How the Cold War and now the War in Ukraine have Justified Abuse of Human Rights, Inhumane Sanctions, and Abuse of Power

How the Cold War and now the War in Ukraine have Justified Abuse of Human Rights, Inhumane Sanctions, and Abuse of Power

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Working hard to put pressure on countries from around the world to take a stand against Russia in relation to its military operation in Ukraine, the US government and its Western allies schedule two UNGA public votes just months apart, the most recent was just days before the one year anniversary of the start of the conflict. In both sessions, more countries from Africa voted against the resolution or abstained than from any other continent. Commentators and analysts attribute this neutrality to the role played by Russia and China most recently shoring up African economies. That may partly true. The more determinant factor that influence African leaders’ decision is the historical one: Africa’s lack of economic development was the outcome of Western colonialism (plunder of natural resources) which was motivated by racism (Apartheid systems), for which Western countries did not legally acknowledge and did not practically take full responsibility. If the West wants to have a “normal” relation with the African people, they must start there; not think in terms of handouts and bribery.

In the past, the US government and its allies justified their support to colonial, apartheid regimes in Africa, and their placement of self-determination movements and figures, like the ANC and Nelson Mandela, by the “cold War” conditions. They care for countering communism more than they cared for human rights.

Today, the US administration and its Western allies are operating with the same mentality: Countering Russia and China comes before respect for human rights and comes before remediation for past crimes and abuses.

These self-interested approaches are short-sighted, bigoted, and offensive to the people who were subjected to hundreds of years of Darwinian colonialism.

 

Over 100 children illegally employed by US slaughterhouse cleaning firm

Over 100 children illegally employed by US slaughterhouse cleaning firm

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More than 100 children have been discovered to be illegally employed by a slaughterhouse cleaning firm across the country, federal authorities said.

The Department of Labor announced that a federal investigation found Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI) employed at least 102 children, ranging from 13 to 17 years old, to work overnight shifts at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states.

The investigation discovered that children were working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters. At least three minors suffered injuries while working for PSSI, one of the country’s largest food safety sanitation service providers.

The states in which the children were employed include Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee and Texas. The processor which had the largest number of employed minors is JBS Foods, with 27 children employed, followed by Cargill Inc, which had 26 employed children.

Other processors include Tyson Food, George’s Inc, Buckhead Meat of Minnesota, Gibbon Packing Co, Greater Omaha Packing Co Inc, Maple Leaf Farms and Turkey Valley Farms.

According to court documents, a 14-year-old child who worked at a Nebraska facility from 11pm to 5am five to six days a week from December 2021 to April 2022, cleaned machines “used to cut meat”.

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More than 7 mln children affected by major quakes

More than 7 mln children affected by major quakes

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More than 7 million children have been affected by the massive earthquake and a major aftershock that devastated Türkiye and Syria last week, the United Nations said on Feb. 14. 

The death toll has risen to 31,974 in the Feb. 6’s quakes, approaching the number of people who lost their lives in the Erzincan quake in 1939, in which the most casualties were experienced in the history of the country.

Apart from the estimated death toll, Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) also reported that more than 81,000 others were injured following the tremors felt in 10 southern provinces.

More than 3,170 aftershocks occurred in the region since the first earthquake hit 10 provinces on Feb. 6.

Over 8,000 people have been recovered alive from rubbles by search and rescue teams so far.

Over 6,500 professionals have inspected 763,000 buildings and 1,586,901 single spaces. Damage assessment is set to be completed within a week, while constructions are aimed to start before the end of the month. Permanent residences are planned to be delivered to earthquake victims within a year.

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Chinese envoy urges US to immediately lift Syria sanctions to return 'hope of survival' to children

Chinese envoy urges US to immediately lift Syria sanctions to return 'hope of survival' to children

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Chinese envoy urges immediate lifting of unilateral sanctions on Syria to return the "hope of survival" to children in the country as the US' long-arm jurisdiction has further exacerbated the earthquake disaster and hindered rescue efforts with more children's lives as the cost.  

Nearly a week since the most devastating earthquakes in recent history, the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria surpassed 38,000 while searches for signs of life in the rubble amid freezing temperatures continues.  

A UN official pointed out on Sunday in a post on Twitter that international help has "failed the people in northwest Syria," where more than 12 years of civil war have resulted in a complex political situation. ( Read the reporting on the Chinese statement about Syria).

