Commonwealth Human Rights e-Newsletter: September 2004   Commonwealth National Human Rights Commission (CNHRC) Project

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This e-Newsletter has been produced for Commonwealth National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) by the British Council, as part of the British Council's project to support networking and sharing between such NHRIs.

Content:

	1. Forthcoming Events 2. Awards 3. Reports & Publications 4. News Stories

	FORTHCOMING EVENTS
		Malaysian Human Rights Day 2004 Conference: Human Rights and Good Governance from 9 -10 September This conference is being organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to examine the relationship between human rights and good governance with a view to promote human rights in good governance, integrate principles of human rights in good governance and establish a role for human rights in the enhancement of a better and harmonious society.
		7th International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions in Seoul, South Korea from 14-17 September 2004 This Conference is being hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Co-ordinating Committee General Committee. More than 70 national human rights institutions from around the world will meet in Seoul in September to discuss human rights issues arising within the context of conflict and counter-terrorism. The theme of the 7th International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions is Upholding Human Rights during Conflict and while Countering Terrorism.
		Online course on Human Rights Monitoring from 27 September to 19 December This distance learning course provides participants practical guidance on how to monitor human rights. Participants will be introduced to the doctrine and methodology of human rights monitoring, primarily as developed through the work of international organizations and NGOs, such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and national human rights NGOs. The course involves 60 hours of reading, on-line working groups, interaction with students and instructor and assignments, and is offered over a three-month period, beginning on 27 September 2004. E-mail will be the main medium for the course, although participants will need to have periodic access to the Web. The course tuition is € 560, which includes hard copies and a CD-ROM of the main course texts. A limited number of scholarships (tuition waivers) is available for applicants from Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, North Africa/Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. The deadline for applications is 1 September 2004.
		Seminar on 'Disability and Human Rights' in London from 28 November to 3 December 2004 This seminar combines theoretical explorations of the issue of disability and human rights with the concerns of the international disabled peoples’ movement, within the context of the proposed new Convention, providing an important opportunity to promote essential dialogue between diverse stakeholders. The British Council seminar promotes a synthesis of theory and practice, with the overarching aim of advancing the effective enjoyment of human rights through the application of existing instruments as well as the proposed new Convention. If a new international legal instrument is to achieve what the UN’s human rights framework has thus far been unable to ensure, the process of its development must be informed by, and account for, the lived experience of disabled people.

	AWARDS
		Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders Granted annually to someone who has demonstrated an exceptional record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means. The prize aims to encourage human rights defenders who are in need of protection. The value of the award is 30,000 Swiss Francs, to be used for further work in the field of human rights. Anybody can nominate any individual or organisation by filling out the appropriate form. Please note that neither individuals nor organisations may nominate themselves.The deadline to nominate is 1 October 2004.
		Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice & Human Rights This award aims to honour an individual or a group who has made a significant effort to advance the cause of international justice and global human rights. Named after the former Connecticut Senator and legal counsel at the Nuremberg Trials, the bi-annual award carries a cash prize of USD $75,000 and a commemorative bronze bust of Thomas J. Dodd. The deadline for nominations is 1 November, 2004.
		Reebok Human Rights Award for young human rights activists The Reebok Human Rights Award recognises young activists who have made significant contributions to human rights causes through non-violent means. The Award aims to generate positive international attention for the recipients and to support their efforts. Since 1988, more than 60 recipients from over 35 countries have received the award. Honourees, who are 30 years of age or younger, receive a $50,000 grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation to further their work. Nominees are submitted from around the world by prominent individuals in the human rights community and by non-governmental organisations. The deadline to apply is 31 December, 2004.
