Reporting on Conflict | Media Watch Blog

• News source:
• 10 March 2010
• Globe and Mail
• By Cara Anna

BEIJING — Like the United States, China is having its own tea party movement, but this one has a very different agenda.

Police have long tried to shush and isolate potential activists, usually starting with a low-key warning, perhaps over a meal or a cup of tea. Now, the country’s troublemakers are openly blogging and tweeting their stories about “drinking tea” with the cops, allowing the targeted citizens to bond and diluting the intimidation they feel.

• News source:
• originally published February 2010
• BarTalk | Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch
• By James M. Bond

Legal Aid is in crisis in this province. The funding model for the Legal Services Society doesn’t work and as a result there is simply not enough money to fund the current system. As a result, there are fewer and fewer lawyers (particularly more experienced lawyers) who are willing to take on legal aid cases. Those that do so in any significant way undoubtedly believe it as the right thing to do, not the financially sound thing to do.

The Legal Services Society has cut service areas, cut staff and in the very near future will close offices everywhere but in Vancouver. There has also been an attempt to shift the form of legal aid delivery from a lawyer model to a “self-help” model. The results of “self-help” are being felt in courtrooms across the province. They are being clogged with unrepresented litigants…

It’s time to get the public involved in a real and meaningful discussion about Legal Aid in our province – what the framework should be, what should be covered, who should deliver it and how it should be funded. Last spring, a group of justice system stakeholders passed a resolution (which was adopted by the British Columbia Branch) calling on the government to hold an inquiry into the state of Legal Aid in British Columbia…

We have begun discussions with other justice system stakeholders to establish a Public Forum on Legal Aid in British Columbia. While it is still in the planning stages, this Public Forum would travel the province and hear from members of the public and others who understand the problems of the current Legal Aid system.

• News source:
• 8 March 2010
• UN News Centre

Top United Nations officials are marking International Women’s Day by calling for greater support to women, particularly in developing countries, so that they can be empowered and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight globally agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

In his message for the Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that “the third Millennium Development Goal – to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment – is central to all the rest. When women are denied the opportunity to better themselves and their societies, we all lose.

• News source:
• 8 March 2010
• Canoe.ca

Canadian men on average get paid more than 20% more than their female colleagues, giving the country one of the highest gender gaps among the 30 OECD nations.

Only Korea, Japan and Germany rank higher than Canada in paying men more than women. Canada is in fourth place along with the United Kingdom, according to Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development statistics.

• News source:
• 8 March 2010
• Global News Journal
• By Sangeeta Shastry

Men are still paid more than women in Europe but the European Union is promising to narrow the gap.

The executive European Commission set out its plans to address the pay gap between men and women at a news conference to coincide with International Women’s Day, saying women were on average earning only 82 percent of male rates in the EU.

European Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Commissioner Viviane Reding said the Commission would work with member states to raise awareness and did not rule out using legislative measures to promote wage equality.

• News source:
• 8 March 2010
• Nepalnews.com

The political standing of women has “improved” in Nepal in comparison to many countries in Asia and the Pacific where works are being done to enhance women’s participation in politics, according to a new Asia Pacific Human Development Report on Gender.

“The political voice of women has improved in Nepal with the recent secured 1/3 quota in the Constituent Assembly. In comparison, only about 1/3 of countries in Asia and the Pacific have quota systems to enhance women’s participation in politics,” says the report titled, “Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific” launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day in the capital on Monday.

• News source:
• 8 March 2010
• Huffington Post
• By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General, NATO

On this International Women’s Day, it is fitting that we reflect upon United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted almost ten years ago. With this resolution, the United Nations recognized that conflict disproportionately impacts civilians, and particularly women. It remains a powerful call to protect those who are most vulnerable in conflicts and their aftermath, and to enhance the participation of women in building peace and security.

