular online discussion series organised by the Papua Task Force Department of the Catholic Youth Central Board.

    Papuan demographics
    Pacific Media Watch reports that the 2020 census revealed a population of 4.3 million in the province of Papua of which the majority were Christian.

    However, the official estimate for mid-2022 was 4.4 million prior to the division of the province into four separate provinces, according to Wikipedia.

    The official estimate of the population in mid-2022 of the reduced province of Papua (with the capital Jayapura) was 1.04 million.

    The interior is predominantly populated by ethnic Papuans while coastal towns are inhabited by descendants of intermarriages between Papuans, Melanesians and Austronesians, including other Indonesian ethnic groups.

    Migrants from the rest of Indonesia also tend to inhabit the coastal regions.

    Republished from Jubi News with permission.

  • Basic Needs Approach And Missing Refugee Label: Strengthening The Refugee Regime For Environmental Refugees In India

    International law guarantees certain inherent rights which cannot be violated by states. It imposes an obligation on states with regards to economic, social, and cultural rights that can be achieved through international cooperation and assistance. Such extraterritorial obligations on states are necessary for the protection of fundamental rights of refugees.

    However, as India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is only bound by the rules of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Further, there is no formal refugee policy in India. These can be considered a major reasons for the improper treatment of refugees in India. Although bilateral agreements were entered into by India, such as with Bangladesh on the Chakma agreement,  there has been only ad-hoc and temporary standards for refugee protection, thus jeopardizing the human rights of refugees.

    Further, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has only one office in the entire country, in New Delhi, to determine the status of asylum seekers. Thus causing the agency to completely fall short of providing legal assistance to refugees in other parts of the country.  Though the Supreme Court has recognized the rights of asylum seekers to non-refoulment, the effect of this on environmental refugees remains unclarified and it is left to be determined by the UNHCR on a case-to-case basis.

    Climate change-induced displacements have caused grave violations of human rights all over the world. The missing refugee label has been apparent over the years following the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) system in India. Even worse, despite environmental refugees being recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), this recognition is not granted in India, causing them to be deprived of the benefits they ought to receive with the refugee label. This in effect forces people to reside in the country as illegal immigrants, denying them of their very basic rights.

    One of the prominent rights guaranteed to environmental refugees is the right to non-refoulment which provides that no-one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm. Non-refoulment with regards to climate change was considered by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) in the landmark case of Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand. The court held that the forcible return of a person to a place where there is threat to life due to climate change amounts to a violation of their human rights. Further, the UNHRC has stated that environmental degradation can be brought within the scope of the violation of the right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Further, the UNHCR also held that environmental contamination with proven long-term health effects may be a sufficient threat, provided there is sufficient evidence showing that the harmful quantities of contaminants have reached, or will reach, the human environment to be a criterion for Article 6 cases, thus, identifying the aspects of right to a healthy environment.

    India has ratified the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), the ICCPR and other international treaties which obligate it to protect the human rights of environmental refugees. This not only includes addressing their needs and assisting them before and during the asylum-seeking process, and after being granted refugee status, but also includes: initiating action to mitigate climate change to prevent its negative impacts on human rights; ensuring all persons have the capacity and means to adapt; and ensuring accountability and effective remedies for harms caused by climate change.

    Basic needs include access to basic services and assistance in health, nutrition, food, shelter, energy, education, as well as domestic items and specialized services for people with specific needs. The UNHCR defines the basic needs approach as a ‘way to enable refugees to meet their basic needs and achieve longer-term wellbeing through means to survive and services based on their socio-economic vulnerabilities and capabilities’ (UNHCR). In addition, a ‘poverty lens’ should be taken, alongside the prioritization of refugees who are economically and socially disadvantaged.

    Refugees have a right to choose a country of residence, this in turn is linked to the states’ responsibility to receive them. This is considered as a form of partial compensation for injustice and trauma and loss and damage. Certain states have shown a positive response to this principle by incorporating legislation protecting environmental refugees. Bolivia has referenced climate change-induced asylum seeking and protection of rights of such refugees. Similarly, Kenya in its National Climate Action Plan has addressed seeking refuge to be a potential coping mechanism for climate change. Though India has a plethora of environmental laws, none of them have been aimed at dealing with the important aspects of climate change adaptation. Further India doesn’t have a national adaptation plan thereby leading adaptation programs to be fragmented, sector specific and small- scale. Thus, India’s action on climate mitigation still remains opaque.

    Issues regarding environmental refugees were raised in early 2022 when the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav claimed in a Parliamentary session that India was prepared to deal with environmental refugees. But no plan was presented to substantiate this. Further, India has no officially reported data related to environmental refugees or internal displacements related to climate change. If not recognized and accounted for, such displacements can have a negative impact on India’s already climate-vulnerable communities.

    The policy lacuna in recognizing refugees in India has already caused a situation of crisis in the country. Thus, as a first step, the Parliament of India must enact stringent climate adaptation legislation. Secondly, the Parliament has to form an inclusive policy or provide a domestic law for refugees providing them a legal pathway to enter the nation and enjoy the rights guaranteed to them under international law. This would also require the setting up of a decentralized system where the determination of refugee status is more systematic, transparent and accessible. The resettlement and adaptation plan must also include the implementation of a  basic standard of living and protection of fundamental rights. Thirdly, the state should enter into bilateral agreements with climate vulnerable countries to facilitate the safe movement of people. If the following continues to be unaddressed, the fundamental rights of the refugees are left in jeopardy.

