Disability Rights

I first started thinking about the issue of disability rights when I moved from the United States to Canada. The U.S has something called the American Disabilities Act which, among other things, requires that all buildings be accessible to individuals with disabilities. I was surprised to discover that Canada doesn't have an equivalent. For instance, only a few of the subway stations in Toronto have elevators and are wheel-chair accessible. My sister, who has a knee injury, also made an appointment to see a physical therapist. When she arrived she discovered that there was a large flight of stairs leading to the office. There was no elevator or escalator in the building. She was able to climb the stairs very slowly, but now imagine someone in a wheel chair facing the same situation. They simply wouldn't be able to get up the stairs to see the therapist. Issues of accessibility severely limits where a disabled person can go. Acceptability, however, is just one of the issues that the 1 billion people around the world with disabilities face. Here is a list of some of the other issues found across the world:

• Children with disabilities are often denied the right to be included in the general school system.
• Individuals with mental disabilities are often denied the right to vote, seek employment, marry, or make other decisions that effect their own lives.
• Individuals with mental disabilities are also often forced to live in psychiatric institutions. These institutions abuse patients as well as force them to live in unsanitary conditions and deny them proper medical treatment. 
• Women with disabilities face higher rates of sexual and physical violence. 

For more information visit:

http://www.hrw.org/topic/disability-rights

Book Review: Half the Sky

I recently finished reading the book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book tackles many issues relating to the oppression of women around the world including slavery, education, and maternal mortality. Kristof and WuDunn effectively present information in a blend factual data and true stories to create a powerful and moving book. They also provide advice on what we all can do to improve the status of women around the world. Here's a few of their suggestions:

1. Donate to a grassroots project benefiting women through www.globalgiving.org or support microlending for women entrepreneurs through www.kiva.org. Microlending is an effective way to raise the status of women because it allows them to start their own businesses and thus increases their value to their community and family.
2. "Sponsor a girl or woman through Plan International, Women for Women International, World Vision, or American Jewish World Service" (Kristof and Wudunn). These organizations use your monthly donation to support an individual in need. 
3. Subscribe to www.womensnews.org or www.worldpulse.com to get email updates about issues relating to women's rights.
4. Join the Care Action Network to advocate for women's rights. Members learn and can communicate with their legislators about issues effecting women around the globe.

You can also visit http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ to learn more. 

Nobel Peace Prize 2014

The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi. Malala is a child's rights activist who advocates for education despite having been shot by the Taliban in 2012. She is the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize.

Kailash is also a child's rights activist. He has worked to end child labor and ensure that all children have the opportunity to go to school. There is an estimated 168 million children working as child laborers around the world. These children are often forced to work in hazardous conditions like mines and factories, as well as with harmful substances such as chemicals and pesticides. This is not only detrimental to their health, but it also prevents them from receiving an education.

For more information on the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize read this article by Human Rights Watch:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/10/nobel-peace-prize-victory-education

For more information on Malala and her work visit: http://www.malala.org/

For more information of Kailash and his work visit: http://www.globalmarch.org/aboutus/kailash-satyarthi

International Humanitarian Law and the Gaza Crisis

There has been a lot of talk about violations of international humanitarian law with the conflicts in Gaza and the Ukraine. International humanitarian law or the laws of war are a set of treaties meant to protect the human rights of civilians and other non-participants of the conflict in wartime. Non-participants can include injured soldiers, prisoners of war, and medical workers. The backbone of international humanitarian law is the four Geneva Conventions. Here are some of the key points:

• The humane treatment of all non-participants in the conflict. This means no torture or murder and the right to medical treatment.
• All parties in the conflict must distinguish between civilians and military forces.
• Medical personnel and equipment receive special protection. Which means that military forces should not harm medical personnel, equipment, or hospitals.
• No collective punishment

In my last post I talked about violations of the laws of war in the Ukraine, so in this post I will focus on the Gaza Crisis. Both Israel and Hamas have violated international humanitarian law during the fighting . Article 3 in the fourth Geneva Convention, states in reference to, “Persons taking no active part in the hostilities” that “the following acts are and shall be prohibited...violence to life and person…” Israel’s airstrikes on populated areas of Gaza are a violation of this. Israel uses airstrikes to destroy Hamas missile caches which are often hidden in populated areas. Be this as it may, article 33 specifically says that, “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed.” When Israel bombs an area populated by civilians, although it gives preemptive warnings before the airstrike, they are still punishing those who did not place the missiles there. Hamas is also guilty of violating these two articles of the Convention. They have sent missiles into Israel that injured or killed civilians and damaged civilian property. In addition, they also violated article 28 of the Fourth Convention which states that, “The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune to military operations.” Hamas has done this on numerous occasions by storing missiles under apartments, U.N schools, and mosques, as well as telling its civilians to stay in their homes when Israel warns them to evacuate before an airstrike. By using Palestinians as human shields, Hamas has made it so that the Israeli army cannot reach its objectives without harming civilians.

