What does the term Human Rights mean to you?

We all know what Human Rights are!

An image or a word enters our mind whenever we hear the phrase. Wars; discrimination; genocide; nasty people beating up other people; people being put in jail for no apparent reason; religious prosecution; something about the UN.

What I want to know is: What do YOU think of?

You see, for the longest time, I didn’t think of anything more then: other people in some other country who had life rougher than I. I lived in a civilised country, and was educated, and I had nice parents. Humans Rights were the concern of other people. I never wanted to, or thought, I could save the world. All those things that happened in Israel and Palestine, Zimbabwe, Bosnia, Iraq: Well that was just unfortunate.

The child I once was watched, on her television, as the Berlin Wall fell. A few days later, a girl in her class brought to school, a piece of the wall. Her father had been in Berlin that night. The teacher stood over her class, telling them how this had been a momentous occasion; how lucky they were to see a piece of history. The children sat in front of the grey lump entranced.

A few months later Nelson Mandela was released from prison. People said that this was an historical occasion.

But that day the child had no idea who Nelson Mandela was. And the conversation that followed went something like this:

Child: Who’s that (pointing at television screen)?

Father: Civil rights activist who stands up for equal rights for black people in South Africa.

Child: Why are they all cheering

Father: Just been released from jail. The prison is on an island.

The child pictured Alcatraz and thought to herself. That’s good then. Being in jail on an island can’t be very nice.

And then one day, and I’m not quite sure how this happened, the child became an adult. And in the intervening years more wars had been fought; communist nations had fallen and were divided; planes had flown into buildings; bombs had exploded on trains; borders were taken down between North and South.

And while all of this happened on the periphery of her life, the child, who had become an adult, story had taken her to Peru.

One afternoon I was sitting at my kitchen table, holding a two-month-old baby; chatting away to the baby’s fifteen-year-old mother. The mother was talking about the baby’s father. He was in jail for killing a cow. She said she didn’t mind. She said she wouldn’t go back to him.

For many years she had lived in a children’s shelter. Determined always not to end up like her mother: alcoholic; physically, emotionally and psychologically abused by her husband. And then at 13, she had announced that she was leaving. Not long after she was living with a much older boyfriend.

She had explained to me many times, although I had never asked, that no one had ever loved her. He had said that he did. And as time went on he had started hitting her repeatedly and she had gotten pregnant.

She would go back to him of course, as we both knew, that day, she eventually would. With him she had a home, and food to feed herself and the baby. Without him she had nothing.

So that’s what it means to me. It’s the historical events, and the great, and the not so great, people; the news worthy wars and abuses. It’s the fifteen-year-old sitting at my kitchen table. Crying. Asking what she’s going to do? What’s going to happen to her? What chance is there for her? and who cares?

What does it mean to you?

Stoning and Women’s Rights in Iran - Philip Dalton

“In Iran it is legal to stone a person to death it is illegal to use the wrong sized stone”. A quote from the recent Amnesty International report, on the legalised execution by stoning in Iran. This judiciary “V-sign” to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights resonates with corruption of the state and religion putting common sense, basic human rights and a fair legal system in a stranglehold.

Whilst female activists had a successful and morally necessary role to play in the suffragette movement, women of the west have moved on to trivial matters that undermine the true battle for equality that the women’s rights movement was originally founded on. Trivial matters such as demanding to be referred to as actors, instead of actresses and other “monstrously important” matters. While their sisters in arms in the Middle East have considerably more pressing matters to deal with.

In a society where women cannot drive or sit in the front of a car and religious police enforce laws such as covering ones face at all times, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for women’s rights.

We must remember also that the complicated relationship between women and religion is not solely confined to the state of Iran. In Saudi Arabia recently, a gruesome story has emerged of a fire starting in a girl’s boarding school in the middle of the night. The two hundred young women fled the burning building in their pyjamas, but were met by the long fist of the law that is the religious police and were instructed to return to the inferno and retrieve their headscarves. Twelve young women burned to death and many more were seriously injured trying to adhere to moral practise.

The idiocy of a need for a religious police force may only appear to me, but surely religion is based upon the principle that you make moral decisions on your own behalf and in the “afterlife” you are commended or punished for your decisions in life, surely a religious police makes about as much sense as a karma police or an anarchist running for government.