    This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.

  • Germany says it ended training of Saudi border forces after abuses reported

    Statement comes amid concern about allegations Saudi forces have killed hundreds of migrants

    Germany ended a training programme for Saudi border forces, who have been implicated in the mass killing of migrants at the country’s border with Yemen, after it was alerted to reports of “possible massive human rights violations”, the German interior ministry has said.

    In a statement to the Guardian, the ministry said training undertaken by the federal police service for the Saudi border force had been “discontinued after reports of possible massive human rights violations became known and, as a precaution, are no longer included in the current training programme [for Saudi security forces]”.

    Continue reading…

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

  • First-time Asian voters embrace New Zealand’s democratic process

    By Blessen Tom, RNZ journalist, and Liu Chen , RNZ journalist, for IndoNZ

    The upcoming general election in Aotearoa New Zealand is poised to witness an unprecedented influx of around 250,000 first-time voters.

    Data from the Electoral Commission shows that around 60,000 individuals will be eligible to vote for the first time this year after turning 18 since the 2020 election.

    However, a more sizeable chunk of voters is expected to come from the roughly 200,000 individuals who will be eligible to vote for the first time after being issued fast-track residency visas in 2021.

    Public Interest Journalism Fund
    PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM FUND

    Forty-nine-year-old Deepa Tripathi Chaturvedi is one such voter.

    Having arrived in New Zealand in 2017 after a 20-year career as a broadcast journalist in India, Chaturvedi is looking forward to voting for the first time outside of India.

    Deepa moved to New Zealand in 2017 and is excited to vote for the first time in October.
    Deepa Tripathi Chaturvedi moved to New Zealand in 2017 . . . “I’m really excited to vote. It’s my first time voting outside India.” Image: RNZ IndoNZ

    “I’m really excited to vote,” she says. “It’s my first time voting outside India. Secondly, I’d really like to see a change.”

    Chaturvedi is concerned about the mounting cost of living in New Zealand, describing it as an increasingly arduous endeavor.

    “Living in New Zealand is becoming incredibly difficult,” she says.

    Home hopes look dim
    Despite her reasonably steady income, the prospect of being able to purchase a home of her own looks dim.

    “I believe in having my own place, but I just can’t afford it,” she says.

    Chaturvedi is also concerned about the government’s immigration policies.

    “I think it’s important to value your migrants and the current policies don’t reflect that,” she says.

    Chaturvedi understands the importance of participating in the election.

    Although Chaturvedi is unfamiliar with New Zealand’s mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system, she wishes to educate herself about it before voting.

    Chaturvedi also draws comparisons between voting in India and New Zealand.

    Long queues in India
    “There are voting booths in India I think every 2km, so it’s very convenient,” she says. “But the queues can be quite long. ”

    Unlike New Zealand, which allows advance votes to be submitted, voters can only cast their ballots on election day in India.

    She hopes that she won’t have to stand in long queues when she votes in Auckland for the upcoming October election.

    Suresh is worried about the cost of living and immigration.
    Aravind Narayan Suresh . . . “I have my wife over here and I can’t support her with one job.” Image: RNZ IndoNZ

    Aravind Narayan Suresh, a 28-year-old IT professional and 2021 resident visa holder, shares Chaturvedi’s excitement about the upcoming election.

    Having migrated to New Zealand as a student, Suresh is eager to take part in the democratic process once again.

    “I have only voted in India and, now that I have an opportunity here, I’d love to participate in the democratic process again,” he says.

    His optimism is tempered by the economic challenges he currently faces, including the high cost of living and petrol prices.

    “I have my wife over here and I can’t support her with one job, so I’m thinking of doing two,” he says.

    Awaiting a work visa
    Suresh’s wife is a civil engineer but cannot work in New Zealand because she is still waiting to receive a work visa.

    “We have been waiting for seven months,” he says.

    Suresh understands his right to vote gives him an opportunity to effect change – whether his preferred choices win or lose.

    He also emphasizes the importance of diverse and inclusive representation among candidates in Parliament, believing it reflects the values of the community.

    “I think it’s really important to see representatives of the community at the parliament.”

    Like Chaturvedi, Suresh is also educating himself about New Zealand’s MMP electoral system but says he has found the overall enrollment process to be relatively straightforward.

    Kanmani is concerned about New Zealand’s housing crisis.
    Jaikrishna Anil Kanmani . . . “There are members in Parliament [in NZ] who didn’t win their electorates. That seemed weird at first to me.” Image: RNZ IndoNZ

    Jaikrishna Anil Kanmani, another first-time voter, is looking forward to the election with a touch of nostalgia for the vibrant electoral atmosphere in India.

    NZ elections ‘a little dull’
    “I feel like the elections in New Zealand are a little dull compared to India,” he says. “It’s a public holiday (in India) and everybody is on the streets.”

    He describes New Zealand’s MMP system as confusing and wishes to learn more about the mechanics of it as the election draws near.

    “There are members in Parliament who didn’t win their electorates,” he says. “That seemed weird at first to me.”

