Am I Not Human? The Right to Life

On the 27th of each month we plan to blog about human rights.  Every person is entitled to certain fundamental rights, simply by the fact of being human. These are called “human rights” rather than a privilege (which can be taken away at someone’s whim).

They are “rights” because they are things you are allowed to be, to do or to have. These rights are there for your protection against people who might want to harm or hurt you. They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt Reviews UDHR

Born out of the atrocities and enormous loss of life during World War II, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948 to provide a common understanding of what everyone’s rights are. It forms the basis for a world built on freedom, justice and peace. This declaration provided a list of 30 specific human rights.

Human right #3 is something we need to remind ourselves about more often ...

Right to Life!

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.



Just because the nations of the world signed a declaration that defined and respected 'human rights' doesn't mean that abuses don't occur. Human rights abuses are taking place in America and in most other nations of the world. On the 27th of each month we are going to shine our blogging spotlight on human rights abuse ... and our hope is that other bloggers will do so as well.

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Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

Am I Not Human? What Are Human Rights?

This blog is going to return to its roots. On the 27th of each month we plan to blog about human rights.   The first question that comes to mind is a simple one ...

What Are Human Rights?

While some dictionaries define the word right as “a privilege,” when used in the context of “human rights,” we are talking about something more basic.

Every person is entitled to certain fundamental rights, simply by the fact of being human. These are called “human rights” rather than a privilege (which can be taken away at someone’s whim).

They are “rights” because they are things you are allowed to be, to do or to have. These rights are there for your protection against people who might want to harm or hurt you. They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace.

Check out this video that answers the question, 'What Are Human Rights?'



Many people know something about their rights. Generally they know they have the right to food and a safe place to stay. They know they have a right to be paid for the work they do. But there are many other rights.

When human rights are not well known by people, abuses such as discrimination, intolerance, injustice, oppression and slavery can arise.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt Reviews UDHR

Born out of the atrocities and enormous loss of life during World War II, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948 to provide a common understanding of what everyone’s rights are. It forms the basis for a world built on freedom, justice and peace.  This declaration provided a list of 30 specific human rights.

Just because the nations of the world signed a declaration that defined and respected 'human rights' doesn't mean that abuses don't occur.  Human rights abuses are taking place in America and in most other nations of the world.  On the 27th of each month we are going to shine our blogging spotlight on human rights abuse ... and our hope is that other bloggers will do so as well.

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Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

Related articles

• Whose human rights?
• Human Rights Day 2013: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Global Q&A, 'Is the world in general becoming more numb to human rights abuses?'

Am I Not Human? UNESCO-Obiang Science Award

Most of us know so little about Africa. For example, I didn't know very much about Equatorial Guinea. I didn't realize that the leader of Equatorial Guinea is now the longest serving ruler on the continent. What I sadly do realize is that being in office for a long time does not make you a good person.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea, is not a good person. Obiang and close family members have diverted tens of millions of dollars from their country's natural resource earnings to their private benefit. In spite of having attained the highest GDP per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa, 60 percent of Equatoguineans live on less than $1 a day in conditions comparable to Haiti or Chad. President Obiang has neglected to invest available resources in basic social services, resulting in declining primary school attendance, poor health indicators, and needless poverty.

President Obiang is trying to purchase a good image for himself by funding a life sciences prize via the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The $3 million UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences was set up in 2008 but has never been awarded. Implementation of the prize was frozen last year after an outcry from concerned Equatoguineans, human rights groups, anti-corruption campaigners, and prominent literary, scientific, and cultural figures. That action came about after prominent African figures, Latin American writers, Nobel laureates, scientists and public health professionals, press freedom groups, Cano prize winners, and rights organizations from around the world came together in an unprecedented effort to challenge the prize, citing serious concerns about Obiang’s record of corruption and abuse.

This issue is back on the UNESCO agenda at their next meeting in Paris on October 6, 2011. 

An effort by the Obiang government to reinstate the prize in May failed to make it onto the agenda.

But the current initiative has the nominal support of other African countries following an African Union (AU) resolution at its summit meeting in Equatorial Guinea in July, which Obiang hosted as this year’s AU chairman.

"UNESCO should not honor President Obiang," said Tutu Alicante, executive director of EG Justice, an organization based in Washington, DC. "If he wishes to fund science and education around the world, he should start with his own country, where many still lack basic services such as electricity and clean water, while the president and his family flaunt an extravagant lifestyle that is the subject of legal investigations around the world."