This call for the lifting of unilateral sanctions on Syria comes after UN officials have made a similar demand.

UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights Alena Douhan today urged sanctioning States to lift unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning that they were perpetuating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma suffered by the Syrian people since 2011. 

“I am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria and the total economic and financial isolation of a country whose people are struggling to rebuild a life with dignity, following the decade-long war,” Douhan said.

In a statement following her 12-day visit to Syria, the Special Rapporteur presented detailed information about the catastrophic effects of unilateral sanctions across all walks of life in the country. (Read the reporting on the UN statement on sanctions).

New Report: Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians is a cruel system of domination and crime against humanity

New Report: Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians is a cruel system of domination and crime against humanity

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On February 1, 2023, Amnesty said that "Israeli authorities must dismantle the system of apartheid which is causing so much suffering and bloodshed." 

The organization added: 

Since the organization launched a major campaign against apartheid one year ago, Israeli forces have killed almost 220 Palestinians*, including 35 in January 2023 alone. Unlawful killings help maintain Israel’s apartheid system and constitute crimes against humanity, as do other serious and ongoing violations by Israeli authorities such as administrative detention and forcible transfer.

Over the past few days, a series of deadly attacks has underscored the urgent need for accountability. On 26 January, Israeli forces carried out a raid on Jenin refugee camp and killed 10 Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. On 27 January, seven Israeli civilians were killed when a Palestinian gunman opened fire in Neve Ya’akov, an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. In response to this attack, Israeli authorities have stepped up collective punishment against Palestinians, carrying out sweeping mass arrests and threatening punitive home demolitions.

Previously, 

On 1 February 2022, Amnesty International released a report  setting out how Israel enforces an institutionalized system of oppression and domination against Palestinians  wherever it has control over their rights: in Israel, the OPT and against displaced refugees by denying their right to return. It showed how Israeli laws, policies and practices are enacted with the overarching aim of maintaining a Jewish demographic majority, and maximizing control of land and resources to benefit Jewish Israelis to the detriment of Palestinians.  

Israeli authorities must dismantle the system of apartheid which is causing so much suffering and bloodshed, Amnesty International said today. Since the organization launched a major campaign against apartheid one year ago, Israeli forces have killed almost 220 Palestinians*, including 35 in January 2023 alone. Unlawful killings help maintain Israel’s apartheid system and constitute crimes against humanity, as do other serious and ongoing violations by Israeli authorities such as administrative detention and forcible transfer.

Over the past few days, a series of deadly attacks has underscored the urgent need for accountability. On 26 January, Israeli forces carried out a raid on Jenin refugee camp and killed 10 Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. On 27 January, seven Israeli civilians were killed when a Palestinian gunman opened fire in Neve Ya’akov, an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. In response to this attack, Israeli authorities have stepped up collective punishment against Palestinians, carrying out sweeping mass arrests and threatening punitive home demolitions.

Report can be read in many languages from this link 

Why do western media and governments react to human rights abuses only when they happen outside western countries?

Why do western media and governments react to human rights abuses only when they happen outside western countries?

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When human rights abuses take place in Muslim-majority countries, Western governments impose sanctions and Western media provide extensive coverage of instances of abuse. But when similar or even more egregious or persistent human rights abuses take place in a Western country, Western governments and media outlets ignore the event or treated it like an isolated secondary event. Why?

Reprieve: Executions doubled under King Salman

Reprieve: Executions doubled under King Salman

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The human rights organization Reprieve, which opposes the death penalty, in cooperation with the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, announced that execution rates in Saudi Arabia have doubled since King Salman came to power in the year 2015 and appointed his son Muhammad to prominent positions.

The death penalty rate in Saudi Arabia has doubled since Salman came to power in 2015 and appointed his son, Mohammed bin Salman, to prominent positions, according to the text of a report prepared by the “Reprieve” human rights organization against the death penalty, which documented, in cooperation with the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, executions. Saudi Arabia accurately in order to issue a new report.

The report was titled, Saudi Arabia and the death penalty: Everything you need to know about the rise in executions under Mohammed bin Salman.

The results concluded, based on the data collected since 2010 through this organization, that the Saudi government has used the death penalty periodically to silence dissidents and demonstrators, which violates international human rights law, which stipulates that it should be used only in the most serious crimes. About eleven people who were arrested as boys were executed in 2015, despite repeated allegations by Saudi Arabia that it limits the use of the death penalty against minors and the spread of torture in Saudi prisons, even for accused boys.