    He says he’s learning more about the electoral system to better understand how it all works.

    Concerns about New Zealand’s housing crisis resonate with Kanmani, prompting him to dismiss the idea of purchasing a home due to exorbitant costs.

    “I’ve completely dropped the idea of buying a house,” he says. “With the current living costs and the wages, we earn, there’s no way I would be able to put a down payment for a house.”

    Auckland woman Serena Wei and her family. Wei says she feels excited about the right to vote in the 2023 general election, but she needs more information on how to vote.
    Auckland woman Serena Wei and her family . . . “If everyone is moving forward [ in education], our country is stagnant, and we may lose touch with the progressing countries.” Image: RNZ IndoNZ

    Serena Wei, who arrived in New Zealand from China in 2018, confesses to being overwhelmed by the array of political parties and candidates.

    “I’m still a little confused now,” Wei says. “On the day of the general election, should I vote for a political party or a person? Because I have never experienced it, and I don’t know how to vote.”

    As a mother of two, she worries about the country’s education system and its recent reforms.

    “The current reforms make the curriculum and exams less difficult,” she says. “If everyone is moving forward, our country is stagnant, and we may lose touch with the progressing countries.”

    Emma Chan has recently obtained her New Zealand residency and is looking forward to the election.

    “I believe that actively engaging in democratic voting is a fundamental responsibility as a member of the community, contributing to both my own future and the collective well-being of everyone,” Chan says, speaking on condition of using a pseudonym to protect her identity.

    Chan highlights the inherent relationship between key issues such as safety, economic development, education and race relations. She emphasises the government’s role in formulating holistic, long-term policies to address these concerns.

    Snowee Jiang, who has previously volunteered for elections but has never voted, wants to vote this year to have a say on social issues.

    Jiang, who received the fast-track residency visa in 2021, seeks genuine representation in elected officials rather than a political spectacle. She also urges greater Chinese voter participation through enhanced awareness campaigns.

    “I hope that the Chinese can increase the proportion of voting,” she says. “Many people will not vote, and many people don’t care. I hope there will be more publicity in this regard.”

    According to the Electoral Commission, 3,871,418 Kiwis are eligible to vote on both the general and Māori rolls in this year’s election and, as of August 2023, about 88 percent had already enrolled.

    Advance voting starts on October 2, and election day is Saturday, October 14.

    Official results for the general election will be declared on November 3.

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

  • Video shows woman lying dead on floor of migration detention centre in Libya

    Footage provides latest shocking glimpse of conditions endured by refugees in north African country

    Footage has emerged showing a woman lying dead on the floor of a migration detention centre in Libya in the latest shocking glimpse of the conditions endured by refugees in the north African country.

    The clip, believed to have been filmed two weeks ago and shared with the Guardian by a group who arrived in Tunisia from Libya, shows a room inside the Abu Salim detention centre in Tripoli.

    Continue reading…

  • ‘Fired on like rain’: Saudi border guards accused of mass killings of Ethiopians

    Report by Human Rights Watch details alleged attacks using explosive weapons and small arms on Saudi Arabia-Yemen border

    Saudi border guards have been accused of killing hundreds of Ethiopians using small arms and explosive weapons in a targeted campaign that rights advocates suggest may amount to a crime against humanity.

    The shocking claims are made in a detailed investigation by Human Rights Watch, which interviewed dozens of Ethiopian people who said they were attacked by border guards while they tried to cross into Saudi Arabia from Yemen.

    Continue reading…

  • We risk being seen as the ‘nasty party’ again, warn senior Conservatives

    Moderate Tories fear the party’s attack on human rights will alienate many voters and damage the UK’s global standing

    The Conservatives risk being seen once again as the “nasty party” by trying to win votes with a divisive attack on human rights, senior party figures have warned.

    Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure from his party this weekend over his pledge to stop the boats crossing the Channel. It follows another week that ended in Channel deaths after the capsizing of a boat, while the total number of people making the dangerous crossing since 2018 rose above the 100,000 mark.

    Continue reading…

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

  • How the CBP’s “Prevention Through Deterrence” Policy Contributes to Migrant Deaths at the U.S./Mexico Border

    “We did believe that geography would be an ally for us. It was our sense that the number of people crossing through the Arizona desert would go down to a trickle once people realized what it’s like.” — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency head, Doris Meissner in 2000. 

    In 1994, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) introduced a new policy that they termed “prevention through deterrence.” By blocking popular crossing spots and forcing migrants into the dangerous desert areas and river crossings, the agency believed they could reduce the number of crossing attempts. Since then, the strategy has not worked. But it has led to an increase in the number of migrant deaths. 

    CBP has clearly prioritized minimizing the number of people processed at the border over the loss of human life. They have the statistics of what the past 28 years of the “prevention through deterrence” policy have resulted in – 2022 was the deadliest year ever recorded for migrants attempting to cross the border, amounting to over 800 deaths. There have been 7,505 official migrant deaths recorded since 1998. More than 2,000 of those deceased are still unidentified. 

    Effects of CBP Policies and Dangers of Border Patrol

    A report found that a migrant who attempted an illegal border crossing in 2012 was eight times more likely to die trying than someone trying to cross in 2003. Despite the United States heavily leading global discussions on human rights, including those of migrants and refugees, their own border with Mexico is now one of the deadliest land borders in the world. 

