(2023-03-25). [World Report] The health consequences of crowd-control weapons. thelancet.com Two new reports outline how the increasingly indiscriminate use of weapons such as rubber bullets, tear gas, and batons on protestors is harming health and human rights. Talha Burki reports.
(2023-03-24). Georgia: German FM rallies "civil society" 5th column for NATO absorption, war for "occupied territories'. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Civil GeorgiaMarch 24, 2023 German FM Annalena Baerbock Visits Georgia Annalena Baerbock has started her visit to Georgia with the meeting with the civil society representatives, followed by the meeting with her Georgian counterpart FM Darchiashvili. According to the information by GYLA, civil society representatives focused on the issues related to human rights situation in …
(2023-03-24). Perú: Protester Killed By 36 Pellets During Boluarte Regime Repression. orinocotribune.com The National Coordinator for Human Rights of Perú (CNDDHH), reported that the young protestor Rosalino Flores died this Tuesday, March 21, as a result of wounds sustained on January 11 from the National Police of Perú (PNP) firing 36 pellets at him during protests against Dina Boluarte and her de facto government. | "After almost two months of agony, Rosalino Flores, a 22-year-old boy who was shot by over 30 metal pellets in his stomach during the protests in Cusco, has died," reported the CNDDHH, cited by Actualidad RT. "With his death, there have now been 49 civilians executed by the law enforcement agencies du…
(2023-03-23). Explosions Hit Large Base Of Iranian Forces In Syria's Deir Ezzor: Monitoring Group. southfront.org 
Iranian-backed forces massing around Deir Ezzor city. | Late on March 22, a series of large explosions rocked a large base of Iranian-backed forces in the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). | The base, dubbed Imam Ali, occupies some 20 square kilometers to the southeast of the town of al-Bukamal in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside. It was reportedly established by the Quds Force, the external wing of Iran's Iranian Islamic…
(2023-03-23). Lula gov't celebrates 20 years of public policies to tackle racism and launches new measures. peoplesdispatch.org 
Twenty years ago, the National Human Rights Program was instituted in Brazil, which included combating racism as one of its priorities. Since then, several public policies have been implemented with the objective of promoting racial equality. The establishment of the National Human Rights Program was celebrated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) on Tuesday, March 21, in an event at Planalto Palace. | "No country in the world will be a democracy while skin color dictates the opportunities people will have throughout their lives," the leftist politician explained. In 2003, Lula was in his first…
(2023-03-23). UN Says Haiti Gangs Killed More Than 530 People Since January, Calls for Armed Troops. latinorebels.com The United Nations Human Rights Office is once again calling for a multinational force to intervene in Haiti after its latest report found that gangs there have killed at least 531 people, injured 300, and kidnapped 277 since the year began.
(2023-03-25). [World Report] The health consequences of crowd-control weapons. thelancet.com Two new reports outline how the increasingly indiscriminate use of weapons such as rubber bullets, tear gas, and batons on protestors is harming health and human rights. Talha Burki reports.