Public figures involved in the campaign against the prize have included: Nobel laureates Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Wole Soyinka, Mario Vargas Llosa, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and John Polanyi; author Chinua Achebe; human rights advocate Graça Machel; and over 60 professionals from Equatorial Guinea.

You can join these world leaders by signing an online petition against the prize. 

I encourage all of our villagers to learn more about Equatorial Guinea. My hope is that UNESCO will put an end to this transparent effort by President Obiang to change the narrative of his life.

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Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

President Obama to United Nations: 'Peace is Hard, But We Know That It Is Possible'

President Obama spoke to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday (transcript / video). He used his speech to talk about the numerous challenges that stand in the way of a lasting peace. He advocated for peace defined by more than the absence of war, saying: “a lasting peace -- for nations and for individuals -- depends on a sense of justice and opportunity, of dignity and freedom.”

What is your take on the President's speech to the United Nations?

Am I Not Human? The Universal Declaration for Human Rights

Eleanor Roosevelt considered the signing of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights to be her greatest triumph. It was signed by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

Roosevelt once said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

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Universal Declaration for Human Rights
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,


Now, therefore, The General Assembly proclaims
This Universal Declaration of Human Rights

as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

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I encourage you to review the 30 articles that make up the complete UDHR.

Once we realize that the nations of the world accepted human rights as being inalienable it becomes more difficult for us to sit by idly when we learn about human rights abuses. Our hope is that you will take action!

• Protect Children's Rights
• Fight Discrimination
• Stop Torture and Political Killing
• Advance the Human Rights of Women
• Reinforce Workers' Rights
• Spread the Word on Free Expression
• Halt Religious Persecution
• Advocate for Fair Trials and Due Process
• Secure "Freedom from Want"
• Defend Human Rights Defenders

Please make a note on your calendar to join our blogging campaign, 'Am I Not Human?' on the 27th of each month. We want all concerned bloggers and blog readers to support this effort. It is one way that we can lift up the powerful example set over 60 years ago by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the United Nations.

Am I Not Human? World AIDS Day

I realize that many of you are still full from the Thanksgiving feasts that you shared with friends and family. Disease and suffering are not likely to be on your mind.

But, this blog wants to remind you that between Thanksgiving and the holiday festivities to come, there's another important event often overlooked: World AIDS Day on December 1st.

AIDS is one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history, and especially devastating for the most vulnerable: children. Over 2 million children worldwide are HIV-positive, and 50% of infants infected with HIV from their mothers die before their second birthday.

The good news is that a proven solution for curbing mother-to-child transmission of HIV now exists: testing and counseling for mothers, combined with anti-retroviral drugs. But to make this successful on a global scale, the world must demonstrate the will to fund this solution.

World AIDS Day exists to mobilize support for taking the steps necessary to end the global AIDS epidemic. Soulclap to Change.org and the US Fund for UNICEF for issuing a call to all Americans to make a pledge to support solutions to end the AIDS epidemic now.

Make the pledge to help put an end to the global AIDS epidemic now.

Worldwide, the funds to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS infections can't keep up with demand. There are 7,000 new infections every day, which means two people are still infected with the virus for every one starting treatment.

We are in an era of tight foreign-aid budgets, and developed nations are showing resistance to additional funding for preventing and treating AIDS. But as we go around shopping for friends and family this holiday, let's not forget to include the world's most vulnerable in our list of those we want to support.

Take action to help end the AIDS epidemic once and for all, and pledge to support life-saving programs around the world that protect children from HIV/AIDS and get treatment to those who are infected.






These Malawi victims are surely asking the universal question, "Am I Not Human?"

Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

Am I Not Human? US/Mexico Border Killings

We support the 'Am I Not Human?' blogging campaign that lights up on the 27th of each month. I encourage all villagers to find a way to support this effort to shine a light on human rights abuses taking place all over the world.

This blog tracks taser-related deaths. One of these killings occurred at the US/Mexico border near San Diego. It turns out that these border killings are more frequent than I imagined.

As a result, this blog joins with Human Rights Watch, American Civil Rights Union and others in calling for the US government to conduct a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation of the recent killings of two Mexican citizens by US border agents. The increasing number of episodes in which migrants are killed or wounded by border agents, raises grave concerns about possible unlawful use of lethal force.