    It is probable that the number of migrant deaths is higher than what is officially recorded – estimates also only include remains that have been recovered. In 2021, CBP officially changed how they record the deaths of migrants to only include those that occur in the custody or proximity of a CBP agent, yet another decision by agency leaders that deprioritizes and obscures the effects of their policies on human lives. 

    By increasing physical barriers along the border, increasing the number of agents on patrol near cities and towns, and integrating new technology into their monitoring, CBP has purposefully pushed migrants away from the safest crossing points. Border Patrol agents working as part of CBP have also expanded the area they patrol to up to 100,000 square miles, pushing migrants further away from populated areas. This decision places more value on reducing the number of people reaching the border and being processed than on the safety of the men, women, and children who are attempting to reach the United States.

    Effects of Trump-Era Policies (How Trump Worsened the Border)

    Lingering immigration policies from former President Donald Trump, including blocking legal recognition of asylum seekers and increasing deportations, continue to push migrants onto more dangerous routes. Medical experts working along the U.S.-Mexico border have noted that the increased height of the border walls have correlated with an increase in deaths and serious injuries from scaling attempts. For instance, one hospital in San Diego reported five times the intake for injuries resulting from the wall since these Trump-era height increases. 

    CBP agents often chase migrants through dangerous terrain. Groups of migrants traveling together can become separated, get (severely) injured, while others may become lost. Based on data from the crisis hotline of No More Deaths, an advocacy organization based in Arizona, Border Patrol is more than twice as likely to take part in directly causing a person to go missing by dangerous enforcement tactics than they are to participate in finding a distressed person.”

    In June 2022, the death of 51 migrants in San Antonio, Texas drew international attention to the lengths migrants have gone to in order to avoid CBP detection. “Stacks of bodies” were found in the back of an abandoned truck. The victims had been trapped with no air conditioning or water in temperatures that reached 39 degrees Celsius, covered in steak seasoning to mask any sign of human smuggling. The U.S. government claims that they “made the global fight against human trafficking a policy priority,” but it was their own policies which led to the deadliest human trafficking incident in modern U.S. history. 

    A similar incident in Texas occurred in 2007, when 19 migrants died after they were locked inside a truck. Temperatures inside reached up to 38 degrees Celsius and migrants were reported to have “clawed at the insulation and screamed for help.” In May 2022, one migrant was killed and five were injured after a CBP car chase. In 2012, a 16-year-old boy was killed through a border fence on Mexican territory by a Border Patrol Agent, shot ten times in the back in an act that would be ruled unconstitutional. 

    Conversely, these incidents allow CBP to justify increases in their budget and rapidly expand their number of personnel. Since 1998, the number of Border Patrol personnel has more than quadrupled from 4,200 to 19,555. CBP and the larger U.S. Homeland Security agency have leveraged the danger that they caused by making the area around the border more dangerous to justify rapidly expanding their resources. 

    The Trump campaign made border control a centrepiece of his policy plans. His implementation of a “zero-tolerance” policy regarding illegal border crossings directly led to the separation of almost 4,000 minors from their parents, according to the administration of President Joe Biden. 

    Although Trump’s tough-on-immigration policies shined a national spotlight on the issue, human rights violations at the U.S.-Mexico border have existed for a long time. The “prevention through deterrence” policy has been in effect since the Bill Clinton administration. Furthermore, border security tightened significantly after 9/11. These decisions to make the safest border crossing points heavily patrolled, as well as CBP’s decision to push migrants into more dangerous areas of the harsh desert borderlands, are clearly driving factors in the rising numbers of the dead and missing. 

    The Biden administration has also increased the CBP budget, although they have reversed some of Trump’s harshest immigration policies and publicly stated that they intend to build a “safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.” However, migrants continue to die in record numbers under Biden’s leadership. Roughly 800 people died during 2022, an increase from 557 people in 2021. Any changes that the Biden administration implemented or proposed are too slow. Every day that the “prevention through deterrence” strategy remains in place, more lives are lost, more families are destroyed, and more people will forever wonder what happened to their loved ones on their journey.

    A Two-Headed Snake

    Border Patrol would like the public to think of them as not only a security agency, but also as a search and rescue team. CBP has forced migrants into dangerous and deadly situations, including blocking attempts for humanitarian assistance. Officers have been filmed destroying supplies that humanitarian groups left in the desert for migrants. 

    In 2018, No More Deaths volunteer Scott Warren was arrested by CBP for offering food, shelter, medical attention, and directions toward safety for two migrants. The government considered this to be “felony concealing, harbouring or shielding from detection… in furtherance of illegal presence in the United States.” 

    In her closing argument, the prosecutor of this case said that “for four days, those illegal aliens were safe from Border Patrol.” Despite the fact that Border Patrol pushes migrants into dangerous areas and often fails to act as a competent search and rescue team, the people who fill the gaps in providing life-saving services are prosecuted. 

    A report led by the humanitarian organization La Coalición de Derechos Humanos found that in “63% of all distress calls that families and advocates referred to Border Patrol, the agency did not conduct any confirmed search or rescue mobilization whatsoever.” The primary mission of CBP has, and continues to be, the prevention of illegal entries into the United States, yet it maintains a monopoly on search and rescue decisions for missing migrants. 

