Tuesday, December 15, 2009
THE STORY WITH SLAVERY, by Paul Glynn- Transition Year Student
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 4
According to the Universal Declaration of Human rights, slavery in all its forms is forbidden, and no one has the right to have to forcedly serve another person. Despite this, slavery is still a continued practice in many forms in parts of the world today. Bonded labour, human trafficking and the use of child soldiers are carried out both in places where poverty and poor standards of living are common, and places where you might not expect to find such violations of rights.
India is home to more slaves than any other country in the world. It doesn’t seem surprising, seeing as India is home to over one billion people – a quarter of them living on less than $1.25 a day. Many of these slaves are trapped in bonded labour – a type of modern slavery, also known as debt bonding, which basically involves the slave being employed for an amount of time to pay off a debt. Owners of bonded slaves are often corrupt – they take them in, claiming that they have major debt to pay off, and then keep them under their control for a very long time – they will still be ‘paying off their debt’. Bonded labour is the most common form of slavery in the world today – however, it is also one of the least publicized forms.
Not all Indian slaves stay in India, though – they can be smuggled to countries anywhere in the world through illegal trafficking. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery, and is one of the most common forms in the developed world. It generally involves people from developing countries being smuggled into a more developed country – the smuggled person is usually under the impression that they are going to get a good job and quality of life in their new home country through an ‘agency’, but what often waits for them on the other side of the border can range from intensive labour and debt bondage to prostitution. Both adults and children are tricked into such conditions through traffickers, who claim to have a paying job for them. Hundreds of people from a number of impoverished areas, mostly Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, are trafficked into Ireland and the UK every year. Women and girls in particular can be at a risk of being tricked into sex slavery through the human trafficking network.
Slavery in any form is a sad, cruel practice, and despite its prevalence in impoverished areas, steps can – and should – be taken to help stop it. There are many ways to do this – you can boycott products that involve poor workers’ conditions, you can write letters to governments to find out more about their policies on slavery – you could even start a campaign in your school, highlighting the injustices caused by slavery. The right to freedom is fundamental, and everyone has the right to be independent from captivity – whether they are prisoners of conscience, protesters and activists, or slaves and forced labourers.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Students join Amnesty volunteers and staff carol singing and raising money to support the work of Amnesty, on International Human Rights Day
Students from Terenure College, Castleknock Community College and Presentation Secondary School, Warrenmount participated in the carol singing to celebrate International Human Rights Day and helped to raise money to support the work of Amnesty.
Students from Castleknock Community College
Amnesty staff, volunteers and students from Terenure College,
and Presentation School, Warrenmount
Students from Castleknock Community College
Amnesty staff, volunteers and students from Terenure College,and Presentation School, Warrenmount
AMNESTY STREET COLLECTION
Amy Long from St Aloysius School, Carrigtwohill was delighted to bump into George when herself and her fellow students from the School were doing a Street Collection for Amnesty Cork Group.
A total of €867.43 was collected by students from Mount Mercy School, Model Farm Road and St Aloysius School. Many thanks to the members of the public who were able to support the collection.
If you would like to find out more about Amnesty Cork, contact Jay on 087 8128236.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Ciaran O'Carroll, Amnesty student activist reports from Copenhagen on Climate Change
Climate Change Refugees Need International Recognition:
By the year 2050 global warming is likely to cause 150 million people to abandon their homes and become refugees according to a new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation. In 2008 alone, more than 20 million people were displaced by climate-related natural disasters, including 800,000 people by cyclone Nagris in Asia, and almost 80,000 by heavy floods and rains in Brazil. However the people that are being forced to move due to climate change currently have no adequate recognition in international law which denies them political, legal, and human rights.
“We must not lose sight of existing human rights principles in the tug and push of international climate change negotiations. A human rights lens reminds us there are reasons beyond economics and enlightened self-interest for states to act on climate change…”
Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In Africa, an estimated 10 million people have migrated or been displaced over the last two decades mainly because of environmental degradation and desertification. Low level islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans are acting as the canary in the world’s coal mine, quickly sinking into the ocean one by one.