Last year, Reprieve documented 147 executions in Saudi Arabia, but says the number could have been much higher. It also says the country has used the death penalty "disproportionately" against foreign nationals, including domestic servants and defendants in minor drug cases.

Muhammad bin Salman, who promised after assuming power to modernize the kingdom, and said in an interview in 2018 that his country seeks to “reduce” the use of the death penalty. However, Saudi Arabia is still one of the world’s most executed countries.

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, said the Saudi crown prince did exactly the opposite of what he promised and oversaw a large number of executions and brutal repression of people who took part in pro-democracy protests.

Ali al-Dubaisi, director of the Berlin-based European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, says the death penalty is part of a Saudi legal system that is "intrinsically unfair".

The latest report issued by Human Rights Watch describes Saudi Arabia's record in the field of human rights as "unfortunate", and a disgrace, and that the kingdom is busy in efforts to distort that record by promoting sports and entertainment activities.

The "double standard" of the British media... This is how London's lies were promoted before the invasion of Iraq

The "double standard" of the British media... This is how London's lies were promoted before the invasion of Iraq

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 The British "Declassified" website talked about the role of the British media in promoting the lies of the British government before the invasion of Iraq.

The site said that the British media repeated the government's lies and fabrications without scrutiny, and became part of the government's propaganda machine, before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

He pointed out that the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, provided the British public with false information twenty years ago about the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction, in order to prove the case of the illegal invasion of Iraq.

He added that Blair was not tried yet, but was honored and given the "Rabat" medal, which is the highest honor in the British Kingdom, pointing out that the journalists who repeated his lies were not tried either, but rather climbed the ladder of the profession to its highest levels.

On the other hand, those who dared to expose the lies of the war, such as the Australian journalist Julian Assange, are now in prison.

According to the site, there were serious investigations into false reports about Iraq in the United States, while this was not the case in Britain, where the press and broadcast media became an advanced part of the government propaganda machine.

Likewise, senior British journalists reported uncritical lies about the British government, often adding new fabrications of their own, according to the site.

He added that the Guardian newspaper, for example, "swallowed" the Blair government's bogus claim that Saddam Hussein's agents were looking for uranium in Africa to buy a nuclear bomb.

Under the headline: "Iraq file: African gangs offer a path to uranium - the nuclear suspicion lies with the Congo and South Africa," the newspaper claimed that it had seen secret documents proving contacts between African militias and Baghdad.

The Observer was "more intelligent and creative on the pro-war case," looking for more interesting angles to prove actual or alleged Saddam Hussein's malevolence, such as a 1,560-word interview with a woman claiming to be a former lover of Saddam Hussein, whom she claimed was With Osama bin Laden as a guest in one of Saddam's palaces, and that Saddam was financing Osama.

In turn, the "Sunday Telegraph" newspaper pumped a huge amount of government propaganda, as it published sensational reports that fueled public anxiety on the eve of the war, according to the site.

On January 19, 2003, the newspaper claimed that UN weapons inspectors "discovered evidence that Saddam Hussein is trying to develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons." Indeed, when the weapons inspectors issued their verdict a few days later, they concluded no such thing.

Meanwhile, critics of the war were marginalized or vilified. The site pointed out that Scott Ritter, the United Nations weapons inspector, has repeatedly questioned the allegations of Britain and the United States about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, stressing that the importance of his words were downplayed, while the narratives of the attack were reinforced.

UN: 26 Rohingya refugees died at sea making perilous journey

UN: 26 Rohingya refugees died at sea making perilous journey

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 At least 26 Rohingya Muslims had died in dire conditions during a month at open sea while making a dangerous voyage that brought scores of others to safety in Indonesia, a U.N. agency said Tuesday, adding there will likely be more.

Exhausted women and children were among 185 people who disembarked from a rickety wooden boat on Monday in a coastal village in Aceh’s Pidie district, authorities said. A distressing video circulated widely on social media showed the Rohingya worn out and emaciated, with many crying for help.

“They are very weak because of dehydration and exhaustion after weeks at sea,” said local police chief Fauzi, who goes by a single name.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said that survivors told the agency that 26 people died during the long journey.

One of the refugees, who identified himself as Rosyid, told The Associated Press that they left the refugee camp in Bangladesh at the end of November and drifted on the open sea. He said at least “20 of us died aboard due to high waves and sick, and their bodies were thrown into the sea.”

