(2021-12-04). At Democracy Summit, US Will Urge Countries to Use Sanctions. news.antiwar.com At the upcoming Summit for Democracy hosted by President Biden, the US will urge other countries to start using sanctions against government officials Washington deems to be "corrupt," Citing unnamed Biden administration officials, the report said the US will slap sanctions on foreign-government officials and other people the US accuses of corruption and human rights abuses ahead of the virtual summit that will be held on Thursday and Friday. | "Over the course of the week, Treasury will take a series…
(2021-12-04). Russian Foreign Ministry Statement on the Planned US 'Summit for Democracy'. orinocotribune.com In connection with the so called summit for democracy to be held on December 9-10 at the initiative of the US administration, we consider it necessary to make the following statement. | The organisers and enthusiasts behind this strange event claim to lead the world in advancing the cause of democracy and human rights. However, the track record and reputation of the United States, Great Britain, and the EU member states in terms of respecting democratic rights and freedoms at home, as well as in the international arena, are, to put it mildly, far from ideal. | The evidence suggests that the United States and its…
(2021-12-04). 2021: Political Turning Point in Central America and the Caribbean. orinocotribune.com 
By Mision Verdad — Dec 1, 2021 | With the background noise of migration to the United States and the recent victory of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Central America and the Caribbean are at a turning point that will play an important role in the years to come in Latin America and the Caribbean. | The region comes from processes of civil wars, historical colonization and systematic impoverishment; however, the facts are woven with this historical thread in which democracy and human rights are used in the interest of the hegemonic narrative to intervene and capture geostrategic resources. Three of the multiple pro…
(2021-12-04). Environment, human rights and class power. mronline.org 
Environment is human right, said and resolved a recent UN meet. It's a reiteration of an already discussed issue—essential to all of the human society.
(2021-12-04). Urgent UN Action needed on Yemen Atrocities to end "Pandemic of Impunity" juancole.com Human rights Watch — (New York) — The United Nations General Assembly should act swiftly to establish an investigative mechanism to gather and preserve evidence of serious human rights abuses and violations of the laws of war in Yemen, a coalition of more than 60 organizations said. Failure to act would not only be a …
(2021-12-04). Washington Cartel: Clíver Alcalá No Longer a Drug Trafficker According to OFAC. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, December 2, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) withdrew from its list of drug traffickers the name of Clíver Alcalá Cordones, fugitive from Venezuelan justice, despite the fact that he is allegedly detained in the US on charges related to drug trafficking. | Clíver Alcalá was inserted into the OFAC list in 2011, after being accused of abusing his position in the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) to exchange arms for drugs with Colombian paramilitary and drug traficking gangs. | The US government had offered $10 million for the capture of Alcalá, who finally had to turn h…
(2021-12-04). Defenders of abortion rights rally as Supreme Court hears arguments. liberationnews.org 
Around the U.S., advocates for reproductive justice rallied in cities large and small in support of the fundamental right to abortion care…
(2021-12-04). Stop the Fascist Assault on Abortion Rights! indybay.org Now is the time for everyone, everywhere, to get in the streets to | stop this fascist assault on abortion rights!
(2021-12-04). [Correspondence] Obligations in a global health emergency — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Felipe de Carvalho Borges da Fonseca and colleagues, and Kayvan Bozorgmehr and Rosa Jahn for their comments on our Viewpoint.1 We agree with de Carvalho Borges da Fonseca and colleagues about the need for "a more equitable, sustainable, and accountable medical innovation system". Whether waiving patent rights will meaningfully improve access to COVID-19 vaccines for low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in the short term, is an empirical matter. There is wide agreement that intellectual property (IP) for mRNA vaccines is not a primary barrier to vaccinating the world;2,3 vaccine pr…
(2021-12-04). Indian courts continue to sanction open-ended imprisonment without trial. wsws.org The 15 surviving victims of the Indian state's Elgar Parishad terrorism frame-up case are being subjected to cruel and life-threatening punishment. They have been imprisoned for years without trial.
