No EU, no Euro court
Sovereignty. Some politicians have always resisted diluting their nation's sovereignty. In the footsteps of the Brexit vote, some in the UK want to free the country from the scrutiny of foreign courts.
Ministers put British bill of rights plan on hold until after Brexit
 |
| Cameron |
The government has accepted that it will have to put David Cameron’s plan to publish a British bill of rights on hold until after Brexit.
But senior Conservatives are pressing Theresa May to go further, and fight the 2020 general election on a pledge to pull Britain out of the European convention on human rights.
Cameron, May’s predecessor as PM, had planned to repeal the Human Rights Act, passed by the last Labour government to enshrine the ECHR in domestic law, and replace it with a distinct, and more limited, British bill of rights…
Leaving the ECHR would mean a british bill of rights would be enforced by the supreme court in London, rather than the European court of human rights in Strasbourg…
The ECHR, set up to safeguard basic human rights across the continent in the wake of the second world war… Britain as a founder member, and inspired by a proposal by the Conservative prime minister Winston Churchill, for “a charter of human rights, guarded by freedom and sustained by law”.
But some Conservative MPs, including many Brexiteers, believe the ECHR has overstepped its original purpose, and interferes too much in domestic policy…
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Labels: human rights, International Organizations, judicial review, UK
A topic for debate?
The author, Loubna El Amine an assistant professor of political theory in the department of government at Georgetown University, asks some great questions about the universality of ideas like democracy. Want to have a debate?
Are ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’ Western colonial exports? No. Here’s why.
In September 2014, students in Hong Kong gathered in a public square to protest some of the Beijing government’s legislative initiatives. One of their slogans was “When dictatorship becomes a reality, revolution is a duty,” which has been attributed to Victor Hugo…
Some academics and public intellectuals who study non-Western societies, worried about imposing Western values, have expressed concern about the use of categories like human rights and liberal democracy. They have instead favored drawing on non-Western societies’ own intellectual traditions and lived experiences. Thus the academic debate about the form of government that China should adopt has focused on drawing from the ideals of Confucianism…
Protesters in Hong Kong did not mention Confucianism at all, prompting one commentator on a prominent Chinese and comparative philosophy blog to ask, “Where are all the Confucians … tonight?”
If Western categories ought to be rejected in favor of non-Western ones, as these academics tell us, then what should we make of the fact that protestors on the ground continue to cling to the former in a very familiar way, explicitly demanding rights, including women’s rights, equality, elections and the rule of law?
The slogans are familiar… because the situation they are responding to is familiar: a state using extensive and arbitrary power…
I argue that these tools are precisely the so-called Western ideals that some academics are skeptical about: democracy, rights and the rule of law. These should be understood not as Western, but as modern: normative tools particularly suited to the realities of political life under the sovereign state, the central institution of modern politics.
Sovereign states centralize politics and impose a monopoly on the use of force in a way that pre-modern empires could not, and did not. The only protection against the risk that states will abuse their power is to make the government accountable to its people and protect the inviolability of human life. In other words, demand democracy and rights. Non-Western states now have the same essential features of sovereignty as Western ones. And so their citizens can protect themselves only by fighting for these ideals, and their intellectuals can support these citizens’ efforts only by advocating for these ideals.
This is not to deny that many critics around the world denounce human rights and democracy as Western impositions…
However, to justify themselves to the public, these arguments also inevitably build in guarantees against abuse, legally limiting the use of state power and requiring states to consult with the people, usually through elections…
Efforts to provide Islamic variants on democracy or Confucian variants on rights thus should be understood not as alternatives to modern ideals, but as variants on them. This is just as it should be. Just as there are differences between the democratic systems of Germany and the United States, so too would a democratic China and a democratic Yemen be different both from each other and from the U.S. and German models. Crucially, these differences are not between East and West, but among different countries with different material realities…
In short, when citizens in non-Western countries clamor for democracy, there is no reason to suspect elitism or Western manipulation or false consciousness. Not everything familiar is a sign of cultural imperialism. This is not to deny that power differentials continue to structure the relationship between the West and the East, but rather to suggest that overcoming the discourse of “us” and “them” will open up more promising avenues for responding to domination.