According to UNHR, more than 2,000 people are reported to have taken risky sea journeys in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal this year, and nearly 200 have reportedly died.

UNHCR has also received unconfirmed reports of one additional boat with some 180 people still missing, with all passengers presumed dead.

Chris Lewa, the director of the Arakan Project, which works in support of Myanmar’s Rohingya, said the latest arrivals were among five groups of Rohingya who had left refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh by smaller boats to avoid detection by local coast guards before they were transferred onto five larger boats for their respective journeys.

Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and burning of thousands of homes belonging to minority Rohingya Muslims, sending them fleeing to Bangladesh and onward.

Malaysia has been a common destination for many of the refugees arriving by boat, but they also have been detained in the country. Engine troubles make others seek safety in Aceh province in Indonesia, on the way to Malaysia.

UNHCR praised authorities and Indonesia’s local community who brought ashore more than 200 desperate Rohingya, many of whom were in need of urgent medical attention.

Indonesian fishermen and local authorities rescued and disembarked two groups, 58 on Sunday and 174 on Monday, said Ann Maymann, the UNHCR representative in Indonesia, “We welcome this act of humanity by local communities and authorities in Indonesia.”

UN expert calls for lifting of long-lasting unilateral sanctions ‘suffocating’ Syrian people

UN expert calls for lifting of long-lasting unilateral sanctions ‘suffocating’ Syrian people

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 DAMASCUS/GENEVA (10 November) – UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights Alena Douhan today urged sanctioning States to lift unilateral sanctions against Syria, warning that they were perpetuating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma suffered by the Syrian people since 2011. 

“I am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria and the total economic and financial isolation of a country whose people are struggling to rebuild a life with dignity, following the decade-long war,” Douhan said.

In a statement following her 12-day visit to Syria, the Special Rapporteur presented detailed information about the catastrophic effects of unilateral sanctions across all walks of life in the country.

Douhan said 90 per cent of Syria’s population was currently living below the poverty line, with limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking and heating fuel, transportation and healthcare and warned that the country was facing a massive brain-drain due to growing economic hardship.

“With more than half of the vital infrastructure either completely destroyed or severely damaged, the imposition of unilateral sanctions on key economic sectors, including oil, gas, electricity, trade, construction and engineering have quashed national income, and undermine efforts towards economic recovery and reconstruction.

The expert said blocking of payments and refusal of deliveries by foreign producers and banks, coupled with sanctions-induced limited foreign currency reserves have caused serious shortages in medicines and specialised medical equipment, particularly for chronic and rare diseases.  She warned that rehabilitation and development of water distribution networks for drinking and irrigation had stalled due to the unavailability of equipment and spare parts, creating serious public health and food security implications.

“In the current dramatic and still-deteriorating humanitarian situation as 12 million Syrians grapple with food insecurity, I urge the immediate lifting of all unilateral sanctions that severely harm human rights and prevent any efforts for early recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction,” Douhan said.

“No reference to good objectives of unilateral sanctions justifies the violation of fundamental human rights. The international community has an obligation of solidarity and assistance to the Syrian people.”

The Special Rapporteur also dealt with other issues showcasing the multifaceted negative impact of sanctions, including international cooperation in the areas of science, arts, sports, preservation of national cultural heritage and restitution of cultural artefacts, access to new technologies, cyberspace and online information platforms, criminality and regional/international security, as well as the issue of frozen foreign assets of Syrian financial institutions and other entities.

“I urge the international community and the sanctioning states in particular, to pay heed to the devastating effects of sanctions and to take prompt and concrete steps to address over-compliance by businesses and banks in accordance with international human right law,” she said.

“In the words of one of my interlocutors, echoing numerous others: ‘I saw much suffering, but now I see the hope die,’” Douhan said.

During her visit the UN expert met representatives from national and local government institutions, non-governmental organisations, associations, humanitarian actors, businesses, UN entities, academia, religious leaders and faith-based organisations, as well as the diplomatic community. In addition to the capital Damascus, she also visited Homs city, rural Homs, and rural Damascus.

The Special Rapporteur will present a report to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.

