Human Rights

Is Guantanamo A Show Of US Power Or A Human Rights Violation?

After the 9/11 attacks, the US experienced a dive into a security crisis and went extremely serious about taking actions against terrorism. They set an incarceration camp in Guantanamo Bay in 2002. The media have revealed many practices that are against the law of human rights that are carried out here and enclosed from the rest of the globe. Many NGO’s who are purely devoted to the human rights of the society have opposed this act of US power and abandon this method of treating humans that are found guilty or suspected to be guilty in combatting against the US. The US designates this action as a war against terrorism, they have designated their enemies as terrorism, and this is indeed a show-off of the power of the US.

Violence? Control It With Entertainment!

Keeping society happy is not an easy task but it surely is easy to reduce the global violence. People are always curious about taboo things and you governments should kill these thoughts quickly. How so? It’s pretty simple – with proper entertainment – Pure Taboo should be taken as prime example of it. Delivering the graphic interpretation of the most taboo’ish subjects in sexual area of society. Controversial situations but always with a proper storyline and superb quality.

Pure Taboo – making taboos mainstream. A way of keeping violence down.

After the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration declared that the attack was none of the concern of any other countries of the world and decided to play on its own against this attack. They mentioned that the US is unique and did not let the UN interfere in the matter. This act of the US was definitely an act to create a fearful environment in the world. On the other hand, the US responded very violently to the 9/11 attacks by invading Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Cunning Breach Of The US Constitution By The US

Whether it be a crisis or any other situation, fundamental rights are always authorized, and the required restrictions to the administration guarantee must be determined stringently along with its justification. However, some fundamental rights cannot be restricted at all which includes inhuman tortures or a treatment that may be referred to as human degrading treatments. And all of these breaches are carried out in the Guantanamo against the humans that fail to cooperate with interrogation. And when there is a question of constitution, the Guantanamo is not stationed in the US soils, and hence it can go against the US constitution not forgetting the fact that it is operated by the US administration. When the US is commented by the NGOs like Amnesty International and the Center of Constitutional Rights, the US administration has an answer stating that the US does not have sufficient supremacy since the Guantanamo is not on the US soils.

The Illegal Treatment

The amplifying evidence by some secret services has reported the nature of inhumanity suffered by the detainees in Guantanamo. The detainees are forced to sit on their own shit, enforcing painful positions, use of military dogs for torturing the detainees until death, long exposures extreme of heat, cold or noise and enforcing the detainees to strip completely. These kinds of tortures are executed upon failing to comply with the interrogation or breaching the prison rule. Is that humanity?

The New Problem

The Guantanamo was an action against terrorism after 9/11 attacks by the US. It was to solve terrorism and not raise any other crisis. But now it has turned out to be a result of another severe problem of legitimacy. This is purely due to the violations of the fundamental right that should not be restricted in any circumstances. There are many ways to lift-up the Guantanamo issue, but this is possible only if the US is willing to strengthen its relationship with human rights and have some sympathy. It is affirmative to treat the terrorists through these violations but announcing enemies as a terrorist and then violating their human rights is something that is not expected from the super-power like the US. Therefore, the US must revise its policies and take a step forward to make sure that the normal innocent human being is not a victim of such tortures and inhumanity.

Amnesty Annual Report Suggest World Leaders Are Abandoning Human Rights

In the current times, where the entire world is facing problems with precarious economies, natural disasters and troubled environments, we need leaders who can guide us into a safe, peaceful and harmonious future. However, this is not something that we are seeing today.

According to the Annual Human Rights Report for 2016 from Amnesty International, our current leaders are aborting human rights with their detestable rhetoric and regressive policies.

The Amnesty report included some of the popular leaders like Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogna, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Phillippines President Rodrigo Duterte, and China’s President Xi Jinping. These leaders have constantly threatened the existence of human rights through their repugnant oratory. According to Salil Shetty, the secretary-general of Amnesty, there are very few governments in current times, who are taking a stand for human rights.

The Dwarfism Of Current Leaders Towards Humanity

The most controversial among these include the travel ban levied by the US President Donald Trump.