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The Comparative Government and Politics Review Checklist.
Two pages summarizing the course requirements to help you review and study for the final and for the big exam in May. . It contains a description of comparative methods, a list of commonly used theories
, a list of vital concepts, thumbnail descriptions of the AP6,
and
a description of the AP exam format
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Labels: concepts, democracy, human rights, normative
And what's happened to Nigeria's rankings?
Nigeria elected a new president in a pretty fair election. The winner overcame the established power. The transition was smooth and peaceful. Did Nigeria's rankings improve?
Africa’s governance: The stalling continent
WHAT can be measured, business school gurus like to say, can be managed. Yet a saying that is normally applied to companies may also apply to countries. That, at least, is the thinking behind the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, an annual report card of how African governments are faring, which is compiled by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a body set up by a British Sudanese-born telecoms magnate turned philanthropist.
The latest report… sadly shows a continent in which progress in governance is stalling. The index itself, which takes into account a variety of indicators ranging from corruption and rule of law to infrastructure and sanitation, is little changed on average from 2011. That in itself marks a big change. In previous years the index had shown steady improvements by most countries. More worrying are signs of reversal at the top of the list. Of the ten countries ranked best, five have seen a decline in their governance scores since 2011.
The main reasons for the stall are declines in two broad areas: those relating to safety and the economy…
The 2015 Ibrahim Index of African Governance
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African Foundation. It was established with one clear objective – to put governance at the centre of any conversation on African development. It is our belief that governance and leadership lie at the heart of any tangible and shared improvement in the quality of life of African citizens.
Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG)
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Labels: governance, human rights, infrastructure, Nigeria, policy, rule of law
Translation troubles
The first sentence of this
Xinhua (government news agency) article is very confusing: "A rethinking of China's human rights merits out of a forum in Beijing is based on the country's adherence to the principal of peaceful development."
What does that mean? As a topic sentence, what is it introducing?
The rest of the article clarifies the confusion, but what happened in that first sentence?
Translation, translation. That sentence was probably first written in Chinese and might have gone through several translators before it ended up at the beginning of this
Xinhua report.
Did you ever play "telephone?" A message is given to one person, who repeats it to a second person, who repeats it to a third person… and so on down a line of people. And what happens at the end? You can probably guess if you have not played the game. The message heard by the last person is vastly different from the message that started the game.
If a simple introductory sentence can be mangled by translation(s), imagine how difficult cross-cultural communications can be, especially when the original message is one of self-congratulations.
Rights forum underscores China's commitment to peace
A rethinking of China's human rights merits out of a forum in Beijing is based on the country's adherence to the principal of peaceful development.
The 2015 Beijing Forum on Human Rights, which concluded on Thursday, highlighted China's role in defending the right to peace and development…
One unnoticed aspect, some say, is China's contribution to the right to peace.
Participants in the forum believed peace is the basic premise for enjoying other basic rights.
The right to peace is an important connotation on human rights and should be prioritized among all affairs, said Bem Angwe from the Nigerian state human rights committee…
Li Junru, vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that world leaders must discard the cold-war mentality and zero-sum game thinking. "We need to adopt the wisdom of a 'community of common destiny' to address our threats."
China held a parade earlier this month to commemorate the war dead and celebrate peace.
"No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation," [President] Xi said in his V-Day speech…
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Labels: China, communication, human rights
It's all about sovereignty
How is it about sovereignty?
It's about politics too. The Tories cannot be seen as less nationalistic than UKIP if they're going to continue being the government.
Britain’s Tories threaten to ignore rights rulings in feud with European court
Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party toughened its stance on Europe on Friday, announcing a pre-election plan to quit the European Court of Human Rights unless it agrees that Britain’s parliament has the final say over its rulings.
