The highest court of the European Union weighed in on the highly charged subject of outward displays of Muslim identity on Tuesday, concluding that private employers have the right to prohibit female employees from donning headscarves at work. The decision of the court centered on a claim made by a Belgian lady against her employer. After a client complained that he did not want to interact with an employee who was donning a headscarf, the woman lost her job for refusing to take it off. However, by allowing prejudice to go unchallenged under the guise of neutrality, the court failed to defend minority rights and religious freedom. The Belgian employer had a policy that prohibited workers from exhibiting outward signs of religious faith.
In a far-reaching decision, the court ruled that "an internal rule of a private company undertaking prohibition of the visible wearing of any political, philosophical, or religious sign in the workplace does not constitute direct discrimination" (The Editorial Board n.p). It maintained that there was no direct discrimination because the company's policy did not single out Muslims. The court left open the possibility of illegal "indirect discrimination" if the ban harmed adherents of a particular religion.
For religious minorities in Europe, the ruling engendered new fears. Amnesty International denounced the ruling as having "opened a backdoor" to prejudice (The Editorial Board n.p). The Conference of European Rabbis also condemned the ruling claiming that it would worsen the racial animosity that is already affecting the region. Instead of guarding against rising prejudice across the continent, the European Court of Justice shows that it is not immune to the same political pressures.
Felipe Villamor. Duterte Says He Will Still Kill Criminals, Despite Call for Inquiry. The New York Times. March 14, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/world/asia/duterte-philippines-drug crackdown.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations&_r=0
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines defiantly rebuked human rights groups and international organizations on Tuesday, pledging to continue his deadly antidrug crackdown despite mounting calls for a criminal investigation into his actions. The president talked just weeks after a retired police officer said he was willing to testify in domestic and international courts that Mr. Duterte had ordered him and other hired hit men to routinely carry out killings when Mr. Duterte was mayor of Davao. The police officers disclosed that human rights organizations have been accusing him of empowering the officers to conduct the heinous killings. The chief police added that he incorporated the help of the military to fight the drugs problem that is threatening the national security. Mr. Duterte said his tough anti-crime stance was the only formula that worked in the city of Davao, and voters across the country elected him by a wide margin to replicate that policy nationwide.
Two former Davao City Police, Arthur Lascanas and Edgar Matobato, self-described hit men, have confessed that they were members of a "death squad" led by Mr. Duterte that targeted petty criminals, drug traffickers, and political opponents. Their statements were tantamount to accusations of crimes against humanity. Both officers are vital witnesses to prove that the Davao death squad served Duterte as a template, or as a strategy or policy, for crime control through extrajudicial killings since he became president. Their accusations came after a report by Human Rights Watch, which found that the police had falsified evidence to justify unlawful killings and that the majority of those killed were poor. The report urged the United Nations to create an independent investigation into the killings. Mr. Duterte has said the accusations against him were attempts to destabilize his administration and further encouraged the police to continue with their drug raids and to shoot criminals if necessary.
The Editorial Board. The U.S. Should Not Be Egypt's Accomplice. The New York Times. March 14, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/opinion/the-us-should-not-be-egypts-accomplice.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations
After Mr. Trump met the Egyptian leader in New York last September, he described Mr. Sisi as a fantastic guy with whom he enjoyed strong "chemistry". At the time, Cairo saw those meetings as a bid to repair relations with Washington after a tumultuous period in Egypt. It is necessary to remember that Egypt experienced an uprising that overthrew a dictatorship in 2011. It had been a brief phase of democratic rule that brought the Muslim Brotherhood to power and a military coup in 2013 that overthrew the Brotherhood and paved the way for more depression.
As Mr. Sisi cracked down on the Islamists including through the 2013 massacre of protesters that killed more than 800 people, the Obama administration and Congress reassessed Washington's alliance with Egypt. The Trump administration may see Mr. Sisi as an ideal partner in fighting the Islamic State and other extremists. According to the Editorial Board, the White House is reportedly considering designating the Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Mr. Sisi, a former military general, has vowed to reform Islam from within through a "religious revolution" that purges extremists. Nonetheless, his tactics have been draconian and counterproductive. His government has persecuted violent and nonviolent Islamist groups with equal zeal and without due process. It has maligned and harassed human rights activists, making their work impossible. Moreover, it has smothered what remains of the political opposition.
