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For Immediate Release
June, 16 2009, 12:31pm EDT
Contact:
Tel: +1-212-216-1832,Email:,hrwpress@hrw.org
UN Human Rights Council: Continue Scrutiny of Rights in Sudan
Rights Body Should Extend Special Rapporteur’s Mandate
GENEVA
The United Nations Human Rights Council should reject the Sudanese government's request to terminate the mandate of the special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the council members today.
The special rapporteur, Sima Samar, will on June 16 deliver her latest report to the council, the UN's leading human rights body, in which she documents a range of serious human rights issues facing the whole country. Despite her conclusion that there has been little concrete improvement in the human rights situation in Sudan, the government and its allies are seeking to block the council from extending her mandate.
"Sudan is enduring a massive human rights crisis that affects millions of people," said Julie de Rivero, Geneva advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "For the council to drop its special scrutiny of Sudan at this crucial time would be to duck its responsibility to monitor and address major human rights violations."
The special rapporteur has sought to play a constructive role in Sudan, working with both the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan to help them carry out their human rights obligations. Her report highlights critical issues, many of which have been documented by Human Rights Watch, including the Sudanese security forces' harassment and arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defenders, and increasing censorship and restrictions on the media. Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that these restrictions will diminish the chances that elections currently slated for February 2010 will be free and fair.
The special rapporteur also addressed ongoing security concerns and the lack of mechanisms for civilian protection and the rule of law in Darfur and Southern Sudan. More than a thousand civilian deaths from armed conflict have been reported so far in 2009. Many thousands more are at risk following the government's expulsion of humanitarian organizations that provided 40 percent of the aid in Northern Sudan and the transitional areas.
The special rapporteur also highlighted the government's continuing failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for serious human rights violations in the past, including abuses during fighting between the northern Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and southern Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) at Abyei in May 2008.
Currently, the special rapporteur is the only UN or other independent international mechanism monitoring and publicly reporting on the situation in all of Sudan. The United Nations - African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has human rights officers, but they cover only Darfur, and both their ability to move throughout Darfur and to report publicly on the situation are limited. Similarly, human rights officers with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) focus on Southern Sudan and also have limited ability to report publicly.
Following the government's expulsion of international aid organizations in March, its closure of Sudanese organizations and the increasing repression of human rights activists and journalists, the special rapporteur's role, as mandated by the Human Rights Council, becomes increasingly critical.
"We are seeing an increasingly dangerous silence on the human rights situation in Sudan," de Rivero said. "Human Rights Council members should focus on supporting the victims in Sudan by extending the mandate of the special rapporteur."
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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May 21, 2023
Before a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy planned for Monday, President Joe Biden on Sunday renewed his criticism of what GOP lawmakers are demanding in exchange for raising the debt ceiling to prevent an economically catastrophic default.
"I've done my part," Biden told reporters—pointing to his trillions of dollars in proposed spending cuts and new sources of revenue—before heading back to Washington, D.C. from Hiroshima, Japan, where he attended a three-day Group of Seven summit.
"Now it's time for the other side to move... from their extreme positions, because much of what they've already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable," Biden said of McCarthy (R-Calif.) and the other House Republicans holding the economy hostage.
\u201cMAGA House Republicans are threatening a default that could cost us millions of jobs and trigger a recession.\n\u00a0\nAll because they are demanding deep cuts that will hurt hardworking families \u2013 even while they protect tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.\n\nI\u2019ve got a plan to\u2026\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1684685203
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Among them is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who wrote in a Sunday email to supporters: "In a manner that is unprecedented and incredibly reckless and cruel, these Republicans have hijacked the debt ceiling process. Their position: If the Congress does not agree to impose savage cuts on the needs of working people, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor, they will push the U.S. government to default on its debt. In other words, they are prepared to wreck our economy if they don't get their way."
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In response to a reporter's question Sunday, Biden said that "I'm looking at the 14th Amendment, as to whether or not we have the authority. I think we have the authority. The question is: Could it be done and invoked in time that it... would not be appealed and, as a consequence, pass the date in question, and still default on the debt? That's a question that I think is unresolved."
The American Prospect executive editor David Dayen suggested in a pair of tweets that rather than inquiring if Biden will invoke the 14th Amendment, journalists should be asking how he plans to respond to an existing lawsuit that involves it.
\u201cA good question from the Gang of 500, instead of "will you invoke the 14th amendment" (which is not how it works) is "you've been served, how will you respond?"\u201d— David Dayen (@David Dayen) 1684678216
Earlier this month, lawyers for the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE)—which represents roughly 75,000 workers across federal agenices—filed a suit against Biden and Yellen in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
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Meanwhile, Politicoreported Friday that some Biden aides fear invoking the 14th Amendment "would trigger a pitched legal battle, undermine global faith in U.S. creditworthiness, and damage the economy," and "officials have warned that even the appearance of more seriously considering the 14th Amendment could blow up talks that are already quite delicate."