The report quotes on several events and policy implications of these world-famous leaders. The most controversial among these include the travel ban levied by the US President Donald Trump. This hateful move of the leader to ban entry of people belonging to Muslim-majority countries was the epitome of human rights violation. Despite economic progress and public discussion on democracy, the US remained the most unequal and violent region.

The situation in the Asia Pacific is similar where the human rights of the people are repressed. In various countries like Malaysia, China, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, North Korea, Singapore and Vietnam, ill treatment and torture was the tool to target marginalised people and defenders of human rights. Such violations and denial of justice to victims need to be addressed effectively.

Cuckolding on the rise – do we really need this?

Be The Cuck – Only Watch!

Awkward trend of cuckolding has been getting a lot of social power in last months and now there is even a dedicated website being released to promote it to mainstream. Called Be The Cuck its purpose is to promote this sexual fantasy of watching a significant other woman having sex with a third party while the original partner watches it. Videos on the website are recorded in POV, so you are the title Cuck – a person that can only watch.

Number of human rights defenders, journalists, activists and lawyers who faced harassment and intimidation under Xi Jinping’s rule in China is increasing.

The Chinese government has enacted and drafted various laws in the pretext of national security that suppresses these activists. The 61-year old human right activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was imprisoned repeatedly for calling out major political reforms. In the same manner, North Korea practiced extreme repression and restrictions on its domestic independent media and freedom of speech.

The government crackdown on the Rohingya, a minority population, further resulted in the fleeing of more than 655,000 refugees to Bangladesh. The discrimination against Rohingya is the warning on the crisis that will follow This dreadful episode would stand in history as an example of catastrophic failure of the world to address such crimes.

The Effects Of Regressive Rhetoric

This hateful move of the US President Trump on travel ban has resulted in a domino effect leading to demonizing the minority group by other countries. Marginalised communities have been continuously targeted and overlooked by the government. Black people have faced racism, violence and discrimination in the majority of countries.

Women and children from the marginalised communities have faced violence, sexual violence, child labour, trafficking, and racial harassment.

Migrants and Muslims are vulnerable to discrimination and racial profiling in various parts of the world.

The Ray Of Hope

These inhuman acts have triggered many human rights activists and common people in opposing and protesting against such regressive ideologies. Many activists were killed in the past years while fighting for human rights against the governments. An example is the Women’s March in January 2017, they protested against the comments made by US President Trump during his election campaign.

The report mentions various other movements by the activists which challenged the ideologies and embraced the importance of respecting human rights. Thousands of activists and common people in various parts of the world have protested against violence, discrimination and suppression.

Human rights activists have used technology and various tools to demonstrate their outrage. They are anchoring on a digital future which involves effective use of mobiles, computers, FM radio, and social media to challenge injustice and fight for the respect and acceptance of human rights.

The Final Call

The report from this Amnesty is a wakeup call for people who believe in equality, humanity and peace. With World leaders who are constantly failing to attain this through their discriminating speeches, unfair laws and regressive policies, it is important for the people to rise and fight against them.

The report proves to be a warning on the ongoing crisis and continuous breach of human rights. It provides in-depth information on various policies and acts of different governments, which resulted in discrimination and violence around the world.

This Amnesty campaigns for freedom, dignity and justice to all and seeks public support to build a safe, peaceful, and a united world.

Inhuman Treatment Meted Out To Refugees In The Calais Area

The Calais area in France saw a huge influx of refugees fleeing their war prone regions. However, the reception in the area has elicited worries from human rights organisations around the world. Initially, a camp was created in Calais to handle the refugees. However, the French authorities destroyed it after some time. The refugees were left to their own devices, without any shelter or source of food. This means that over 500 hundred refugees are living on the streets and wooded areas around Calais as they seek to get asylum.

Calais camp — A camp was created in Calais to handle refugees

Inhumane Treatment

Hundreds of refugees around the area complain of inhumane treatment by the local authorities. Riot police who were posted in the area are said to harass the migrants on a daily basis. Some of them pepper spray both adults and children while asleep or spray pepper on their only source of food. At times, they confiscate their sleeping bags and other essential materials required for their survival. Authorities have also been blamed for turning a blind eye to the widespread harassment that refugees endure each day at the hands of the local police.