Last week, Egypt's Parliament, which is subservient to Mr. Sisi, expelled a prominent lawmaker who had been critical of the government's crackdown on civil society, Anwar Sadat, who is the nephew of the former Egyptian president assassinated by Islamists. Even though the United States should work with Egypt, it should not concede without real reforms in Egypt's approach to human rights and governance. Before talks between the two governments advance, Egypt should release Aya Hijazi, an American-Egyptian humanitarian worker who has been arbitrary detention in Cairo since 2014. It is saddening that Mr. Trump has encouraged brutal, anti-democratic leaders in the Philippines, Turkey and, of course, Russia. Doing so in Egypt would fuel radicalization and discontent in the most populous nation in the Arab world.
Rick Gladstone. U.N. Official Demands Inquiry Into Kim Jong-nam's Death. The New York Times. March 13, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/world/asia/kim-jong-nam-malaysia-north-korea.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations
Mr. Quintana, the United Nations investigator of human rights violations in North Korea intervened into the mystery over the assassination of the North Korean leader's half brother, calling for an independent inquiry and possible protection of other persons from targeted killings. Mr. Quintana said the intense interest in the assassination had obscured the "human rights implications" of Kim Jong-nam's death. He also expressed suspicion that North Korean agents were involved.
Mr. Quintana's remarks also intensified the international pressure on North Korea, which faces accusations from South Korea and the United States in orchestrating the assassination a month ago at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. The Malaysian authorities have made clear that they believe that North Korea's government may have been involved. North Korea has denied responsibility, has described the murder as a smear plot by Malaysia and North Korea's enemies (Rick n.p).
Political analysts have suggested that Kim Jong-un may have ordered the killing of his half-brother over the fear that China, which was protecting Kim Jong-nam, might try to install him as North Korea's leader if the current government collapse. Mr. Quintana urged all parties concerned to cooperate in carrying out a transparent, independent and impartial investigation into the killing, and to observe guidelines regarding witness protection. He added that should the investigations confirm the involvement of state actors, then, Mr. Kim would be a victim of an extrajudicial killing and measures would need to be taken to assign responsibilities and protect other persons from targeted killings.
Azam Ahmed. While Scolding Trump, Mexico Seeks to Curtail Citizens' Rights. The New York Times. March 16, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/world/americas/mexico-trump-pena-nieto-wall-drug-war.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations
Even as Mexico fumes over President Trump's aggressive stance toward its people by ordering a wall between the two nations, the Mexican government is quietly trying to rip up basic legal protections for its citizens at home. Legal experts fear that the move will set back human rights in Mexico on decades.
Back home, the Mexican government was busy doing the opposite, introducing a bill to reverse central tenets of the new justice system with such little publicity that many lawmakers, judges and defense lawyers do not even know about it. Beyond that, the bill, which is yet to gain Congress approval, flips the very premise of modern justice on its head. Rather than innocent before proved guilty, it would require concrete evidence of reasonable doubt, essentially shifting the burden of proof to the accused. The government's recent scolding of the Trump administration while actively trying to roll back the rights of Mexicans at home underscores the paradox.
The Associated Press Jakarta. Indonesia deports two French journalists from Papua province. Abc News. March 19, 2017, http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indonesia-deports-french-journalists-papua-province-46234753.
On 17 March 2017, Indonesia deported two French journalists for committing visa violations while shooting a documentary film in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua. This occurrence made the third group of French journalists to face deportation or punished for illegal coverage in Papua since 2010. The two, Jean Frank Pierre and Marie Longhamp, were sent home through Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika. Papua province, a former Dutch colony, is known for biodiversity and large mining reserves as well as simmering separatist movement among its indigenous people, and foreign journalists face restrictions while working there. Foreign journalists cannot do report from unless they have a government permit. The pair was working on a project about nature, culture and other attractions at several locations in the Indonesian province on the western part of New Guinea.
There was an allegation that the two French journalists arrested in Papua had ordinary visas without necessary documents from related institutions. Local media reported Pierre and Longhamp were taken into custody when they were about to take pictures of Cartenz using a rented helicopter. They also planned to take pictures at locations in the neighboring province of West Papua. Fabio Maria Lopes Costa of the Alliance of Independence Journalists denounced their deportations as contradicting the policy of President Joko Widodo to allow foreign journalists to cover the province.
Michael, Edison. Former teacher may have planned alleged abduction of teen. Abc News. March 19, 2017. http://abcnews.go.com/US/teacher-planned-alleged-abduction-teen-advance-police/story?id=46238809.
