Australia Ratifies UN Protocol On Discrimination Against Women

In another sign of the John Howard years finally being behind us, the Australian Government has ratified the United Nations optional protocol on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

The protocol gives women international legal protection for their human rights.

The minister for women, Tanya Plibersek, stated

I think it's a very important thing for men and women that Australia says internationally, that equality between men and women is important in this country and that we're prepared to be judged by international standards.

We live in a region where a number of countries have very high rates of domestic violence and sexual assault and as we campaign in Australia to reduce domestic violence and sexual assault, as we try and help our neighbouring countries, it's very important to say that we are prepared to be judged by the same standards.

Why John Howard did not ratify this optional protocol in 2000, I have no idea. Nevertheless, it is good to see that women in Australia will have the right, to take their human rights case straight to the United Nations, if all avenues in Australia have been exhausted.

- Beju -

Tags: United-Nations, Counteract-Now, Left-Wing, Politics, Social, Human-Rights, Amnesty

Five Algerians To Be Released From Guantanamo Bay

In another setback for the Bush Administrations "War on Terror", five Algerian men have been ordered by the Supreme Court of the United States to be released.

US District Judge Richard Leon stated that the US Justice Department had failed to prove that the men planned to fight Americans by bombing the US Embassy in Sarajevo. Judge Leon went on to say that the US case was weak where the US case was based on

A classified document from an unnamed source” for its central claim against the men, with little way to measure credibility.

To rest on so thin a reed would be inconsistent with this court’s obligation

A sixth Algerian mans case was rejected as Judge Leon stated that he was a facilitator for Al Qaeda.

The five men, Lakhdar Boumediene, Mohamed Nechla, Mustafa Ait Idir, Saber Lahmar and Hadj Boudella, had been detained at Guanamo Bay for seven long years. That is a long time to be detained for committing no offense. Seven years that these people will never have back again.

I've said this so many times in the past that I've lost count, but when President Elect Barack Obama takes office, he will need to close Guantanamo Bay, process the remaining detainees as quickly as possible in a US Supreme Court on the US mainland to ensure that a fair and just trial is carried out.

It is time to find out what the Bush administration has been hiding from the world for the past 8 years and correct all the wrongs.

- Beju -

Tags: Guantanamo-Bay, Barack-Obama, Counteract-Now, Left-Wing, Politics, Social, Human-Rights, Amnesty

Race Crimes In The US Soars

No country will be racist free, and the US is no different. No matter what measures are put in place by governments and socially around the world, there will always be a small minority of ignorant people who can hate another human being purely on the colour of their skin.

Since Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States of America, the number of race crimes has dramatically increased.

The Telegraph in the UK is reporting that there have literally been hundreds of incidents of race related hate crimes since the November 4th US Presidential Election.

Some of the incidents reported on The Telegraph website:

• Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that used a racial slur and said he should be shot in the head. Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect, authorities say.


• At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."


• Racist graffiti was found in places including New York's Long Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas, where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.


• Second- and third-grade students — around ages 7 to 9 — on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted "assassinate Obama," a district official said.


• University of Alabama professor Marsha L. Houston said a poster of the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur. "It seems the election brought the racist rats out of the woodwork," Houston said.


• Black figures were hanged by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. The president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas said a rope found hanging from a campus tree was apparently an abandoned swing and not a noose.


• Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, New Jersey, and Apolacan Township, Pennsylvania. Cross burning has been used as an intimidation tactic by white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.


• A black teenager in New York City said he was attacked with a bat on election night by four white men who shouted 'Obama.'


• In the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, a black man said he found a note with a racial slur on his car windshield, saying "now that you voted for Obama, just watch out for your house."

Even though Barack Obama has been elected as the next US President, does not mean that the issue of race will go away anytime soon. I find it beyond comprehension to think that there are parents out there, spreading fear and hatred to their children based on the colour of another person's skin.

But who are these people? Well... one just has to look at the John McCain and Sarah Palin Republican supporters in a YouTube clip that I posted earlier.

It is time to grow up. It is time for change. Violence just creates more violence, and Obama should be judged based on the content of his character and not the colour of his skin.

