Document - AI News for Health Professionals Bulletin Vol. 12 No.21
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
NEWS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
AI Bulletin Vol. 12 No.21, 4 December 2009
AI Index: ACT 84/021/2009
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Contents:
Amnesty International reports & statements
News articles
Children
Death Penalty
Food Security and Poverty
Health Services
Health Workers
Human Trafficking
HIV and AIDS
Malaria, TB and Other Diseases
Maternal Mortality
Mental Health
Refugees and Migrants
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Sexual and Reproductive Rights
Water and Sanitation
Conferences/Courses
Publications
Amnesty International reports & statements:
3 December: China: China’s supreme court must carefully review reported death sentences imposed today on five individuals by a court in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of northwest China, Amnesty International said on Thursday. Thirteen people were sentenced by the court in the city of Urumqi, in connection with deadly violence that erupted after a police crackdown on Uighur protesters on 5 July.
http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/china-must-halt-death-sentences-against-uighurs-20091203
3 December: Honduras: At the end of a 10-day visit to Honduras during the country's presidential elections, Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation to ensure all those responsible for human rights abuses are brought to justice and the victims given reparations. These abuses included killings following excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests of demonstrators by police and military, indiscriminate and unnecessary use of tear gas, ill treatment of detainees in custody, violence against women, harassment of activists, journalists, lawyers and judges.
2 December: Saudia Arabia: Amnesty International has urged the Saudi Arabian authorities to investigate the reported killing of seven civilians in an air raid attack in the Sa’da region of Yemen. The Saudi Arabian Air Force reportedly dropped three bombs on a family home in the vicinity of Mithab on Monday, in what may have been a deliberate attack. It is unclear whether armed fighters were present at the house or in its vicinity at the time of the attack.
1 December: International: Gender discrimination, sexual violence and poverty are undermining global progress in tackling HIV and AIDS, Amnesty International said on World Aids Day. Women are at greater risk of HIV infection and HIV has a particularly devastating impact on women and their families. Unless these gender disparities and their underlying causes are adequately addressed, efforts to reduce the spread of HIV and address its consequences will be woefully incomplete.
25 November: International: Discriminationis a key driver of poverty and women often face discrimination on multiple grounds – they may be denied their rights because they are women and because they belong to a marginalized group. Women living in poverty also face discrimination simply because they are poor. This discrimination can mean that women are excluded from access to justice, protection or services.
http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/women-violence-and-poverty-20091125
25 November: Yemen: Women in Yemen face systemic discrimination and endemic violence with devastating consequences for their lives, Amnesty International said in a campaign report on Wednesday. Their rights are routinely violated because Yemeni laws as well as tribal and customary practices treat them as second class citizens.
http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/yemeni-women-face-violence-and-discrimination-20091125
24 November: Tajikistan: The authorities in Tajikistan must properly prosecute violence against women as a criminal offence, Amnesty International said in a report published on Tuesday.
Violence is not just a family affair: Women face abuse in Tajikistan,documents the physical, psychological and sexual abuse women face in the family and urges the authorities to address it as the crime it is and not to dismiss it as a "private family matter".