    The combination of CBP’s capacity as an immigration enforcement agency and search and rescue team also discourages migrants from seeking help from them, even if they risk death by doing so.

    Some migrants also do not know that their 911 calls are passed off to CBP, even when they’re talking to them. 

    As long as CBP continues a policy of deterrence, migrants will continue to die. As long as CBP is responsible for rescuing migrants from the danger that they put them in, they will remain lost. These migrants risk everything to reach the United States, and it is the country’s sole responsibility to fix a system which shows zero concern for their survival.

    Bibliography 

    Left To Die. rep. No More Deaths & La Coalición de Derechos Humanos. Available at: http://www.thedisappearedreport.org/uploads/8/3/5/1/83515082/left_to_die_-_english.pdf (Accessed: 2022). 

    Boyce, G.A. (2019) “The neoliberal underpinnings of prevention through deterrence and the United States government’s case against geographer Scott Warren,” Journal of Latin American Geography, 18(3), pp. 192–201. Available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/736945

    The deaths of 51 people in Texas highlight the perils of migration (2022) The Economist. The Economist Newspaper. Available at: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/06/28/the-deaths-of-51-people-in-texas-highlight-the-perils-of-migration (Accessed: October 20, 2022). 

    Dunn, T. (2016) Hardline U.S. border policing is a failed approach, NACLA. Available at: https://nacla.org/blog/2016/09/21/hardlinhttps://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/06/28/the-deaths-of-51-people-in-texas-highlight-the-perils-of-migratione-us-border-policing-failed-approach (Accessed: October 18, 2022). 

    Federal Appeals Court confirms Border Patrol Agents can’t kill people across the border with impunity: News & commentary (2022) American Civil Liberties Union. Available at https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/federal-appeals-court-confirms-border-patrol (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

    Hernández, A.R., Miroff, N. and Sacchetti, M. (2022) 46 migrants found dead in Texas inside sweltering tractor-trailer, The Washington Post. WP Company. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/27/migrants-dead-texas/ (Accessed: October 18, 2022). 

    “Migrant Smuggling Attempt Results in Death” (2022) CBP.gov [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/migrant-smuggling-attempt-results-death-0 (Accessed: October 16, 2022).

    Newell, B.C., Gomez, R. and Guajardo, V.E. (2016) “Information seeking, technology use, and vulnerability among migrants at the United States–Mexico border,” The Information Society, 32(3), pp. 176–191. Available at: https://pure.uvt.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/17262311/Information_seeking_technology_use_Newell.pdf

    Person and Jason Buch, J.-cesar C. (2022) Two Mexicans charged after death of 51 migrants in sweltering Texas truck, Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/death-toll-migrants-found-truck-texas-reaches-50-mexico-says-2022-06-28/ (Accessed: October 20, 2022). 

    Reports, S. (2022) The Border’s Toll: Migrants increasingly die crossing into U.S., Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-immigration-border-deaths/ (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

    Rose, J. and Peñaloza, M. (2022) Migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico Border hit a record high, in part due to drownings, NPR. NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/1125638107/migrant-deaths-us-mexico-border-record-drownings#:~:text=More%20than%20560%20migrants%20died,border%20are%20largely%2%200to%20blame (Accessed: October 18, 2022). 

    Wang, A.B. (2021) Border Patrol agents were filmed dumping water left for migrants. then came a ‘suspicious’ arrest., The Washington Post. WP Company. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/01/23/border-patrol-accused-of-targeting-aid-group-that-filmed-agents-dumping-water-left-for-migrants/ (Accessed: October 20, 2022).

  • ‘Should we cheer?’: support for asylum seekers arriving at Dorset port

    Local campaigners deliver welcome packs for people transferred to Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland

    After weeks of local strife and national buildup, the sparsely filled coaches entering the Dorset port where the Bibby Stockholm is moored were a boost to pro-refugee demonstrators.

    “Should we cheer just in case?” asked Heather, a local campaigner and member of Stand Up to Racism Dorset as a fifth, seemingly empty, coach drove into the port.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Macron to ditch Noumea Accord for self-determination and introduce new statute for New Caledonia

    By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific contributing journalist

    French president Emmanuel Macron says he will forge ahead with processing a new statute for New Caledonia, replacing the 1998 Noumea Accord.

    New Caledonia held three referendums on independence from France under the Noumea Accord, and all resulted in a vote against it.

    But the last referendum result, held in December 2021, is disputed, as it was boycotted by the indigenous Kanak people due to the devastation caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

    The main body of the independence movement has been quiet during the trip, waiting to see what was put on the table.

    Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan told RNZ Pacific that Macron, speaking in Noumea yesterday, threw out a challenge to them.

    He said independence leaders, particularly from the Caledonian Union party, the largest pro-independence party boycotted the president’s speech.

    “Macron threw out a challenge to them, basically saying that the French state would forge ahead with the process to introduce a new political statute for New Caledonia, replacing the Noumea Accord, the framework agreement that’s lasted for three decades,” Maclellan said.

    The President of the New Caledonia territorial government, Louis Mapou, did welcome Macron.

    “[The French President] talked about the reform of political institutions. A major step which won large applause from the crowd was to unfreeze the electoral rolls for the looming provincial and congressional elections to be held in May next year,” Maclellan said.