(2023-03-24). Georgia: German FM rallies "civil society" 5th column for NATO absorption, war for "occupied territories'. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Civil GeorgiaMarch 24, 2023 German FM Annalena Baerbock Visits Georgia Annalena Baerbock has started her visit to Georgia with the meeting with the civil society representatives, followed by the meeting with her Georgian counterpart FM Darchiashvili. According to the information by GYLA, civil society representatives focused on the issues related to human rights situation in …
(2023-03-24). Perú: Protester Killed By 36 Pellets During Boluarte Regime Repression. orinocotribune.com The National Coordinator for Human Rights of Perú (CNDDHH), reported that the young protestor Rosalino Flores died this Tuesday, March 21, as a result of wounds sustained on January 11 from the National Police of Perú (PNP) firing 36 pellets at him during protests against Dina Boluarte and her de facto government. | "After almost two months of agony, Rosalino Flores, a 22-year-old boy who was shot by over 30 metal pellets in his stomach during the protests in Cusco, has died," reported the CNDDHH, cited by Actualidad RT. "With his death, there have now been 49 civilians executed by the law enforcement agencies du…
(2023-03-23). Explosions Hit Large Base Of Iranian Forces In Syria's Deir Ezzor: Monitoring Group. southfront.org Iranian-backed forces massing around Deir Ezzor city. | Late on March 22, a series of large explosions rocked a large base of Iranian-backed forces in the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). | The base, dubbed Imam Ali, occupies some 20 square kilometers to the southeast of the town of al-Bukamal in the southern Deir Ezzor countryside. It was reportedly established by the Quds Force, the external wing of Iran's Iranian Islamic…
(2023-03-23). Lula gov't celebrates 20 years of public policies to tackle racism and launches new measures. peoplesdispatch.org Twenty years ago, the National Human Rights Program was instituted in Brazil, which included combating racism as one of its priorities. Since then, several public policies have been implemented with the objective of promoting racial equality. The establishment of the National Human Rights Program was celebrated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) on Tuesday, March 21, in an event at Planalto Palace. | "No country in the world will be a democracy while skin color dictates the opportunities people will have throughout their lives," the leftist politician explained. In 2003, Lula was in his first…
(2023-03-23). UN Says Haiti Gangs Killed More Than 530 People Since January, Calls for Armed Troops. latinorebels.com The United Nations Human Rights Office is once again calling for a multinational force to intervene in Haiti after its latest report found that gangs there have killed at least 531 people, injured 300, and kidnapped 277 since the year began.
(2023-03-24). Swaziland's anti-monarchy activists face repression ahead of elections. greenleft.org.au Mvuselelo Mkhabela, a 21-year-old activist of the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS), escaped from a hospital after being shot and tortured by the police, reports Peoples Dispatch.
(2023-03-24). Fight for Venezuelan diplomat's freedom intensifies due to health concerns. fightbacknews.org Caracas, Venezuela – It has now been more than 1000 days since Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab was first kidnapped by the U.S. government on the island of Cabo Verde, off the west coast of Africa. Since then, he's been subjected to physical, psychological and chemical torture and moved to a federal detention center in Miami, Florida. | Two members of Minnesota's Anti-War Committee met with Saab's wife, Camilla Fabri Saab, on Tuesday, March 7, alongside a delegation from the Alliance for Global Justice and progressive lawyers with the Free Alex Saab Movement. Camilla, Fabri Saab, mother to their two young daug…
(2023-03-23). Peru Dictatorship Denies Castillo Right to Phone Calls. orinocotribune.com Pedro Castillo is being denied his right to a phone call by Peru's dictatorship, led by Dina Boluarte. Since the December 7 US-backed coup, Castillo has been detained without charge and without direct contact with his wife and children who are currently exiled in Mexico. | This was denounced by Castillo's wife, Lilia Paredes, and his daughter, Yenifer Castillo, on Saturday in a joint interview with
(2023-03-25). [Correspondence] Nigeria's National Mental Health Act 2021: any challenges ahead? thelancet.com Although mental health problems are widespread in many African nations, they rarely receive the attention they merit. Stigmatisation is a prevalent factor that makes patients reluctant to seek mental health care in most African countries. As knowledge about mental health increased, some African countries, such as Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia, began passing legislation and laws to safeguard the rights of individuals who have mental health problems. In 1916, Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, enacted its first mental health legislation, which was called the Lunacy Ordinance.
(2023-03-24). Weymouth police demanded to see his ID. His refusal led to assault charges. therealnews.com 
Across the US, people who attempt to resist the seemingly limitless power of the police often find themselves ensnared in a legal system that ostensibly exists for their protection. When a local police officer approached Paul Brophy of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and demanded to see his identification, Brophy attempted to invoke his constitutional rights. The officer then escalated the situation to an arrest, claiming Brophy attempted to reach for his weapon. Police Accountability Report examines the facts of the case, speaking to Paul Brophy himself about the incident. | Studio: Stephen Janis | Studio/Post-Pr…
(2023-03-24). Friday 3/24: Rights of Nature: UN Water Conference – SDGs for Protection of Earth's Water Ecosystems. indybay.org Online streaming of in-person U.N. Water Conference session…
(2023-03-24). General Strike Can Root Out "Taliban" Embedded in U.S. Government and Supreme Court. indybay.org Religious fanatics are taking away our rights and replacing them with god-given rights—this must be stopped…
(2023-03-24). Christian thugs attack trans rights protesters at One Nation rally. greenleft.org.au "We don't surrender," One Nation's Mark Latham said recently. He is using a legal loophole to try and get two representatives in the NSW Legislative Council to push his bigoted agenda. Paul Gregoire reports.