At this point in my elitist “schpeil” you may be asking yourself what is the crime for stoning? And I am sure you will assume it to be a crime of horrific proportions, but nay, alas the crime for stoning this torturous punishment is not even illegal in most countries. The crime, is adultery.

In recent years the UN General Assembly has twice voted, with increasing support, for a general suspension of the use of the death penalty.

Women, of course, yet again draw societies short straw. A man may marry up to four wives, whereas a woman may only have one husband. The law also states that the person being stoned to death must be buried in a pit before the first stone is cast, but if during the stoning process the victim is to escape, they are freed and will not be killed. Male prisoners are buried up to their waste, and females are buried up to just before the neck.

Sentencing for adultery in Iran is a rather biased affair, do excuse the pun.

In Iran the decision on whether or not a person is to be stoned to death is completely up to the judge. In the western world to become judge you must join a documental “battle royale” and climb a steep treacherous ladder of law to reach the status of a judge. In Iran to become a judge you must have a secondary level education and then you must write to the heads of law in the state, these men will decide if you are eligible. As the state in Iran is founded upon religion, the people who are rich enough to have a secondary level education and have traditional religious backgrounds tend to get the jobs.

So from the outside the situation looks bleak, (well I suppose from the inside the situation looks bleak as well) but if you my dear reader feel it’s about time to stop this madness, don’t sit back, get involved, the world is a quiet place, if you raise your voice there will be a lot of people who will hear you.

In a world where young women do not have a life of equality and justice to look forward to, in a world where choosing the way you live, ends your life, in a world where one man thinks because he has studied law he can sentence another to death, then this is a world where we can make a change.

Urgent Actions

Luiz Rossi the subject of the first Urgent Action

The story of how Amnesty International (AI) came into being is almost legend. Founded upon the principle that by writing a letter, one could save a life.

In 1961 British lawyer Peter Benenson was appalled to hear the story of two young students, who had been arrested in fascist dictator Salazar’s, Portugal. They had risen their glasses, in a toast, to freedom, and as a result were sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Benenson’s belief, that they had been wrongly imprisoned, led him to write an article about the students plight. His article entitled ‘The Two Prisoners’ appeared in the Observer newspaper. It asked all readers to write letters showing support for the students.

Well, they did write. In fact so many did, that six months after the article appeared an entire organisation, which was given the name Amnesty International, was founded.

Over ten years later the first Urgent Action (UA) appeared.

For that story we move from the events that took place in one Portuguese speaking country, to events that occurred in another.

Professor Luiz Rossi was a Brazilian economist living in a Brazil controlled by the Military Regime.

On the evening of 15th of February 1973, his house was surrounded by members of the police and army. The house was searched and Professor Rossi and a visitor were arrested.

Information about Professor Rossi's arrest passed through several hands. His wife wrote a letter and smuggled it out of her house to her neighbour; who passed it to her daughter; who passed it to a local priest. Eventually it reached Amnesty’s headquarters in London.

After speaking with several international organisations about support for their planned campaign for Professor Rossi. Amnesty International issued their first Urgent Action on the 19th of March 1973.

Professor Rossi’s wife Maria was told to report to the Police headquarters to "identify her husband's body". On arrival, however, she saw her husband alive and was shown a pile of letters from Amnesty supporters. The police Director told her "Your husband must be more important than we thought, because we've got all these letters from all over the world."

He was eventually freed on 24 October 1973. He later wrote to say: ''In my own name, in the name of my wife, of our children and of other Brazilians in similar situations we would like to thank all the proofs of humanity and kindness that have comforted and helped us''.

It is now over thirty years later, and the Urgent Action network has grown and developed. Every day Amnesty receives information about prisoners and other individuals in danger around the world.

Researchers at Amnesty's headquarters in London compile an urgent action case sheet. This case-sheet is rapidly sent to Amnesty’s national offices for distribution to the network of supporters.

From supporters all over the world letters, e-mails, and faxes are sent directly to those who have the power to stop the violations.

Over the years the Urgent Actions have been issued in relation to women, men and children. From those not afforded a free trial to those that are prisoners of conscience and the victims of Human Rights violations merely for expressing their opinion.

Each year over 450 new cases are issued worldwide. In more than one-third of the cases, Amnesty learns of some improvement: A "disappeared" person may be found; an execution stayed; torture prevented; or someone is released from illegal detention.

Ivan Mikhailau the subject of our most recent Youth Urgent Action

Young people are of massive importance to Amnesty International and play a vital role in the work that we do. Their voices must be heard. They have the ability, through involvement with out Urgent Action appeals, to make a difference in the lives of other young people.