- Beju -

Tags: Racism, Barack-Obama, Counteract-Now, Left-Wing, Politics, Social, Human-Rights, Amnesty

Obama Elected President Of the USA. So Now What?

As predicted, Barack Obama has been elected as the 44th President of the United States of America.

While the world rejoices the end of the Bush Administration which will go down as one of the most inept, and evil regimes in history, the reality of the task ahead begins to sink in.

So now the hard work begins. The past two years of speeches, catch phrases, motivational speaking and promises will all count for zero if no action is taken.

So what does the newly President elect of the United States have to do to restore the reputation of the USA in the worlds eyes?

First is to close the Cuban detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. While the worst of its atrocities may well be behind us, it is a symbol to the rest of the world of the pure evil that was done by the United States. The detainees still incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay should have their cases reviewed, trialed if necessary, and either acquitted or sentenced in the Supreme Court on the US mainland before either:

• Being released back to their homeland if safe or granted refugee status in the US if found innocent


• Or if found guilty, spending time in US prisons on the mainland.

Barack Obama will also need to ensure that the US adheres to the Geneva Convention and ensure that torture is never used by any of its departments ever again. Stress positions, water boarding, dogs and forced feeding for example does not produce credible intelligence so there is no real reason to implement it. Amnesty International is calling on Barack Obama to setup a commission to investigate all human rights abuses committed during the "War on Terror"

Obama will also need to ensure that US contractors working in Iraq are subject to Iraqi law. Currently, all US contractors in Iraq are above the law and cannot be charged by the Iraqi authorities. They literally can kill someone and face no justice.

Global warming is an incoming human rights tsunami which is only getting bigger as time goes on. As the temperature rises, droughts become more prevalent, food shortages increase world wide, the cost of living goes up, wars increase and so on. Obama needs to ensure that the US signs the Kyoto protocol and does its best to ensure that it meets its targets and curb emissions.

My concern with Obama now is that he will give priority to the financial crisis and forget about these other important issues. I am not questioning the future actions that Barack Obama will have on the financial crisis and their validity, but am concerned that other important issues will go unnoticed for a long time. As Bono has been quoted as saying

It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger. That's mad, that is mad.

The time for change is now Obama. Ensure that you don't forget what you've preached for the past two years in the primaries and presidential campaign and ensure that the US reputation in the world is restored. Its now up to you.

- Beju -

Tags: Barack-Obama, Counteract-Now, Left-Wing, Politics, Social, Human-Rights, Amnesty

The Last Word On John McCain

The US Presidential Election is finally here and things are looking good for Barack Obama. Before the polls in the US have closed, I thought I would post a number of YouTube clips which were sent to me.

The Real McCain (Part 2)


Fox Attacks Obama (Part 1)


Fox Attacks Obama (Part 2)


Tell McCain To End The Politics Of Hate


John McCain: Economic Disaster


The world can't handle four more years of Republican rule. May these clips be the last we hear from John McCain (and Sarah Palin for that matter). Change is necessary.

GO OBAMA!

- Beju

Tags: Barack-Obama, John-McCain, Counteract-Now, Left-Wing, Politics, Social, Human-Rights, Amnesty

Internet Companies Create Human Rights Code Of Conduct

Some of the biggest firms in the Information Technology sector including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have teamed with a number of different human rights organisations and created a voluntary Code of Conduct for their dealings with countries that restrict freedom of speech.

The guidelines for the code of conduct can be found at the Global Network Initiative website.

Amnesty International has stated that

Amnesty International has been involved in this process from the start. However we recently decided to withdraw. Clear outlines of company compliance and accountability were inclusions that we definitely wanted in the text of the Principles in the end - the Principles signed were weak in these areas. We felt that the Principles signed had too many loopholes and too much ambiguous language for us to endorse them. We wish to remain engaged with the companies and feel that from outside the Initiative we can exert more pressure for further development of the Principles.

Without clarity and the ability to hold companies to account, voluntary initiatives can become little more than public relations tools for some participants.

The code of conduct is a very good start, but like a lot of things, actions speak louder than words. I would hate for what Yahoo did to Shi Tao in 2005 to happen again. If it does happen again, it is up to the media and the international community to condemn it and take action against the company in question.

- Beju -