Educational Integration of Roma Children in Bulgaria

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:55:07 -0700

At an estimated 10 million people, Roma are the largest, yet most discriminated-against minority in Europe. In Bulgaria, 70 percent of young Roma, (approximately 30,000 children), attend sub-standard schools in segregated Romani neighborhoods. Inadequate material conditions and the poor quality of education provided by unmotivated teachers contribute to low attendance rates of Roma pupils. Altogether, they alienate Romani children from schools and perpetuate the cycle of illiteracy, unemployment, and poverty.

In the year 2000, Romani activists from the Bulgarian town of Vidin spearheaded the first initiative for educational desegregation in Europe. Instead of attending ghetto schools in the Roma neighborhood, 100 Romani children enrolled in the town’s mainstream schools. Six years later, more than 3,000 Romani children are bused daily to integrated schools in eight Bulgarian towns. Students in the desegregation programs now go to school regularly, get higher grades, and have better prospects for continuing on to higher education.

Contact the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria, urging him to fully endorse and implement nation-wide policies in support of educational integration of Romani children.

Contact the Chair of the Education and Science Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, urging him to support the passage of the Desegregation Bill.

HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:11:21 -0700

The silent storm of HIV/AIDS is ravaging communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where over 2.6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Some one hundred thousand people have died of AIDS and more than 700,000 children have lost one or both parents to this preventable disease that, if not tackled directly by government policy, has the potential of evolving into a raging pandemic. To date only 3% of those needing anti-retroviral treatment are receiving it.

"Awaiting Tomorrow" tells the story people living with HIV/AIDS in the war-torn Eastern region of the DRC and advocates for the provision of: free HIV/AIDS testing, medical care and medication, including home based care, nutritional and psychological support; outreach on testing and prevention particularly targeting youth; awareness raising and legislation to end discrimination against all affected people; and the building of infrastructure to make critical medical assistance accessible.

The Congolese government, supported by the international community, must comply with their international obligations to take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS, including the right to health and the right to information on prevention, testing and treatment and the promises made through the Millenium Development Goals. Act Now to call on President Joseph Kabila and the Congolese Government to immediately address this emerging crisis.

Torture and displacement in Northern Uganda

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:40:47 -0700

Two decades of armed conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government in the Northern Uganda, has caused some nearly two million civilians to be displaced from their homes. Ordered into so-called protected camps, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) face heightened insecurity, appalling living conditions and the lack the means of subsistence. Abuses against these communities are rampant, the LRA has committed war crimes and gross violations of human rights including the abduction of over twenty thousand children, widespread maiming, rape and murder against the civilian population. These attacks have led to secondary displacement in which up to forty thousand children commute nightly from the camps to sleep in the relative safety of town centers.

While the LRA have been perpetrators of these crimes, the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the national army, has also committed human rights violations against civilians that include arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killing, torture and rape. The UPDF whose mandate is to protect civilians, has not only failed to prevent attacks and abductions by the LRA, but has also perpetrated grave abuses against civilians in a climate of impunity.

Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) and WITNESS have collaborated on a video advocacy campaign to address the issue of torture and other cruel and degrading punishment committed against the IDP communities of Northern Uganda. Through the personal stories of torture survivors, the video advocates for official acknowledgement of these abuses, redress for torture victims, as well as implementation of legislative measures to strengthen national mechanisms against the use of torture. Please join us in this campaign to end torture against displaced persons by taking action.

Please oppose vigilante groups such as the Minuteman Project

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:06:22 -0700

There have long been vigilantes harassing border crossers and communities, but this year has seen an alarming increase in their activity and visibility. For example, in April, a new group called the “Minuteman Project" stepped into the national spotlight when several hundred recruits gathered in Arizona to patrol the border. Only months later, they are expanding their activities into California, Texas and several other states
throughout the country.

Although the Minuteman Project and other vigilante groups have been very skillful at portraying themselves as no more than well-meaning "neighborhood watch groups,” their efforts to “protect” our borders include taking the law into their own hands and using fear, intimidation and violent tactics. Moreover, many of these groups have documented ties to known hate groups.

Please write to your Congressional Representatives and Senators, urging them to take a stand against vigilante groups such as the Minuteman Project, making clear that their activities are not welcome in any community.

Children in the Ranks

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:17:09 -0700

Support the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007
Limit US Military Assistance to Governments Using Child Soldiers

Today, an estimated 250,000 children are serving in armed conflict in 20 countries around the world. These “child soldiers” include boys and girls, sometimes as young as eight years old, serving in government armies, government-linked militias, and armed opposition groups. They serve in all aspects of contemporary warfare as spies, messengers, guards, cooks, porters, security officers, and too often, as front-line combatants. Many female child soldiers are forced to serve as sex slaves or “wives” of military commanders.

Although many child soldiers are found in non-governmental armed opposition groups, the State Department reports that governments in ten countries are implicated in child soldier use. The US government provides military assistance to nine of them.

The Death Penalty

Amnesty International — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:22:01 -0700

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments.

Amnesty International works for an end to executions and the abolition of the death penalty everywhere.

Progress has been dramatic. In 1977 only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Today the figure stands at 89.