For this reason every month Amnesty Ireland distributes a Youth Urgent Action. Concerning cases of those 25 years, and under, whom have been victims of Human Rights violations.

In the past few months’ action has been called upon for people who have been victimised because they oppose mining in El Salvador.

In Nicaragua a young Human Rights defender, who speaks out on the problems that young people face in her country, has received inhuman treatment as a result. .

And this month it concerns the young 21-year-old Belarusan man Ivan Mikhailau. He is a conscientious objector, from military duty, for religious reasons. He has been willing to do civilian service. Despite the fact that the Belarusian government, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) must provide this provision for its citizens: He has been told civilian service is impossible and he has been imprisoned.

37 years after the first Urgent Action was issued the network has grown and grown and now over 75,000 people from 71 countries across the world are choosing to receive urgent actions.

At a meeting of Urgent Action coordinators in Brazil in 1995, María José Rossi, the wife of the first person who was a subject of Amnesty international’s Urgent Action said: "In my opinion, the intervention of Amnesty International was fundamental in saving Luiz from further torture and worse."

Take action today. Here is this month’s Youth Urgent Action.

http://www.amnesty.ie/amnesty/upload/images/amnesty_ie/youth%20and%20students/February%202010%20UA.pdf

Report from World Wise Fair

Last Friday, the 22nd of January 2010, Amnesty International had the great privilege of being invited to the WorldWise Forum: The Partnership Journey, held in Croke Park, Dublin.

Over 400 students and 50 teachers from Secondary Schools across Ireland attended.

The school partnership programme partners Irish schools with schools from another part of the world, in the hope that both groups of students can develop and grow through an increased understanding of one another.

It was a great pleasure to be there, not only to talk to teachers and students about the work that we do, but more importantly to see the inspiring stands created by the students who have partner schools all over the world: from India to the Philippines, from Kenya to Malawi and South Africa.

It was humbling to say the least. To see the cultural exchange was inspiring. Many of the schools had visited their partner schools, and were full of news about the lives of their counterpart classmates, and the world which they inhabit. We even learnt that there was no panic over the lack of hair straighteners when one Donegal girls' school visited Kenya: they had no mirrors to notice!

There were exotic smells, and even a taste of Indian spices. We heard African songs, and were in for a visual treat as many of the students wore the traditional clothing of their ‘adopted’ countries.

The guest speaker who opened the day’s proceedings was the Kenyan Ambassador to Ireland, Catherine Muigai Mwangi. She spoke with great pride about the fact that the country with the most partner schools in the exhibition was Kenya, and revealed the fact that like so many of the students taking part, she too was a Loreto girl.

Released aid worker Sharon Cummins was also present during the day, and we learned how she got interested in aid work through her initial interest in the plight of the Jews during World War II. Her first job in the sector was volunteering in the Goal offices, taking credit card donations after the Asian Tsunami on St. Stephen's Day 2004.

She spoke about her time in Sudan, and about how different life was there: very little contact with family and friends, and no beloved pint on a Friday night.

It was an honour to be invited, and we were struck by the words of one of the programme’s founders: "it all started because we had an idea".

A report from the talk by Palestinian Human Rights Activist Khalil Shaheen By Ciaran O Carroll

Overwhelming numbers turned up to hear Khalil Shaheen, from the Palestinian Centre of Human Rights (PCHR), speak at the Irish aid building in O’Connell St, Dublin last Wednesday (20^th of January); so many that we had to jam the doors open!

Such a great turnout was no surprise for a man who has fought for the socioeconomic and cultural rights of the citizens of Gaza and has worked with PCHR since its establishment in 1995.

After applying for several years to get a visa to leave Gaza, Khalil finally managed to obtain one from the Israeli authorities and decided to spend two weeks in Ireland. He described how he was only able to see his sisters, for ten minutes in Cairo, despite not having seen them for fifteen years, before he had to board his plane.

He spoke about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which has occurred since the blockade by Israel, in June 2007. This blockade has caused real hardship to the Palestinian people. Fuel, electricity and medical supplies were blocked from entering Gaza; and Palestinians, among other things, are now not allowed to study aboard.

