(2021-12-16). Chile is at the political crossroads: social renewal or decades of painful neoliberal policy. peoplesdispatch.org Presidential candidate José Antonio Kast reflects the failure of Chile to prosecute those who violated the rights of Chileans during the 30 years of Pinochet's rule…
(2021-12-16). Headlines for December 16, 2021. democracynow.org Unprecedented December Storms Hit Central U.S. as Biden Tours Kentucky Tornado Damage, U.K. and South Africa Set Coronavirus Records as Omicron Spreads Rapidly, Senate Approves Record $778 Billion Pentagon Budget, Build Back Better Act Stalls in Senate Again as Joe Manchin Rejects Expanded Child Tax Credit, Civil Rights Leaders Demand Senate Democrats Pass Federal Voting Rights Legislation, Democrats Call on Biden to Extend Student Loan Pause, Grant Debt Forgiveness, Syrian Conflict Has Stripped Civilians of Access to Healthcare, Created Humanitarian Disaster, Protesters Demand Mexico Decriminalize Immigration to…
(2021-12-16). The UN's Human Rights Failure. strategic-culture.org Will the UN assume responsibility for failing to protect civilians as governments waged war and plunder? | On the occasion of International Human Rights Day which was marked on December 10, the UN pledged to accelerate the implementation of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), without taking into consideration the various global inequalities which make generic implementation impossible. | The UN's "Common Agenda Framework" which was published in September 2021 is one example of how the UN glosses over the international law violations emanating from within its institutions to portray a deceptively humanitaria…
(2021-12-16). The US Is At A Loss In Central America. popularresistance.org In November 2008, while ambassador to Nicaragua, death-squad manager nonpareil John Negroponte's long time torture and terror campaign sidekick, Robert Callahan, remarked to a reporter in Managua, "US foreign policy toward Latin America has not changed in 50 years and is unlikely to do so under President Obama". Just months later, the June 2009 coup in Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya proved him to be right. In fact, the veteran US war crimes insider's comment explained unwittingly why US and allied foreign policy lurches from one mass murdering catastrophe to another. | Callahan and Negroponte, himself a…
(2021-12-16). Stand up for Assange, stand up for press freedom. peoplesdispatch.org On December 10, Human Rights Day, a British court delivered a verdict that clears the way for the extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the United States. If the extradition goes through, Assange will face criminal prosecution in the US, including under the infamous Espionage Act, and if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. | Julian Assange and his organization WikiLeaks published vital information received from whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning that chronicled US war crimes and atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. These include 'Collateral Murder,' the horrifying video…
(2021-12-16). Home care workers protest 24-hour work day in NYC. peoplesdispatch.org Workers employed with the United Jewish Council (UJC) home care agency rallied to end the 24-hour work day and demand their stolen wages on the morning of December 16. While home care workers in New York are being forced to work 24-hour shifts for poverty wages, 11 hours worth of that pay is stolen by their employers. A coalition of worker's rights organizations including the Ain't I A Woman Campaign and the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS) have been organizing alongside home care workers for years against these unjust labor practices. | "I am traumatized from working 24-hour shifts," said Epifani…
(2021-12-16). Regional Mechanisms of Human Rights: The Way Forward: Case of South Asia. moderndiplomacy.eu Long debates have evolved since the 1948 UDHR as to whether human rights should always be perceived as universal, or whether they need to be regarded as contextual on regional and local cultures. If we look at Art. 2 of the UDHR the rights apply "with no distinction given to their race, colour, sex, language, …
(2021-12-16). Tomgram: Alfred McCoy, On the Most Fundamental of All Human Rights: Survival. warisacrime.org This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. Yes, it's far more extreme and happening far faster than anyone imagined possible. From Australia to China, Germany to Greece, Canada to the U.S. and beyond, the planet is already being devastated by climate change. And no, I …
(2021-12-16). Pastor Bernice King: How Can Any Leader Call For Unity And Reconciliation Without Economic Reparations To Black Americans? moguldom.com Minister Bernice King — the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — says there cannot be reconciliation in America without making reparations to Black Americans. "Reparations is a real, pressing need. And it is right and just," King tweeted on Friday, Dec. 3. "How can any leader in this nation …
(2021-12-16). Sinema Imperils Voting Rights Push for the Sake of Archaic Filibuster Rule. truthout.org 
Right-wing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Wednesday cast further doubt on Democrats' nascent effort to pass voting rights legislation before the end of the year by reiterating her defense of the Senate's legislative filibuster, an archaic rule that the GOP minority has used to stonewall bills aimed at protecting the franchise. | Democratic leaders signaled Wednesday afternoon that they intend to shift their focus to a last-ditch voting rights push ahead of the new year after talks over the party's Buil…
(2021-12-16). DeSantis Hypes His Anti-Critical Race Theory Bill by Quoting Martin Luther King. truthout.org 
