The UN will move toward a legal treaty that penalizes transnational corporations which violate human rights, after a vote at the 26th UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session last week. Key language included in the resolution includes a decision to “establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, the mandate of which shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.” The vote was split. Twenty states voted in favor,
Human Rights
UN to Legislate Against Transnational Corporations Which Violate Human Rights – US and EU Oppose Resolution
Azerbaijan, Leader of Council of Europe, Called on to Address Its Human Rights Abuses
Human Rights Watch has called on the current leader of Europe’s leading human rights body, Azerbaijan, to end persecution of government critics and independent groups. Azerbaijan took over the leadership of the Council of Europe in Early May amid much criticism due to the country’s human rights record and ongoing human rights violations, which have been documented by international rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In particular, Azerbaijan is criticized for its treatment of news media, government critics and independent groups. Abuse of over 40 activists, journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders has been documented by Amnesty and Human Rights
Caste-Based Rape Addressed at UN
Answering a global outcry for urgently desired action against caste-based rape and violence against women, the UN Human Rights Council held a side-event Tuesday dedicated to the issue. Many human rights organizations, policy makers and India’s UN representative had asked rights groups to address the problem after it received attention following the gang-rape and hanging of two girls in India May 27. The event, “Caste-based Violence against Women: The role of the UN in combating caste-based violence and discrimination,” was co-sponsored by Human Rights Watch, the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Minority Rights Group, Franciscan
Revenge Porn Case Will Go to Trial, Bollaert Faces Max. 22 Years
Kevin Bollaert, who was charged after allegedly posting pornographic photos of women and girls submitted by ex-boyfriends as revenge, then asking complaining women and girls for money in order to remove the photos, will go to trial on 31 felony counts. After Bollaert’s five-day preliminary hearing, the judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial. Bollaert is reported to have posted over 10,000 revenge porn images on his websites, including YouGotPosted.com. Bollaert also created a second site called changemyreputation.com for revenge-porn victims. Bollaert is charged with conspiracy, identity theft and extortion. There had also been allegations of child pornography,
Nation’s Largest Sex Offender Registry Finds Sex Offender Registry Does Not Work
California, which has the largest sex offender registry in the United States, has received the news from the California Sex Offender Management Board that their registry is not working. The board reported that the fast-growing registry included too many unnecessary people and that it did not help law enforcement or the public differentiate potentially risky offenders from those who would likely not reoffend. The board reported that about 95 percent of solved sex crimes are committed by people who are not on the registry, and said that the registry was created, in part, on assumptions that have since been proved
Facebook Beats Conservative Lawyer in Lawsuit Over Facebook Page Encouraging Muslims to Kill Jews
The DC Appeals Court sided with Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg Friday in a case over several pages on Facebook, such as “Third Palestinian Intifada,” which called for Muslims to rise up and kill Jews. The ruling was based on the protections given to all Americans using the internet under a section of a 1996 law. Three years ago, Klayman saw the Facebook page “Third Palestinian Intifada,” of which there were 360,000 members, as well as three similar, smaller pages, and complained to Facebook because the pages called for Muslims to rise up and kill Jews. After receiving a letter
“When We Rape, We Feel Free” Congolese Soldier
In the war-ravaged though officially at peace Democratic Republic of Congo, 12 percent of the population has been raped. Nearly 50 women and girls are raped every hour. “It’s true that we raped here. We found women because they can’t escape. You see her, you catch her, you take her away and you have your way with her,” one Congolese soldier told a reporter after a leave was ordered to “go and rape.” “Sometimes you kill her. When you finish raping then you kill her child. When we rape, we feel free.” Soldiers of Congolese bands are frequently given leave
UN Security Council and UN General Assembly Now Led by Two Countries Condemned Strongly by UN for Passing Strict Anti-Gay Laws, Threatening Human Rights, With Elections of Kutesa and Churkin
Russia took over the chairmanship of the UN Security Council (UNSC) June 1, and Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa took over the Presidency of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) June 11. One of these nations is currently at the top of world headlines for aggression in Ukraine, and both have recently made headlines for passing strict anti-gay legislation–in contravention of and threatening the guarantees of the UN Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to top UN representatives. When Russia passed anti-gay laws before the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, the UN took several measures to condemn the laws. “The United Nations
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