The destruction caused by Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in December 2009, was at the heart of his passionate and thought provoking talk. Kahlil spoke of the extensive damage the offensive caused to homes, civilian infrastructure, public services, farms and businesses and how little has been repaired because the civilian population, and the UN and aid agencies who help them, are prohibited from importing materials like cement and glass in all but a handful of cases.

Khalil was lucky to survive Operation Cast Lead. Otherwise known as, The Gaza War, this was a three-week military conflict between Israel and Hamas (Palestinian group) that took place in the Gaza Strip, and southern Israel, during the winter of 2009. He was nearly killed in the Israeli’s initial bombardment as he left his office at rush hour on December 27^th 2009. He described harrowingly how he saw a young girl flung into the air by a rocket bombardment that killed 230 people in Gaza and injured 700 more.

Khalil Shaheen’s day job is the head of Economic and Social Rights Unit at PCHR. His job is ‘to ensure the importance of economic and social rights through research and study’. Their research and regular press releases are essential reading to anyone working objectively on human rights in the region.

Khalil Shaheen took questions at the end of the talk, and answered each diligently, writing down the question and his answer before responding.

When asked what a lone Irish person could do to help the people of Gaza he answered to join and become active in an organization like Amnesty International that lobbies governments and promote justice and human rights in the region.

The catastrophic earthquake that occurred last Tuesday the 12th of January in Haiti has seen the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. The loss of life will, probably, never be fully known. For those that have survived, the struggle to ensure that they have access to medical care, shelter, food and water has begun in earnest. Aid workers have been flying to Haiti, and many more of us have been donating money to the relief effort.

Haiti has long been one of the world’s poorest countries. Images of the disaster are being beamed into out homes; and have dominated the front of every newspaper.

The immediate priority is to prevent further loss of life.

But what will happen in the long term? When the aid workers have gone home and Haiti no longer occupies the front page of our newspapers.

Watch Amnesty International Special Advisor, Javier Zuniga, speak about how in the aftermath of the disaster in Haiti that there is a grave human rights crisis brewing. The link to our you tube video is available on the right hand side of this blog.

At the moment the concern is to save lives but what about the mid – term and long - term effects of the earthquake on human rights?

Eighth Anniversary of Guantanamo Bay.

In January 2002, following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the first people were transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since then the orange jumpsuits, worn by the prisoners, have become symbols of Human Rights violations for those that campaign for their protection.

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no one has the right to arrest us, put us in jail, or send us out of our own country without good reason. Yet for over 770 people, who have been detained in Guantanamo, this Human Right has been ignored and disrespected.

The passing of this momentous occasion has had me thinking. How many more of the prisoners Human Rights have been violated: There have been reports of torture, and of suicides (and further suicide attempts). Inmates have not been afforded the ‘luxury’ of a fair and open trail.

Amnesty International’s former General – Secretary, Irene Khan referred to Guantanamo as ‘the gulag of out times’ (the labour camps of Stalin’s Soviet Union).

Following Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States of America last November, he promised that he would close Guantanamo bay by the 22nd of January this year. This will now not happen.

One of the reasons why, the closure of Guantanamo has been slower than expected, is that the resettlement of the prisoners has proved an obstacle. Around 50, of the 198 prisoners still within the gates of Guantanamo, are still there because they have nowhere else to go. They cannot be returned to their own countries: for fear of further Human Rights violations. Combined with this many countries, including some within Europe, have proved resistant to offering the inmates a sanctuary to rebuild their lives.

Ireland is one of the European countries, whose government has provided a new home to two former inmates.

Following on from the Government’s acceptance of the two men, Amnesty International, along with many other groups, has been working behind the scenes to encourage Ireland to become vocal and visible advocates, in encouraging other countries, to also accept Guantanamo detainees for resettlement.

2010 also sees the beginning of a new Amnesty International campaign: No Security with Human Rights. First on the agenda is: Illegal Detention centres throughout the world.

Tens of thousands of people, far more than were ever held in Guantanamo, continue to be held in detention and torture camps across the world, all in the name of security. Our aim will be to work to end this process including ending the use of Administrative Detention in places like Israel.

As this campaign gets under way, from April this year, we will keep you informed and we will create opportunities for your input and welcome all of your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

Guantanamo Bay may now be closing, but the existence of other detention centres, reminds us that there are still thousands of people across the world who are detained, without trial, and who are, repeatedly, the victims of Human Rights Violations.

A new decade. Renewed hope, and a new focus in the campaign to ensure that everyone's Human Rights are respected and protected.