Support immediate UN Action on Burma's Human Rights and Humanitarian Crisis

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:09:22 -0700

Since August 19, 2007 there has been a series of peaceful protests across Burma as monks, activists and ordinary citizens challenge misrule and repression. On September 26, the Burmese military government responded with violence.

Meanwhile, in eastern Burma, a 45-year catastrophe has reached one of its worst moments, as the country's military junta escalates its attacks against the area's ethnic minorities. The government's efforts to assert control over ethnic border areas have emptied over 3,000 villages in a decade, an average of almost one village each day over the past ten years. The forces of Burma's military junta, the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), are mortaring villages, looting and burning homes to the ground, and destroying crops in an effort to obliterate the livelihoods of rural communities. Burmese soldiers are ordered to shoot civilians on sight.

Over 500,000 displaced people live in constant insecurity in eastern Burma, and over 30,000 more have been displaced because of this most recent offensive. Those who are captured by the Burmese army face forced labor, conscription, torture, rape and even execution. The rest are unable to return to their homes for fear of stepping on landmines laid after their escape. Instead, the displaced live in makeshift camps in the jungle, enduring some of the worst health conditions in any world crisis today.

As this crisis escalates, it threatens to destabilize not only Burma but the region at large. The increasing refugee exodus places a burden on neighboring states, and regional politicians are concerned that epidemics of HIV/AIDS and other diseases will spill over into their own communities.

Only broader international consensus and diplomatic pressure will bring an end to these human rights abuses, allow entry of adequate amounts of humanitarian aid, and provide a political solution and a transition to democracy for ethnic minorities and the broader population in Burma.

This video was filmed, produced and edited by documenters from WITNESS partner Burma Issues. Learn more about our work with Burma Issues.

Act Now: Contact the UN-Secretary General and urge him to recognize that over 3000 villages in eastern Burma have been destroyed in the past decade, and that this requires urgent action by the UN Security Council and by Burma's neighbors in the region. Forty-five years of violence in eastern Burma is enough!

End Extraordinary Rendition and Torture in the World Community

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:12:57 -0700

Human rights groups and several public inquiries in Europe have found the U.S. government, with the complicity of numerous governments worldwide, to be engaged in the illegal practice of extraordinary rendition, secret detention, and torture. The U.S. government-sponsored program of renditions is an unlawful practice in which numerous persons have been illegally detained and secretly flown to third countries, where they have suffered additional human rights abuses including torture and enforced disappearance. No one knows the exact number of persons affected, due to the secrecy under which the operations are carried out.

"Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture and Disappearances in the 'War on Terror'" tells the stories of Khaled El-Masri and Binyam Mohamed, two men who have survived extraordinary rendition, secret detention, and torture by the U.S. government working with various other governments worldwide. "Outlawed" features relevant commentary from Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.S. President George W. Bush, Michael Scheuer, the chief architect of the rendition program and former head of the Osama Bin Laden unit at the CIA, and Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State.

"Outlawed" places the post-9/11 phenomenon of renditions and the "war on terror" in a human rights context and calls for action end these human rights abuses.

Take action to end extraordinary rendition and torture in the world community.

End Slave Labor in Brazil

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:20:48 -0700

Every year, more than 25,000 workers are enslaved by landowners in rural Brazil, mostly in the Amazon region.

Despite the fact that Brazil pledged to eradicate slave labor by the end of 2006, there is still a long way to go. Current inspections barely cover half the complaints received from runaway slaves, and although 4,000 workers are released each year, no landowner has ever been imprisoned for the crime of slavery. The few criminal charges ever pressed remain at a standstill because of a debate over whether they should be tried in state or federal courts. Rampant impunity combined with a lack of economic opportunities continues to force tens of thousands of men to enter the cycle of slavery each year.

ACT NOW and tell President Lula that slave labor must end once and for all by signing the linked petition below.

Take Action: help Iraqi Refugees

The Hub — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:16:22 -0700

More than two million refugees from Iraq have fled to neighboring countries, mostly in Jordan and Syria. Another two million Iraqis are displaced within Iraq due to violence and persecution. The needs of these uprooted people are enormous.

Many fleeing Iraqis have no legal status in nearby countries and desperately need our help. Inside Iraq they need food, medicine, jobs, and a safe place to live.

The U.S. has a special responsibility to protect and assist these Iraqis. More Iraqi refugees should be allowed to resettle in the U.S. -- especially if they are at risk because they worked for Americans or they belong to religious, ethnic, or other persecuted groups. Also members of female-headed households, unaccompanied children, and refugees that have close family members in the U.S. should have the opportunity to apply for resettlement.

While resettlement in the U.S. will be available for only a tiny fraction of vulnerable Iraqis, coming to the U.S. may save their lives and give them and their families a future. The U.S. should also help other countries keep their doors open to Iraqi refugees fleeing persecution and violence by sending more lifesaving assistance.

The U.S. Senate has recently approved the "Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act" as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. This important bill provides for admission to the U.S. of many vulnerable Iraqis - including those targeted because of their association with the U.S. - and calls for more protection and aid for Iraqis that have been displaced. The next step for this bill is a conference between key Senators and Representatives.

Please urge your Senators and Representatives to support the Senate-passed provision on Iraqi refugees that is part of the Defense Authorization bill.

Take Action Now -- Click the Links Below