(2023-03-24). U.T. Austin students speak out to defend Indian Child Welfare Act. fightbacknews.org Austin, TX – On Wednesday, March 22, members of Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) gathered on a busy street, Speedway, on the University of Texas-Austin campus to speak out against the judicial attack on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). | SDS members chanted, "When indigenous rights are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!" and "Defend indigenous sovereignty! Defend ICWA!" SDS also passed out fliers and gave speeches about how repealing ICWA would hurt thousands and further erode indigenous sovereignty. | Students also connected this to an ongoing struggle at UT to return stolen a…
(2023-03-23). NAACP President: The Official And National NAACP Position Is A Demand For Reparations For Descendants Of American Slavery. moguldom.com The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Derrick Johnson, went to Twitter on March 22 to clarify the civil rights organization's stance on reparations. This comes on the heels of a statement tweeted out by the San Francisco NAACP charter president earlier this month that seemed to read that …
(2023-03-23). How the Cuban Government and Its People Collaborated on the Family Code. independentmediainstitute.org On September 25, 2022, Cuba passed one of the world's most progressive codes on families. All in one go, the small island nation legalized same-sex marriage, defined and upheld the rights of children, the disabled, caregivers, and the elderly, and redefined "family" along ties of affinity rather than blood. This opens the concept of "family" …
(2023-03-23). Democrats in Wisconsin Introduce Bill to Restore Abortion Rights in State. truthout.org Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) and Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature introduced a bill earlier this week that would restore abortion rights in Wisconsin to where they stood before the overturn of Roe v. Wade last summer. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe, several states reverted back to abortion statutes that were in place prior to that ruling. For Wisconsin… |
(2023-03-23). DeSantis Admin Seeks to Expand "Don't Say Gay" Restrictions to Older Grades. truthout.org Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration is moving to expand provisions of a current law that bans the discussion of LGBTQ issues in the state's public schools. The Parental Rights in Education Act — better known nationally as the "Don't Say Gay" law — currently disallows classroom discussion on gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3. Such discussions are currently… |
(2023-03-23). LGBTQ Rights Under Attack. latinorebels.com Julio welcomes Karma Chavez, professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and author of 'Queer Migration Politics: Activist Rhetoric and Coalitional Possibilities,' to discuss the current legislative assaults on LGBTQ rights.
(2023-03-23). Progressives in Belgium mark International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. peoplesdispatch.org 
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, progressive and anti-racist groups in Belgium—including Platform/e 21-03, Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA), student-youth groups such as COMAC and RedFox, trade unions, refugee rights groups, and women's rights groups—organized demonstrations and campaigns across the country on Sunday, March 19. Mobilizations took place in cities including Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Ostend, La Louvière, Liege, Leuven, and Namur. Marchers demanded an end to discrimination and police violence, and that refugees in the c…
(2023-03-23). A Police Killing Inside a Hospital: Ben Crump on Death of Irvo Otieno During Mental Health Crisis. democracynow.org 
As new footage is released about the shocking killing of Irvo Otieno inside a hospital in Virginia, we speak with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Otieno's family. Surveillance video shows seven sheriff's deputies and three hospital workers violently pinned Otieno to the floor and piled on him for more than 11 minutes, suffocating him. New video released Wednesday reveals at least one officer had also repeatedly punched Otieno earlier that day. A grand jury has indicted the 10 men involved on second-degree murder charges. Otieno was having a mental health crisis, which Crump says is too…
(2023-03-23). Cristina Fernández: 'They Persecute us for Defending Equality and Social Justice'. orinocotribune.com 
This Tuesday, the Argentinian vice president, Cristina Fernández, during an international meeting of the Puebla Group in Buenos Aires, stated that "they persecute us because we defend equality, social justice, and the rights of workers." | During the conference "Popular Will and Democracy: From the Military Party to the Judicial Party" held in Buenos Aires, Fernández said "they are not persecuting us because we are populists, or from the left, from the right, or from below or from above." | "They persecute us because we equalize societies, for social justice, for the right of workers to actively participate in th…
