HUMAN RIGHTS

Photo: Ola Henrikson, IOM’s Regional Director for the EU, has asked Croatia – which assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) – on 1 January 2020, to encourage any discussion on migration policy as a positive contribution of migrants for inclusive growth and sustainable development, including within the EU. Credit: European Union

New Research Pleads for Recognizing Contribution of African Migrants To Sustainable Development

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – A new set of European Commissioners has taken office in Brussels. The main migration focus of the previous cabinet of Commissioners was halting migration – which led to deals with third countries on stopping and returning refugees and migrants. People evacuated from Libya, for example, are brought to Niger and Rwanda, where they are processed before those successfully registered as refugees are taken to Europe – often after long processes filled with uncertainty.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 18 January 2020

Photo: The writer in front of the Sultan's Al Alam Palace in Old Muscat. Credit: Manish Rai.

Ibadis Are Ray of Hope for The Middle East

By Manish Rai

MUSCAT, Oman (IDN) – It’s widely believed that there are two main branches of Islam i.e. Sunni and Shia, which differ in their understanding of early Islamic history and hence they have different ideas about how Islam’s leadership should have been organised in subsequent eras. But there is a third, lesser-known body of believers with deep historic roots, and their identity fractionally predates the Sunni-Shia split in the seventh century. They are the Ibadis, who number less than 3 million in total. Only in one country, Oman, do they form a majority. However, significant pockets exist in North Africa, especially Libya, and along the east African coast, particularly on the island of Zanzibar.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 04 January 2020

Photo: Mairam Bibi, a victim of bride kidnapping, with her sons. Credit: Mairam Bibi

The Story of a Kyrgyz Mother Bride Kidnapped as A Teenager

By Aqila Hassanzada*

NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – Mairam Bibi says her sons will not follow in their father’s footsteps – an abductor who kidnapped a teenage girl and forced her into a violent marriage.

At the age of 41, Mairam is sitting in her small straw house telling the story so many women in Kyrgyzstan could tell.

One morning when she was a teenager, Mairam was going to school when an old car stopped in front of her. Two men ran out of the car and headed towards her. She was terrified.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; CENTRAL ASIA; 11 December 2019

Photo: Children playing on the riverside in Naryn. Credit: Sehar Naz Janani

A Kyrgyz Activist Translates UNICEF Mandate into Action

By Sehar Naz Janani

NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – His pale skin, teary eyes, shivering body and trembling voice added to the air of grave solemnity pervading the room.

Breaking the dead silence, his mouth slowly started murmuring, “I am an orphan… But, I have a sister… She beats me every now and then” and added, “She also abuses me emotionally. I could not take it anymore.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; CENTRAL ASIA; 09 December 2019

Photo: Children raise their hands to answer a question in class at a UNICEF learning space in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (8 July 2019). Credit: UNICEF Patrick Brown

Odds Still Stacked Against Poorest Children

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – Although there have been historic gains over the last 30 years in improving children’s lives, urgent action is needed if the poorest children are to feel the impact, warns a new UN report.

The report, published on November 18 by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and released ahead of World Children’s Day on November 20, calls on countries to recommit to promises made under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 19 November 2019

Photo: Proceedings instituted by the Republic of The Gambia against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar on 11 November 2019. Source: ICJ.

The Importance of Gambia Invoking Genocide Convention Against Myanmar

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – The Government of Gambia on November 11, 2019 has brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague a complaint against the Government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) for violation of the 1948 Convention on Genocide concerning actions against the Rohingya. Under the rules of the ICJ, Member States can bring action against other Member States over disputes alleging breaches of international law, in this case the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

: Rene Wadlow; OPINION; 13 November 2019

Photo: Rohingyas at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, October 2017. CC BY 4.0

Gambia Sues Myanmar at UN Court with Rohingya Genocide

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Few countries are standing up to Myanmar, formerly Burma, for its mistreatment of the Muslim community known as Rohingya. On November 11, Gambia – the smallest nation in mainland Africa – came to the defense of the persecuted minority, filing a lawsuit with the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, charging Myanmar with genocide.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 November 2019

Photo: Agnès Callamard, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, OHCHR. Source: UN News.

The UN Experts Shining a Light on Human Rights Violations

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – The experts who fan out across the world to research, hold consultations and gather information on a vast range of human rights violations often find themselves caught in the crosshairs of international and domestic politics. Independent of governments and institutions – including the UN’s Human Rights Council which appoints them.

They occupy a unique investigative role that allows them to shine a light on alleged violations perpetrated across the world, with mandates to “report and advise”, both as specialists focusing on specific forms of abuse of international human rights law such as torture, human trafficking or the right to privacy, but also to carry out country-specific investigations.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 10 November 2019

Photo: Austrian Mahayana Temple in Lumbini, Nepal. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne IDN | INPS.

Mega Development Project at Buddha’s Birthplace

Might Become Dalai Lama’s New Home

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 36th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous articles.

LUMBINI, Nepal (IDN) – Tens of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from Asian countries, especially Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar, visit Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini to pay homage to its teacher who preached a philosophy of eradicating greed and being contented with what you have. But, recent construction activities here, mainly fuelled by Chinese investments, to attract more tourists run contrary to this philosophy and some argue may have a sinister motive.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 November 2019

Photo: Women of Afghanistan stand outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Credit: Eric Draper | The White House.

The Afghans Have to Find Their Own Way

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It’s the most repeated maxim in all the reportage on the war in Afghanistan: “The Americans have the watches, we, the Taliban, have the time.”

“Play it again, Sam” was said in “Casablanca”. It should be played, said and listened to in Kabul and Washington today. This is America’s longest war ever – 18 years and counting. It has cost over one trillion dollars and taken 2,500 American lives. President Barack Obama, blind-sided by the generals, he confided later, pumped up the numbers of troops to 100,000.