    “That will allow thousands more French nationals to vote than are currently able to under under the Noumea Accord.

    “And he basically said that he would be moving ahead to review the Constitution in early 2024.

    “The Noumea Accord is entrenched in its own clauses of the French constitution, so there needs to be a major constitutional change. He suggested he was going to move forward pretty strongly on that.”

    French President Emmanuel Macron with the New Caledonia territorial President Louis Mapou
    French President Emmanuel Macron hugs a ni-Vanuatu child in Port Vila today . . . historic visit to independent Pacific states. Image: Vanuatu Daily Post

    Rebuilding the economy
    Maclellan said Macron also talked about the future role of the French dependency around two key areas.

    The first was about rebuilding the economic and social models of New Caledonia, addressing an inequality, particularly for poor people from the Kanak indigenous community, questions of employment.

    He said a major section of his speech focused on the nickel industry, and the need to solve the energy crisis that powered nickel with improved productivity in this key sector.

    France 1 television, the state broadcaster, reports Macron confirmed more than 200 soldiers for the armed forces of New Caledonia.

    But there will also be the creation of a military “Pacific academy, right here, to train soldiers from all over the region”.

    Emmanuel Macron is also visiting Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Mosquitos are moving to higher elevations — and so is malaria

    Climate Connections is a collaboration between Grist and the Associated Press that explores how a changing climate is accelerating the spread of infectious diseases around the world, and how mitigation efforts demand a collective, global response. Read more here.

    As the planet warms, mosquitoes are slowly migrating to higher places — and bringing malaria to populations not used to dealing with the potentially deadly disease.

    Researchers have documented the insects making their homes in higher places that are typically too cool for them, from the tropical highlands of South America to the mountainous but populous regions of eastern Africa. A recent Georgetown University study found them moving upward in sub-Saharan Africa at the rate of 21 feet per year.

    “The link between climate change and expansion or change in mosquito distributions is real,” said Doug Norris, a specialist in mosquitoes at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

    It’s difficult to pinpoint how these shifting mosquito populations will affect specific populations, Norris said, in part because people have gotten better at fighting malaria. 

    Global deaths from the disease declined by 27 percent between 2002 and 2021, as countries have adopted insecticide-treated nets, antimalarial drugs, and tests. Eighteen million doses of a new malaria vaccine are set to be distributed across Africa in the next two years. 

    But the world faces new threats: U.S. health officials say the first malaria cases in the United States since 2003 were found in Florida and Texas in May and June, and an invasive mosquito species is likely behind spikes in malaria in Djibouti and Ethiopia. Climate change presents another emerging threat, World Health Organization officials wrote in their latest global malaria report. 

    But scientists agree mosquitoes are on the move.

    One study published in 2016 found the habitat for malaria-carrying mosquitoes had expanded on the higher elevations of Kilimanjaro by hundreds of square kilometers in just 10 years. The densely populated region faces new risks from malaria as a result, the research found, especially considering the population has not faced much exposure before. Meanwhile, the study found fewer mosquitoes at warming lower elevations. 

    “As it gets warmer at higher altitudes with climate change and all of these other environmental changes, then mosquitoes can survive higher up the mountain,” said Manisha Kulkarni, a professor and researcher studying malaria in sub-Saharan Africa at the University of Ottawa.

    The region Kulkarni studied, which is growing in population, is close to the border of Tanzania and Kenya. Together, the two countries accounted for 6 percent of global malaria deaths in 2021.

    Map showing how temperatures have increased in Tanzania over time

    The mosquito’s migration has been seen elsewhere. For example, researchers in 2015 noticed native birds in Hawaii were squeezed out of lower elevation habitats as mosquitoes carrying avian malaria slowly migrated upward into their territory. 

    But given that 96 percent of malaria deaths in 2021 occurred in Africa, with children under 5 years old accounting for the majority of those fatalities, most research on the trend is found there.

    Jeremy Herren, who studies malaria at the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, said there is evidence that warming temperatures influence where mosquito populations choose to live. But it’s challenging to make sweeping predictions about how that will affect the spread of malaria, he said.

    For example, Herren noted the long-dominant mosquito species in Kenya fell off in the mid-2000s, around the same time that insecticide-treated nets were widely distributed. The species is now nearly impossible to find, he said, a shift that is likely not attributable to climate change. 

    Mosquitoes are also picky about their habitat, Norris said. The different malaria-carrying species have various preferences in temperature, humidity, and amount of rainfall. In general, however, mosquito larvae grow faster in warmer conditions, he said. 

    Rising temperatures are also not the only way a changing climate gives mosquitoes the upper hand. The bugs tend to thrive in the kind of extremes that are happening more frequently because of human-caused climate change.  

    Mosquitoes tend to thrive in the kind of extremes that are happening more frequently because of human-caused climate change.  

    Longer rainy seasons can create better habitats for mosquitoes, which breed in water. But conversely, while droughts can dry up those habitats, they also encourage people to store water in containers, creating perfect breeding sites. An outbreak of chikungunya, another mosquito-borne disease, between 2004 and 2005 was linked to drought in coastal Kenya for these reasons. 

    Researchers found malaria cases in the highlands of Ethiopia fell in the early 2000s in tandem with a decline in temperatures as global warming temporarily stalled.

