So...Wha' Happened?

What's this?  Good news on the human rights front?

The judge in the current case against Salim Hamdan in Guantanamo Bay seems to be hearing evidence fairly, rejecting that which was clearly gleaned from coercion. Hamdan's defense lawyers submitted a government document on Wednesday that confirms Hamdan's allegations that he was subject to sexual humiliation and extreme coercion at the hands of the US at Guantanamo Bay.  Really, is anyone surprised at this point?  That's great that there is evidence to back it up.

The second bit of good news is that the House Judiciary Committee has voted to hold Karl Rove in contempt for evading a subpoena to testify about his involvement in the firing of nine US attorneys in 2006.  

The vote now will go to the full House, which has held both Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolton in contempt for similar infractions.  The sentence for evading a subpoena is up to a year in prison, though actual jail time for Rove is a long shot at best.

AIDS in America

The rates of AIDS in African-American communities often parallels that of African countries, according to the Black AIDS Institute.  Bush's efforts against AIDS in Africa may be one of the few positive things about his presidency, but it seems that in the midst of these efforts, he forgot about Americans suffering from the disease.  

Maryland ACLU finds police surveillance of peace groups

That the Maryland State Police can think that being anti-war is a subset of terrorism is a terrifying prospect. --David Rocah

First Guantanamo Video Released

The video is of an interrogation of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was only 16 at the time of his imprisonment at Guantanamo.  The United States has no juvenile policy at the detention center.  Khadr is now 21 years old.

Following the video, Amnesty International called for Khadr's immediate repatriation to Canada.

Red Cross says US interrogation techniques are "categorically" torture

Could Bush and his administration face international charges of war crimes in the future?  If the international system works.  Great video from Keith Olbermann.

ICC proves once again that international charges of genocide mean pretty much nothing

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir has been charged with the crime of genocide by the International Criminal Court.  Okay, maybe this doesn't mean nothing.  At least a charge from an objective international justice system will put to rest any remaining doubt that the Sudanese Government is in fact systematically exterminating certain members of its country.  

But what will this charge of genocide, encouraged by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, actually do?  Not much for now.  The ICC judges have said they will begin reviewing the evidence, but the process could take months.  Meanwhile, 2.5 million Darfuris have been displaced from their homes and are eking out an existence in IDP camps, under the care of international aid groups.  300,000 Darfuris have already died at the hands of the Janjaweed.

In addition, the Sudanese Government is already contesting the charge.  Aside of course from the often-used accusations that the ICC allegations are politically motivated, Sudan is not a member of the ICC, and therefore cannot be brought to trial without its own consent.  

If el-Bashir were to cross an international border, however, he could be extradited and it would be a different story.

In addition, Sudanese women demonstrated against the ICC's decision in front of the UN Headquarters today in New York.  I can merit a guess as to why they would feel the need to defend a president who has flattened the majority of their country for the sake of businessmen and elites in Khartoum, but I have no real answers.  Read the article.

Fighting FISA

Okay, so I am plugging this movement to hold Democrats who voted for FISA accountable.  Everybody pledge.  Here's some info on the movement from Wired, with a link to the page to donate.

Gutting the 4th Amendment

Bill # HR 6304, also known as the FISA Bill, passed in the Senate today by a vote of 69-28.  The fourth amendment, which was set to protect Americans from government searches without a warrant, has essentially been shredded.  Under this new amendment, if the Attorney General finds "reasonable" cause to search an American citizen, he can authorize it without the approval of a judge.  That means the power is concentrated in the Executive Branch, folks.  We are officially no longer a democracy.

Watch video.

Full article.

Sudanese men falsely arrested, released, harassed by British police

A very good article from Middle East Online about a suspected terrorist in Britain.

How do you solve a problem like Mugabe? Part II

An editorial from the Guardian makes the case that African leaders are hesitant to confront Mugabe not because they are soft on human rights, but because they are committed to the principle of national sovereignty.  

"Modern African and European conceptions of sovereignty are influenced by different historical experiences. The determining historical experience of the former is external conquest, domination and exploitation at the hands of colonial forces. The formative experience of the latter is the second world war, in which untold destruction, along with the Holocaust, instigated grave shock and revulsion in the European psyche."

Aside from generalizing and citing no evidence for actual individual internalization of these "determining historical experiences," this piece is espousing a Eurocentric interpretation of this situation: Africa, not historically blessed with the freedom of the Western world, is reacting to its past, rather than the present situation.  Maybe after they get over it, Africans will achieve the human rights standards of Europe.

Unfortunately, Europe's human rights record is far from perfect.  Or even satisfactory.  Human rights violations in Europe often may take softer forms than the overt violence in Africa--structural discrimination against minorities, social segregation, or since September 11, covert operations, illegal detentions, and surveillance--but they are still violations.  And I am not convinced a real comparison can be made to determine which is worse.  

More likely, there are various reasons why African leaders have chosen to bicker over Mugabe rather than confront him.  Perhaps one of those is a real lack of viable, practical options.  What, in the end, will sanctions against Zimbabwe achieve?  On what terms should the AU unite against Mugabe?  What stake does the rest of Africa have in Zimbabwe's affairs?  These questions should be answered first, before spraying sanctions around.

War crimes conviction against Bosnian war leader reversed

Naser Oric's conviction on charges that he failed to stop the massacre of Serbian soldiers during the Bosnian war in 1992-1995 was reversed by a UN appeals court today.  Oric, a Bosnian Muslim, led an insurgency against Serbian soldiers in the notorious city of Srebrenica, where, in 1995, Serbian soldiers invaded a UN safe area and murdered over 8,000 Muslim men.  

There have been assertions that Oric's attacks on Serbian soldiers constituted vicious acts of revenge, rather than self-defense.  However, the appeals court found that, while crimes were committed against Serbian soldiers in Srebrenica, Oric did not have control over these crimes.

Perhaps ironically, this is similar reasoning that has been used to reduce charges for many Serbian commanders, and that the ICJ used to acquit Serbia of genocide altogether in 2007. Crimes were committed.  Individuals are not responsible. 

Certain members of the Serbian Army have been convicted of genocide.  General Ratko Mladic has been charged with genocide but remains in hiding, most likely in Serbia.

Play nice, or no clean drinking water

For the sake of political maneuverability, the United States has delayed the delivery of $54 million to Haiti--a sum intended for the country's ailing drinking water infrastructure--for several years.  

Nearly 70% of Haitians lack direct access to clean drinking water.  Human Rights groups have strongly criticized the US's impediments as 

"egregious...malfeasance."  The objective was to gain a foothold in the Haitian government--calling on those vying for power during and in between the presidencies of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to broker a deal satisfactory to the United States.