On November 25, 2003, the Papua New Guinean government authorized the government-funded total evacuation of the Carteret islands, effectively making them the worlds first official climate change refugees. The Maldives (population 300,00) is set to become the first country to literally disappear off the face of the earth. The democratically-elected president, Mohamed Nasheed said If things go on as usual, “we will not live. We will die. Our country will not exist” during an underwater cabinet meeting held to highlight their plight in October 2009.
To add to the injustice to these poor displaced indigenous populations they also have some of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 50 Least Developed Countries contribute less than 1 percent of global carbon emissions.
Almost two decades ago, the IPCC suggested that the “gravest effects of climate change may be those on human migration”. Environmental factors leading to migration may be fast occurring – such as more intense tropical cyclones – or longer-term, such as desertification, or sea level rises that inundates low-lying regions.
To date only $154 million has been disbursed by the UNFCCC to ameliorate the effects of climate change. In 2008, despite the onset of financial collapse, the nine biggest US banks alone paid US$32.6 billion in bonuses.
It is essential that international law be updated to protect climate refugees and given the same rights as refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention. A new legal instrument, either a protocol under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change or a stand-alone convention has should be enacted around five basic principles:
1. Planned and voluntary resettlement and reintegration (as opposed to ad hoc emergency relief responses).
2. Climate refugees should be treated the same as permanent immigrants as they cannot return to their home.
3. It must be tailored to entire group of people, including entire nations, as is the case with small island states.
4. Support for national governments to protect their people will be required (as opposed to the existing refugee regime).
5. The protection of climate refugees must be seen as a global problem and a global responsibility. “In most cases, climate refugees will be poor and their own responsibility for the past accumulation of greenhouse gases will be small…the responsibility of the industrialized countries to do their share in financing, supporting and facilitating the protection and resettlement of climate refugees.
By the year 2050 global warming is likely to cause 150 million people to abandon their homes and become refugees according to a new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation. In 2008 alone, more than 20 million people were displaced by climate-related natural disasters, including 800,000 people by cyclone Nagris in Asia, and almost 80,000 by heavy floods and rains in Brazil. However the people that are being forced to move due to climate change currently have no adequate recognition in international law which denies them political, legal, and human rights.
“We must not lose sight of existing human rights principles in the tug and push of international climate change negotiations. A human rights lens reminds us there are reasons beyond economics and enlightened self-interest for states to act on climate change…”
Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In Africa, an estimated 10 million people have migrated or been displaced over the last two decades mainly because of environmental degradation and desertification. Low level islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans are acting as the canary in the world’s coal mine, quickly sinking into the ocean one by one.
On November 25, 2003, the Papua New Guinean government authorized the government-funded total evacuation of the Carteret islands, effectively making them the worlds first official climate change refugees. The Maldives (population 300,00) is set to become the first country to literally disappear off the face of the earth. The democratically-elected president, Mohamed Nasheed said If things go on as usual, “we will not live. We will die. Our country will not exist” during an underwater cabinet meeting held to highlight their plight in October 2009.
To add to the injustice to these poor displaced indigenous populations they also have some of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The 50 Least Developed Countries contribute less than 1 percent of global carbon emissions.
Almost two decades ago, the IPCC suggested that the “gravest effects of climate change may be those on human migration”. Environmental factors leading to migration may be fast occurring – such as more intense tropical cyclones – or longer-term, such as desertification, or sea level rises that inundates low-lying regions.
To date only $154 million has been disbursed by the UNFCCC to ameliorate the effects of climate change. In 2008, despite the onset of financial collapse, the nine biggest US banks alone paid US$32.6 billion in bonuses.