The article concerns an accusatory report against a Tennessee teacher for kidnapping a 15-year-old former student. The student, 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas was last seen around 7:30 or 8 a.m. Monday at a Shoney's restaurant in Columbia, Tennessee, where she had been dropped off by a friend. Her former teacher, Tad Cummins, 50, allegedly appeared on surveillance footage from a gas station near the restaurant at about 8:30 a.m. filling up his silver Nissan Rogue. The authorities believed he was traveling in the car with the teenager. Cummins, from Columbia, Tennessee, is wanted on allegations of aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor. There were beliefs that he has two handguns and Elizabeth was likely to be in imminent danger.
"What scares us about Mr. Cummins is he's sort given up his life at this point," Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland told ABC News. "The girl is just 15". Rowland said the teacher may have decided to take Elizabeth and leave in the wake of his being spotted earlier this year allegedly kissing the teen student. Both the Maury County Public Schools and the Maury County Sheriff's Department investigated the incident. School officials said in a statement that the health sciences teacher at Culleoka Unit School was initially suspended and then dismissed because of the district investigation. The sheriff said Cummins might have begun plotting to leave with Elizabeth after he was suspended from his teaching job.
Robert Tait. Refugees find scant solace in hard line Hungary. Theguardian. March 8, 2017.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/refugees-asylum-seekers-hungary-hardline-eu-viktor-orban.
Pias, a young Iraqi refugee who came to Hungary, initially sought to show his English. However, after four months of being in the camp, fear and uncertainty turned him into a mute.Despite paying the Hungarian authorities €1,200 (£1,018) to send him to a more open facility, the 19-year-old feared risk of hauled back into custody under a draconian new law.
Orbán, the Hungary hard-line Prime Minister has trumpeted his plans for an illiberal state and called for homogeneity claiming his anti-refugee policy protects European Christianity. The major intensification of Orbán, government's anti-immigrant offensive, has been condemned as a flagrant breach of European Union law by lawyers and human rights groups, who are urging fellow member states to act. Campaigners have denounced Hungary's practice of charging detainees to transfer them to facilities that are even more primitive. Cash officially designated as collateral and could theoretically be returned if the asylum seekers meet a promise not to be hiding across the border in another EU Member State.
"The Hungarian government has profited from taking bail money off people wanting to be moved from closed detention centers and then they transfer them to places like Kormend, where there is nothing to do and not even proper heating," said Marta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungary Helsinki Committee. "It's cynical and disgusting." (Tait).
Thai prisons violate human rights, report says. Al Jazeera. February 28, 2017. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/thai-prisons-violate-human-rights-report-170228063213721.html.
Thailand has the highest incarceration rate in Southeast Asia, jailing 425 out of every 100,000 people, according to the report released by the International Federation for Human Rights, which was released on Tuesday. More than 260,000 inmates are incarcerated in 148 prisons with an originally estimated capacity of less than 120,000, the report revealed, with the massive overcrowding forcing inmates to live in harsh conditions. Most prisoners were convicted on drug-related charges, the legacy of a war on drugs launched by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Under Thai law, possession of heroin or methamphetamine is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The worst side of the story of the correctional centers in Thailand is that they fail to meet international standards with inmates routinely shackled, beaten, and stuffed into overcrowded cells. Inmates overworked throughout the week and are also deprived of good health treatment or check-up. The overcrowded jails make worse conditions by high turnover among guards, forcing prisons to rely on frame staff. With too many prisoners, inmates can find themselves stuffed into packed cells with no beds and squat toilets with no enclosures for privacy. At night, they lie pressed against each other on mats on bare linoleum floors. To the response of interviews conducted, prisoners revealed that overworked guards would usually beat them with clubs, throw them in solitary confinement, or keep them chained and shackled for weeks, despite government initiatives to end the practice.
Government agencies involved in justice and narcotics issues say they are working to ease the problems by fixing drug laws to have milder punishments and push people towards rehabilitation places more, instead of throwing them in prison. Thailand amended its regulations on prisons this month, but the laws still allow shackling solitary confinement for more than 15 days, and liability exemptions for prison officials in certain situations - all breaches of international standards.
The Editorial Board. Trump shouldn't let Congo's leader stomp all over human rights. The Washington Post. March 10, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-shouldnt-let-congos-leader-stomp-all-over-human-rights/2017/03/10/c19338ba-029a-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html.
