- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, embarks, from April 17 until April 27, on a 10-day tour of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, in alphabetical order, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to engage more actively and effectively with governments and civil society in the region.  

Ms. Pillay visited Qatar in May last year to open the UN Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre, but this month's trip marks the first time that a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be visiting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates or Oman.

The High Commissioner also stressed the importance of “a vibrant press and committed civil society able to operate freely and alert the State to issues and problems as they arise.” In many countries “a worrisome trend is emerging or re-emerging,” she said, referring to laws that aim at curtailing civil society’s scope of action, and restrictions on some media organizations.

Pillay praised the fact that women now have the right to vote and have access to public office in several GCC countries. However, she pointed out that women are still not able to fully enjoy their human rights all across the region. “Discriminatory barriers continue to hamper women’s right to shape their own lives and choices, and fully participate in public life,” she said. “…These barriers must be removed. It is also time to put to rest the concept of male guardianship… Positive developments for women’s civil and political rights are still patchy and uneven in the region.” However, the High Commissioner said she was encouraged to see that more States in the region have adopted, or are enacting, laws to combat human trafficking.

Pointing to the important role migrant workers play in making society function, Pillay also expressed concern about their treatment, which she said reflected problems facing migrants elsewhere in the world. Reports “consistently cite ongoing practices of unlawful confiscation of passports, withholding of wages and exploitation by unscrupulous recruitment agencies and employers,” she said. “The situation of migrant domestic workers is of particular concern...” She drew attention to their often inadequate living and working conditions and to the fact that they are sometimes “unable to obtain access to judicial recourse and effective remedies for their plight.”

She noted the positive trend that has led to some GCC countries abolishing or reconsidering the sponsorship system – known as Kafala – that “rigidly binds migrants to their employers, enabling the latter to commit abuses, while preventing workers from changing jobs or leaving the country.” She urged those States that had not yet done so to replace the Kafala system “with updated labour laws that can better balance rights and duties.”  

The High Commissioner is expected to meet with heads of State, senior ministers and other Government officials, and members of civil society during her visit.

Source:  Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
             http://www.ohchr.org/

 

 

 

About IOMDI
International Office for Millennium Declaration Initiatives (IOMDI) is dedicated to furthering UN Millennium Development Goals.
Follow us on Twitter
Link: http://twitter.com/iomdi
 

Canadian Government Awareness Campaign against Human Trafficking

“Human trafficking touches on many issues, from health and human rights to development and peace and security. Our response must be equally broad, and must tackle this challenge at its roots,” - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon

Dubai, April 19, 2010: Ms. Evelyn Leopold does not need any introduction, she is a freelance writer and was bureau chief for Reuters at the United Nations for 17 years, I recently read an article written by Ms. Leopold, which gives a glimpse of stories of victims of torture and human trafficking.

However, you try to describe it, in my opinion words like torture and human trafficking are always ugly words.

Human trafficking is still a very serious problem, the circumstances are so bad, that recently I read in the local newspaper that a man has sold his maid to another man for less than 2000 US Dollars, Human Trafficking is just an alternative word to describe the present form of the slavery trade.

 "The thing you have to remember is that torture victims often lose their voice twice. First during the experience of torture itself and then when they experience people turning their heads because they don't want to hear the story." - Emma Thompson

As a victim of torture myself, I can understand the true meaning of a Silent Scream, but instead of drowning into sadness, I have decided to channel all my energy towards helping others in need.

Just a few are able to survive Torture and Human Trafficking and tell the tale, but the majority, mostly defenseless women and children taken hostage by ruthless international criminal gangs, remain living in hell and all they have is a Silent Scream.

Emma Thompson, Helen Bamber: Finding the Silent Scream
Author: Evelyn Leopold
http://huff.to/ylbwv

United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
http://www.ungift.org/

United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ISSUES/Pages/TortureFundMain.aspx

Journalists are Human Rights Defenders

“only the political will of States to bring to justice the murderers of journalists and thus put an end to impunity will, finally, be the best protection for press professionals.” - Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova

Every where in the World, Journalists always highlight our good times and the difficulties that our societies face, it is time to talk about some of the risks and difficulties that Journalists have to face during their mission to educate and inform us of all the facts which would influence every aspect in our daily lives.