Violations of international humanitarian law go unpunished more often than not as there is no reliable means of enforcing them. War crimes are tried by the International Criminal Court. The court can only try cases, however, if the state in question has signed the Rome Statute (the treaty that established the ICC), if the state submits to the authority of the ICC, or if the UN Security Council moves to have the ICC try the case. This system leaves too much room for error. This does not mean that we should ignore the Geneva Conventions. Even though they will never prevent wars from occurring, they still give us an ideal to strive for.

For more Information on the laws of war and the Gaza Crisis read this article by Human Rights 
Watch: http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/03/qa-2014-hostilities-between-israel-and-hamas

For more information on the Geneva Conventions explore the International Committee for the Red Cross' website: http://www.icrc.org/eng/

Conflict in the Ukraine and the Laws of War

The conflict in the Ukraine began with Russia annexing Crimea. Ever since there has been fighting between pro and anti Russian groups. Recently, Human Rights Watch reported that insurgent groups have not only used ambulances to transport uninjured fighters, but have also destroyed medical equipment and supplies, threatened medical staff, and endangered civilian patients.  All these actions are clear violations of the laws of war set forth by Article 19 in the first Geneva Convention. The Article states that, "Fixed establishments and mobile medical units of the medical service may in no circumstances be attacked...should they fall into the hands of the adverse party, their personnel shall be free to pursue their duties." By disregarding the Geneva Convention, insurgent fighters are endangering the human rights of civilians and other vulnerable parties.

For more information read this article by Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/05/ukraine-insurgents-disrupt-medical-services

U.S Immigration Crisis

The debate over illegal immigration was once again brought to national attention by the recent influx of children illegally crossing into the United States from Central America. Illegal immigration in the U.S and elsewhere has long been the cause of much discussion. Those in favor of it state that illegal immigrants help the economy by providing cheap labor. Others attack it, claiming immigrants steal jobs away from actual citizens. The economical effects, however, should not take away from what these immigrants suffer through in the hopes of finding a better life. Many leave their home country to escape violence or poverty. The journey to the U.S itself is often very dangerous. Some are smuggled in by trucks, shipping containers, or make the journey on foot through the Arizona desert. The latter method often results in the migrant dying of dehydration. If they do make it to the U.S, they are vulnerable to an array of abuses including poor pay and living conditions. They must also live with the fear of being detained and deported. Now imagine a child, unaccompanied by an adult, going through all this.

Last Friday, President Obama met with presidents from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to discuss a solution. In addition, President Obama wants congress to dedicate nearly 4 billion dollars to the immigration problem.The 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act is currently slowing down the deportation process. The act requires that each child be given a court hearing to determine whether or not they will be allowed to remain in the U.S. Due to a back log of cases, this can take years. Obama therefore wants the money to go towards improving the border patrol and detention facilities, as well as increasing the amount of judges trying these cases. In a press release, Amnesty International reminded leaders of the four countries that they have an obligation to protect the human rights of migrant children.

For more information on how U.S immigration policies effect migrants see: "Torn Apart", a multimedia feature created by Human Rights Watch in partnership with artist Platon.

For more information on the recent immigration crisis read this article by NPR: http://www.npr.org/2014/07/09/329848538/whats-causing-the-latest-immigration-crisis-a-brief-explainer

For more information on illegal immigration read this article by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: http://www.unodc.org/toc/en/crimes/migrant-smuggling.html

Israeli Palestinian Conflict

The Israeli Palestinian Conflict began with the formation of Israel. After World War II, the United Nations divided the region into an Arab and a Jewish state. Both sides refused to recognize each other as legitimate states and have been fighting intermittently ever since. The conflict recently escalated when three Israeli teens were abducted in the West Bank and murdered. Israel blames Hamas, a terrorist organization who controls the Palestinian territories, for their deaths. Israeli troops were sent into Gaza to arrest the suspected murderers. Hamas has been using this, along with the death of a Palestinian teen who was murdered in retribution by an orthodox Jewish extremist group, as an excuse to launch long range missiles into Israel. In turn, Israel has been launching airstrikes into Gaza to destroy Hamas missile cashes. Casualties on the Israeli side have been limited due to their Iron Dome defense system. Civilians of Gaza, however, have not been so lucky. This is further complicated by Hamas asking Palestinians not to evacuate despite Israeli warnings that there will be an airstrike.

For more information about the history of the Israel Palestine Conflict read this article by Global Issues:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/119/the-middle-east-conflict-a-brief-background

For more information on the recent escalation of the conflict read this article by NPR:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/14/331321398/israel-shoots-down-drone-as-clash-with-hamas-continues