On the last day of 2016, the Catholic Church announced a remarkable political breakthrough in Congo, a sprawling country nearly the size of Western Europe that for decades has been a fount of war and instability in Africa. Joseph Kabila, the country's president since 2001, had refused to leave office after the expiration of his second term in December, bringing Congo to the brink of another violent upheaval. The accord brokered by the church called for new elections in 2017 in which Mr. Kabila, who is constitutionally barred from seeking another term, would not take part. In the meantime, a new prime minister would be chosen by the opposition coalition.
More than two months later, the deal seems to have unraveled and Congo is again on the edge. Mr. Kabila, who never signed or publicly endorsed the accord, has retreated into his customary seclusion even as his security forces conduct a violent crackdown. As the Wall Street Journal reported, government forces have killed about 180 people since Dec. 31, including scores in the Kasai-Central province, the stronghold of the opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress. A video circulated by human rights groups last month appeared to show a massacre by government soldiers of at least 13 people, including several women.
Last month the U.N. Security Council condemned the new violence, which it said might constitute war crimes. It called on the government to revive talks on implementing 31 Dec. 2106 agreement, including the nomination of a new prime minister. The international response is salutary but it is unlikely to be successful unless supported by the United States. After some hesitation, the Obama administration played a significant role in bringing pressure on the Kabila regime, punishing some of its top leaders for involvement in human rights abuses. The Trump administration, however, has shown little interest in promoting democracy and human rights or, for that matter, Africa. The White House's only Congo-related action has been a reported draft executive order lifting controls on the trade of minerals that used to fund armed groups. Mr. Kabila may be betting that Mr. Trump will shrug if he scraps the political accord and uses force to remain in power. Therefore, the administration should move swiftly to signal its readiness to join new E.U sanctions.
Patrick Wintour. Bahrain moves to ban opposition party and let army courts try civilians. Theguardian. March 6, 2017.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/06/bahrain-moves-ban-opposition-party-army-courts-try-civilians.
The government of Bahrain has launched a manhunt on dissidents and human rights for protesting the ban on the opposition party and transferring civilian cases from normal courts to the military courts. In February 2017, the Justice Minister filed a lawsuit that sought to dissolve and ban the Al- Wefaq, which is the primary main opposition group. The Minister claimed that the party was a threat to the national security and stability. The action of the government followed allegations that the secular "National Democratic Action Society" otherwise Wa'ad, committed serious violations that targeted the rule of law, supported terrorism, and sympathized with individuals facing terrorism charges.
On Sunday, the parliament passed a constitutional amendment, which critics suspect will create room for the running of the country under the martial law. The change would see the trial of civilians in military courts, especially in cases that involve the military. Occasional violence and unrests have characterized the Gulf kingdom since the time the Shia majority led protests in 2011, which the Sunni-led government with help of its Gulf Arab neighbors suppressed with the excessive force.
In January, there were street demonstrations happened when three Shia men faced death sentences for murdering an Emirati and two Bahraini police officers in a 2014 bomb attack. During the protests, Bahrain accused the Shia Iran of perpetrating violence in the region. On Monday, the Switzerland filed a motion in a Human Rights conference in Geneva to denounce Bahrain's conducts. However, there were fears that it would fail because the United Kingdom (the UK) expressed reservations that it was unbalanced and unfair. The office of foreign affairs expressed that the Swiss report did not appreciate the steps that Bahrain has realized in transforming its social and political affairs. Instead, they confirmed that they will be issuing the UK a national statement that includes Bahrain. In the meantime, the Bahraini government arrested the mother-in-law and a brother of the Bahraini activist based in the UK, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei. It is astonishing that the Bahrain is crossing red lines and the British government is reluctant to act on a motion to rebuke the Bahraini authorities.
Alex Shams. Trump's 'honour crimes' order is a racist distraction. Al Jazeera. March 11, 2017. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/03/trump-honour-crimes-order-racist-distraction-170309080923757.html.
The president Donald Trump announced a new executive order to ban refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. Hidden in the new order is a clause that states that the United States government will begin tracking and publicizing, "honour killings" committed by foreign nationals in the US. These laws are not intended to protect lives. They rest on the idea that human life has a different value based on nationality, and that the life of an American killed by a foreigner has greater worth than a foreigner killed by an American. There is no other way to justify a law that intends only to highlight victims based on the national origin.
By focusing on the phenomenon of "honour killings" by foreigners instead of tackling gender-based violence committed by anyone, including American citizens, Trump's proposal reveals its clearly discriminatory intent. It is based on the idea that Muslim or Middle Eastern domestic abuse is somehow more terrible or eviler than Western domestic abuse or Christian domestic abuse, and by focusing on the idea that crimes based on "culture" are more terrible than others, it erases the fact that cultural justifications exist in all times and places.