http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/women-face-abuse-tajikistan-20091124
Children:
Africa: “Significant strides have been made in the promotion of child survival, development, protection and participation in Africa,” said Mr. Saad Houry, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, as Africa marks ten years since the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Charter) came into force on 29 November 1999. UNICEF(26 November): http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51939.html
Bangladesh: Over half of Bangladesh’s children are living in poverty and there is widespread deprivation amongst them in the basic areas of food, sanitation and shelter, with limited ability to escape their circumstances, according to experts. IRIN(2 December): http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87306
Caribbean: A comprehensive study on child sexual abuse in the Eastern Caribbean has concluded that the practice is a serious and extensive problem for societies in the sub region. The researchers concluded that the practice is perpetuated not only by adults who carry out harmful sexual practices with children, but by non-abusing adults through complicity, silence, denial and failure to take appropriate action.UNICEF(25 November): http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51931.html
DRC: In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country plagued by continued armed conflict and a weak judicial system, the task of providing protection and support to victims seeking legal redress is all the more complex. The state does not have the infrastructure, financial means, or functioning mechanisms to provide the full range of support so urgently needed by the victims. This article examines the challenges posed by one particularly vulnerable group of victims: children who are victims of sexual violence crimes. Human Rights Watch(24 November): http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/24/protecting-child-victims-sexual-violence-trials-dr-congo-suggestions-way-forward
Eastern Europe: Governments of five eastern European countries have agreed to start the long-term work of developing community-based services and phasing out state-run children’s institutions. UNICEF(26 November): http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51940.html
Guatemala:Guatemala exhibits some of the worst poverty in Latin America, with half of children under five suffering from malnutrition; one-third of children not completing primary school; and 290 women dying from complications in pregnancy or childbirth for every 100,000 live births. Particularly, Guatemala has failed to address health, education and nutrition disparities along the lines of the lines of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status and geography, finds the report. IPS(24 November): http://www.humanrights-geneva.info/Guatemala-s-unequal-tax-code,6957
Haiti:Each year in Haiti, more than a quarter of a million children from the poorest families end up in virtual slavery - after their parents give them away to people who promise their sons and daughters a better life. The link provided is an audio slideshow of Haiti’s slave children. BBC(3 December 2009):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8391000/8391791.stm
India: The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry of India, through the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), will soon roll out free drugs for second-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) of HIV positive children in 10 states. Ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, the news comes as a relief to over 1,400 children in the country who have failed to respond to first-line drugs available free at ART centres across the country. In January 2008, the government already introduced second-line treatment for adults not responding to first-line drugs. Indian Express(28 November):
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/soon-children-with-hiv-to-get-free-secondline-treatment/547178/
Madagascar: A report for UNICEFon the effects of the political crisis and the economic collapse on the urban poor in Antananarivo found that children were troubled by abuse, violence and their parents' sudden unemployment and struggle to find food. Some had to drop out of school for lack of money. Some had to work, or beg for food. Others joined street gangs. Los Angeles Times(28 November):
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-madagascar-poverty28-2009nov28,0,5034878.story
Uganda:HIV/ AIDS pandemic are one of the leading causes of orphan-hood and child labour in Uganda affecting 15 percent of children out of estimated 2 million, reports Inea News Agency Ltd. Fifteen percent of children in Uganda, 950,000 boys and girl orphans are compelled to participate in paid work, or the girls get married early and some had to become heads of households. Catholic Information Service for Africa.(27 November): http://allafrica.com/stories/200911301423.html
Yemen: The rising number of minors fleeing the Horn of Africa is becoming a challenge for the UN and aid organizations, as the number of new arrivals in Yemen reached record highs this year. IRIN (30 November): http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87237
Death Penalty:
Iran:A flurry of executions and death sentences in Iran has raised concern that the government is using judicially sanctioned killing to intimidate the political opposition and quell pockets of ethnic unrest around the nation, human rights groups and Iran experts said. New York Times(22 November): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/world/middleeast/23iran.html?ref=world
Food Security and Poverty:
Chad and Niger:Several million people are likely to face a serious food crisis next year in West Africa's eastern Sahel region notably in Chad and Niger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said. Late and erratic rainfall in September and October, a period critical to crop development, has meant there will be a shortfall of food in this region that is between the Sahara desert and the forest parts of sub saharan Africa. Reuters (27 November): http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/58388/2009/10/27-143055-1.htm
Ethiopia:In recent months, the Ethiopian government began marketing abroad one of the hottest commodities in an increasingly crowded and hungry world: farmland. This impoverished and chronically food-insecure Horn of Africa nation is rapidly becoming one of the world's leading destinations for the booming business of land leasing, by which relatively rich countries and investment firms are securing 40-to-99-year contracts to farm vast tracts of land adding to food insecurity in the region. Washington Post (23 November): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/22/AR2009112201478.html?wprss=rss_world
Kenya: As Kenya contemplates a policy shift from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation, some women in North Eastern Province are ahead of the game: they have turned to rain water harvesting for food production and their efforts are bearing fruit.Daily Nation (25 November): http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/806040/-/vmwn4m/-/index.html
Liberia: With 45 percent of Liberian children under age five chronically or acutely malnourished, experts say nutrition is a burning health problem, but NGOs feel the Ministry of Health is not as worried as it should be, and lacks the capacity to provide leadership in bringing about solutions. IRIN(2 December): http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87294
Peru:In Huancavelica as a whole, where indigenous people make up the majority of the population, nearly 86 percent of people live in poverty, and approximately 45 percent of children in native communities are malnourished. Despite these grim statistics, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has found fertile ground in the village for fighting hunger and promoting food security through a project aimed at strengthening community organisations, reviving consumption of traditional foods, and connecting farm production with markets, to boost the incomes of local farmers.IPS (21 November): http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49366
Health Services:
Indonesia: Hospitals, clinics and other health services for thousands of Indonesians need urgent aid after two earthquakes ravaged west Sumatra in September, with the goal of enabling them to better withstand future emergencies, the United Nations health agency said today. UN News Centre(20 November): http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33030&Cr=indonesia&Cr1=
International: The impacts of climate change on human health will require new approaches to development, based on mitigation and adaptation programmes in line with policies that ensure equal access to health care. IPS(20 November): http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49360
USA:Grady, a taxpayer-supported safety-net hospital that would provide dialysis to anyone in need, even illegal immigrants with no insurance or ability to pay has closed its outpatient dialysis unit. When the strapped public hospital closed its outpatient dialysis clinic, it left 51 patients— almost all illegal immigrants — in a life-or-death limbo. New York Times(20 November): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/health/policy/21grady.html?_r=1&ref=health
Zimbabwe:A new report by UNICEF and the Zimbabwean government reveals a worsening situation for women and children in Zimbabwe. The report shows reduced access to key social services for the poorest women and children especially those in rural areas. VOA News(25 November): http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/health/2009-11-25-Children-Women-Hardest-Hit-by-Collapse-of-Zimbabwes-Social-Services--73681837.html
Health Workers:
Pakistan: Insecurity in many parts of northwestern Pakistan, where the military have been fighting militants for several months, is making women health workers think twice about trying to access internally displaced persons (IDPs). IRIN (2 December): http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87287
Uganda: The Government should prioritise staff accommodation if it is to attract and retain health workers in rural areas, health advocates have said. In a November 25 statement, the Health Workforce Advocacy Forum noted that health workers lack accommodation, which contributes to absenteeism and staff shortage in the sector. The New Vision (1 December): http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/19/702944
HIV/AIDS:
Africa: A large proportion of pregnant Ugandan women are going out of their way not to be HIV tested, increasing the risk of mother-to-child transmission. A recent paper by Larsson et al. in 'AIDS' journal discussed how mother-to-child transmission of HIV can be easily and cost-effectively prevented using a short course of antiretroviral therapy. However, this is effective only if the mother is willing to be screened for HIV. Medical News Today (23 November): http://www.ippf.org/en/News/Intl+news/Many+Pregnant+Women+Avoid+HIV+Screening+In+Africa.htm
International: On this week that sees the annual observation of World AIDS Day, health workers, policy makers and AIDS groups are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach to the disease. They are seeing AIDS from a “holistic” point of view – as a problem interlinked with such issues as poverty, food and water security, general health care, gender and (today’s topic) global warming. Gone are the days when AIDS was addressed as a medical problem to be handled in isolation by the health sector.The Swazi Reporter (2 December): http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=9439