Calais refugees — Local authorities barred any form of assistance to the refugees

What was even more alarming was a local ban that the authorities imposed on humanitarian agencies in the region which offered help to the refugees in the area. In March, the local authorities barred any form of assistance to the refugees in the form of food, water, sleeping bags or clothing. This step was widely criticised even by the French government. However, a court ruling during the same month lifted the ban.

Other Mechanisms

Even though the court lifted the ban, the local authorities resorted to other means. For example, donations were stipulated to be distributed every day for only a single two-hour session. Local police were also used to disrupt any distribution exercise that was against their stipulated regulations. There have been cases where the police forcibly prevented the migrants from accessing the aid workers, and in some instances destroyed the food meant for them.

They have also resorted to frustrate aid workers in the area by constantly checking their documents or snatching their phones whenever they documented video evidence of the inhumane conditions that the refugees were experiencing.

Checking documents is allowed by law, but the police have resorted to the tactic as a way of frustrating the aid workers because it delays their distribution efforts. On the other hand, French law allows filming, but the police have on occasion taken the phones and deleted any videos contained in them.

Change In Circumstances

The French government has proclaimed its commitment to supporting refugees and asylum seekers in a humane way. However, much is still expected from them, especially in the Calais area. The right solution is to remove any impediments that prevent humanitarian assistance while exercising proper treatment of refugees as stipulated under international standards. All human rights agencies are adopting a “wait and see” attitude to find out whether the French government, under President Macron, will live up to its words.

See Trump’s comments endorsing police brutality.

Savchenko Exchange Deal Sees Russians Jailed In Ukraine Return Home

Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko

Russia and Ukraine engaged in a prisoner swap agreement in what was seen as a huge step towards negotiating a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region. The high profile prisoners involved were Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian military pilot and two Russian military personnel.

Even though this deal was seen as a humanitarian act from both sides, Russia still maintained that it was not involved in the war. Furthermore, the speaker of the upper house chambers of Russia maintained that this was not a prisoner exchange but rather an international obligation that required prisoners abroad to serve time in their home countries.

Nadiya Savchenko’s Reception

Savchenko returned home to a hero’s reception. She was allowed to return to Kiev aboard the Ukraine president’s jet. However, this was not the first time that she was popular among Ukrainians. Savchenko is the first woman military pilot in Ukraine and even before she went to serve in the war, she was already a local celebrity. However, her actions while in Russian custody cemented her popularity in Ukraine.

During her trial, she disrupted the sessions at one point to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. She was also steadfast on the war and was vocal enough to renounce the charges that were brought against her. At one point, she even went on a hunger strike to denounce the sentence that had been handed to her.

She was accused of having been involved in the killing of two Russian journalists who were covering the war. Though the evidence was not satisfactory enough, she was found guilty and sentenced to 22 years in prison for murder. (See how dissidents are imprisoned in Iran)

As a show of honour and popularity, Savchenko was elected as a Member of Parliament back home even while still in incarceration.

Russian Military Personnel

On the other side, Ukrainians accused two Russians captured in eastern Ukraine of waging a terrorist war and were each handed a sentence of 14 years in prison. The two had revealed to a Reuter’s reporter that they were indeed military personnel from Russia but that they were not on active duty. In a dramatic twist of events, they also accused the Russian government of neglecting their pleas to intervene.

While Savchenko was received as a hero, only a small media reception and their wives were available to receive the two Russians. This was a strategic move to boost her chances of being released from Russian custody.

Show Of Humanitarianism Or Simply A War Strategy?

The prison exchange is seen as a huge win towards fast resolution of the conflict in the region. However, some experts warn that Russia may have used the opportunity for its own gain. One of the reasons of their “humanitarian act” was the impending European Union meeting that was to deliberate on whether they would continue imposing sanctions on the country because of supporting the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Given that Savchenko had also fought alongside American forces in the war in Iraq, Russia was also keen to have a deal with the Americans. They were reported as to have wanted to exchange her for a Russian arm’s smuggler who was being held in the United States. The United States bluntly rejected the deal.