(2021-12-03). Rights organizations call for renewed probe into possible war crimes in Yemen. peoplesdispatch.org The call by rights organizations comes a day after The Guardian revealed that Saudi Arabia had used a mixture of threats and inducements to persuade countries to vote down an extension of the probe into possible war crimes in Yemen…
(2021-12-03). Saudi Arabia extensively lobbied to derail war crimes probe in Yemen, says report. peoplesdispatch.org A report by The Guardian said that an extensive Saudi lobbying effort was one of the reasons behind the defeat of a resolution to extend the term of an independent war crimes investigation into human rights violations in Yemen…
(2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Del Rio Bridge Now Face Inhumane Conditions in New Mexico ICE Jail. democracynow.org 
The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their own lives," says immigration attorney Allegra Love of the El Paso Immigration Collaborative.
(2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, America's Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…
(2021-12-03). It's Time To Free Leonard Peltier, Longest Serving Political Prisoner. popularresistance.org Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota's 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbish…
(2021-12-03). Flattening the curve or flattening the global poor? How Covid lockdowns obliterate human rights and crush the most vulnerable. thegrayzone.com Marketed as life-saving public health measures, lockdowns triggered death and economic devastation on a global scale while doing little to slow the spread of Covid-19. Now, they're back with a vengeance. In October 2021, it seemed as though the lockdowns that still paralyzed societies from Australia to New Zealand and Singapore were coming to an end, as these countries threw in the "Zero-COVID" towel following a year and a half of rolling restrictions and closures. But with COVID-19 cases rising …
(2021-12-03). Middle Eastern Autocrats Sigh Relief: The US Signals Democracy Summit Will Not Change Policy. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Written by The United States has signalled in advance of next week's Summit for Democracy that it is unlikely to translate lip service to adherence to human rights and democratic values in the Middle East into a policy that demonstrates seriousness and commitment. | In
(2021-12-03). Haitian Asylum Seekers Held Under Bridge Now Face Inhumane ICE Jail Conditions. truthout.org 
The world was shocked by images of Haitians whipped by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback as they sought refuge. Thousands were soon deported, but dozens are now detained in an ICE jail in New Mexico where they face inhumane conditions and lack access to legal services. We speak with a lawyer who describes medical neglect, deteriorating mental and physical health, and poor treatment by the staff. "They cannot get the basic tools and have the basic human contact that they need to save their…
(2021-12-03). "The Facility": Meet the Former Prisoner Who Details Fight for His Life Inside ICE Jail During COVID. democracynow.org 
We go inside a notorious ICE jail at the height of the pandemic to see how people held there spoke out against dangerous conditions, and faced retaliation before they were ultimately released with no notice. Their story is captured in a new documentary called "The Facility." It investigates the inhumane conditions at Irwin County Detention Center using footage from video calls, where cameras installed in cell blocks to enable pay-per-minute video calls "functioned almost like a portal for a moment in and out of a place meant not to be seen in this way," says director, Seth Freed Wessler. "How can your own governm…
(2021-12-03). Supreme Court prepares to decimate abortion rights — Here's why it's not too late. liberationnews.org 
This attack could have been prevented had the Democrats taken any of its many opportunities over the decades to definitively legalize abortion through an act of Congress. There is no reason why the legality of abortion has to be left up to SCOTUS…
(2021-12-03). From Abortion Bans to Anti-Trans Laws, a Christian Legal Army is Waging War on America. democracynow.org 
As the Supreme Court looks poised to uphold Mississipi's 15-week abortion ban and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade we speak to The Nation's Amy Littlefield about her investigation into the Christian legal army behind the Mississippi law as well as anti-trans laws across the country. She also critiques the mainstream pro-choice movement's failure to center the poor and people of color. "There is a change coming within the movement because of its reckoning with these past missteps including, frankly, the failure to adequately protect Black women and to stand up for the safety of the people whose rights were eroded fir…
(2021-12-03). Taliban Supreme Leader Issues Decree On Women's Rights. telesurenglish.net On Friday, the Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a special decree regarding women's rights and directed relevant authorities to take actions to safeguard these rights. | RELATED: | "The Islamic Emirate's leadership directs all relevant institutions, Ulema-e Karam (scholars), and tribal elders to take serious action to enforce women's rights," Afghan caretaker government spokesman Zabihullah Mu…
(2021-12-03). How will the Supreme Court rule on the Mississippi abortion law? america.cgtn.com 
As the U.S. Supreme Court debates an important abortion rights case, protestors outside share their thoughts on what could happen.