Border control agents shot and killed Adrian Hernandez, 15, on the evening of June 7, 2010, at a railroad bridge connecting Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, with El Paso, Texas, after rock-throwing migrants confronted agents during an arrest. In a separate incident, Anastacio Hernandez Rojas died on May 31 after being electrocuted by border control agents on May 28 with a taser gun at the San Ysidro border crossing.

"The increasing number of border patrol killings make it clear that an open and thorough US investigation is needed," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "Any border agents found responsible for using excessive force should be held accountable."

According to the Mexican government, the number of incidents in which Mexicans were killed or wounded by border patrol has increased significantly in the past three years. Five Mexicans were killed or wounded in 2008 by the border patrol. The total in 2009 was 12, and there have been 17 incidents already in 2010.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement that in the June 7 incident, agents encountered a group of suspected illegal immigrants entering the United States and arrested two of them. The others fled across the border and began throwing rocks at the agents. One agent fired several shots, killing Adrian Hernandez. The victim's family says that he was not involved in the rock throwing and had not crossed the border.

In the earlier incident, the San Diego police said that Hernandez Rojas, 42, attacked the border patrol agents as they prepared to return him to Mexico. One agent allegedly struck Hernandez Rojas with a baton, and then another agent electrocuted him with a taser gun. Hernandez Rojas stopped breathing and showed no pulse. He was taken off life support three days later. Hernandez Rojas reportedly had been in the United States since the age of 14. He had been deported after a traffic violation, returned to the United States and was rearrested on the afternoon of May 28.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provide that authorities shall, as far as possible, apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. The Basic Principles provide that if the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, then the authorities must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. Lethal force may be used only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The Basic Principles also call for an effective reporting and review process, especially in cases of death and serious injury.

Am I Not Human? Seeking Justice After Gaza Conflict

The world's leaders have gathered at the United Nations for a meeting of the Human Rights Council. The Council will be presented with the findings and recommendations from the UN-mandated, fact-finding mission led by the highly-regarded judge Richard Goldstone, who investigated the human rights violations committed in Gaza and southern Israel last December and January.

The Goldstone Report, which is consistent with the findings of Amnesty International, concludes that both the Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups committed grave violations of international law including war crimes and, possibly, crimes against humanity. Both Israel and Hamas have, to date, failed to carry out credible investigations and to prosecute those responsible. Innocent civilians caught up in this conflict deserve to know the truth and obtain justice. Action is needed now.

If you agree, please send a message to Secretary Hillary Clinton and US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice today.

Villagers, no one should be above international law. For long-term security and peace in the region, all those responsible for violations of human rights must be held accountable.


Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?

Am I Not Human? Child Soldiers

We support the 'Am I Not Human?' blogging campaign that lights up the 27th of each month. I encourage all villagers to find a way to support this effort to shine a light on human rights abuses taking place all over the world.

My submission this month was inspired by a television show. I watched the season premiere of "24" a few days ago. I was struck by the use of children as soldiers for the rebels in this show. In fact, the rebels were actually kidnapping children from homes, soccer fields and schools.
The fantasy of television is born from the reality of our world.

It turns out that child soldiers are fighting in at least 17 countries including Angola, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

Boys and girls alike are forced into combat, exploited for their labor, and subjected to unspeakable violence. A UN treaty prohibits the participation of children under the age of 18 in hostilities. But too often, it is not enforced.

Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Many are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. Others join armed groups out of desperation. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children perceive armed groups as their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed.

I rarely compliment President Bush ... but, I'm proud to know that he signed a new law last month that calls for the arrest and prosecution of leaders of military forces and armed groups who have recruited child soldiers.

I encourage all villagers to visit the Red Hand Day website. The folks on that website want us to urge the United Nations to take stronger action to end the use of child soldiers.

The aim of the Red Hand Day campaign is to gather one million “red hands” — the symbol of the global campaign against the use of child soldiers — and present them to UN officials in New York on February 12, 2009, the anniversary of the day the treaty banning the use of child soldiers took effect.

Participating in the campaign is easy:

1. Use red paint to make a handprint on a sheet of paper, and add a personal message about your desire to end the use of child soldiers; organize others at your school or in your community to do the same;


2. Upload photos or videos of your event to www.redhandday.org;


3. Send your red hands by February 2009 to Human Rights Watch, 350 5th Ave, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10118

Will you join this effort? What are your thoughts about using children as soldiers?

