LISA JUNG & ANTONIA LANDWEHR
IN THIS BLOG WE’LL REPORT ON RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE LAST WEEK AND THEIR RELEVANCE. WHILE SOME OF THE EVENTS WERE ALREADY IN LAST WEEK’S BLOG ENTRY, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME NEW DEVELOPMENTS. ADDITIONALLY WE’RE REPORTING ON THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN VIENNA LAST WEEK.
U.S. ELECTIONS
AS EXPLAINED IN THE LAST BLOGPOST, THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTIONS HAS LOTS OF IMPLICATIONS FOR MINORITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS SEEN IN LOTS OF STATES THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN, AS WELL AS LOTS OF WOMEN. AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS BLOG, BIDEN IS AHEAD IN THE POLLS OF THE REMAINING ‘SWING STATES’. WHILE SOME MIGHT SAY THAT THIS IS THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF DEMOCRACY, TRUMP CLEARLY DISAGREES. NOT ONLY DID HE WANT VOTES COMING IN AFTER ELECTION DAY TO BE BANNED, WHEN HE GOT BEHIND HE ALSO CLAIMED THAT THE PEOPLE COUNTING THE BALLOTS WERE COMMITTING FRAUD. FOR HUMAN RIGHTS’ SAKE IT IS TO BE HOPED THAT BIDEN CLAIMS THE VICTORY TO THESE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
ABORTION-BAN IN POLAND
AFTER A RULING OF THE HIGHEST POLISH COURT, THAT BANNED MOST ABORTIONS, MANY WOMEN AND MEN ORGANISED PROTESTS FOR ABORTION RIGHTS. THE LAST FEW DAYS IT HAS BECOME MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT AND IT HAS RESULTED IN AN OUTPOURING OF ANGER AGAINST THE NATIONALIST LAW AND JUSTICE (PIS) GOVERNMENT AND ITS TRADITIONAL POLICIES. PRESIDENT DUDA, CLOSELY CONNECTED TO PIS, TRIED TO TAKE AWAY THE UNREST BY PROPOSING A BILL WHICH WOULD REINSTATE ABORTION RIGHTS, ALBEIT LIMITED TO LETHAL ‘DEFECTS’. CURRENTLY THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT ON HOW TO APPROACH THIS SITUATION. MEANWHILE MANY ORGANISATIONS LIKE AMNESTY AND POLAND’S FEDERATION FOR WOMEN AND FAMILY PLANNING HAVE INTENSIFIED THEIR EFFORTS TO ENFORCE A BILL ON LEGAL ABORTION. THE FIGHT AGAINST THE PROHIBITION TO ABORTION AND THE UNREST ARE CLEARLY NOT OVER YET. AN INTERESTING CONNECTION IN THIS REGARD CAN BE MADE TO THE DUTCH ‘RAPE’- LAW THAT HAS BEEN ALTERED THIS WEEK. FROM NOW ON ALL NON-CONSENSUAL SEX IS CONSIDERED TO BE RAPE, EVEN IF THERE IS NO VIOLENCE INVOLVED. FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC WE WOULD LIKE TO REFER YOU TO AN INTERESTING ARTICLE.
TERRORIST ATTACK IN VIENNA
ON MONDAY NIGHT, TWO MEN AND TWO WOMEN WERE KILLED IN A TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE AUSTRIAN CAPITAL VIENNA. TWENTY-TWO PEOPLE WERE WOUNDED SUFFERING GUNSHOT AND KNIFE WOUNDS. THE GUNMAN, A 20-YEAR-OLD ISLAMIST TERRORIST WAS SHOT BY THE POLICE. ACCORDING TO MEDIA REPORTS, THE ATTACKER WAS AN “ISLAMIST TERRORIST” WHO HAS BEEN RELEASED IN DECEMBER AFTER BEING INCARCERATED FOR 22 MONTHS FOR TRYING TO GET TO SYRIA TO SUPPORT ISIS. THE SHOOTING FOLLOWS A SERIES OF ISLAMIST TERRORIST ATTACKS THAT TOOK PLACE IN FRANCE LAST MONTH. IN OCTOBER, THE HISTORY TEACHER SAMUEL PATY WAS DECAPITATED OUTSIDE A SCHOOL NEAR PARIS, AFTER PRESENTING CARTOONS FROM THE SATIRE MAGAZINE CHARLIE HEBDO DEPICTING ISLAMIC PROPHET MUHAMMED. FOLLOWING A STATEMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT THAT NEW MEASURES WILL BE INTRODUCED TO FIGHT ISLAMIST TERROR, THREE PEOPLE VISITING A CHURCH WERE STABBED IN NICE. AUSTRIA`S CHANCELLOR SEBASTIAN KURZ CLAIMED THAT “THIS IS NOT A FIGHT BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS (…) BUT A FIGHT BETWEEN CIVILIZATION AND BARBARY.”
ARMENIA/ AZERBIJAN: BANNED CLUSTER MUNITIONS FIRED BY ARMENIA
IN THE COURSE OF THE ONGOING CONFLICT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN ABOUT THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION, THE USE OF BANNED CLUSTER BOMBS BY ARMENIA HAS BEEN REPORTED. LAST WEEK, 21 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND APPROXIMATELY 70 PEOPLE WERE INJURED BY THE FIRING OF CLUSTER BOMBS ON A RESIDENTIAL AREA IN BARDA, AZERBAIJAN. CLUSTER BOMBS HAVE BEEN BANNED UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW. THIS TYPE OF BOMB OFTEN ONLY PARTLY EXPLODES WHEN BEING FIRED, AND THEREFORE CONTINUES TO ENDANGER PEOPLE`S LIVES YEARS AFTER BEING FIRED. THE USE OF BANNED WEAPONS HAS BEEN REPORTED FOR BOTH ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN. THE FIGHTING ABOUT THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION, WHICH IS A PART OF AZERBAIJAN AND CONTROLLED BY ETHNIC ARMENIANS, WAS RENEWED IN SEPTEMBER FOLLOWING A DECADES-OLD CONFLICT AND HAS CAUSED NUMEROUS DEATHS.
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