		REPORTS
		India   National Human Rights Commission's Journal Volume -II The second issue of the Journal of the National Human Rights Commission is available for Rs. 150/- (apx. £ 2 ) . The journal contains important articles from eminent experts on Right to Development, Women's Rights, population stabilization, HIV/AIDS, Penal reforms, Right to housing etc. The journal also contains a section on important Statements/Decisions/Opinions of the Commission.       Promising Picture or Broken Future? Commentary and recommendations on the Draft National Policy on Tribals of the Government of India The Draft National Policy on Tribals issued by the government of India for public comments embodies archaic notions about indigenous and tribal peoples and fails to incorporate the lessons learnt from the evaluations and studies of the Programmes Evaluation Organisation of the Planning Commission of India and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes about the existing policies, programmes and laws concerning the indigenous and tribal peoples. This report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights provides commentary and recommendations on the issue. International   Hear No Evil, See No Evil: The U.N. Security Council’s Approach to Human Rights Violations in the Global Counter-Terrorism Effort The 17-page briefing paper, “Hear No Evil, See No Evil: The U.N. Security Council’s Approach to Human Rights Violations in the Global Counter-Terrorism Effort,” documents how countries as diverse as Egypt, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Morocco and Sweden have violated human rights in their efforts to combat terrorism. These are the very kinds of violations that the U.N. Counter-Terrorism Committee should pay closer attention to. “Governments around the world are using the global campaign against terrorism to crack down on human rights,” said Joanna Weschler, U.N. Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch. The U.N. Security Council should immediately appoint at least one human rights expert to the staff of the newly created counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, Human Rights Watch urged.       The Human Right to Water: Legal and Policy Dimensions This study traces the issue of the right to water through a number of international legal instruments. After analyzing the international legal regime, the authors believe that the nexus between development, water and human rights is well established. The central document is General Comment No. 15, issued by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2002, which explicitly recognizes a human right to water. The authors argue that the concept is evident in international law, and that it is buttressed by a large number of soft law instruments, emerging customary international law, and an increasing number of domestic legal instruments.       Case Handling Database for National Human Rights Institutions The Case Handling Database has been developed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights. This database provides information on the case handling mandates, procedures and methods applied in National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). You can find relevant documents, including the legal instruments as well as a number of case handling materials from NHRIs (manuals, complaint forms etc.). In addition, some founding legislation on African NHRIs has also been provided by the Human Rights Centre, University of Pretoria. Malaysia   Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) announced the formation of the Media Complaints Working Committee The Complaints and Inquiries Working Group (or better known as CIWG) of SUHAKAM is assigned "to inquire into complaints regarding infringements of human rights",the fourth function of SUHAKAM as set out in section 4(1)(d) of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999.Within this working group will be the Media Complaints Working Committee to receive and deal with complaints pertaining to human rights violations in relation to the print media and journalists and editors.This is to strike a balance between the freedom of expression,information and the press,the protection of the rights of the individual and the public ’s right to know.       Trafficking of Filipino Women to Malaysia: Examining the Experiences and Perspectives of Victims, Governmental and NGO Experts This research, contracted by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute in Turin, Italy was part of a larger project on trafficking in human beings from the Philippines, Coalitions Against Trafficking in the Philippines - Phase 1. The focus of the research was to determine certain aspects of trafficking in Filipinos to include modes of recruitment, transportation, use of fraudulent documents, deception and exploitation, routes, corruption and collusion and the involvement of organised criminal groups. New Zealand   New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights (NZAPHR): Children's rights stocktake report The New Zealand Human Rights Commission is currently developing the New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights (NZAPHR). The Children’s Rights component has been jointly co-ordinated by the Office of the Commissioner for Children and the Human Rights Commission. to provide this Stocktake Report. A Children’s Rights Sector Advisory Group comprising young people and adults has been established to advise the Commissioner for Children and the Human Rights Commission of human rights issues relevant to New Zealand children. Its task has also been to assist with achieving the broadest possible participation by children and young people in the NZAPHR. This Stocktake Report provides evidence to support the children’s rights component of the NZAPHR. It also provides data regarding children and young people’s views on human rights in general. South Asia Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting their Reproductive Lives - South Asia The Center for Reproductive Rights’ report, Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting their Reproductive Lives - South Asia, is the first extensive examination of laws and policies that influence women’s reproductive health in five countries of the region - Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The report, which is based on three years of research, is the result of a collaborative partnership between the Center and leading nongovernmental organizations in the region. It offers advocates and policymakers a broad view of the laws and policies that determine women’s reproductive choices in these countries, to enable legal and policy reform and the implementation of norms needed to improve women’s health and lives. The report is a resource for those interested in advancing and protecting women's reproductive health and rights through legal advocacy and establishing state accountability for violations of reproductive rights. Africa   Human Rights Handbook for Southern African Communicators This guide, published by the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, provides journalists and other communicators with a resource to assist their reporting of human rights issues, while broadening their understanding of these issues. With special reference to Southern Africa, the handbook includes explanations of key issues, articles from specialists, national and international conventions defining human rights, and special features of the African human rights framework.       A Handbook for Advocacy in the African Human Rights System: Advancing Reproductive & Sexual Health This 193-page manual aims to facilitate use of Africa's human rights system to promote and protect reproductive and sexual health. Intended as a resource for women's health and rights advocates working in Africa, it provides an overview of the context of reproductive and sexual health in Africa, and an introduction to the African regional human rights system. It further provides "how-to" information on using the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and background on the Commission's casework relevant to advocacy.