Justice For Darfur, Sudan President Bashir Accused of Genocide

There is so much going on in the world today. It is difficult to keep up. Did you see that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and requested his indictment. I was glad to see someone being held accountable for the atrocities taking place in Darfur.

The prosecutor's request for an indictment sent shockwaves throughout the world. The Sudanese government stated that the ICC prosecutor's request for indictment on genocide charges was a "declaration of war". The UN responded by pulling non-essential staff from the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission.

The ICC's prosecutor's request for the indictment of Bashir is a major development in the international process seeking accountability for the horrific crimes in Darfur. Of course, the process is more difficult for the ICC because Bashir doesn't recognize their authority ... a position that is in harmony with George Bush.

Is it too much to hope that Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, would lead UN Security Council efforts to enforce the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Sudanese government minister, Ahmad Harun, and Janjawid militia leader, Ali Kushayb? Both men were charged with war crimes similar to those brought against Bashir and continue to remain at large.

This past April, Amnesty International ramped up efforts to achieve accountability by co-founding the global “Justice for Darfur” coalition. The coalition has sent tens of thousands of messages to world leaders, asking them to pressure Sudan to hand over suspected war criminals to the ICC for prosecution.

We need these world leaders, including Secretary Condie Rice, to get more peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur to protect the citizens from a government accused of systematic genecide.

What say u?

President Bush: Please LEAD On Darfur

We now have less than two months until the Beijing Olympic Games begin on August 8.

I urge all villagers to write a letter to President Bush asking him to lead on Darfur. The UN Security Council has just returned from its trip to Africa, where it visited the Darfur region.

During June, as President of the Security Council, the United States is in a unique position to exert its influence to ensure that the peacekeepers and civilian police authorized almost a year ago by the UN are deployed immediately.

Write to President Bush now and tell him how crucial his leadership is in urging China and other Security Council members to deploy the peacekeeping force to Darfur.

Darfur: Nationwide Day of Action on June 20

I encourage all villagers to join the Nationwide Day of Action on June 20. Please join Dream for Darfur and Save Darfur Coalition for a nationwide protest against the silence of Olympic corporate sponsors on the Darfur crisis.

To mark United Nations World Refugee Day on June 20, students, activists, and community leaders in cities across the country are gathering at the stores and headquarters of sponsors that have failed to address the Darfur genocide - despite their responsibility as stakeholders of the Olympics. Click here to attend an event in your community.

Creating a Peace to Keep in Darfur

Ending the catastrophe in Darfur requires international protection for civilians, a peace agreement that resolves the underlying political issues, and accountability for human rights abuses. Complete humanitarian access must be assured.

To achieve any of these goals, there must be meaningful consequences for individuals who impede efforts at protection, peacemaking, and humanitarian access. The deployment of an international civilian protection force, authorized last July by the UN Security Council, is moving ahead fitfully in the face of constant obstruction by the Sudanese government (and gross inattention by the Security Council to the pressing needs of the mission). While full and effective deployment of that force is necessary to save lives, it ultimately will prove insufficient unless it is accompanied by a viable peace process. Unfortunately, the current peace process is in shambles.
The ENOUGH Project and the Save Darfur Coalition created a joint report that outlines the urgent steps that must be taken to create a peace to keep in Darfur. The two groups identified these steps through field work, consultations with key actors, and experience with peace processes in Sudan and elsewhere. In particular, the joint report draws on the model used to negotiate the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades-long war in southern Sudan. [SOURCE]

To date, international actors, including the United States, China, France, and the United Nations, have sought more to manage the Darfur crisis piecemeal rather than solve it completely. Now is the time to appoint an empowered mediator and support that mediator with an international quartet of powers that have leverage and interests in Sudan.

The mediator must simultaneously protect humanitarian access, push for full and effective deployment of the UN-AU civilian protection force authorized last July, and vigorously pursue a viable peace process.

That peace process must address both the local and national issues that underlie the conflict, ensuring that resolution of the conflict in Darfur complements full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the conflict in southern Sudan and that provides a blueprint for the democratic transformation of the entire country.