ENDS

Ms Alena Douhan (Belarus) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights by the Human Rights Council in March 2020. Ms. Douhan has extensive experience in the fields of international law and human rights as, a Professor of international law at the Belarusian State University (Minsk), a visiting Professor at the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed conflict, (Bochum, Germany) and the Director of the Peace Research Centre (Minsk). She received her PhD at the Belarusian State University in 2005 and obtained Dr. hab. in International Law and European Law in 2015 (Belarus).

Ms. Douhan’s academic and research interests are in the fields of international law, sanctions and human rights law, international security law, law of international organizations, international dispute settlement, and international environmental law.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Human Rights Slogans Have been used to mask Deep Racism in the West: The Case of Denmark

Human Rights Slogans Have been used to mask Deep Racism in the West: The Case of Denmark

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 Denmark is one of the Scandinavian countries that many dream of traveling to, either for tourism or immigration, because of its bewitching beauty and “good face”, but behind this beauty and goodness is a despicable ugliness and dark darkness that has covered these countries due to its unjustified behavior towards immigrants and non-Westerners and its fear of Muslims.

In Denmark, that open country, you find political parties - such as the Danish People's Party (DPP) - who raise the slogan "There is only one civilization; There are also those who fear the identity threat that comes with immigrants, and many suffer from the "Islamophobia" represented by Muslims.

Government and a history of racism

In 2001 a conservative liberal coalition came to power in Denmark, marking the first time that the right had obtained a political majority in 100 years. But this change would not have been possible without the support of the anti-immigration nationalist Danish People's Party, taking advantage of the context of the 9/11 attacks that fueled anti-Muslim hatred and shaped the political discourse of the Danish People's Party that led to the elections and their aftermath, further fueling anti-immigration sentiment. shrouded in fears of Islamophobia.

This generally anti-immigration and Islamophobia-fueled alliance held in power until its defeat in the 2011 elections. Although the Danish People's Party was not part of the cabinet, it cooperated closely with the ruling coalition on most issues and received support for key political positions in return. So much so that the government was generally referred to as "VKO-Government" with the letter O representing the Danish People's Party. This hard-line party also gave its support to the leader of the Liberal Party, Lars Rasmussen, who headed the government from 2016 to 2019 and again without participating in it.

In the 2019 general elections, the SPD, led by Mette Frederiksen, won an additional seat, while support for the Danish People's Party and the Liberal Alliance collapsed, costing Rasmussen her majority, and Frederiksen was appointed to head a minority government led by her party with the support of a number of other parties.

But this Frederiksen was no better off than her predecessors as her election slogans were anti-immigration, although she changed her stance on immigration briefly after her victory by allowing more foreign workers, and also rolled back the previous government's plans to detain foreign criminals abroad.

Hostility to "Syrian" immigrants and the policy of "zero asylum"

This apparent change in the Danish government's attitudes did not last long. In 2019, the Danish immigration services decided a strange decision that sparked a lot of controversy. It states that "the violence in Damascus has stopped and the Syrians can be sent back to their country."

Unlike the United Nations and the European Union, Denmark saw Syria as safe for refugees to return from, but because men can be drafted into the army, and older women often have children enrolled in Danish schools, the new policy has affected both the younger and older segments of refugees.

A Guardian report revealed that in 2019, the Danish government notified about 1,200 refugees from the city of Damascus not to renew their residency permits, considering the area safe, which prompted Amnesty International to announce that Syrian citizens whose residency permits have been revoked may face torture and disappearance. Forced and arbitrary detention upon their return to Syria.

Lisa Blinkenberg, Amnesty International Denmark, said Denmark's policy towards asylum seekers and refugees has become significantly more hostile in recent years, especially with Prime Minister Frederiksen's 2019 declaration that Denmark wants "zero asylum".

However, Denmark's "zero asylum" policy appears to apply only to Syrian refugees or any "non-Western" refugee.

Last March, the Danish Immigration Service asked 98 municipalities to assess their ability to receive Ukrainian refugees, and the same department had begun withdrawing residence permits from Syrian refugees, in an attempt to force them to return to Syria, which it considered that some places there had become safe, which caused In the separation of many Syrian families after years of residence in Denmark.

In the past few years, Denmark has been at the forefront of European countries in enacting “malicious” policies that prevent individuals from seeking asylum, and announced that its policy does not allow asylum at all, and on top of these policies is the so-called “jewelry law” that allows the government to confiscate the property of asylum seekers , including their jewelry, to finance their stay, and the Danish government made it clear that Ukrainian refugees would be exempted from this law.

