Derechos Humanos (Continuación)

El 11 de septiembre de 1990, cuando la prestigiosa antropóloga guatemalteca Myrna Mack salía de su trabajo en la sede de Avancso (Asociación para el Avance de las Ciencias Sociales), en el centro de la ciudad de Guatemala, fue repetidamente apuñalada en plena calle hasta morir. El autor, posteriormente identificado y capturado, resultó ser un suboficial del Ejército guatemalteco perteneciente a uno de los más mortíferos servicios militares de información. Servicio que también protagonizaría otros importantes crímenes, incluido el asesinato del obispo monseñor Juan Gerardi, ocho años después.

Myrna era autora de rigurosos trabajos de investigación sobre los sufrimientos y destrozos sociales padecidos por las comunidades mayas desplazadas, que se vieron obligadas a huir ante las atrocidades del genocidio (626 masacres registradas por el informe de la ONU) perpetradas por las tropas del Ejército en el curso de aquel trágico conflicto interior.…  Seguir leyendo »

Gordon Brown's strong condemnation of repression in Burma has raised hopes that Britain will take a tougher stance towards the country's military junta if and when he becomes prime minister. New initiatives are certainly needed. After a UN security council resolution demanding a restoration of democracy was vetoed by China and Russia in January, the generals are growing more confident - and aggressive.

In his new book, Courage: Eight Portraits, Mr Brown lauds the detained National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a fearless prisoner of conscience battling a state "with one of the worst human rights records in the world, with 1,000 political prisoners and 500,000 political refugees" where "children as young as four are in prison" and "poets and journalists tortured just for speaking out".…  Seguir leyendo »

El Congreso aprobó hace unos días una resolución instando al Gobierno a que "defienda una solución urgente, justa y definitiva al conflicto del Sáhara Occidental", conflicto que dura ya más de 30 años ante la pasividad de la comunidad internacional. Es una ocasión óptima para recordar lo que significó y sigue significando la tragedia del pueblo saharaui. El territorio conocido como Sáhara Occidental fue colonia española desde el reparto del continente africano efectuado por las potencias coloniales europeas (1884), pero desde que Marruecos, en 1956, accedió a la independencia ya expresó sus pretensiones anexionistas sobre el territorio administrado por España. En 1975, Hasán II lo invadió, coincidiendo con el final del franquismo, y se firmó el Acuerdo de Madrid por el que España abandonó dicho territorio.…  Seguir leyendo »

El 5 de marzo pasado, varios presos de la cárcel cubana conocida como Kilo 8 iniciaron una huelga de hambre. Entre ellos, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta y José Daniel Ferrer, prisioneros de la "Primavera Cubana". Otros presos políticos también en huelga son Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce, Lamberto Hernández Planas y Nelson Vázquez Lima. Ninguno de ellos ha aceptado alimentos desde entonces, y todos estuvieron de acuerdo en continuar su huelga hasta el lunes 19 de marzo para conmemorar el cuarto aniversario de aquella ola represiva.

En los días previos a la primavera de 2003, Estados Unidos y su coalición de aliados iniciaron la invasión de Irak.…  Seguir leyendo »

Since March 5, several inmates at the Cuban prison known as Kilo 8 have been on a hunger strike. Among them are Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta and José Daniel Ferrer, prisoners of the "Cuban Spring." Other political prisoners taking part include Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce, Lemberto Hernández Planas and Nelson Valquez Lima. None has consumed any food, and all planned to continue their hunger strike until today to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the crackdown.

In the days leading into the spring of 2003, the United States and its coalition of allies initiated their invasion of Iraq. Hiding behind the smoke as the first battles captured the world's attention, Cuban security forces began assaulting defenseless families, forcing their way into homes and in many instances abusing women, children and the elderly.…  Seguir leyendo »

It is the policy of The Washington Post not to publish anonymous pieces. In this case, an exception has been made because the author -- who would have preferred to be named -- is legally prohibited from disclosing his or her identity in connection with receipt of a national security letter. The Post confirmed the legitimacy of this submission by verifying it with the author's attorney and by reviewing publicly available court documents.