(2023-03-23). ICC Arrest Warrant Issued to Putin is Hypocritical Propaganda Stunt Aimed to Distract from Growing Protests Against Ukraine War. covertactionmagazine.com With large-scale protests against war and austerity engulfing the streets of Western (EU) countries, the political elite, in full-fledged panic mode, launched a propaganda stunt by indicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Lvova-Belova is the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights. She and Putin are accused of kidnapping …
(2023-03-24). Venezuela-US Relations: When 'Maximum Pressure' Fails. orinocotribune.com By Carlos Ron — Mar 17, 2023 | President Maduro has shown two firm convictions. The first is that he will not cede the nation's sovereignty to the pressure of illegal sanctions. But he has also indicated that dialogue and diplomacy is the way; that Venezuela is willing and ready to re-establish relations as long as they are based on mutual respect and an equal footing, writes Valdai Club expert The strategy of "maximum pressure" imposed by Donald Trump on Venezuela has failed to achieve its goal of changing the Venezuelan…
(2023-03-24). Chinese envoy urges Security Council to address adverse effects of sanctions on DPRK. ecns.cn A Chinese envoy on Thursday called for the Security Council to address the adverse impact of sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
(2023-03-23). United States Imposes Economic Sanctions on Black Community Projects. towardfreedom.org
(2023-03-23). Zelensky Tells Europe Give More Weapons and Add Sanctions on Russia. news.antiwar.com Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday demanded that European countries provide more military aid and add more sanctions on Russia, warning that not doing so would prolong the war. Zelensky said in a virtual address to EU leaders that they should provide longer-range weapons and Western-made fighter jets. He thanked Slovakia and Poland for providing …
(2023-03-23). G7 VS Brics — Off To The Races. popularresistance.org Last summer, the Group of 7 (G7), a self-anointed forum of nations that view themselves as the most influential economies in the world, gathered at Schloss Elmau, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to hold their annual meeting. Their focus was punishing Russia through additional sanctions, further arming of Ukraine and the containment of China. | At the same time, China hosted, through video conference, a gathering of the BRICS economic forum. Comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, this collection of nations relegated to the status of so-called developing economies focused on strengthening…
(2023-03-23). "Disaster": Iraqi Journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad on U.S. Invasion, Sanctions, Occupation & What's Next. democracynow.org 
As we continue to mark the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, we are joined by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, an award-winning Baghdad-born Iraqi journalist and author. Abdul-Ahad has received the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, the British Press Awards' Foreign Reporter of the Year and the Orwell Prize. His new book is A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East's Long War. "I want the history to be told properly," says Abdul-Ahad about his hopes for the future of Iraqi society after decades of dictatorship, sanctions, war, occupation and corruption.
(2023-03-23). Palestinian prisoners declare victory over the jailer in advance of planned hunger strike. samidoun.net 
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the Palestinian people and the prisoners' movement as the prisoners declare their victory in the "Volcano of Freedom or Martyrdom." In the late night hours of Wednesday, 22 March, the leadership of the prisoners' movement announced that the Zionist prison service had backed down from all of the sanctions …
(2023-03-23). US Imposes Economic Sanctions On Black Community Projects. popularresistance.org In March 2023, Regions Bank notified the black nonprofit African People's Education and Defense Fund (APEDF) that the bank was "exiting" their 20-year relationship, closing accounts, withdrawing lines of credit and canceling mortgage loans. | This assault on the ability of African people to build economic self-reliance was the latest in a series of actions revealing government and corporate cooperation targeting the black community programs of the Uhuru (Freedom) Movement including its popular Women's Health Center, Black Power Vanguard Basketball Court, "One Africa! One Nation!" Marketplaces, Gary Brooks Communi…