The U.S. Senate introduced the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) in an effort to defend the rights of women across the globe.  The bipartisan bill seeks to prevent domestic violence by expanding the government’s current international programs and offering more support to international non-governmental organizations which help women and girls caught in violent conflict.

Canada Cedes Jurisdiction to U.S.
Source: The Vancouver Sun  

Canadian Supreme Court held that Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr, had his rights violated in 2004 when a Canadian official questioned him after U.S. authorities deprived him of sleep.  Yet, the High Court refused to order its government to seek Khadr’s repatriation from Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. has detained Khadr since 2004 for war crimes.

South Korea’s National Assembly passed a bill that will create an institution to monitor and investigate human rights violations in North Korea and will fund Non-Governmental Organizations that focus on improving human rights.  There is opposition for the bill from the country’s Democratic Party who fears it will harm South Korea’s relationship with North Korea. 
 

Sri Lankans Detained Without Charges
Source: Human Rights Watch

About 11,000 Sri Lankans are currently detained in rehabilitation centers while being denied fundamental rights to due process.  They are being detained because they are suspected of supporting the government’s former political opposition and not because of crimes committed.  Access to a judiciary or to counsel has been denied.

Environmentalists Murdered in El Salvador
Source: Latinamerica Press  

 In the past year, anti-gold mining activists have disappeared or been murdered in El Salvador’s Cabañas department.  While authorities investigate, environmentalists and community members point fingers at the local subsidiary of Canada’s Pacific Rim Mining.  The company began mining the area in 2002 and has faced considerable opposition ever since.
 
 

Child Labor Stymies Ecuador’s Development
Source: U.N. News Centre

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery Gulnara Shahinian determined that the lingering presence of child labor is a major impediment to Ecuador’s economic development.  As domestic servitude, forced labor, and debt bondage remain throughout Ecuadorian society, Ms. Shahinian stressed that the government needs to take urgent, more effective measures to ensure children’s rights.

Rwandan Youth Hurt Most by Genocide
Source: The New Times

The Rwandan Ministry of Health reported that youth between 15 and 21 years of age are the most affected by the country’s 1994 Genocide.  The National Commission for the fight against Genocide plans to coordinate with local leaders and teachers to help create trauma management strategies before the 16th Genocide Commemoration ceremony in April.
 


Al-Bashir Makes Promises if Reelected
Source: Daily Nation

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir made promises of economic development, education and fair elections to crowds in Khartoum.  Adding that he would make peace in Sudan’s Darfur region, Bashir mocked the International Criminal Court prosecutor who achieved an arrest warrant against him for both war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Irish National Liberation Army announced that it will lay down its arms.  This announcement ends a thirty-five year campaign of violence in Northern Ireland.  The paramilitary group killed a member of parliament in 1979 and claimed responsibility for a pub bombing which killed seventeen people in 1982.
 


French Makeshift Migrant Shelter Closed
Source: BBC Worldwide Monitoring

France shut down a makeshift shelter which housed almost one hundred immigrants, most of whom were from Afghanistan.  The French government was concerned that sheltering large groups of immigrants could encourage human trafficking.  Makeshift shelters such as this one arose after French officials closed a Red Cross center in 2002.

An Israeli court heard a gender discrimination claim stemming from a policy requiring women to ride in the back of some busses.  Justices fear approving the policy will lead down a slippery slope allowing segregation in all public institutions. The transportation director justified the policy as protecting the religious rights of the Haredi Jewish community. 
 

Iranian Election Protestors Publicly Executed
Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International denounced recent public executions of protestors in Iran as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.  Two public hangings occurred last week with more expected soon.  The protestors were convicted of being members of a group seeking restoration of the monarchy.  An Amnesty International spokesperson claimed the protestors were denied a fair trial.