International: A report published by the United Nations says the number of new AIDS cases is going down around the world. But it says the AIDS epidemic is evolving and prevention programs need to be adjusted to fit the changes. VOA News (24 November): http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/health/24nov09-aids-unaids-report-72511332.html
Kenya: As Kenya continues to intensify its efforts against the spread of HIV, some elements of traditional cultural practices in various parts of the country such as Coast Province continue to hinder the success of these efforts. Internews(30 November): http://www.internews.org/prs/2009/20091130_kenya.shtm
Malaysia:Twenty-three years after the first HIV infection was detected in Malaysia and 11,400 deaths from AIDS later, health workers are still facing obstacles from the authorities in preventing the spread of the disease. Despite the statistics, however, law enforcement officers continue to thwart attempts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by the government and by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The Nut Graph (2 December): http://thenutgraph.com/article-5186.html
South Africa:South Africans are dying younger and in greater numbers, and HIV/AIDS is to blame, according to a report released this week by the South African Institute of Race Relations. IRIN(21 November): http://www.IRINnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87144
Sub-Saharan Africa:The rate of new HIV infections has slowly declined in sub-Saharan Africa, but the region remains the area of the world most heavily hit by the epidemic and it accounts for nine of every 10 new infections among children. All Africa (25 November): http://allafrica.com/stories/200911250803.html
UK:More people than ever before are living with HIV in the UK but more than a quarter do not know they have it, figures show. The number of estimated cases rose by 8% between 2007 and 2008, says the Health Protection Agency. BBC News(27 November): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8382787.stm
Human Trafficking:
Lebanon: There are an estimated 200,000 women working in Lebanon as live-in housekeepers, cooks and nannies. Most are from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and the Philippines, though increasing numbers are arriving from Nepal, Madagascar and Bangladesh. Once in Lebanon, the women may be confined to their employer's house, and have their passports confiscated and their salaries withheld, increasing their sense of isolation. Many women say they are not allowed out of the house, or get a day off. Complaints of sexual or psychological abuse are not uncommon. IPS (21 November): http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49412
Nepal: Foreign employment has become an important source of income in Nepal, with remittances contributing 18 to 22 percent to gross domestic product, according to a 2006-2007 report on trafficking in Nepal by the National Human Rights Commission. Officials from the NHRC say Gulf countries are one of the main trafficking destinations for labour.This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed strongly, or a lot of Nepali women will face enormous risk of being trafficked and victimised. IRIN (26 November): http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87203
USA: Despite a highly trumpeted New York State law in 2007 that enacted tough penalties for sex or labor trafficking, very few people have been prosecuted since it went into effect, according to state statistics. The New York Times(2 December): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/nyregion/04trafficking.html?_r=1
Malaria, TB, and Other Diseases:
Burkina Faso: More than 2,700 new cases of TB were reported in 2008. Thanks to the TB community care project, a nationwide network of community associations has been set up to support patients during the treatment. Since the start in 2005, more than 5,300 people have benefitted from community services. For instance, community workers, like Djeneba Baro, assist patients in understanding what they need to do to get well. The community workers pay them regular visits. As a result of this initiative, successful treatment in Burkina Faso has risen considerably, from 60 % in 2000 to 72 % in 2007. UNDP(20 November): http://allafrica.com/stories/200911230504.html
International: Global measles deaths have fallen by 78 per cent within the past decade, with vaccinations saving some 4.3 million lives, but the disease could make a deadly comeback if funding and political will are not sustained, a United Nations-backed study warned today. UN News Centre (3 December): http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33136&Cr=measles&Cr1=
Kenya: At least 11 districts have reported new cholera cases in the last one week with the confirmed cases now standing at 159, according to statistics by the Ministry of Public Health. The Director of Public Health Dr Shahnaaz Shariff said on Friday that the affected districts were in Rift Valley, Central, Coast and Nairobi provinces. Capital News (4 December): http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/11-new-districts-in-Kenya-report-Cholera-6718.html
Philippines:Health experts report a high rate of treponematosis among pregnant displaced women in conflict-hit Mindanao. Treponematosis refers to a group of non-venereal infections, as well as the bacterium Treponema pallidum, the cause of syphilis. IRIN(26 November): http://www.IRINnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87199
Maternal Mortality:
Cambodia: Cambodia’s maternal mortality rate has not improved over the past 15 years. The 2008 national census estimated MMR at 461, one of the highest in the region and not significantly better than in 2000 or 2005. Every year, some 1,800 Cambodian women die from preventable and treatable complications of pregnancy. That is more than the number of women who die from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV combined. The Phnom Penh Post (27 November): http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009112729799/National-news/reducing-maternal-deaths.html
Ghana: Cell phones have cut dramatically the number of women dying during childbirth in Amensie village in south-central Ghana, according to local health officials.Health and aid workers say while other improvements in primary healthcare in Amensie - as part of the Millennium Villages project - have contributed to the drop, the availability of cell phones has been pivotal. Joy Online (2 December): http://news.myjoyonline.com/news/200912/38746.asp
International: The more than four million maternal and newborn deaths occurring annually in developing countries could be dramatically reduced if the world doubled investment in family planning and pregnancy-related care to $24.6 billion, according to a new report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Guttmacher Institute. UN News Centre (3 December): http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33134&Cr=material+mortality&Cr1=
Mozambique: Maternal and neonatal mortality remain "a serious public health problem" in Mozambique, according to the Ministry of Health in a study unveiled in Maputo on Monday. The study's figures show a maternal mortality rate of 473 deaths per 100,000 registered births. But that is an average. The most alarming figure is that for the western province of Tete, with 984 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. All Africa (1 December): http://allafrica.com/stories/200912010940.html
Mental Health:
Ethiopia: According to a report from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, funded in part by the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) National Institute of Justice (NIJ), 16.9 percent of the adults in a sample of local jails had a serious mental illness. That’s three to six times the rate of the general population. And while the serious mental illness rate was 14 percent for men, it was 31 percent for women. If these rates were applied to 13 million jail admissions reported in 2007, the study findings suggest that more than two million bookings of a person with a serious mental illness occur every year. Ethiopian Review (1 December): http://www.ethiopianreview.com/36419
Zimbabwe: High levels of depression among people living with HIV/AIDS and those who care for them is the subject of a new publication being launched on World AIDS Day, December 1st.Throughout the general population depression is a common mental health problem that affects approximately 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives. Levels of depression are even higher in people living with HIV/AIDS. Zimbabwe Times (1 December): http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=25545
Refugees and Migrants:
Eritrea-Sudan: Eastern Sudan hosts more than 66,000 registered Eritrean refugees, the first of whom arrived in 1968 during the early years of Eritrea’s war of independence against Ethiopia. These days, Eritrea’s policy of indefinite military conscription, coupled with drought and poor economic opportunities, prompt some 1,800 people to cross into Sudan every month, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. IRIN (3 December): http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87300
Yemen: A long-running conflict between rebels and government forces has entered a dangerous phase with attacks by Saudi forces forcing thousands of families into overcrowded refugee camps. The Guardian(23 November): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/yemen-refugees-middle-east-conflict
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence:
International:More than 60 organisations and associations have signed up for the "16 days against violence against women" campaign, which starts on Wednesday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on December 10, International Human Rights Day.Swiss Info(25 November): http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/16_days_to_fight_violence_towards_women.html?siteSect=201&sid=11535897&ty=st
Russia: Thousands of women in Russia are subject to violence, including sexual abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking and crimes related to national traditions, according to a report released Wednesday. Moscow Times (26 November): http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/report-women-face-rampant-abuse/390364.html
Uganda:At the beginning of November, the Uganda Law Reform Commission brought a new set of proposed gender-related laws before the Ugandan Parliament for debate in response to increased pressure from civil society groups. If passed, the proposed bills would alter laws concerning marriage and divorce, domestic violence, and female circumcision. The International(26 November): http://www.theinternationalonline.com/articles/102-uganda-gender-laws-gain-support
UK:In Scotland a domestic violence incident is recorded every 11 minutes. Tayside Police has joined forces with Tayside Fire and Rescue and NHS Tayside to pledge support for the White Ribbon Campaign against domestic violence. Police Officers will be encouraged to wear the white ribbon on their uniform, and white ribbons will be available to members of the public at police stations across Tayside. STV(25 November): http://news.stv.tv/scotland/139845-anti-domestic-violence-initiative-launched/
Sexual and Reproductive Rights:
Czech Republic: Activists say dozens of Romani women have undergone forced sterilizations in the Ostrava region. In the past, several institutions have devoted attention to the issue of illegal sterilizations, including Czech ombudsman Otakar Motejl, to whom approximately 80 women, most of them Roma, complained in the past. Romea(24 November): http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_1398