NEWS STORIES
Access to Justice
	First International Human Rights Judicial Colloquium in Fiji produces Suva Principles on judicial independence and access to justice The Suva Statement of Principles on Judicial Independence and Access to Justice is the final communiqué agreed at the close of the first international human rights judicial colloquium held in the Fiji Islands. It reaffirms the commitment of the judiciary to take appropriate measures to uphold the rule of law and access to justice, whatever the prevailing political climate, including the humane treatment of all detainees, disregarding evidence obtained through torture and the relevance of applying international human rights law in decision-making.
	Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa The Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial were coordinated by INTERIGHTS and drafted jointly by our staff and the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA). They were developed from the Declaration and Recommendations of the Dakar Seminar on Fair Trial in Africa held during 9 to 11 September 1999. It is hoped that states will adopt these guidelines within their national legislation. They were adopted by Heads of State at the second summit of the African Union held in Maputo in July 2003 .
ASYLUM
	The health of refugees As doctors working with asylum seekers there are grave concerns about the UK government's proposals to restrict failed asylum seekers' access to primary care. If these proposals are adopted, failed asylum seekers will only be able to obtain free emergency or "immediately necessary" treatment from GPs. They would be expected to pay for all other treatment but, as they are not allowed to claim benefits or to work, they would effectively be excluded from most forms of healthcare. It seems to be assumed that failed asylum seekers are removed from the UK and so do not need healthcare, but this is often not the case - many countries remain too dangerous to return people.
	The tragic fate of asylum seekers: Calls for Australia to adopt a bill of rights should be heard The High Court of Australia upheld the Federal Government's right to detain failed asylum seekers indefinitely. In a 4-3 finding the High Court overruled an earlier Federal Court decision that failed asylum seekers should not be detained indefinitely if no country could be found to take them. The High Court's decision concerns a stateless Palestinian, Ahmed al-Kateb, and an Iraqi, Abbas al Khafaji. Both have failed to be granted a visa in Australia and wish to leave the country, but cannot do so. The Immigration Department is now reviewing its policies regarding the pair and 13 other asylum seekers who were released pending the High Court decision.it also illustrates the limitations of the Australian legal system, which has now upheld legislation that runs counter to human rights principles. (In 2002, retired Indian judge P. N. Bhagwati, a special envoy for the United Nations, released a report on the Woomera detention centre that found the conditions of the detainees breached the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and a human rights convention on the rights of children.)
	Jesuit Centre condemns detention centre climate of violence An international report's condemnation of Australia as the only western nation in its list of 65 countries where religious violence is a concern, is disturbing, according to the Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre. Uniya Director Sr Patty Fawkner was responding to annual Violence against Christians report of the German-based international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. The Report includes two separate incidences of violence which is claims were induced by religious persecution against Christian asylum seekers in the Baxter and Woomera detention centres.