The Justice Department's inspector general revealed on March 9 that the FBI has been systematically abusing one of the most controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act: the expanded power to issue "national security letters."…  Seguir leyendo »

In war, health workers are often heroes and often victims. Though the Geneva Conventions are supposed to protect them as they fulfill their ethical duty to provide care to wounded combatants without regard to affiliation -- what is known as medical neutrality -- they frequently become targets by attending to the enemies of one side or another.

The United States has always stood up for the protection of health workers in war, condemning violations of medical neutrality. And until now, it has offered asylum to doctors, nurses and other health workers forced to flee their home countries after they complied with their obligations to treat any and all wounded.…  Seguir leyendo »

A former college student, Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, is sitting in an Egyptian prison, awaiting sentencing tomorrow. His alleged "crime": expressing his opinions on a blog. His mistake: having the courage to do so under his own name.

Soliman, 22, was expelled from Al-Azhar University last spring for sharply criticizing the university's rigid curriculum and faulting religious extremism on his blog. He was ordered to appear before a public prosecutor on Nov. 7 on charges of "spreading information disruptive of public order," "incitement to hate Muslims" and "insulting the President." Soliman was detained pending an investigation, and the detention has been renewed four times.…  Seguir leyendo »

Art Shibayama is an American who served in the Army during the Korean War. Like many veterans, Cpl. Shibayama was not born in the United States. He was born in Lima, Peru, to Japanese Peruvian parents. Until 1942, Shibayama, his two brothers and three sisters lived comfortably with their parents and grandparents, all of whom had thriving businesses. However, after America entered World War II, his family was forcibly removed from Peru, transported to the United States and held in a government-run internment camp in Crystal City, Tex.

Like many Japanese American families, Shibayama's family lost everything they owned. But the greater injustice occurred when his grandparents were sent to Japan in exchange for American prisoners of war.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Bush administration can point to precious few successes in its efforts to curb North Korea’s mounting menace — even last week’s celebrated nuclear deal with Kim Jong-il’s government is, for the moment, little more than a written promise from a highly unreliable negotiating partner.

Yet inexplicably, the Bush team continues to overlook a spectacular opportunity to deliver freedom to tens of thousands of North Koreans, to pressure the country from within for fundamental change and to lay the groundwork for a peaceful, reunified Korean Peninsula. By fostering an underground railroad to rescue North Korean refugees living in China, the United States could do all these things at once.…  Seguir leyendo »

Mañana, 6 de febrero, la trascendental Convención Internacional para la Protección de todas las Personas frente a la Desaparición Forzosa podrá firmarse en París. Este tratado, negociado en un tiempo récord bajo la supervisión de Francia, llena un flagrante vacío de la legislación internacional en materia de derechos humanos, haciendo explícita la prohibición de las desapariciones. Ahora la tarea consiste en garantizar que la nueva convención sea pronto aplicada para responder a las esperanzas y demandas de justicia de las víctimas y de sus familias, así como para satisfacer su "derecho a saber".

Ya hace casi treinta años que las madres de la Plaza de Mayo, al clamar por conocer el paradero de sus hijos, llevaron su dolor privado a las calles de Buenos Aires, grabando de manera indeleble las penalidades de los desaparecidos en nuestra conciencia colectiva.…  Seguir leyendo »

Since 2003, Libyan diplomats have been hard at work convincing the West that Libya is no longer interested in amassing weapons of mass destruction, blowing up Western airplanes or covertly financing armed movements abroad. Presenting this new face has been largely effective: sanctions, in place since 1982, have been lifted; Libya has been removed from the United States roster of terrorist nations; and the list of international trade agreements continues to grow.

As part of this public relations drive, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and his officials have been keen to reassure Libyan critics that it is now safe to return to Libya.…  Seguir leyendo »

When Desmond Tutu speaks out about morality in politics and foreign policy, his nation and the rest of the world should listen. By criticizing the government he helped bring into being, the South African Nobel laureate raises in his own distinctive fashion some of the key issues of our time.

Tutu, along with Nelson Mandela, has been instrumental in guiding South Africa's peaceful and democratic transition from the tyranny of a white minority to black majority rule. Over four decades, Tutu has established a reputation for integrity, wisdom and fairness that has few equals on the world stage.

