Stories of Human Abuse and Human being in wretched plight all around the World

Protect women and girls at risk of sexual violence in Haiti's camps Pascaline* is a 21-year-old. Since the earthquake, she has been living in a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, just one of the 1,300 camps where more than a million displaced people struggle to survive. One night, Pascaline was alone in her tent, when a man entered. He raped and beat her. Neighbours failed to intervene, they say because they believed she was with her partner. After the abuse, Pascaline received medical assistance and managed to lodge a complaint with the police. However, the police did not conduct a thorough investigation, and this lack of responsiveness allows the perpetrator to remain free. Since the violence took place, Pascaline has seen him several times in the camp and she is afraid that he might kill her if he f...

Annual Report 2010 - Amnesty International In a troubled and divided world, Amnesty International reveals truth, bears witness and campaigns for change. For every human rights abuse Amnesty International exposes, it demands accountability. In 2009 this led our members and supporters to push for robust international and national laws and to insist that these laws must be used to bring about real justice. The Amnesty International Report 2010 documents the state of human rights in 159 countries in 2009. It details a year in which accountability seemed a remote ideal for many, as people’s lives continued to be torn apart by repression, violence, discrimination, power plays and p...

From: "U.S. Department of State" Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 13:20:14 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Secretary's Remarks: Remarks With Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris After their Meeting Secretary's Remarks: Remarks With Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris After their Meeting Fri, 28 May 2010 12:49:46 -0500 Remarks With Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris After their Meeting Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Treaty Room Washington, DC May 28, 2010 SECRETARY CLINTON: I am delighted to welcome Dr. Peiris here to the State Department. I first met him 15 years ago when I was in Colombo, Sri Lanka. And it is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to discuss Sri Lanka’s efforts to rebuild after more than two decades of violence and terrorist activity that have deprived the Sri Lankan people of the progress they deserve. Dr. Peiris is a capable, experienced public servant whose leadership is helping to move ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64R4GP20100528 Clinton presses Sri Lanka on rights panel Fri May 28, 2010 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Sri Lanka Friday to ensure a new panel investigating possible rights abuses be given powers to probe any allegations of war crimes during its long civil conflict. Civil rights groups have said the Sri Lankan government should be investigated for potential war crimes at the end of the war a year ago against separatist Tamil guerrillas. Colombo has denied the allegations and rejected charges that tens of thousands of civilians died. Sri Lanka has a long history of inquiries into rights abuses that have largely failed to hold anyone accountable, and analysts say the new committee appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa does not have the statutory powers of a commission of inquiry and is acting only as an advisory body. Sri Lanka is under heavy Western pressure over its human rights record, pressure the government blames on me...

“Mexican authorities, especially in the state of Guerrero, are misusing the justice system to silence criticism and stop local activism. Raúl has been in prison for the past two years for a crime he did not commit; he should be released.” Amnesty International believes that the charges brought against Raúl Hernández are in retaliation for his legitimate activities defending the rights of his community and for exposing abuses committed by a local political chief (cacique) and by local authorities. On 17 April, activists around the world came together for a day of action to call for Raúl’s release. It was fantastic, so a massive thank you to everyone that participated! International members from Bolivia and Ecuador joined activists from around the world to show solidarity for Raúl Hernández. More than 1000 photos of activists f...

17 May 2010 India: Authorities must halt unnecessary and excessive use of police force and civil militia attack on adivasi and peasant protestors in Orissa Amnesty International urges authorities in Orissa to immediately halt unnecessary and excessive use of force by police and private civil militias on adivasi (indigenous communities) and peasants protesting against the acquisition of their lands and habitats for steel projects respectively in Kalinganagar and Jagatsingpur. Laxman Jamuda, a 50-year-old adivasi leader was killed and ten protestors including a few women were injured in police firing and nine others sustained injuries during clashes in Kalinganagar, on 12 May. Eyewitnesses informed Amnesty International that the action involved more than 1,000 police officials against about 300 adivasi protestors, some of whom armed with traditional weapons. Eyewitnesses said a 200-strong civil militia supporting the takeover of the lands for the proposed Tata Steel plant for...

Zimbabwe: 700,000 forcibly evicted still ignored five years on 18 May 2010 AI Index: PRE01/158/2010 The government of Zimbabwe must take action to protect hundreds of thousands of people left to survive in substandard settlements five years after a program of mass forced evictions, Amnesty International Zimbabwe and a coalition of partners said today. Amnesty International and the Coalition Against Forced Evictions are calling on the government to provide adequate alternative accommodation or compensation to those left homeless and jobless. “It is a scandal that five years on, victims are left to survive in plastic shacks without basic essential services. The needs of these victims are at risk of being forgotten because their voices are consistently ignored,” said Amnesty International Zimbabwe’s director Cousin Zilala. On 18 May 2005 the government of Zimbabwe began demolishing ...

French politicians urged to reject ban on full face veils 19 May 2010 AI Index: PRE01/163/2010 Amnesty International is calling on French law-makers to reject a draft law banning the wearing of full face veils in public that was adopted by the government and put before Parliament today. The proposal, which is being put forward by the French government after a prolonged public debate on the wearing of Islamic face veils, would prohibit the wearing anywhere in public of any form of clothing intended to conceal one’s face. "A complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab in public as an expression of their identity or beliefs," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination in Europe. Breach of the law would be punishable by a fine of up to 150 Euros and / or the requirement to complete a community rehabilitation programme. The move comes only a fe...

2nd email - Sri Lanka (en) A survivor of the Sri Lankan war shares her story Vasuki is a Tamil refugee now living outside Sri Lanka.* In 2009, she spent several months in the country’s ‘No Fire Zone’, moving constantly and struggling to save her 2 small children. She describes what she saw during the horrific war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan security forces. Her only hope during that time was that the UN would come to their rescue. It didn’t happen. Vasu...

Survivors of War in Sri Lanka Deserve Justice Untitled Document Survivors of war in Sri Lanka deserve justice It has been a year since the Sri Lankan government declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a conflict where massive violations were committed by both sides. The scale and nature of atrocities escalated in the last stages of the military assault between January and May 2009. Witnesses say, many thousands of civilians died, caught between the warring pa...