Recently I read a report issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which cited new disturbing figures highlighting the fact that the number of journalists murdered is increasing, 125 Journalists have been murdered between 2008 and 2009, at least 80% of these deaths were due to attacks specifically targeting the victims, in particular deliberate attacks by those who do not wish journalists to investigate and reveal information of public interest.

"Most victims, are targeted in countries that are at peace, but where revealing sensitive information – about drug trafficking, violation of human rights or corruption – can mean risking one’s life." - UNESCO

 

Image Source:

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

Author: 
Suzan Ismail,
Director-General of the International Office for Millennium Declaration Initiatives (IOMDI)
email: iomdi(at)email.com

About IOMDI
International Office for Millennium Declaration Initiatives (IOMDI) is dedicated to furthering UN Millennium Development Goals.
Follow us on Twitter
Link: http://twitter.com/iomdi

Tears Are Not Enough

April 25 is World Malaria Day, about 3.3 million people, almost half of the World are at risk of Malaria.

Every 30 seconds a defenseless Child dies of Malaria, in a time that our modern technology can allow us to reach Mars, it is impossible to believe that almost half of the world is suffering from curable ancient diseases like Malaria.

We thank all our Heroes who work hard every day in difficult circumstances, even endangering their lives during conflict, in order to save as many lives as possible from this horrible disease.

Tears are not Enough, We have the Cure, We know how to prevent Malaria,

It is time for us to End Malaria Now!

Please support the United Nations to make the World a Better Place for us all and for our future Generations.

Remember Every Effort Counts,

For the latest Updates about World Malaria Day April 25, 2010

UN Malaria Envoy  

website:  http://www.malariaenvoy.com/

Follow Malaria Envoy on Twitter:   http://twitter.com/Malaria_Envoy

To learn more about the Global Malaria Programme and the World Health Organization please visit the following site:

World Health Organization
Global Malaria Programme website: http://www.who.int/malaria/en/

Official News from the World Health Organization On Twitter:  http://twitter.com/WHONEWS

Image Source:
First Image, The Guardian, UK
Second Image, UN Photo

 

 

 

 

 

Anne did not survive the Holocaust

"Countless men, women and children suffered the horrors of the ghettos and Nazi death camps, yet somehow survived. All of them carry a crucial message for all of us.  A message about the triumph of the human spirit.  A living testament that tyranny, though it may rise, will surely not prevail." - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon

I always loved reading and visiting historical places, I read Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, when I was ten years old, and years later I was very excited to accept an invitation to visit the Anne Frank House in the city of Amsterdam, her diary has really left a lasting impression on me, and I look forward to visting the Museum again on my next trip to the Netherlands, I always knew that Anne's story had a sad ending, but I never imagined that reading Anne's diary would make me cry, she was a little girl, who had to grow up too fast, facing the ugly and harsh realities of what can happen when people are blinded by hate.

My family have always taught me as a child, that it is a beautiful gift to be different and tolerance is a fact of life, that is why even today I still can't understand how anyone can harm anyone, just because they have a different opinion, or because someone looks or acts differently.

Sadly, Anne did not survive the Holocaust, she and her sister died at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, for me Anne's story is a great example of why we all continue to stand up for Human Rights everywhere in the world, its not hard to imagine the horrors she would have witnessed at the Nazi Concentration Camp.

Anne's predicament, gave me a lasting painful picture in my mind of an innocent defenseless, starving and exhausted child in tears doing hard labor, surrounded by other tortured holocaust victims, it must have been terrifying for a child.

Every hour in the Nazi concentration camp must have felt like a year in hell, she would have witnessed horrifying scenes of people slowly and painfully dying of starvation and illness around her, not to mention the terror of people disappearing around her, after being harshly led away in queues by the Nazis to be gassed collectively, wondering if and when she would become the latest victim to join the next death queue.