    Pamela Martinez, a researcher at the University of Illinois, said her team’s findings on malaria trends in Ethiopia, published in 2021 in the journal Nature, lent more confidence to the idea that malaria and temperature — and therefore climate change — are linked. 

    “We see that when temperature goes down, the overall trend of cases also goes down, even in the absence of intervention,” Martinez said. “That proves the case that temperature has an impact on transmission.” 

    The researchers also noticed mosquito populations creeping upward to higher elevations during warmer years. 

    Ethiopia’s temperatures began to warm again in the mid-2000s, but public health officials also ramped up efforts to control malaria in the highlands around that time, which has contributed to a sustained decline in cases.  But even as the Ethiopian Ministry of Health drafted a plan to eliminate malaria by 2030, its authors laid out the threats to that goal: population shifts, a lack of funding, the invasion of a new mosquito species, and climate change.

    This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Mosquitos are moving to higher elevations — and so is malaria on Jul 20, 2023.

    This post was originally published on Grist.

  • UK illegal migration bill will have profound consequences, warns UN body

    Rishi Sunak’s legislation faces criticism as barge that will house asylum seekers arrives in Portland

    Rishi Sunak’s migration bill “will have profound consequences for people in need of international protection”, a UN body has warned, as protesters greeted the arrival of the first barge that will house asylum seekers under government plans.

    The criticism followed Monday night’s crushing of the final resistance in the House of Lords to the plans, as the Conservative frontbench saw off five further changes to the bill including modern slavery protections and child detention limits.

    Continue reading…

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

  • Guatemala’s War on Journalists

    Reveal revisits a story produced in collaboration with a Guatemalan journalist who is now in prison. José Rubén Zamora was jailed last summer after his newspaper, elPeriódico, published more than 100 stories about corruption within Guatemala’s government.

    Corruption is a longstanding problem in Guatemala, and it’s intertwined with U.S. policy in Central America. At times, the U.S. has had a corrupting influence on Guatemalan politics; at others, it has supported transparency. This week’s show looks at the root causes of corruption and impunity in Guatemala and how they have prompted generations of Guatemalans to flee their country and migrate north.

    Veteran radio journalist Maria Martin takes us to Huehuetenango, a province near Guatemala’s border with Mexico. For decades, residents have been migrating to the U.S. to help support families struggling with poverty. We then connect the migration outflow to U.S. policy during the Cold War and its support of brutal dictatorships in Guatemala that were plagued by corruption.

    Then Reveal’s Anayansi Diaz-Cortes introduces us to a crusading prosecutor named Iván Velásquez. In the early 2000s, Velásquez was tasked with running an international anti-corruption commission in Guatemala, known by its Spanish acronym, CICIG. Its mandate was to root out corruption and improve the lives of Guatemalans so they wouldn’t feel compelled to leave their homes. Velásquez had a reputation for jailing presidents and paramilitaries, but met his match when he went after Jimmy Morales, a television comedian who was elected president in 2015. Morales found an ally in then-U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration helped Morales dismantle CICIG.

    With CICIG gone, journalists were left to expose government corruption – journalists like Zamora, who was arrested last summer on trumped-up charges. Diaz-Cortes speaks with Zamora’s son about his father’s arrest and the state of journalism in Guatemala.

    This is an update of an episode that originally aired in September 2020.

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Tunisia should not get ‘€1bn on a silver plate’ in migration deal, says MEP

    Critics of deal say EU funds should have conditions attached related to human rights and democracy

    The EU should not be allowed to sign off on a controversial migration pact with Tunisia without intervening over human rights breaches and a “breakdown” in its democracy, European parliamentarians have argued.

    The French MEP Mounir Satouri said it was not right that Tunisia should be given “€1bn on a silver plate”. “That cannot happen,” he said, outlining the European parliament’s role as co-legislator in the EU.

    Continue reading…

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

  • French riots follow decades-old pattern of rage, with no resolution in sight

    ANALYSIS: By François Dubet, Université de Bordeaux

    Although they never fail to take us aback, French riots have followed the same distinct pattern ever since protests broke out in the eastern suburbs of Lyon in 1981, an episode known as the “summer of Minguettes”: a young person is killed or seriously injured by the police, triggering an outpouring of violence in the affected neighbourhood and nearby.

    Sometimes, as in the case of the 2005 riots and of this past week’s, it is every rough neighbourhood that flares up.

    Throughout the past 40 years in France, urban revolts have been dominated by the rage of young people who attack the symbols of order and the state: town halls, social centres, schools, and shops.

    An institutional and political vacuum
    That rage is the kind that leads one to destroy one’s own neighbourhood, for all to see.

    Residents condemn these acts, but can also understand the motivation. Elected representatives, associations, churches and mosques, social workers and teachers admit their powerlessness, revealing an institutional and political vacuum.

    Of all the revolts, the summer of the Minguettes was the only one to pave the way to a social movement: the March for Equality and Against Racism in December 1983.

    Numbering more than 100,000 people and prominently covered by the media, it was France’s first demonstration of its kind. Left-leaning newspaper Libération nicknamed it “La Marche des Beurs”, a colloquial term that refers to Europeans whose parents or grandparents are from the Maghreb.

