Kirk Smith: Human Rights/Civil Rights

World Poverty Fight 'In Danger'

Wed, 09 Jul 2003 13:24:26 GMT

by Alex Kirby

08 Jul 03

Despite three years of concerted effort, some countries have recently begun to get poorer.

On present trends, some African countries will not vanquish poverty until 2165, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) believes.

It says poor countries must introduce reforms, while rich ones improve trade and aid.

Releasing its Human Development Report 2003, the UNDP says poverty is not inevitable. In the last 30 years, life expectancy in poor countries has risen by eight years, and illiteracy has been halved.

But it says progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is patchy, with success still uncertain.

Pinochet Generals Admit Exhumations

Tue, 08 Jul 2003 01:38:17 GMT

03 Jul 03

Eight retired army generals in Chile have acknowledged that secret graves of people killed by the military regime were later dug up to dispose of the bodies.

The generals, including members of Augusto Pinochet's military junta in power from 1973 to 1990, condemned the illegal exhumations, saying they were incompatible with the conduct of military officers.

They apologised to the Chilean people and said human rights violations must never be repeated.

More than 3,000 people were killed or disappeared during General Pinochet's brutal crackdown on opponents and hundreds of bodies have never been found...

The bodies belonged to people who were killed inside the presidential palace during the 1973 coup.

They were exhumed in December 1978 and thrown into the sea from helicopters.

Human rights groups believe the corpses were removed to hide evidence of mass killings. [BBC News]

Look Up Under 'Library Nanny'

Sun, 06 Jul 2003 16:22:56 GMT

by J.R. Labbe

29 Jun 03

The highest court in the land decided last week that libraries can lose government funding if they don't make it harder for patrons to view constitutionally protected material.

Say what?

The Supremes ruled that the federal government -- translation: Congress -- can withhold money from libraries that choose not to install porn blocking computer programs. Attorneys for the libraries had argued -- rightfully -- that the law will turn their clients into censors. They lost anyway. The First Amendment be damned.

Only the naive would think that government hasn't been in the business of social engineering for a long, long time. One look at the tax code reveals that Congress thinks selected behaviors are good for society, so citizens are rewarded for participating in them. Home ownership. Tithing. Not growing certain crops. Growing children.

It also is clear that government has attempted to manipulate behavior by withholding funds from legal activities that it deems unseemly. Must we revisit the issue of National Endowment for the Arts funding and the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit?

Grown people should not have to explain their reading interests to anyone, not even librarians. That much, the high court did recognize. Last week's decision instructs libraries that do install the software to be prepared to disable it 'without significant delay' upon the request of an adult user.

Unfortunately, adult users still have to go to a librarian to ask for access to the entire World Wide Web. How embarrassing.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said the Constitution 'does not guarantee the right to acquire information at a public library without any risk of embarrassment.'

Can't that logic be turned around? Is there a right that guarantees you'll never be offended by anything you read or see in a public library? Methinks not. Congress and a majority of Supremes, however, think otherwise. [Star-Telegram]

130 U.S. Communities Saying No to Repression

Sat, 05 Jul 2003 19:02:19 GMT

by Jim Lobe

05 Jul 03

WASHINGTON. More than 130 communities with a combined population of more than 16 million people in 26 states have passed resolutions directing local police to refrain from using racial profiling, enforcing immigration laws, or participating in federal investigations that violate civil liberties, according to a new report released on the eve of this year's Fourth of July celebrations by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The 23-page report credits Ann Arbor, Michigan, with adopting the first resolution opposing key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, thus setting off a trend that shows no sign of abating. [Common Dreams NewsCenter]

Aung San Suu Kyi: Senators Told of May 30 Clash

Fri, 04 Jul 2003 22:28:33 GMT

by Rungrawee C Pinyorat

05 Jul 03

National League for Democracy (NLD) 'witnesses' describe 'inhumane' attack, seek asylum with UN office.

Two members of the NLD who claim to have witnessed the May 30 clash that led to Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention shared their stories yesterday and sought political asylum through the UN. [The Nation/Thailand]

Liberia: No Immunity for Taylor

Fri, 04 Jul 2003 07:41:45 GMT

03 Jul 03

If U.S. troops are sent to Liberia, they should not make any deals that involve a withdrawal of the indictment of President Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Human Rights Watch said today...

The Special Court for Sierra Leone recently indicted Taylor as one of those 'bearing the greatest responsibility' for war crimes (including murder and taking hostages); crimes against humanity (rape, murder, extermination, sexual slavery); and other serious violations of international humanitarian law (use of child soldiers) committed in Sierra Leone. The indictment charges that Taylor actively supported the rebel Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone's ten-year civil war.

The indictment was announced on June 4, 2003 while Taylor was in Ghana attending peace talks on the recently intensified Liberian conflict. News reports today suggest that the United States is considering sending peacekeepers to Liberia. [Human Rights Watch]

In the Land of Guantanamo

Fri, 04 Jul 2003 07:26:52 GMT

by Ted Conover

29 Jun 03

In the Land of Guantanamo: A surreal society has emerged at the tip of Cuba in which rules are the only common language and prisoners and guards alike feel marooned. [The New York Times Magazine]