Birth of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."  - Eleanor Roosevelt

It is not surprising that even Eleanor Roosevelt was impressed by Anne's story, almost everyone would recognize the iconic photo of Mrs.Roosevelt holding a poster at the UN containing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Mrs. Roosevelt, who was the First Lady of the United States of America from 1933 to 1945, and a prominent politician in her own right, during 1940s she supported the formation of the United Nations, co-founded, Freedom House, a prominent international human rights organization based in Washington, D.C. and served as the first chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission.

Mrs. Roosevelt devoted her entire life tirelessly to fight for the rights of all human beings and described Anne Frank's diary as "one of the wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human beings that I have ever read."

Tragically, its too late to save Anne's life and the lives of all who needlessly perished in horrific wars such as the Second World War, but its not too late to realize the value of the legacy left to us by Mrs. Roosevelt and all who did their best to bring us a step closer to World Peace and a better future, by completing the mammoth, almost impossible task of drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, acceptable to all nations around the world, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the 10th of December 1948.

During the years of the Second World War, torture and death penalty was not uncommon, the birth of the United Nations, gave life to international law, which finally universally established an understanding of the global rights of Human Beings.

Selfless Sacrifices of Heroes

"Tom Lantos was fond of saying that even the littlest actions, the smallest of our daily deeds, can do much to leave this earth better, less evil, less selfish, less monstrous than we found it. And he stressed that doing these things, even in a modest way, gives you the energy to keep moving forward. On this day of days, that seems to me to be good advice." - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon

Years after reading Anne's story and during my visit to Washington D.C., I was honoured to meet the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the United States Congress, in 1947 he was awarded an academic scholarship to study in the United States on the basis of an essay he wrote about Mrs. Roosevelt's husband, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Congressman Tom Lantos, like Mrs. Roosevelt, dedicated his life for the promotion of Human Rights and to give a voice to all those in need, sadly he passed away on February 11, 2008.

Yet, I can still vividly remember his lovely Hungarian accent, he had the great gift of selflessly caring for those in need everywhere in the world, during our meeting he told me that he owed his life to Raoul Wallenberg, a courageous Swedish diplomat, who during the Second World War, went out of his way, continuously risking his life, to save as many people as he could in the city of Budapest in Hungry, even issuing and distributing "protective passports" to Jews, declaring the holder a citizen of neutral Sweden, thus protecting the holder from the Nazi's cruel and criminal discriminative actions.

Regrettably, Mr. Wallenberg's heroic acts cost him his life, to this day, the circumstances of his sudden disappearance in the Second World War and death remains a mystery.

During my first visit to Capitol Hill, I could not resist to tell Congressman Tom Lantos of how I felt after I read Anne Frank's story and since he mentioned Mr.Roosevelt during our conversation, I also mentioned to him how I admired Mrs.Roosevelt's historical accomplishments, he was very kind and then told me, that Holocaust survivors like himself are committed to keep reminding the world of the tragedies of the Second World War, especially the Holocaust, which was a mass murder of innocent people like Anne Frank, who were unlucky to live in a time in which Human Rights were virtually non existent, and to also remind the world of the courageous and selfless sacrifices of heroes, like Mr.Raul Wallenberg, who lost or risked their lives for others, and of course to continue to remember and honour all who fought and dedicated their lives for the global protection, defense and promotion of Human Rights like Mrs.Eleanor Roosevelt.

It is hard to describe in words how it feels to lose someone special, Congressman Tom Lantos, will be missed by all, but his remarkable legacy towards humanity lives on, his wife, Mrs.Annette Lantos, is determined to continue, she once wrote "Every day we tried to fight the good fight on behalf of those who often can't fight for themselves."

Mrs. Lantos also a Holocaust Survivor and a Human Rights Activist in her own right, Chariman of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, like Mrs.Roosevelt, has made it her life's mission to continue to fight for the human rights and dignity of people in every corner of the world.