Cameron, who is seeking to counter a growing threat from the anti-European Union U.K. Independence Party in May’s national election, has said rulings by the European rights court had prevented Britain deporting suspected militants…
The Conservatives are trying to bolster their support ahead of a probably close election next year, and the announcement received a warm welcome from Britain’s right-leaning newspapers…
Under the proposal announced on Friday, a victorious Conservative Party would draw up a Bill of Rights that would set out the application of human rights law in Britain.
The proposed changes would mean the European court’s rulings would no longer be binding over the Supreme Court and that Britain’s parliament would have the right to veto its judgments…
The plan by the Conservatives depends on the party winning an outright majority in May’s election. Its minority coalition partners in the current government, the Liberal Democrats, are opposed to limiting the powers of the court in Britain…
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Labels: elections, human rights, politics, sovereignty, UK
Pre-Medievalism in the UK
We all know that echoes of the ancient past are heard in all political systems: Danelaw in Britain, Mongol authoritarianism in Russia, Confucianism in China, sharia in Nigeria, Mayan kingships in Mexico, and Persian militarism in Iran.
But, we really have to dig deeply into ancient British history to understand the proposed Royal Charter that would "regulate the press" in the UK.
This might only be a passing comment on the regime, but it's a complicated comment.
Why are we talking about Royal Charters (first used in 1066) and privy councils?
Q&A: Press regulation
In July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron set up the public, judge-led Leveson Inquiry to examine the culture of the press in response to the phone-hacking scandal.
 |
| Lord Justice Levesen |
It emerged thousands of people had been victims of press intrusion. Many gave evidence to the inquiry - from celebrities such as comic actor Steve Coogan and singer Charlotte Church, to ordinary people hit by tragedy, including Gerry McCann, father of missing girl Madeleine, and the parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
The report produced by Lord Justice Leveson in November 2012 found the press had "wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people". It made a number of recommendations.
Why are we talking about Royal Charters and privy councils?
It's not explicitly mentioned in any of the articles I found, but it seems clear to me that the politicians do not want to be seen as directly involved in infringing on the freedom of the press.
However, the same politicians are intent on limiting the behavior of journalists and publishers. A Royal Charter could create (without legislation) a regulatory body that is separate from the government.
What is a Royal Charter?
Royal charter
 |
| A Royal Charter |
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch … granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organisations such as cities… or universities. Charters… have perpetual effect [i.e. they do not end]...
At one time a royal charter was the sole means by which an incorporated body could be formed, but other means (such as the registration process for limited companies) are generally used nowadays instead…
What is the latest proposal?
Press regulation: Main parties agree deal
A Royal Charter aimed at underpinning self-regulation of the press has been published by the government.
An agreement by the three main parties followed months of wrangling since Sir Brian Leveson published his report into the ethics and practices of the press.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller said the deal would safeguard the freedom of the press and the future of local papers.
But the industry said the proposals could neither be described as "voluntary or independent"…
The all-party draft's proposals include:
- A small charge for arbitration - as an alternative to expensive libel courts
- An opt-out for local and regional newspapers
- More involvement in decision making for the press and media industry
It comes following a deadlock between the press and politicians over what a new system of self-regulation would look like.
Some in the newspaper industry feared the Westminster proposals would give politicians too much power…
Energy Secretary Ed Davey said… the draft protected press freedom.
"In the past they've promised to regulate themselves and they've not done it," the Lib Dem MP told BBC Radio 4's Any Questions.
"We've created an independent process which, on reflection, I hope the press will back."…
The proposals will be put to the Privy Council - an ancient body which advises the Queen, mostly made up of senior politicians - for final agreement on 30 October.
What's the Privy Council?
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom. Its membership is mostly made up of senior politicians who are (or have been) members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.
 |
| Privy Council meeting |
The Privy Council… was formerly a powerful institution, but its policy decisions are now exclusively in the hands of one of its committees, the Cabinet [i.e. the government]… The Council also advises the Sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies…
The last words to go James Landale, Deputy political editor at the BBC.
