At noon today the 240,000 member strong Turkish Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK) began a two day strike in response to “state terror implemented against mass protests across the country” in what may prove to be a significant development for the brave and burgeoning protest movement triggered by #occupygezi.
Setting aside the ethics of this approach – which is unlikely to be altered anytime soon – the US can still afford to get tough with Burma without losing purchase over the Burmese government.
Repression, violation of human rights and legislation preventing freedom of expression have been the emblem of the regime of Vladimir Putin, Amnesty International has said in a new report.
In November a British delegation including the Queen is set to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka, hosted and chaired by the accused government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. If Britain wants to live up to its self-proclaimed commitment to human rights, then it should move quickly to cancel its delegation to Colombo.
According to yesterday’s Mail on Sunday, under a future Conservative government Britain would pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Mail implies that such a move would allow Britain to deport foreign criminals without fear of being censored for breach their human rights. There are a number of problems with this position.
Reports from Syria of routine rape being used against men and women is a reminder of the unspoken prevalence of the rape of men and boys in areas of conflict.
There appears to be a split in the cabinet over Britain’s diplomatic approach to China, with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and foreign secretary William Hague wanting a tougher approach.
Following this week’s IPPR paper on the subject, Jill Rutter looks at the principles of migration policy.
The People’s Republic of China has announced that it may cease its use of forced labour camps. The policy of “re-education through labour” has been a system of punishment in China since Mao Zedong introduced it in 1957. Since itstest
Claudia Tomlinson writes for Left Foot Forward on the relatively unknown, but no less unjust, treatment of indigenous peoples in Canada.