Today, Holocaust Survivors and Human Rights Activists around the world continue to fight for global recognition of Human Rights, despite facing all kinds of hardships they are determined to pass on an important message to the next generation, we must support them, their efforts have granted us many important international treaties, such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) and Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981), in my opinion it is a crime to deny Holocaust Survivors and all people living on this Earth their Human Rights and the right to live in peace.

Millennium Development Goals without Human Rights is Impossible

".....every action counts, to end torture, abolish the death penalty and to protect people from all acts of discrimination." - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon

The importance of Human Rights to promote a better quality of life and a better future, are even more evident, in the great promise of all nations, working together to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, which would never have been possible without the United Nations or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As we are quickly reaching the 2015 MDGs deadline, we must remind States, that Millennium Development Goals without Human Rights is impossible and that more needs to be done to protect people and fight impunity for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Just like any little girl, Anne would have loved to live in a world changing for the better, of course, we live in an imperfect world, and sometimes the mission to make the world a better place for all feels hopeless, but what counts is that we continue all efforts to improve things, realizing our obligation to globally defend, protect and promote Human Rights is already a major step forward in the fight against evil.

How did the world fail to prevent the Holocaust and other atrocities? Imagine just decades ago, the ugly practice of discrimination was acceptable and in some cases even encouraged, it was acceptable that an individual or even a State, could torture anyone using any excuse such as the victim's gender, race, colour or religion.

If we forget the Holocaust, then all those dark times are guaranteed to return.

Yet even in this day and age, despite the horrors that we all witnessed in the last century, a lot remains to be done in order to promote global Human Rights and strengthen the United Nations, there are States, who have signed the Charter of the United Nations, but did not sign or ratify important treaties such the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, even though all nations agree that torture cannot be justified or tolerated, at any time, in any form or manner whatever.

It is not uncommon that even after signing and ratifying International treaties, many States have not really "updated" their local legal systems to comply with international law, this is unacceptable, legal empowerment of women and the poor, the shocking rise of slavery in the form of Human trafficking, the eradication of all forms of discrimination and the abolition of Capital punishment are just a handful of many issues that need to be addressed without delay.

If we forget the Holocaust then all those dark times are guaranteed to return. In order to build a more peaceful world of coexistence, it is very important for us to remember the value of Human Rights and educate our children about the Holocaust, one of the darkest chapters of human history. It is also important that we do not hesitate to speak out in the face of bigotry and hatred, and to prevent these unforgivable crimes to ever happen again.

I thank each and every person, who is courageous to risk their lives or dedicate their lives in order to fight evil in this world, protecting our environment and all living beings on this Earth, it would be impossible to live in this world full of hate without your sacrifices, I realize that uttering the phrase "Thank you" is not comparable to the debt that I and everyone owes you for your sacrifice.

So I end this tribute to all Victims of Injustice and Human Rights Activists, with one of my favorite passages in Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl,

"... in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquillity will return again." - Anne Frank

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme

http://www.un.org/holocaustremembrance/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/UNandHolocaust

 

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

http://www.ohchr.org

Stand Up Against Poverty

http://standagainstpoverty.org/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/WeCanEndPoverty

End Violence Against Women

http://www.saynotoviolence.org/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE

UN Action Against Sexual Violence In Conflict  (Stop Rape Now)

http://www.stoprapenow.org/

Fighting Hunger World Wide (One Billion People Are Hungry)

http://www.wfp.org/1billion

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wfp

 

End Malaria Now (April 25, Malaria Day)

http://www.malariaenvoy.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Malaria_Envoy

 

UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture  

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ISSUES/Pages/TortureFundMain.aspx

 

United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/about/funds/slavery/

 

A short list of some prominent International Human Rights Organizations.

 

World Organization Against Torture

 http://www.omct.org/

 

Freedom House

http://www.freedomhouse.org/

 

Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/

Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/

Front Line
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/

After Eradicating Hunger, Legal Empowerment of the Poor is perhaps the next step towards attaining human rights and reaching Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), many people living in under-developed and developing countries have experienced hardships to access a fair trial due to financial difficulties, corruption or just simply because they do not know their rights, especially in complex cases against Government owned enterprises hiding behind State sovereignty.