This year, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance called on Denmark to urgently address discrimination against Muslims, racism against minorities, and stop forced evictions of migrant families.

The Commission has raised concerns about Denmark's many shortcomings, including hate speech by Danish political parties that largely stereotype Muslims, including legal foreign workers and immigrants, as a "threat to Danish values ​​and culture".

Exporting Asylum and Separating Families

This discriminatory policy against "non-Western" immigrants did not stop there. Rather, it went beyond the state's attempts to deport immigrants to other countries to get rid of their burdens.

In June 2021 Parliament passed a law enabling Denmark to transfer procedures for people seeking asylum and residence permits for refugees to non-European countries for examination of their cases, as part of Copenhagen's latest tough legislation against immigration.

Amnesty International revealed that between 2020 and 2021, the Danish government had contacts with the authorities in Egypt, Morocco, Rwanda and Tunisia. It also entered into negotiations with Kosovo regarding the use of prison cells for 300 people convicted of crimes and awaiting expulsion from Denmark; As part of their sentence.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned against exporting the asylum process, and Gillian Triggs, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, noted that such practices threaten the rights of those seeking safety and protection, discredit and punish them, and can put their lives at risk.

Denmark has also sought to complicate refugee family reunification, with the European Court of Human Rights finding last July that Denmark had violated its international human rights obligations by imposing a law extending the time a newly arrived refugee must wait before applying for family reunification. For 3 years, she said that this would affect about 4,000 Syrian refugees, considering that this violates the right to family life.

The Danish ghetto..a unique case of racism

These discriminatory policies in Denmark have been moved to a higher stage through what is known locally as the "ghetto list", a list announced by the government in December of each year that includes areas specific to certain groups of residents who it considers to live in isolation from their surroundings. The Danish ghetto list included 29 regions in 2019.

In a report by Amnesty International on Denmark last year, the organization accused Denmark of pursuing an unprecedented discriminatory policy aimed at reducing the number of residents of "non-Western backgrounds", particularly in ghettos.

The Danish government assumes that removing the non-white population from these communities will solve its problems, which was stated by the Danish Minister of Home Affairs and Housing in 2021 when he revealed plans to reduce the number of people of “non-Western backgrounds” in “ghetto” areas to less than 30% by 2030.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance denounced the government’s “ghetto” for separating immigrants into “Westerners” and “non-Westerners,” and said, “The package of policies approved by the Danish government to deal with ghetto gatherings is a pure recipe for discrimination, incitement and unnecessary punitive measures towards the ghetto areas in Denmark, which are Poor and fragile population areas, the majority of which are of non-Western races, face marginalization and exclusion from the government and decision-makers.

The Commission's report concluded that "the List has fueled xenophobia, racial prejudice and intolerance against vulnerable minorities through its flawed and discriminatory criteria targeting individuals of non-European races."

She further noted that the Danish Government's punitive policies are extreme and counterproductive, while their designation of minority areas as ghettos perpetuates stigmatization and exclusion in Danish society. According to the report, this designation violates the European Convention on Human Rights and European Union law regarding the rights to non-discrimination, equality and adequate housing, as well as the right to equality before the law and equal treatment before the courts.

UNHCR had previously asserted that "a society cannot defend human rights unless it defends the rights of every human being, including refugees, migrants, stateless persons, minorities and others", and Denmark is now far from being described as a defender of human rights.

In 2015 Representatives of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland, in addition to Denmark, clarified their position rejecting the European Parliament's plan to distribute one hundred and sixty thousand refugees to the member states of the Union.

  The International Organization for Migration announced that more than 430,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean since the beginning of this year, most of them have arrived in Greece, most of them are Syrians, followed by Afghans.

Bahrain: Death Sentences Follow Torture, Sham Trials; Court Records Show Pervasive Rights Violations

Bahrain: Death Sentences Follow Torture, Sham Trials; Court Records Show Pervasive Rights Violations

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(Beirut) – Bahraini courts have convicted and sentenced defendants to death following manifestly unfair trials, based solely or primarily on confessions allegedly coerced through torture and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said in a joint report released today.