	UN Protest over Prison Detention for Asylum Seekers The United Nations’ refugees agency protested to the UK Government over the detention of asylum seekers in prisons. Some 131 asylum seekers are being held in prisons, including Cardiff and Norwich, following rioting last month at the Harmondsworth immigration removals centre near Heathrow which forced its temporary closure.The use of prison accommodation is in spite of the fact that three years ago Home Secretary David Blunkett announced that the practice of asylum seekers being held in prisons would be ended, describing it as “a scandal that should not have happened”.
	Sharp rise in detention of asylum seeker children in the UK shown by new statistics Detention charity Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) today condemned a six-fold increase in the number of asylum seeker children being detained by the UK immigration service in the last six months. Statistics published by the Home Office show that on 26 June 2004, 60 asylum seeker children were detained in removal centres under immigration act powers. This is double the number of children detained when the last snap-snot was taken in March 2004, and six times the number of children detained in December 2003, the first time child detention statistics were published by the UK government.
	Protests against asylum detention in the UK Campaigners against the detention of asylum seekers have begun a series of protests around the country. The demonstrations came after two apparent suicides in removal centres, one of which led to disturbances. Organisations backing the protests say they want to see an end to detention of people who have not been convicted of any crimes.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
	England's secret 'death penalty' As a new report highlights the worrying extent of self-harm in Britain the situation in prisons is particularly disturbing. But in jails in Scotland and New York, simple measures seem to have made a big impact. Almost two people every week kill themselves in prison in England and Wales. Were it not for the alertness and prompt action of cellmates and prison staff, that figure would be higher. Last year, 211 prisoners who made "serious" attempts at self-harm were resuscitated. The litany of casualties has become so familiar that it might be thought an inevitable part of custody.
DEATH PENALTY
	India and the death penalty: India carries out rare execution Although India is one of a number of countries around the world which still upholds capital punishment, it is rarely used. A 1983 ruling by the country's Supreme Court stated that the death penalty should be imposed only in "the rarest of rare cases". Only particularly gruesome or politically sensitive cases have attracted the penalty. In India the death penalty is carried out by hanging. An attempt to challenge this method of execution failed before the Supreme Court, which stated in its 1983 judgement that hanging did not involve torture, barbarity, humiliation or degradation. Dhananjoy Chatterjee, 39, was hanged at dawn at the Alipore Central Jail in Calcutta where he had spent the last 13 years in solitary confinement. Chatterjee was convicted for the 1990 rape and murder of 16-year-old Hetal Parekh, who lived in the building where he worked as a security guard. It is the country's first execution since 1995.
HEALTH
	The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Sexual Violence is both a public health problem and a violation of human rights, but it has been a long struggle to have it recognised as a legitimate health issue. Sexual violence to date has received little attention from researchers, policy makers and programme designers. There are little reliable data, particularly from developing and middle income countries on the magnitude and nature of the problem, its health impacts, and its risk factors. These data are needed so that the burden of the problem can be estimated and knowledge of why it persists gained. There is also a need for evaluations of existing interventions and their effectiveness, to inform policy and interventions development. The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) has been launched to address this problem and aims to create a network of experienced and committed researchers, policy makers, activists and donors who will work together to ensure that the many aspects of sexual violence are addressed.
	India's AIDS fight undermined by abuses against children Children infected with HIV/AIDS are routinely discriminated against in India, and the government's failure to address this abuse is crippling its fight against the epidemic, Human Rights Watch warned. In "Future Forsaken: Abuses Against Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in India", the group says that many doctors will not treat or even touch infected children and that schools sometimes expel or separate children because they or their parents are HIV-positive. Orphanages and other residential institutions may deny entry to HIV-positive children.
	Government 'failing to tackle HIV' A leading HIV/Aids charity has accused the government of doing too little to tackle the disease in the UK. The National Aids Trust says the UK is breaking a pledge made to the United Nations as part of an international commitment to tackling HIV/Aids. Under the "Ungass" Declaration of Commitment on HIV and Aids adopted in 2001,189 members of the United Nations - including the UK - made a pledge to tackle HIV and Aids within their own countries. The declaration included a set of agreed targets on HIV issues including leadership, prevention and human rights.