The retired archbishop of Cape Town also speaks his mind.…  Seguir leyendo »

With the nation still at war in Iraq, each of us is deeply grateful to the brave men and women in our armed forces who celebrated the holidays this year with half their hearts at home and half in Iraq. But this year especially it is essential that we also reflect on another human cost of the war -- the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children who have fled their homes and often their country to escape the violence of a nation increasingly at war with itself.

The refugees are witnesses to the cruelty that stains our age, and they cannot be overlooked.…  Seguir leyendo »

The imminent execution of Saddam Hussein and two other former Iraqi officials marks a further step away from respect for human rights and the rule of law in a deeply polarised and violent Iraq. For 15 years Human Rights Watch and other organisations documented rights violations committed by the former government. There is no question that Saddam and his cohort were responsible for horrific practices. But by ratifying the execution order the tribunal's appeals chamber has compounded the serious errors committed at trial and further undermined the credibility of the process.

The trial judgment was not finished when the verdict and sentence were announced on November 5.…  Seguir leyendo »

Jeremy Bentham described the Declaration of the Rights of Man by French revolutionaries as “nonsense on stilts”. Nice rhetoric, but ultimately unsuccessful. Since 1789 the idea of human rights has thrived. It now even has its own day. This year’s Human Rights Day, was dedicated to the war on poverty.

Bentham was right. The idea that we all enjoy certain rights, not because any legal system gives them to us, but simply because we are humans, is silly. But, in the 18th century at least, it was beneficial silliness.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are born equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that amongst these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”…  Seguir leyendo »

Yesterday's International Human Rights day came just over a year after the first allegations about rendition and secret detention in Europe. After the initial wave of denials and disbelief we now know for a fact that rendition took place in at least two European countries. Most worrying, however, is not what happened in the past, but that our governments are not doing enough to protect us from similar threats in the future.

The Council of Europe member states have now had five months to study my recommendations on how to prevent those abuses of human rights happening again. They have not yet responded, and that in itself is a reason for serious concern.…  Seguir leyendo »

La pobreza es con frecuencia causa y consecuencia de las violaciones de los derechos humanos. Y, sin embargo, el vínculo entre la privación extrema y el abuso se mantiene al margen de los debates políticos y las estrategias de desarrollo. Para llamar la atención sobre esta correlación crucial pero a menudo olvidada, el Día de los Derechos Humanos de este año, mañana, 10 de diciembre, se dedica a la lucha contra la pobreza. Esto no sólo debería representar una oportunidad para la reflexión, sino también un llamamiento a que los gobiernos, así como las comunidades de derechos humanos y de desarrollo, actúen para garantizar una vida digna para todos.…  Seguir leyendo »

El próximo domingo celebramos el Día Internacional de los Derechos Humanos. En este día, en 1948, los dirigentes mundiales aprobaron la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos. Dejaron atrás la oscuridad de la Segunda Guerra Mundial con el empeño y el valor necesarios para defender un principio fundamental: el respeto a los derechos universales e indivisibles de todos los seres humanos. Demostraron ser unos auténticos líderes.

Casi seis decenios después de aquel día, voy camino de un pueblo de la parte norte de Cisjordania, en los Territorios Ocupados palestinos. Hace tiempo, ésta era una próspera comunidad agraria que ahora está muriendo poco a poco, estrangulada por una valla que Israel ha construido en clara violación de las leyes internacionales.…  Seguir leyendo »

Summary:

Recent years have been witness to the appearance of an ever-increasing number of different voices demanding an in-depth reform of the United Nations (UN) to update and equip it with the means that are necessary to confront the challenges facing the international community in this uncertain beginning of the twenty-first century. One of the key elements of the reform has been the issue of human rights, which along with security and development, form the three basic pillars on which the multilateralism and international cooperation of the UN stand.

One of the most significant developments in the field of human rights is the replacement of the Commission on Human Rights with a new Human Rights Council, which was created by the UN General Assembly by its resolution 60/215 of 15 March 2006.…  Seguir leyendo »