It is easy to think of development of a third world country, as building high tech infrastructure, iconic buildings or just simply developing the country to become a great tourist destination.

Take a moment to Imagine how such a great developed place would look like without a trustworthy legal system, a place where police, public officials, prosecutors, lawyers and even judges can be bought just like shares on the stock market and guard their own interests jealously, you are automatically persumed guilty in the eyes of the law at all times, anything can be said about you, it is not unusual to be left powerless unable to protect yourself or your family from harm, you can be instantly declared a criminal without any evidence, fake or illegal witneses pop up like daisies to testify against you, a simple delay to pay a parking ticket fine may turn into criminal proceedings for spying, no independent legal counsel, if you have the amazing luck to find a trustworthy lawyer, its not unsual for the lawyer to receive threats and eventually become blacklisted if he or she continues to assist you and of course in that case the Lawyer can expect to be subjected to the same torture you are going through.

You stand alone, any charge can be easily typed in the legal system, Enemy of the State is a favorite, in this case death penalty is not unusual, notwithstanding if you have diplomatic immunity, torture is just a normal procedure and nothing can be done for you, not even your embassy can save you, despite that fact that you are being persecuted not under local law or international law.

No media because of strict censorship, no local independent human rights organization is available to even advocate your case, you are forced in hiding, living as a fugitive for years. Trust becomes a very scarce and valuable commodity, you have to distance yourself from everyone and everything to protect yourself and others.

Life becomes painfully harsh and bitter, your good memories start to fade, you are surrounded by the restaurants, hospitals, hotels and favorite places, which you used to visit in the past, yet fear of death makes homelessness, starvation and lack of access to medical care a fact of life, you live in high uncertainty, day to day like a bird, and during your harsh journey you will not be surprised to meet others in a similar situation and anyone who tries to help you risks being blacklisted by the government and also treated the same way.

These sadly are examples from a true story, my story as a person who stood up peacefully for Human Rights, Women's rights and Against Torture, as a torture victim myself, I had to face the consequences of saying no to violence against women and despite that I shall continue until my last breath.

From my experience, I can tell you that the glamour of anything beautiful diminishes quickly when you realize you are not anymore being treated as a human being, and the poor in under-developed and developing countries feel that every day.

As we are quickly reaching the MDGs deadline on 2015, we have to remember, Do we remember the reason the poor are poor in the first place? Are we offering them the assistance that they really need?

MDGs without Human Rights is impossible, injustice is something that works in the "what goes around, comes around" model, if we allow the poor or anyone in the world to be prosecuted, treated inhumanely or even tortured without any repercussions, one day it can happen to any one of us, and then there will be no one to call for help.

This is why I feel MDGs and Human Rights are inseparable, and I continue to Stand Up to Say No to Violence Against Women.

Please Support the United Nations global campaign to end violence against women: 

Twitter
Link: http://twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE

Website
Link: http://saynotoviolence.org/

Author: 
Suzan Ismail,
Director-General of the International Office for Millennium Declaration Initiatives (IOMDI)
email: iomdi(at)email.com

About IOMDI
International Office for Millennium Declaration Initiatives (IOMDI) is dedicated to furthering UN Millennium Development Goals.
Follow us on Twitter
Link: http://twitter.com/iomdi

Image source: J. Adam Huggins for The International Herald Tribune

This Article from Reuters, edited by Philippa Fletcher, is just an example of how the financial crisis is affecting global Millennium Development Goals targets.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62O41N20100325

image source: Unicef

World Bank Online Atlas of Millennium Development Goals

The World Bank Online Atlas of the MDGs is an innovative visualization of the Millennium Development Goals that complements the World Bank's MDG website. You can explore maps of key indicators for each of the eight MDGs, resize countries to reflect comparative values, zoom in on countries and pull up quick tables of supporting indicators.

link: http://devdata.worldbank.org/atlas-mdg/