MEDIA
	Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Scholarships Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA),MISA offers a scholarship exchange programme, which is facilitated by the Regional Secretariat in Windhoek, Namibia. This scholarship exchange programme aims to assist individual media practitioners from Southern Africa in all areas of the media (managerial, editorial, advertising, and technical) to work on attachment in another media institution to learn new skills and develop existing ones. This includes both full-time employees and freelancers. Individuals who are involved in human rights organisations in a media capacity may also be considered.
	Rural Outreach Programme (ROP) - Uganda Created by the Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA), the programme aims to sensitise communities on their rights and various topical issues in 10 Ugandan districts. The women journalists visit a district four times in a year to conduct participatory workshops on a range of issues including family life, reproductive rights, constitutional rights, political and economic rights. The topics raised are often are adapted into plays, which are staged for a fee to contribute to the sustainability of the project. On every visit the women journalists carry with them recorded programmes for the people in the rural areas. They in turn record the participants' experiences.
RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED
	Progress welcomed on education for people with disabilities Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner of Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Dr Sev Ozdowski has welcomed the introduction of amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The amendments clarify the operation of the Act in the education area and clear the way for authorisation of more detailed standards which have been drafted on access to education. The amendments address a drafting error in the original legislation, by providing that issues of unjustifiable hardship in providing equal access in particular cases can be considered at all stages rather than only at enrolment and admission. The amendments also confirm that Standards under the Act can provide for positive measures to provide equal opportunity for students with disabilities and to prevent harassment. Draft Standards on education under the Disability Discrimination Act have been negotiated over the last eight years, involving state and private education authorities as well as people with disabilities and Commonwealth Government departments. The amendments are intended to avoid any doubts regarding validity of making of disability standards in the terms of this draft.
RIGHT TO FOOD
	Implementing the human right to food: domestic obligations and the international trade in agriculture This paper, produced by the Rights and Democracy/International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (ICHRDD), reports on a workshop held in September 2003 in Cancun, Mexico. The aim of the workshop was to address the efforts of national governments to meet their commitments under the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights while also complying with the requirements of international trade agreements such as the WTO agreement on agriculture.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
	"Right to Know" Day On 28 September 2002 Freedom of Information organizations from various countries around the globe meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, created a network of Freedom of Information Advocates (FOIA Network) and agreed to collaborate in promotion of the individual right of access to information and open, transparent governance. The group of FOI Advocates also proposed that 28 September be nominated as international "Right to Know Day" in order to symbolize the global movement for promotion of the right to information. The aim of having a Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of the right to information. It is a day on which freedom of information activists from around the world can use further to promote this fundamental human right and to campaign for open, democratic societies in which there is full citizen empowerment and participation in government.
	ICTs in Support of Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance The common ground upon which information and communication technologies (ICTs) and human rights can be analyzed was forged two years ago at the United Nations Millennium Summit, which resulted in a declaration that affirmed common global commitments to the protection of the vulnerable, the alleviation of poverty, and the rectification of corrupt structures and processes – particularly in those countries in which there is a dearth of ‘rule of law’. The world's leaders resolved to ‘spare no effort to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.’ Attention to the protection of human rights through the use of new communication technologies is an area of growing interest, not only from the point of view of the technology and communications sectors, but from the vantage point of those working toward the betterment of governance mechanisms and the continued development of an equitable ‘global civil society’.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
	Adoption of New Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Strengthens Women's Rights The African Union’s adoption of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is a significant step in the efforts to promote and protect the rights of African women. Adopted on 11 July 2003, at the second summit of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, the Protocol requires African governments to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women in Africa and to promote equality between the sexes. In addition, it obligates states to integrate a gender perspective in their policy decisions, legislation, development plans, and activities, and to ensure the overall well-being of women. Once fully ratified and implemented, the Protocol will become an important framework for ending impunity for all attacks on human rights of women in Africa.

 

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