The problems of Darfur cannot be solved without solving the problems of Sudan and vice-versa. The time has come, finally, to get it right in Sudan. The long-suffering Sudanese people deserve as much.

Do you have what it takes to become an activist on behalf of the Darfuri people? If so, then you are encouraged to download or read this Activist Brief on creating a peace in Darfur.

Sexual Violence in Darfur

One of the scary aspects of the armed conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region is that women and girls living in displaced persons camps, towns, and rural areas remain extremely vulnerable to sexual violence [SOURCE]. Those responsible are usually men from the Sudanese security forces, militias, rebel groups, and former rebel groups, who target women and girls predominantly (but not exclusively) from Fur, Zaghawa, Masalit, Berti, Tunjur, and other non-Arab ethnicities.

Perhaps even more scary is the public response of the Sudanese government. The government of Sudan has repeatedly denied that sexual violence is a problem in Darfur. As recently as March 2007 President Omar al-Bashir said in a television interview, “It is not in the Sudanese culture or people of Darfur to rape. It doesn’t exist. We don’t have it.”

Survivors of sexual violence in Darfur have no meaningful access to redress. They fear the consequences of reporting their cases to the authorities and lack the resources needed to prosecute their attackers. Police are physically present only in principal towns and government outposts, and they lack the basic tools and political will for responding to sexual violence crimes and conducting investigations. Police frequently fail to register complaints or conduct proper investigations. While some police seem genuinely committed to service, many exhibit an antagonistic and dismissive attitude toward women and girls. These difficulties are exacerbated by the reluctance—and limited ability—of police to investigate crimes committed by soldiers or militia, who often gain effective immunity under laws that protect them from civilian prosecution.

Americans are shocked beyond belief when we learn of sexual violence against young girls in our country. This week we are watching the raids on a Texas compound as a result of a 16-year old girl telling police that she was having unwanted sexual relations with a 50-year old polygamist. However, America doesn't seem to be willing to engender any outrage over the sexual violence occurring in Darufur. Women and girls continue to be brutally beaten and raped. Social stigma and obstacles to justice continue to discourage women and girls from seeking redress.

Since 2004 the African Union peacekeeping mission, known as AMIS, made efforts to protect women and girls victimized by sexual violence. But a lack of resources and various logistical and security challenges undermined these efforts. On January 1, 2008, an expanded United Nations-African Union mission (UNAMID) took over the mandate of the African Union mission and has been tasked to ensure security for humanitarian agencies, protect civilian populations, and monitor peace agreements, among other things.

It is imperative that the Sudanese government and UNAMID, still in the process of deployment, give high priority to meeting the challenges associated with addressing sexual violence. The government should demonstrate its resolve to address these serious human rights violations by state security forces and government-backed militias through concrete actions addressing the causes of sexual violence:

1. Bring to an end all attacks on civilians, including women and children, by government forces and government-backed militia.


2. Issue clear, public instructions in the form of a presidential decree to all members of the armed forces and government-sponsored militia, that rape and other forms of sexual violence will be promptly investigated and prosecuted.


3. Hold those responsible for acts of sexual violence, including those in positions of authority, accountable as a matter of command responsibility.


4. Ensure police and prosecutors are trained in victim-sensitive approaches to handling criminal investigations, and that properly trained female police investigators are deployed to police stations in Darfur, especially to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.


5. Revise criminal laws on sexual violence to provide for attempted rape and ensure rape victims are not exposed to prosecution for adultery, as is possible—and has happened in the past—under Sudanese law.


6. Clearly and publicly instruct military authorities to comply promptly and transparently to requests from police and prosecutors regarding criminal investigations of members of the armed forces.


7. Repeal immunity laws that provide members of the security forces effective immunity from prosecution in civilian courts for human rights violations, including acts of sexual violence.

I encourage all villagers to take a moment and download the 8-page summary and recommendations made to provide justice for victims of sexual violence in Darfur. You've been reading the various posts that are part of the In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur blogblast ... what have you learned? Are you motivated to take action?

Wordless Wednesday: Burma

President Bush told the United Nations that most of us here in America were concerned about the conflict between the people and the government of Burma. Of course, none of the folks that I know were talking about Burma at all. We focused on Jena Six, Genarlow Wilson, Megan Williams and such. However, thousands took to the street today in Myanmar (Burma) . Bush may have been right for first time in his presidency...