• News source:
• originally published 17 February 2010
• AFP

OTTAWA — The Canadian government asked the United States not to use shared evidence to prosecute Canadian Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr. Canada’s Supreme Court ruled last month that Ottawa violated Khadr’s rights by sharing his statements to Canadian officials with Washington. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Ottawa delivered a diplomatic note to Washington “seeking assurances that any evidence or statements shared with US authorities as a result of the interviews of Mr. Khadr by Canadian agents and officials in 2003 and 2004 not be used against him by US authorities in the context of proceedings before the (US) Military Commission or elsewhere.”

• News source:
• 1 March 2010
• Amnesty International
• full report (pdf)
• By press release

As the world focuses on the country this year there are unparalleled opportunities for Canada to be a human rights leader, says Amnesty International Canada. The Winter Olympics and Paralympics have captured the world’s attention. And Canada will be again on the world stage as the host to the world’s most powerful countries at the G8 and G20 meetings in June.

“A new vision for politics, economic, security and humanitarianism of global affairs can emerge with decisive leadership,” notes Alex Neve Secretary General of the English branch of Amnesty International Canada. “But to be that champion Canada must reverse the erosion of its own reputation for human rights leadership.”

In a document released today, Canada and Human Rights in 2010: Time to Return to Leadership, Amnesty International Canada outlines how the government should address human rights protection in a number of areas and champion this “new vision”.

Amnesty International welcomed the government’s announcement that the issue of maternal and child health will be a priority at the G8 Summit in June. It is critically important that the tragically high rates of maternal mortality around the world be addressed. Recent reports from Amnesty International have documented how many women die while giving birth in countries like Burkino Faso, Peru and Sierra Leone.

“The solutions to the tragedy of maternal mortality are not simply matters of health policy and economics”, says Beatrice Vaugrante, Director general of the francophone branch of Amnesty International Canada. “They are rooted in discrimination, inequality and violence against women and girls. That is why a human rights approach must be adopted by the G8 summit.”

At the June G20 Summit of the world’s leading economic powers, following the G8 meeting, Canada, should seek agreement to develop standards for business and human rights that are critical to closing the regulatory and accountability gaps within the global and national economies. It is a crucial time for action as countries struggle to recover from the dramatic downturn while one billion people worldwide still live in extreme poverty.

Amnesty International Canada, as part of a broad coalition of organizations, is calling on the government to ensure that poverty eradication, economic recovery for all and environmental justice is at the centre of the Summit agendas, grounded in human rights standards.

“International leadership at the Summits must be matched by efforts to arrest the erosion of human rights protection within Canada”, says Neve. “Canada is only credible internationally if it has a consistent approach nationally.”

The Amnesty International Canada human rights agenda highlights a number of areas where Canada has failed to take the lead. Commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples has been weakened by the failure to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That position must be reversed. The discriminatory levels of funding for First Nations child protection agencies must be ended. And a comprehensive national action plan to address violence against Indigenous women is needed.

• News source:
• 28 February 2010
• CTV News
• By Alia Dharssi

Housing activists experimented with a novel protest strategy Saturday: they attempted to set a Guinness World Record while raising awareness of national housing issues.

Supporters of the Red Tent Campaign gathered in downtown Vancouver to wrap 1,700 metres of red banners around the block surrounding the Canada Pavilion on West Georgia and Beatty…

The protesters hope to increase support for Bill C-304, which will be reviewed by Parliament in the spring. The bill would establish a constitutional right to housing in Canada, while providing the foundation for a national housing strategy with funding commitments and timelines.

• News source:
• 24 February 2010
• Rabble.ca
• By Martin Lukacs

The opening ceremonies at the Vancouver Winter Olympiad were flush with aboriginal motifs: hundreds of costumed indigenous dancers, giant illuminated Salish house poles, and the broad smiles of representatives from the “Four Host First Nations.”

It was a perfectly choreographed display of Canada’s multicultural grace for an international audience. Ever sensitive about their reputation as a land of the fair minded, Canada’s Olympic planners have gone to lengths to showcase the nation’s respect for aboriginals. They made an Inuit design the official logo. They ran the torch-relay through scores of reservations. They bought the support and participation of local First Nations with a few million in bonds, business ventures and gleaming buildings. An absolute bargain, if this aboriginal gilding can blind Canadians and the world to the country’s secret shame: the true state of its indigenous peoples.

