International Human Rights Day....

It is terrible that I did not blog on such an occasion - after all the purpose of this blog is supposed to outline this sort of thing, as well as the rest of the stuff you've seen on here. Tsk tsk to me. I have an excuse but it is not a good enough excuse to post here so I will spare you.

Instead, let me turn to International Human Rights Day which was on December 10th. This is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and although the day itself has passed, events will continue to unfold for the coming year as part of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Here's the UN website on Human Rights Day 2007. Here you'll find various information about this day as well as a calendar of events. You will also find a link to the actual Universal Declaration of Human Rights, should you want to peruse it.

Here's an article by a journalist in Africa, reflecting on International Human Rights Day and the actual progress being seen particularly in Uganda related to human rights....a sobering view that makes you think twice about policy versus implementation.

There are several human rights watch organizations doing work around the globe to procure these rights for every individual under the sun; I hope that at least this month, amidst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, you can remember that there is a larger world out there than just that around our Christmas tree....

Saudi Arabian Rape Victim is Punished

A young woman in Saudi Arabia was gang-raped and pressed charges against her attackers. Here we expect that a rape victim, when facing her attackers and pressing charges, will find justice. In this young woman's case, she did find justice, but she also found something further - punishment for herself and the lawyer who represented her. She was jailed and ordered to be lashed; her lawyer was banned from practicing. True justice? I don't think so. Who ever heard of punishing the victim as justice? Doesn't make any sense to me; does it to you? The circumstances surrounding the story can be found at these sites:

Al Jazeera.net
BBC
CNN
Human Rights Watch report

Burma Protests Crackdown

New information about the September demonstrations in Burma has just been released. Human Rights Watch has a new report out stating that the crackdown by the military in September was bloodier than the government was admitting. There were more beatings, shootings, and arrests than reported by the government at that point in time. The Human Rights Watch report was put together with information from eyewitnesses. And Human Rights Watch state that the crackdown is far from over.

To see the Human Rights Watch article and link to the report, click here.

Even if the situation is no longer in our news, remember: 1) Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest, and 2) the country is still under the control of the military government. Check out this website(and there are many others if you just google Burma): DontForgetBurma.org.