Pols 470 - Summer 2021

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To conserve nature, protect human rights

Remaining ecosystems are largely found on the lands of Indigenous peoples, but they are under assault

The environment has become an important issue across the world, especially in the last twenty years. This article focuses on the fact that many steps we need to take to improve the environment involve human rights. This especially matters in countries where lands are inhabited by indigenous people. These lands are constantly under threat from destruction by governments and companies looking to develop or use the land for raw materials. If we focus on the human rights of the people living in these vulnerable areas, it will help preserve these areas in our fight against the climate crisis. This is something that is very important to the future of the world.

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Biden says he will bring up human rights abuses with Putin during meeting next month

President Joe Biden said Sunday that he will discuss human rights abuses with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet in Switzerland next month.

This is another interesting post that takes a look at how the U.S. interacts with other countries in regards to human rights. It is important that we stress the importance of human rights when we meet with countries that may be violating human rights in some way. I personally do not see how Putin's mind will be swayed by simply a talk with the president. It may take sanctions or other economic moves to pressure countries across the world to stop human rights abuses. Many of these countries will also point out human rights abuses happening inside the United States. Often times it can become a finger pointing match on an international level.

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Human Rights Watch says Houthis blocking COVID-19 vaccines

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militia, who control most of the country’s north including the capital Sanaa, have been blocking international efforts to supply COVID-19 vaccines, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. The New York-based group accused Houthi leaders of suppressing information about both the dangers of COVID-19 and the prevalence of the disease in territory under their control.

The COVID pandemic has obviously put the world under a lot of strain and stress since it started. Now that the vaccine is widely available, it is important that it is accessible to people of all countries on earth. Sadly the Houthi militia which control parts of Yemen have been denying vaccines to its citizens according to Human Rights Watch. It is important that countries do not falsely report the number of COVID cases they have in order to make themselves look good on the world stage. Pretending the virus does not exist is not a good strategy for mitigation, just like the article says. It is awful that people who want access to the vaccine are unable to get it even when doses are available.

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Doing Human Rights in Afghanistan Right this Time

On May 8, 2021, explosions targeting the Sayed ul-Shuhada school in Kabul killed 90 people, most of them girls from Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara c

As the speaker we had in class today was from Afghanistan, I thought this would be an interesting article to share. Afghanistan has been a country that has been going through tough times for a long time. There will always be a debate about how the United States should be involved in helping countries like Afghanistan, even after our military withdrawal from the nation. This is a subject that has came up many times during discussion in our class. Human Rights Watch calls for continued financial support to organizations that exist inside that nation that have a proven record of supporting human rights for its citizens. I think this is something that we should care about after having been at war inside the nation for many years.

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UK spies violated human rights with bulk intercepts, European court rules

Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency breached fundamental human rights by intercepting and harvesting vast amounts of communications, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday.

When we think of human rights, we generally think of things like life, food, shelter, etc. Another human right that can be agreed on by most is the right to privacy. We should be free of intrusion of our privacy from other people or the government. In recent years the collection of data by the government has come to the forefront of debate. Especially with bills like the Patriot Act being signed into law that limit the privacy of private citizens. This article takes a look at the UK, and how government agencies inside the country were gathering information from all around the world including its own citizens. There will always be a debate over how much information is okay to be collected from citizens, and this is just another example.

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Why Indonesia's 'new Bali' is accused of trampling on human rights

Indonesia hopes for tourism but UN experts and locals allege land grabbing and rights violations.

It is a sad sight to see when a government forces people out of the territory and land they own and are entitled to. This is unfortunately what is going on in Indonesia in the name of tourism. In investing in the Mandalika area, the human rights of the local population are being violated. The government in this case is prioritizing the profit of the tourism industry over their own citizens. Indonesia is not a wealthy country and I am sure the tourism industry is important to the nation, but there has to be balance. Kicking citizens out of their own land where they have raised families and make a living for themselves in order to build high rise hotels is pretty obviously wrong. The tourism industry has to expand without encroaching on the rights of the citizens.

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Human Rights in Cuba - Havana Times

The US has repeatedly voiced its concerns about human rights violations in Cuba. They’re right, human rights are being violated in Cuba.

Cuba is a country that has been in and out of the news over the years for various different reasons. Cuba is generally held with mixed feelings by American citizens but has been trending more positive over recent years. While America likes to point out human rights abuses across the globe, they themselves are often engaged in debatable activities that may count as human rights abuses to many. The United States has criticized Cuba for human rights abuses while holding prisoners in Guantanamo Bay without a trial and treating them poorly. This shows that America can sometimes be hypocritical in their denouncing of nations for certain actions while engaging in the actions themselves. This article gives an interesting insight of someone actually living in Cuba.

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China Seizes on Gaza Crisis to Counter U.S. on Human Rights

Yesterday I mentioned how members of the United States government had considered issuing a diplomatic boycott on China due to human rights abuses. China has now taken the Israel/Palestine conflict and used it to point out that Washington is not doing enough to support human rights. China argues that the support from the United States to Israel is the wrong decision due to their human rights violations. This is a “gotcha” moment for China to get back at the United States. China is essentially calling out the U.S for being hypocrites. However, the role China plays in mediating the crisis in the Middle East remains limited.

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Pelosi calls for 'diplomatic boycott' of 2022 China Olympics on human rights grounds

Activists and lawmakers of both parties have called on President Joe Biden to bow out of the 2022 Olympics in protest.

The treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China has been something that not a lot of people have been talking about. This article in particular makes me think of the 1936 Olympics being held in Berlin in which the world was aware of the Nazi’s treatment of Jewish citizens. Many cries were made for countries to boycott the 1936 Olympics but ultimately the United States ended up participating. The Olympics are a special event that celebrate different cultures around the world in the name of sports. It makes sense that the human rights violations China is committing may raise some questions of whether to participate in these games.