• News source:
• 24 February 2010
• New York Times
• Editorial

Is this really the state of ethics in the American legal profession? Government lawyers who abused their offices to give the president license to get away with torture did nothing that merits a review by the bar?

A five-year inquiry by the Justice Department’s ethics watchdogs recommended a disciplinary review for the two lawyers who produced the infamous torture memos for former President George W. Bush, but they were overruled by a more senior Justice Department official.

• News source:
• originally published 2 February 2010
• Independent Catholic News

As the acclaimed 3D film ‘Avatar’ was today nominated for an Oscar in the Best Film category, tribal peoples around the world have claimed the film tells the real story of their lives today…

• News source:
• 26 February 2010
• Globe and Mail
• By AP

The highest court in military-ruled Myanmar dismissed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest bid for freedom Friday, turning down an appeal to end 14 years of house arrest, her lawyer said.

The Supreme Court’s decision had been expected since legal rulings in Myanmar rarely favour opposition activists, and the junta appears determined to keep Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, detained through elections planned later this year.

Defence lawyer Nyan Win told reporters he would launch one final “special appeal” before the court after determining why the recent appeal had been rejected. “The court order did not mention any reasons,” he said.

• News source:
• originally published 3 February 2010
• Indigenous Portal
• By UCTP Taino News

Havana, Cuba, (UCTP Taino News)—One of Cuba’s most prominent diplomats died Monday morning due to serious illness. Dr. Michael J. Alfonso Martinez, age 74, was an outstanding diplomat, lawyer and academic with broad experience in the service of the Cuba People and Human Rights.

As a diplomat he held various positions in the Cuban Foreign Service. He was Foreign Ministry spokesman between 1994 and 1997 and as an expert in Human Rights he represented the Government of Cuba in numerous meetings and conferences, mainly within the UN system.

Well-known to Indigenous Peoples around the world, Martinez served as UN Special Rapporteur for the Study on Treaties, Agreements and Constructive Arrangements between States and Indigenous Peoples, as former member and Chair of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, and as First Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the UN Human Rights Council.

• News source:
• vimeo.com
• By John Richardson, Pivot Legal Society

John Richardson of Pivot Legal Society @ THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: RALLY FOR A NATIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM from working TV on Vimeo.

• News source:
• 23 February 2010
• Art Threat: Culture+Politics
• By Amanda McCuaig

Yuri Arajs, a Kelowna born artist who recently returned to Vancouver after a 30-year stint in Minneapolis, Minnesota, first heard about the Pivot Legal Society’s Red Tent campaign from his mother…

So inspiring that within four days of talking to his mom, Yuri had rented time at a screen printing studio and had already created the two colour prints that would become the basis of his art-meets-fundraising efforts to help raise money for the Red Tent campaign.

Yuri created 125 prints in the studio, and has been selling them online for $25.

• News source:
• 23 February 2010
• IntLawGrrls Voices
• By Fiona de Londras

• News source:
• 21 February 2010
• Globe and Mail
• By Guy Dixon

Last Train Home follows the travails of a couple who leave their children to work 2,100 kilometres away in a garment sweatshop.

Filmmaker Lixin Fan’s documentary chronicles one Chinese family’s struggle to make ends meet as employees of a garment factory, and a whole country’s reliance on migrant workers.

• News source:
• 20 February 2010
• Georgia Straight
• By Stephen Hui

Dozens of people spent last night in tents at Creekside Park to draw attention to homelessness and housing issues.

This morning (February 20), participants in the Red Tent campaign “solidarity sleepover” arranged their shelters to form the words “Homes for all”.

John Richardson, executive director of Pivot Legal Society [http://www.pivotlegal.org/]—which initiated the campaign—told the Straight that between 35 and 50 people camped out for the night and over 100 showed up in support.