It is essential that international law be updated to protect climate refugees and given the same rights as refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention. A new legal instrument, either a protocol under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change or a stand-alone convention has should be enacted around five basic principles:
1. Planned and voluntary resettlement and reintegration (as opposed to ad hoc emergency relief responses).
2. Climate refugees should be treated the same as permanent immigrants as they cannot return to their home.
3. It must be tailored to entire group of people, including entire nations, as is the case with small island states.
4. Support for national governments to protect their people will be required (as opposed to the existing refugee regime).
5. The protection of climate refugees must be seen as a global problem and a global responsibility. “In most cases, climate refugees will be poor and their own responsibility for the past accumulation of greenhouse gases will be small…the responsibility of the industrialized countries to do their share in financing, supporting and facilitating the protection and resettlement of climate refugees.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Congratulations to students of Ashton school, Cork who participated in the Cork Mini Marathon on Saturday 26th September 09
From left to right: Joy Beardsworth, Aoife Delaney
From left to right: Roisin Merz, Cliona Lane
UPCOMING MARATHONS - GET ACTIVE FOR AMNESTY
If you are considering taking part in the Limerick Women’s Mini-Marathons or the Dublin City Marathon we would be delighted if you would do so on behalf of Amnesty International Ireland.
Have a great day out with your friends and raise some vital funds for human rights campaigning at the same time.
LIMERICK WOMEN’S MINI MARATHON
Sunday 4th October 2009
Entry Forms available at: www.limerickac.ie
Dublin City Marathon
Monday 26th October 2009
Entry details available at http://dublinmarathon.ie/
DUBLIN CITY MARATHON
Monday 26th October 2009
Entry details available at http://dublinmarathon.ie/
To request a Team Amnesty sponsorship pack please e-mail marathon@amnesty.ie or call us on 1850 882 400 giving your full name, address, telephone number and t-shirt size. Note: By requesting a sponsorship pack from Amnesty International you are simply agreeing to raise sponsorship for us – and for that we thank you. However, you must register with the organisers of your chosen event to get a race number, otherwise you may not be able to take part.
Raise sponsorship online Create your own personal online fundraising page, then simply e-mail your family, friends and colleagues with the link to your page and they can sponsor you by credit or debit card. Start fundraising for Amnesty International online now! Set up your page now at www.mycharity.ie. All funds are transferred securely to Amnesty International’s bank account.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Student and the master
The day I went to the Memorial Building in Trinity College Dublin for Denny’s school debate on the motion ‘Voting should be made compulsory’, something caught the corner of my eye. It was a vibrant coloured poster on the side notice board. Instantly I walked over to the poster. I was amazed and shocked to read that Ms Ebadi was coming to Ireland to address The Hist Society at Trinity College on Friday 14th of December 2007. Ms Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of Children's Rights Support Association in Iran. On October 10, 2003 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous efforts for democracy and human rights, especially for the rights of women and children. She is the first Iranian and Muslim woman ever to have received the Nobel Peace Prize.
I was always a big fan of Ms Ebadi’s work and commitment to the Iranian nation. As an Iranian girl, I see her as a role model. So my initial reaction was I would love to interview her for our Transition Year (TY) School magazine. I spoke to my TY teacher, Ms Ryan, and she supported the idea.
Consequently, I wrote an email to Ms Ebadi expressing my interest to have an audience with her. I waited anxiously for some weeks but eventually got a reply from her secretary, on the night of Wednesday 12th December giving me an appointment to meet Ms Ebadi the following day at 10.00 AM at the Weston hotel. I was thrilled but terrified and anxious, not knowing what I was going to ask her. I was nervous as I had to speak in Persian (Farsi). At the same time I was honoured to be getting the privilege to meet her, a world icon, so far away from home.
Waiting for her at the hotel lobby was so nerve racking, my hands were sweaty as I waited with my friend Susan who was there to take photos. She finally arrived and following the introduction, Susan and I commenced the interview.