Dominican Republic: Medical authorities recognise that death from illegal abortions is one of the main contributors to the high rate of maternal mortality here. The Dominican Republic provides free medical assistance to Haitians who come here and many of these pregnant women, sometimes estimated as high as one third of the deliveries here, have often had no prenatal care and poor nutrition. While the maternal death rate has fallen dramatically over recent years from 230 to 160 per 100,000, the fear is that this number will increase. IPS (2 December): http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49500
International: Consumers in the developed world are to be offered a radical method of offsetting their carbon emissions in an ambitious attempt to tackle climate change - by paying for contraception measures in poorer countries to curb the rapidly growing global population. The Guardian (3 December): http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/03/carbon-offset-projects-climate-change
South Africa:More than seven months after the Cape High Court ruled in favour of the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce, interdicting the police for harassment and arrests, sex workers are losing the daily battles against police and criminal elements on the streets. IPS (27 November): http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49452
UK:A third of women are left alone and worried during labour or shortly after giving birth, exposing the scale of staff shortages in the NHS, a poll has found. And half did not have access to a midwife after giving birth. From next year the Government has pledged that all women will be offered a choice of where to give birth including at home but so far only half of women are reporting that they were offered a home birth. The Telegraph (25 November): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6644774/Women-left-alone-during-labour-due-to-shortage-of-midwives-poll-finds.html
Torture:
Egypt: Egypt has become a police state where citizens receive no protection from torture, human rights groups said in a report published on Thursday. The rights groups, including the Hesham Mubarak Law Centre and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), lashed out at the state for its "systematic" use of torture. ‘Egyptians enjoy no protection against torture -- a systematic, routine practice,’ they said. ‘Crimes of torture continue to be an everyday practice in police stations (as well as) prisons and even on public roads’. AFP (3 December): http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjbbZqdmF9zLbFQWG2HP64cEpF7g
USA: Two Afghan teenagers held in U.S. detention north of Kabul this year said they were beaten by American guards, photographed naked, deprived of sleep and held in solitary confinement in concrete cells for at least two weeks while undergoing daily interrogation about their alleged links to the Taliban. Washington Post (28 November): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/27/AR2009112703438.html
Water and Sanitation:
India: Police and protesters have clashed over water cuts in the Indian city of Mumbai, leaving one dead and dozens injured.The city is experiencing sever water shortages and the authorities have imposed forced rationing in water supply in many districts, with cuts of around 15% to 30%. Edie(4 December): http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=17362&channel=0&title=Mumbai+water+protests+turn+ugly
Indonesia: Poor sanitation habits have led to the large-scale contamination of the country’s water supplies, which in turn has led to massive financial losses for the nation. Utomo said sanitation remained a massive challenge for the nation, with most people lacking awareness of the importance of proper sanitation. Jakarta Globe (3 December): http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/how-poor-sanitation-is-putting-a-major-strain-on-indonesia/345384
Pakistan:Although the strength of female students rose to 65 this year, sanitation facilities for them were absent. Indeed, the dearth of proper facilities for female students is proving to be a deterrent with regards to girls’ education. Absenteeism is high and many parents are reluctant to send their daughters to schools without facilities. This state of affairs compelled a local NGO, Indus Resource Center (IRC), to intervene and address the problem. DAWN (4 December): http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/18-bare-necessities-am-01
Conferences/Courses:
XVIII International AIDS Conference
18 to 23 July 2010, Vienna Austria
Given the 2010 deadline for universal access set by world leaders, AIDS 2010 will coincide with a major push for expanded access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. With a global economic crisis threatening to undermine public investments, the conference will help keep HIV on the front burner, and is a chance to demonstrate the importance of continued HIV investments to broader health and development goals. AIDS 2010 is also an opportunity to highlight the critical connection between human rights and HIV. For further information see: http://www.aids2010.org/
International Forensic Program Courses
26 – 30 April 2010 Tallahassee, Florida
This one-week training course is designed for Human Rights field investigators who in their line of work might be confronted with having to document evidence of Human Rights violations as "first responders" to the "crime scene." The objective of the course is for participants to gain an understanding of the essentials of forensic photography and documentation. This understanding enables them as "first responders" to document evidence of Human Rights violations that can be later used by forensic experts. Application Deadline: 15 January 2010.