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) proposed new legislation that would allow parents to sue school districts if critical race theory or other lessons involving racial equity are taught in Florida classrooms. | In doing so, DeSantis absurdly suggested that his proposal would have been supported by the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. | DeSantis's bill is called the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act. In a press release announcing the legislation,
(2021-12-15). Reverend William Barber Leads Moral Monday Action At US Capitol. popularresistance.org Washington DC — Community organizers and faith leaders from 33 States converged on the U.S. Capitol to demand passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) and the Build Back Better Bill (H.R. 5376), now pending Senate approval. They chastised West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin for his role in delaying passage of the legislation which would provide protection for voting rights and financial relief for millions of impoverished Americans. | Reverend William Barber called out Senator Joe Manchin by name for playing a "trick" on his constituents by delaying a vote in the Senate on the voting r…
(2021-12-15). UN Report Raises Concern Over Human Rights Crisis In Colombia. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report demonstrating that the Colombian State must urgently reform its way of handling protests so as to avoid massive human rights violations. | RELATED: | The report entitled "The 2021 National Strike: Lessons for the Exercise of the Right of Peaceful Assembly in Colombia" exhaustively analyzes the behavior of security…
(2021-12-15). 'Summit for Democracy' — the Irony of an Empire in a Glass House. orinocotribune.com The following is a translation of the daily report of the Samuel Robinson Institute for December 13, 2021. | On December 9 and 10, US President Joe Biden chaired a meeting through videoconference, "The Summit for Democracy," the purpose of which was to "champion" the protection of voting rights and freedom of expression around the world. | The summit took place as the British High Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration's plea to extradite Julian Assange to the US, to face fabricated espionage charges that could result in a life term and even possible death sentence for Assange. | The US is persecuting A…
(2021-12-15). Biden's 'Summit for Democracy' is a vile circus for new Cold War. nationofchange.org The biggest enemy of the basic democratic rights is the U.S. government—and yet we have this Biden conference declaring support for democracy.
(2021-12-15). Honduras' Left-Wing Breakthrough. orinocotribune.com By Francisco Dominguez — Dec 10, 2021 | Since a US-backed coup toppled Mel Zelaya in 2009, Honduras has faced a clampdown on democracy and serious human rights abuses. But the election of socialist Xiomara Castro is a chance to break the cycle. | What appeared impossible has been achieved: the people of Honduras have broken the perpetuation, through electoral fraud and thuggish violence, of a brutal, illegal, illegitimate, and criminal regime.By means of sheer resistance, resilience, mobilisation, and organisation, they have managed to defeat Juan Orlando Hernandez's narco-dictatorship at the ballot box. Xio…
(2021-12-15). For 40 years, activists globally continue to demand: Free Mumia Now! workers.org 
Human rights and community activists in six countries held online and in-person events to mark the date 40 years ago, when award-winning Philadelphia journalist, radio personality and Black Panther Party veteran was nearly killed and unjustly charged with a crime he did not commit. Houston, Dec. 11. Mumia Abu-Jamal was . . . |
(2021-12-15). Afghanistan: Humanitarian crisis threatens basic human rights. moderndiplomacy.eu Respect for fundamental rights and freedoms by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan is critical to ensuring stability in the country, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva. Briefing the UN Human Rights Council, Nada Al-Nashif detailed how the profound humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is threatening basic rights, with women, girls, and civil society among those most affected. Dignity or …
(2021-12-15). Tackling climate change: human rights campaigners or shareholders? Law Pod UK latest. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
In this week's episode of Law Pod UK Rosalind English reports from the UK Bar Council's 19th Annual Law Reform Lecture, exploring the role of law reform in the context of climate change. You will hear excerpts from the speeches given by Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, and Lord …
(2021-12-15). Migrants face possible detention if they're caught without paperwork. america.cgtn.com 
Migrating through Mexico without a humanitarian visa is no longer permitted, and travelers found doing so end up in migration jail.
(2021-12-15). Will Barrick Gold CEO Go Beyond Rhetoric to Deliver Justice for Victims of Police Killings at Tanzanian Mine? inequality.org
(2021-12-15). Iran Nuclear Talks Falter as Biden Admin Threatens "Alternatives" After Squandering Window for Diplomacy. democracynow.org 
The United States is continuing talks with Iran over its nuclear program after President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015. With a new Iranian administration after April's controversial election, many worry that if talks fail, tensions between the two countries could turn into military escalation fueled by pressure from Israel. "The new hard-line team has been coming in to the negotiation table with more demands than the previous administration," says Iranian American journalist Negar Mortazavi. "They want sanctions relief from the U.S. in exchange for them scaling back part of th…
(2021-12-15). Iranian defense power not affected by US sanctions. en.mehrnews.com Iran's defense power date back to the era before the sanctions so any restriction on Iran's drone power will get nowhere, according to a high-ranking Iranian military official.