Surprisingly this wasn’t Ms Ebadi’s first visit to Ireland. She informed me that in May 2007 she came to Galway to attend a conference on the rights of women. From her very first words it was obvious that she was a woman that has pride and belief in the future of her country and cares deeply for the welfare of her fellow citizens. She spoke strongly about the abilities of the youth and the women in Iran, how their hard work and protests have resulted to changes, in such cases as the custody law.
When asked why she became a lawyer she said that it was something she had always loved. She recalled her childhood memory. ‘I remember when I used to walk in the street and see two kids fighting, without even knowing the story, I would go to rescue the kid that was being beaten.’ Her father was liberal and believed in social discussion and education for girls. This made her enter the University of Law ‘because I thought that this way I could better achieve my ambitions in life.’
The Nobel Prize committee praised Ms Ebadi as a "courageous person" who "has never heeded the threat to her own safety" As I referred to this statement she responded, ‘If you have belief in your aim, in the end you have to deal with the problems too.’ She further referred to a shocking revelation she made while studying a case in which she discovered that she was supposed to be killed but in a miraculous way survived.
I learnt a lot from my encounter with Ms Ebadi. In particular I will always remember how the work of one woman in a country that is very much male dominated can make such a difference in the world. Ms Ebadi advised me to be “strong, courageous and go forward. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are a right of human beings. If you are to idolize other people because you are afraid of making your own mistakes you will never get anywhere or achieve anything”. And I believe that this is a message that all young people should follow.
By Sheelan Yousefizadeh
I was always a big fan of Ms Ebadi’s work and commitment to the Iranian nation. As an Iranian girl, I see her as a role model. So my initial reaction was I would love to interview her for our Transition Year (TY) School magazine. I spoke to my TY teacher, Ms Ryan, and she supported the idea.
Consequently, I wrote an email to Ms Ebadi expressing my interest to have an audience with her. I waited anxiously for some weeks but eventually got a reply from her secretary, on the night of Wednesday 12th December giving me an appointment to meet Ms Ebadi the following day at 10.00 AM at the Weston hotel. I was thrilled but terrified and anxious, not knowing what I was going to ask her. I was nervous as I had to speak in Persian (Farsi). At the same time I was honoured to be getting the privilege to meet her, a world icon, so far away from home.
Waiting for her at the hotel lobby was so nerve racking, my hands were sweaty as I waited with my friend Susan who was there to take photos. She finally arrived and following the introduction, Susan and I commenced the interview.
Surprisingly this wasn’t Ms Ebadi’s first visit to Ireland. She informed me that in May 2007 she came to Galway to attend a conference on the rights of women. From her very first words it was obvious that she was a woman that has pride and belief in the future of her country and cares deeply for the welfare of her fellow citizens. She spoke strongly about the abilities of the youth and the women in Iran, how their hard work and protests have resulted to changes, in such cases as the custody law.
When asked why she became a lawyer she said that it was something she had always loved. She recalled her childhood memory. ‘I remember when I used to walk in the street and see two kids fighting, without even knowing the story, I would go to rescue the kid that was being beaten.’ Her father was liberal and believed in social discussion and education for girls. This made her enter the University of Law ‘because I thought that this way I could better achieve my ambitions in life.’
The Nobel Prize committee praised Ms Ebadi as a "courageous person" who "has never heeded the threat to her own safety" As I referred to this statement she responded, ‘If you have belief in your aim, in the end you have to deal with the problems too.’ She further referred to a shocking revelation she made while studying a case in which she discovered that she was supposed to be killed but in a miraculous way survived.
I learnt a lot from my encounter with Ms Ebadi. In particular I will always remember how the work of one woman in a country that is very much male dominated can make such a difference in the world. Ms Ebadi advised me to be “strong, courageous and go forward. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are a right of human beings. If you are to idolize other people because you are afraid of making your own mistakes you will never get anywhere or achieve anything”. And I believe that this is a message that all young people should follow.
By Sheelan Yousefizadeh
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