For further information see: http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/forensic/crime-scene-course.html
Online Training Course:Disability, Sexuality and Rights
1 February – 1 April 2010
The Disability, Sexuality and Rights Online Training provides a study of theory and practice for people working in fields such as development, health and rights, including disability and sexuality. The aim is to develop awareness of issues of disability and sexuality and a political perspective on disabled people’s sexual rights. Participants develop their ability to work in inclusive and holistic ways that further health and rights. An online course for practitioners and activists in human rights, public health and development organizations and movements. Applications are due 18 December 2009. For further information see: http://web.creaworld.org/home.asp
Publications:
IOM, ‘Working to Prevent and Address Violence Against Women Migrant Workers’. International Organization for Migration, 2009. Available online at: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=524
Guy KM, ‘Child Soldiers as Zones of Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Three Cases of Medico-Legal Evidence of Torture’, Torture, 19(2): 137-144, 2009. Abstract available at: http://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_169239_24
Lee Y and Svevo-Cianci KA, ‘Twenty years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Achievements and challenges for child protection’, Child Abuse & Neglect, Volume 33, Issue 11, November 2009. Available online at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL&_tockey=%23TOC%235847%232009%23999669988%231554191%23FLA%23&_cdi=5847&_pubType=J&_auth=y&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=9904998b0b96851b47c7637750347e46
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Pearce JJ, Hynes P, Bovarnick S, ‘Breaking the Wall of Silence: Practitioners' Responses to Trafficked Children and Young People’, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, June 2009. Available online at: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/Findings/breaking_the_wall_of_silence_report_wdf66135.pdf
Plan International, “Count every child: the right to birth registration”, November 2009. Available online at: http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/publications/campaigns/count-every-child
Prajnya Trust, ‘Gender Violence in India: A Prajnya Report’, The Prajnya Trust, 2009.Available online at: http://prajnya.in/gvr09.pdf
Save the Children UK, “The Risk of Harm to Young Children in Institutional Care”, November 2009. Available online at: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/54_9896.htm
Stein MA, Stein PJS, Weiss D, Lang RC, ‘Health care and the UN Disability Rights Convention’, The Lancet,374: 9704, p. 1796 - 1798, 28 November 2009. Available online at: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)62033-X/fulltext
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, ‘Respect, Protect and Fulfill: Legislating for Women’s Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS’, 2009. Available online at: http://www.aidslaw.ca/EN/womensrights/english.htm
UNICEF, “Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition: A survival and development priority”, November 2009. Available online at: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_51656.html
UNICEF, “Children and AIDS: Fourth Stocktaking Report, 2009”, December 2009. Available online at: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_51902.html
UNICEF, “The State of the World’s Children Special Edition: Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, November 2009. Available online at: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_51772.html
UNPF, ‘Partnering With Men To End Gender-Based Violence: Practices that Work from Eastern Europe and Central Asia’, 2009. Available online at: http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2009/partnering_with_men.pdf
Volpellier M, ‘Physical Forensic Signs of Sexual Torture in Children: A Guideline for Non Specialized Medical Examiners’. Torture, 19(2): 157-166; 2009. Available online at: http://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_169238_24
World Vision, ‘Child Health Now: Together We Can End Preventable Deaths’, World Vision Report, October 2009. Available online at: http://www.childhealthnow.org/docs/pdf/Child_Health_Now-Report.pdf
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