The 61-page report, “‘The Court is Satisfied with the Confession’: Bahrain Death Sentences Follow Torture, Sham Trials,” based primarily on court records and other official documents, found serious and persistent human rights violations underlying the convictions and death sentences of cases of eight men examined for the report. The men are among 26 who are currently on death row, their appeals exhausted. Trial and appeal courts cavalierly dismissed credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment during interrogation instead of investigating them, as required by international and Bahraini law. The courts routinely violated defendants’ rights to fair trials, including the right to legal counsel during interrogation, the right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses, and through reliance on secretly sourced reports.

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Inuit Greenlanders demand answers over Danish birth control scandal

Inuit Greenlanders demand answers over Danish birth control scandal

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 Denmark and Greenland have formally agreed to launch a two-year investigation into historic birth control practices carried out for many years on Inuit Greenlanders by Danish doctors.

Thousands of Inuit women and girls were fitted with an intrauterine device (IUD), commonly known as a coil, during the 1960s and 70s.

It is a contraceptive device placed inside the womb - or uterus - to prevent pregnancy.

Among the women and girls fitted with an IUD was Naja Lyberth.

It was in the 1970s that a doctor told Naja, who believes she was then aged about 13, to go to her local hospital to have a coil implanted following a routine school medical examination.

"I didn't really know what it [was] because he never explained or got my permission," says Naja, who at the time was living in Maniitsoq, a small town on Greenland's west coast.

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UN report documents Turkey's military’s targeting of civilians in Afrin, Syria.

UN report documents Turkey's military’s targeting of civilians in Afrin, Syria.

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Turkish operation in Afrin targeted civilians

The Turkish air force may have failed to take all feasible precautions prior to launching certain attacks, leading to the death of civilians during its attack on Afrin province of Syria, United Nations human rights investigators concluded in a report on Wednesday.

The REPORT, based on 400 interviews, documented the aerial and ground attacks of the Turkish Operation Olive Branch that began on January 20, 2018. It also documented human rights abuses by Turkish-backed rebels after the Turkish military occupied Afrin province on March 18, 2018.

Is There a Right to Immigrate?

Is There a Right to Immigrate?

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1. The Immigration Question

Every year, close to one million individuals from foreign nations migrate to the United States legally. But many more are turned away.

Poor Generosity: The poorest Muslim country, Bangladesh, is doing more for refugees than all rich Arab Countries

Poor Generosity: The poorest Muslim country, Bangladesh, is doing more for refugees than all rich Arab Countries

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Editors' Comment: Saudi Arabians rulers just spent nearly $500 trillions on weapons. When the Saudi rulers go on vacation, they take an entourage of 5000 people and spend 100's of millions of dollars on fancy hotels, luxurious cars, and security protection. But these rulers, whose wealth is derived from natural resources like oil and gas, contribute nothing when it comes to helping the poor and mitigating natural disasters. Poor countries, like Bangladesh, on the other hand, share whatever little they have with the needy. They remain the most generous people on the face of the earth despite the hardships they have endured from generations. The Bangladeshi people are now offering a helping hand to the Rohingya people who are escaping certain death in Myanmar.

Nobel Prize Winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, presiding over the Rohingya Genocide

Nobel Prize Winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, presiding over the Rohingya Genocide

    7:36 AM   No comments

Desmond Tutu condemns Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Silence is too high a price'
Nobel laureate issues heartfelt letter to fellow peace prize winner calling for her to speak up for Rohingya in Myanmar

Human Rights Report: UK, USA, emboldened the government of Bahrain that is committing unlawful killings, torture, and imprisonment of peaceful protesters

Human Rights Report: UK, USA, emboldened the government of Bahrain that is committing unlawful killings, torture, and imprisonment of peaceful protesters

    7:06 AM   No comments

A new report published by Amnesty International today sheds light on the repressive tactics used by the Bahraini government over the past year to crush civil society and violently crack down on protests, leading to the deaths of six people, including one child.

WHO: Yemen cholera infections exceed 500,000

WHO: Yemen cholera infections exceed 500,000

    9:23 AM   No comments

The World Health Organization reports that Yemen's cholera outbreak has infected more than 500,000 people since April. Nearly 2,000 people have died.

Saudi Arabia's treatment of religious and ethnic minority is appalling, but no one cares or seem to be watching

Saudi Arabia's treatment of religious and ethnic minority is appalling, but no one cares or seem to be watching

    6:55 PM   No comments

Saudi Arabia is leading a military operation in Awamiyah, terrorizing tens of thousands of civilians and opposing the United Nations demand of protecting the traditional Mosawara neighborhood