Misogyny and sexism are problems the world over, and attempts to blame foreigners for violence against women in the US is an attempt to protect the American men who commit the vast majority of violence against women in this country. Trump should be bolstering penalties against domestic abusers, investing in shelters for victims of abuse, and strengthening laws protecting victims of sexual assault across the country if he is serious about protecting women rights. The "honour crimes" proposal, just like the list of crimes committed by "illegal immigrants", is a racist distraction, and needs to be seen as such. The key to protecting American women is defeating American sexism and racism, not scapegoating migrants or Muslims.
Fox News World. The US declines to join letter criticizing China on human rights. March 22, 2017. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/22/us-declines-to-join-letter-criticizing-china-on-human-rights.html
The article is about the allegations that China tortured human rights attorneys. The writer reports that America failed to join other countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and others in condemning China for the heinous act. The particular accusatory letter requested Chinese government to launch investigations into the abuse of lawyer Yang Xie and the colleagues. The abstention by the U.S in joining the other countries paints a worrying future that the country, now under President Trump may overlook issues of human rights abuse. In the meantime, the State Secretary Tillerson Rex traveled to China and spoke in a conciliatory tone without any show of concern over the human rights troubles. Even the State Department did not clarify the reasons that U.S never signed the letter. It is also unclear whether the White House involved in the decision to abstain. This revelation is important to course because China is the authoritarian state with various cases of abuse of human rights. The U.S has been supporting the activists, who have fought to break the draconian rule. As such, one would expect that America would be among the first countries to rebuke China for the latest misdoings. The failure of the US to comment on the situation is worrying to the international human rights campaign considering that Americans have been playing the leading role in guarding rights all over the world. This event seems to be a sensitization call to activists to over the Trump administration and shift their reliance from America as far as the fight for human rights is concerned.
Works Cited
Alex Shams. "Trump's 'honour crimes' order is a racist distraction". Al Jazeera, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/03/trump-honour-crimes-order-racist-distraction-170309080923757.html. Accessed 11 March 2017.
Azam Ahmed. "While Scolding Trump, Mexico Seeks to Curtail Citizens' Rights". The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/world/americas/mexico-trump-pena-nieto-wall-drug-war.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations. Accessed 19 March 2017.
Felipe Villamor. "Duterte Says He Will Still Kill Criminals, Despite Call for Inquiry". The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/world/asia/duterte-philippines-drug crackdown.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations&_r=0. Accessed 19 March 2017.
Michael, Edison. "Former teacher may have planned alleged abduction of teen". Abc News http://abcnews.go.com/US/teacher-planned-alleged-abduction-teen-advance-police/story?id=46238809. Accessed 19 March 2017.
Patrick Wintour. "Bahrain moves to ban opposition party and let army courts try civilians". Theguardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/06/bahrain-moves-ban-opposition-party-army-courts-try-civilians. Accessed 6 March 2017.
Robert Tait. "Refugees find scant solace in hard line Hungary". Theguardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/refugees-asylum-seekers-hungary-hardline-eu-viktor-orban. Accessed 8 March 2017.
Rick Gladstone. "U.N. Official Demands Inquiry Into Kim Jong-nam's Death". The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/world/asia/kim-jong-nam-malaysia-north-korea.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations. Accessed 13 March 2017.
Thai prisons violate human rights, report says. Al Jazeera http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/thai-prisons-violate-human-rights-report-170228063213721.html. Accessed 28 February 2017.
The Associated Press Jakarta. "Indonesia deports two French journalists from Papua province". Abc News, http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indonesia-deports-french-journalists-papua-province-46234753. Accessed 19 March 2017.
The Editorial Board. "Legalizing Discrimination in Europe". The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/opinion/legalizing-discrimination-in-europe.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations. Accessed 15 March 2017.
The Editorial Board. "The U.S. Should Not Be Egypt's Accomplice". The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/opinion/the-us-should-not-be-egypts-accomplice.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHuman%20Rights%20and%20Human%20Rights%20Violations. Accessed 14 March 2017.
The Editorial Board. "Trump shouldn't let Congo's leader stomp all over human rights". The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-shouldnt-let-congos-leader-stomp-all-over-human-rights/2017/03/10/c19338ba-029a-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html. Accessed 10 March 2017.
Fox News World. "US declines to join letter criticizing China on human rights" http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/22/us-declines-to-join-letter-criticizing-china-on-human-rights.html. Accessed 22 March 2017.