After departing Japan on Sunday, Biden spoke with McCarthy by phone from Air Force One. Following the call, the GOP speaker confirmed plans to meet with the president on Monday but also said that "my position has not changed."
Sanders, in his email Sunday, wrote that "Republicans' willingness to hold the world's economy hostage to their draconian and cruel demands, and their refusal to consider one penny in new revenue from the wealthy and large corporations, has made it seemingly impossible to enact a bipartisan budget deal at this time."
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War and Climate Crisis Threaten Global Progress on Human Health, Warns UN Chief
"We can return to the path of progress. We can realize our ambitions for health and well-being for all," said António Guterres. "But only if the world works together... despite the tensions straining relations between nations."
May 21, 2023
"Progress is in peril."
That was United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres' warning Sunday to the 76th World Health Assembly.
Over seven decades ago, he noted, "countries came together and affirmed some fundamental truths: that peace depends on health; that disease in one nation endangers all; and that achieving the greatest possible health for everyone, everywhere relies on cooperation."
Since the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), Guterres continued, "human health has advanced dramatically: global life expectancy—up over 50%; infant mortality—down 60% in 30 years; smallpox—eradicated; and polio on the verge of extinction."
But now, "war and conflict threaten millions. The health of billions is endangered by the climate crisis. And the Covid-19 pandemic has stalled, and even reversed, progress in public health," the U.N. leader said in a video address kicking off the assembly.
"We can return to the path of progress. We can realize our ambitions for health and well-being for all. But only if the world works together. If we cooperate, despite the tensions straining relations between nations," he stressed.
\u201cSmallpox \u2013 eradicated.\n\nPolio - on the verge of extinction.\n\nInfant mortality \u2013 down 60% in 30 years.\n\nHuman health has advanced dramatically since the birth of the @WHO, but now progress is in peril.\n\nWe can return to the path of progress but only if the world works together.\u201d— Ant\u00f3nio Guterres (@Ant\u00f3nio Guterres) 1684699200
Guterres called for "strengthening the independence, authority, and financing of the World Health Organization," and said that "it is vital to prepare for the health threats to come—from new pandemics to climate dangers—so that we prevent where we can, and respond fast and effectively where we cannot."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus—who earlier this month declared Covid-19 over as a global health emergency—similarly urged international coordination during his welcome speech to the assembly. The agency leader said that "in 2020, I described Covid-19 as a long, dark tunnel. We have now come out the end of that tunnel."
"To be clear, Covid-19 is still with us, it still kills, it's still changing, and it still demands our attention," Tedros continued. The end of the emergency "is not just the end of a bad dream from which we have woken. We cannot simply carry on as we did before."
"This is a moment to look behind us and remember the darkness of the tunnel, and then to look forward, and to move forward in the light of the many painful lessons it has taught us. Chief among those lessons is that we can only face shared threats with a shared response," Tedros added. He stressed that the pandemic accord now being negotiated "must be a historic agreement to make a paradigm shift in global health security, recognizing that our fates are interwoven."
\u201cLIVE: Opening of the 76th World Health Assembly with @DrTedros. #WHA76 https://t.co/RwqX5YGr98\u201d— World Health Organization (WHO) (@World Health Organization (WHO)) 1684673003
As the assembly—scheduled through May 30—got underway in Geneva, Switzerland, Guterres was in Hiroshima, Japan, for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, where he also underscored the importance of global cooperation while speaking to the press on Sunday.
"My message to G7 leaders is clear: While the economic picture is uncertain everywhere, rich countries cannot ignore the fact that more than half the world—the vast majority of countries—are suffering through a deep financial crisis," Guterres said. "The crushing economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, unsustainable levels of debt, rising interest rates, and inflation are devastating developing and emerging economies."
"There is a systemic and unjust bias in global economic and financial frameworks in favor of rich countries," he declared, highlighting that "access to Covid-19 vaccines was deeply unfair" and "the recovery has been extremely unbalanced."
While the U.N. chief argued that "it's time to reform both the Security Council and the Bretton Woods institutions," referring to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, he also said that "even within the present unfair global rules, more can and must be done to support developing economies."
G7 countries are "central to climate action," Guterres said, noting the need for "faster timelines to phase out fossil fuels and ramp up renewables," an end to dirty energy subsidies, and financial support for developing nations that are disproportionately bearing the brunt of a crisis largely created by the Global North.
As Common Dreamsreported earlier Sunday, since G7 leaders on Saturday put out a communiqué addressing a wide range of topics, campaigners around the world have decried the statement's support for further investments in planet-heating gas, calling it "a blunt denial of the climate emergency."
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'Pay Your Writers': Boston University Crowd Disrupts CEO's Graduation Speech Amid Strike
Writers Guild of America members and local allies picketed outside while the crowd in the stadium booed David Zaslav and made clear to the industry executive that "we don't want you here."