    In the demonstrations that followed, no similar movement appears to have emerged from the ashes.

    At each riot, politicians are quick to play well-worn roles: the right denounces the violence and goes on to stigmatise neighbourhoods and police victims; the left denounces injustice and promises social policies in the neighbourhoods.

    In 2005, then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy sided with the police. France’s current President, Emmanuel Macron, has expressed compassion for the teenager killed by the police in Nanterre, but politicians and presidents are hardly heard in the neighbourhoods concerned.

    We then wait for silence to set in until the next time the problems of the banlieues (French suburbs) and its police are rediscovered by society at large.

    Lessons to be learned
    The recurrence of urban riots in France and their scenarios yield some relatively simple lessons.

    First, the country’s urban policies miss their targets. Over the last 40 years, considerable efforts have been made to improve housing and facilities. Apartments are of better quality, there are social centres, schools, colleges and public transportation.

    It would be wrong to say that these neighbourhoods have been abandoned.

    On the other hand, the social and cultural diversity of disadvantaged suburbs has deteriorated. More often than not, the residents are poor or financially insecure, and are either descendants of immigrants or immigrants themselves.

    Above all, when given the opportunity and the resources, those who can leave the banlieues soon do, only to be replaced by even poorer residents from further afield. Thus while the built environment is improving, the social environment is unravelling.

    However reluctant people may be to talk about France’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods, the social process at work here is indeed one of ghettoisation – i.e., a growing divide between neighbourhoods and their environment, a self-containment reinforced from within. You go to the same school, the same social centre, you socialise with the same individuals, and you participate in the same more or less legal economy.

    In spite of the cash and local representatives’ goodwill, people still feel excluded from society because of their origins, culture or religion. In spite of social policies and councillors’ work, the neighbourhoods have no institutional or political resources of their own.

    Whereas the often communist-led “banlieues rouges” (“red suburbs”) benefited from the strong support of left-leaning political parties, trade unions and popular education movements, today’s banlieues hardly have any spokespeople. Social workers and teachers are full of goodwill, but many don’t live in the neighbourhoods where they work.

    This disconnect works both ways, and the past days’ riots revealed that elected representatives and associations don’t have any hold on neighbourhoods where residents feel ignored and abandoned. Appeals for calm are going unheeded. The rift is not just social, it’s also political.

    A constant face-off
    With this in mind, we are increasingly seeing young people face off with the police. The two groups function like “gangs”, complete with their own hatreds and territories.

    In this landscape, the state is reduced to legal violence and young people to their actual or potential delinquency.

    The police are judged to be “mechanically” racist on the grounds that any young person is a priori a suspect. Young people feel hatred for the police, fuelling further police racism and youth violence.

    Older residents would like to see more police officers to uphold order, but also support their own children and the frustrations and anger they feel.

    This “war” is usually played out at a low level. When a young person dies, however, everything explodes and it’s back to the drawing board until the next uprising, which will surprise us just as much as the previous ones.

    But there is something new in this tragic repetition. The first element is the rise of the far right — and not just on that side of the political spectrum. Racist accounts of the uprisings are taking hold, one that speaks of “barbarians” and immigration, and there’s fear that this could lead to success at the ballot box.

    The second is the political and intellectual paralysis of the political left. While it denounces injustice and sometimes supports the riots, it does not appear to have put forward any political solution other than police reform.

    So long as the process of ghettoisation continues, as France’s young people and security forces face off time and time again, it is hard to see how the next police blunder and the riots that follow won’t be just around the corner.The Conversation

    Dr François Dubet, professeur des universités émérite, Université de Bordeaux. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

  • I know firsthand the torture of offshore detention. How can Labor maintain such a racist system? | Elahe Zivardar

    Evacuating the last refugees but paying $350m of Australian taxpayers’ money to keep the gates open? That’s plucking defeat from the jaws of victory

    The trauma and torture of Australian border violence and its offshore detention centre has never left me, even though it’s been four years since I left Nauru and came to the US to start my new life here.

    I became a refugee when I naively assumed that Australia was a nation that respected human rights and international law. I came seeking freedom under a democratic system, where my opinions could be expressed without fear of persecution or prosecution. I had so much faith in that ideal that I boarded a boat bound for Christmas Island. But instead, I was transferred to Nauru, a place without hope.

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  • Braverman says appeal court ruling on Rwanda ‘disappointing for majority of British people’ – as it happened

    Home secretary says government will seek leave to appeal against judgment as she gives statement to MPs

    Jacob Rees-Mogg declined to comment on the privileges committee report when he was doorstepped by reporters this morning. He told ITV he was going to church, and then to the Test match.

    The Suella Braverman statement in the Commons on the court of appeal judgment on the Rwanda deportations policy will take place at about 5pm.

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

  • The ‘triumph of cruelty’ in Australia’s asylum seeker policy – podcast

    The last refugee has now been evacuated from Nauru. Yet the Australian-run detention centre remains ‘ready to receive and process’ any new unauthorised maritime arrivals at an annual cost of $350m.

    Guardian Australia chief political correspondent Paul Karp and reporter Eden Gillespie tell Jane Lee about what refugees and asylum seekers detained for more than a decade make of the decision, and what it means for Australia’s deterrence policy

    You can subscribe for free to Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast Full Story on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google podcasts

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