May 21, 2023
As unionized film and television writers across the United States continue to strike, Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav was met with critical chants both inside and outside of Boston University's Sunday commencement ceremony, during which he spoke and received an honorary degree.
After weeks of negotiating with Zaslav's company as well as Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, and Sony under the the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the Writers Guild of America (WGA) launched the strike in early May, saying that "the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing."
That same week, BU announced Zaslav as a commencement speaker, sparking backlash from students, alumni, community members, and the WGA, East director of communications, Jason Gordon, who expressed "deep disappointment with the university over its poor decision" to provide the industry CEO with a platform.
"Boston University should not give voice to someone who wants to destroy their students' ability to build a career in the film and television industry," Gordon told
The Boston Globe. "The university should expect students, Writers Guild members, as well as other unions and community groups to picket Zaslav's commencement address."
WGA members delivered the promised picket with support from local allies, including members of BU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and Boston DSA, who made signs that said: "F*!# Zaslav! Solidarity With the Writers."
\u201cSolidarity with the Writers Guild on strike! Out here with @Boston_DSA and @BU_YDSA comrades picketing Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav\u2019s commencement speech at BU.\u201d— Mike Connolly (@Mike Connolly) 1684692373
\u201cAfter getting booed by BU students David Zaslav had to cross the WGA picket line and Scabby the rat on his way out of the VIP exit. Sorry not sorry.\u201d— Annie Stamell (@Annie Stamell) 1684698472
Within Nickerson Field, "boos and expletives rained down" on Zaslav, who graduated from the BU School of Law in 1985.
During his speech, the CEO did not address the ongoing strike, "or the several dozen students who turned their backs to him, and instead shared the strategies that helped him become one of Hollywood's most powerful figures," reportedBU Today.
\u201cWarner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was met by a huge WGA-DSA picket at BU's commencement today \u2014 with hundreds outside, plus Scabby and a plane, as BU grads turned their backs and drowned him in boos and chants\n\nPay your writers, David, and get the fuck out of Massachusetts\u201d— \ud835\uddea\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude00\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff \ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde6\ud835\uddd4 \ud83c\udf39 (@\ud835\uddea\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude00\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff \ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde6\ud835\uddd4 \ud83c\udf39) 1684709485
As The A.V. Club's Sam Barasanti wrote Sunday:
It seems like, for those of us who weren't there, that Zaslav's speech was as stunningly out-of-touch with reality as the decision to host him was in the first place, which speaks to a general contempt he seems to have for... oh, let's say everyone.
This is a man who was put in charge of a massive media empire, and the most notable things he has done with that power are burn money, dismantle one of the most prestigious brands in entertainment, double-dip on promoting J.K. Rowling, kick off the now-common trend of studios deleting content from their streaming services and making it completely inaccessible in some cases, and—how can we forget?—driving the writers who make his shows and movies to go on a strike that may soon lead to similar strikes from the DGA and SAG-AFTRA that would render Hollywood completely motionless.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, "'We don't want you here,' 'Pay your writers,' and 'Shut up, Zaslav' could be heard emanating from the crowd, messages similar to the prepared chants for the picket, including some created by the school's YDSA chapter members and school students who were inspired by BU hockey chants."
\u201cEnjoy a free serotonin boost every time he\u2019s forced to pause!\u201d— DSA-LA's Hollywood Labor (@DSA-LA's Hollywood Labor) 1684696957
\u201cThe WGA is thankful to all the B.U. graduates for chanting "Pay your writers" at Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav while he delivered the #BU2023 commencement address. #WGAStrike\u201d— Writers Guild of America, East (@Writers Guild of America, East) 1684698396
As The Hollywood Reporter detailed:
Students from BU's College of Communications, which houses its film and TV program, as well as the College of Fine Arts and some enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, were among those who had expressed interest or were expected to take part in the ceremony protest, according to Vanessa Barlett, a graduating senior who helped lead the student-led writers strike solidarity event inside Nickerson Field.
"I'm in the same college as a bunch of film and TV kids," Barlett, who studied political science and journalism and was among those who created the day's official chants, told The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the event. "I'm friends with a lot of people in the College of Fine Arts, people who are in the theater arts program, so having a sense of solidarity is very important to me."
Some progressive lawmakers also weighed in—including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who tweeted that "if Warner Bros Discovery can afford to pay its CEO David Zaslav $286 million in compensation over the past two years, it can afford to pay its writers much better wages and benefits. Mr. Zaslav: Listen to the Boston University students and the Writers Guild. Pay your writers."
\u201c\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83d\udcbc \u201cYou have to listen to people you disagree with\u201d\n\n\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f \u201cPay your writers!\u201d\n\n\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83d\udcbc \u201cNo, not me. Not like that\u201d\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1684707030
Striking workers' demands from studios, which include pay increases and limits on artificial intelligence, "would gain writers approximately $429 million per year," according to WGA. "AMPTP's offer is approximately $86 million per year, 48% of which is from the minimums increase."
This article has been updated with tweets from Worcester DSA, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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