Beneath the skin of the Leveson law
David Cameron… wants… to have his say. So before any amendments go before MPs, the prime minister… will stand up in the House of Commons and ask the Speaker's permission (yes, that is right, the Speaker's permission) to hold a debate on the issue, using a dusty paragraph from the Standing Orders… to break into the usual flow of parliamentary business. MPs will debate the broad principles but not the detail, and - heaven forbid - they certainly won't vote on it.
All this, note, to determine nothing less important than the balance between ensuring redress for victims of press intrusion and the freedom of the press, a judgement of such sensitivity that it would stretch Solomon…
So there was no white paper. No pre-legislative scrutiny. Just rushed, late night law driven as much by politics as by principle. And nota bene, all this just to regulate the press, not necessarily every darkened recess of the news providing internet. The royal charter says it covers websites that provide news-related material, but there is some confusion as to what that really means. As a distinguished lobby colleague noted, it is like regulating the buggy whip just as the internal combustion engine is coming in.
Thus is law made. Perhaps we should inspect the sausage for horsemeat?
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Labels: history, human rights, politics, regime, UK
Efficient law enforcement
Law enforcement in China would lose much of its efficiency "if the police lose their ability to detain perceived troublemakers without the interference of judges or defense lawyers," according to law enforcement officials.
Andrew Jacobs, writing in the
New York Times reports finding evidence of a political movement to end the ability of "security officials" to imprison people because they are a threat to public stability.
A political movement in China outside the Party? How can that be? How would it exercise influence? Is it more than a reporter's wishful thinking?
Opposition to Labor Camps Widens in China
It is hard to say exactly which “subversive” sentiments drew the police to Ren Jianyu, who posted them on his microblog last year, although “down with dictatorship” and “long live democracy” stand out.
In the end, Mr. Ren, 25, a college graduate from Chongqing, the southwestern metropolis, was sent without trial to a work camp...
Last year Mr. Ren was among tens of thousands of Chinese who were dumped into the nation’s vast “re-education through labor” system, a Stalinist-inspired constellation of penal colonies where pickpockets, petitioners, underground Christian church members and other perceived social irritants toil in dismal conditions for up to four years, all without trial.
But now the labor system, known by its shorthand, laojiao, is facing a groundswell of opposition from both inside and outside the Communist Party. Critics say the once-in-a-decade leadership transition last month, which included the demotion of the chief of the nation’s vast internal security apparatus, has created a potential opening for judicial and legal reform.
The calls for change go beyond longstanding advocates of political reform… China’s national bar association is circulating an online petition… Legal experts have convened seminars to denounce the system. And almost every day, it seems, the state-run news media, with the top leadership’s tacit support, report on hapless citizens ensnared by the arbitrary justice that the local police impose with the wave of a hand…
People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, took aim at the system last month, saying it had become “a tool of retaliation” for local officials.
China’s incoming president, Xi Jinping, has not yet weighed in on the issue, but reform advocates are encouraged by a speech he gave this month talking up the widely ignored protections afforded by China’s Constitution, which include freedom from unlawful detention and the right to an open trial. “We must establish mechanisms to restrain and supervise power,” Mr. Xi said.
Until now, China’s powerful security establishment has staved off any erosion of its authority, warning of calamity if the police lose their ability to detain perceived troublemakers without the interference of judges or defense lawyers.
The Ministry of Public Security has other reasons to preserve the status quo. The system, which employs tens of thousands of people, is a gold mine for local authorities, who earn money from the goods produced by detainees. Officials also covet the bribes offered to reduce sentences, critics say, and the payments families make to ensure a loved one is properly fed while in custody…
China’s internal security machine… grew by leaps and bounds in the decade under President Hu Jintao’s campaign for “social stability.” The annual $110 billion security budget now exceeds China’s military spending…
Rights advocates say a genuine overhaul of the laojiao system would require, among other things, allowing victims access to lawyers and the right to appeal. But many of them fear that party leaders may instead opt for only modest modifications…
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Labels: China, human rights, leadership, politics, rule of law
Golden Oldie: Imposing rule of law
Rule of law through treaty (from October 2006)
The rule of law may sneak into a political system in unusual ways. In this case, through an old Cold War institution. And the motivation for accepting the authority of the international court is probably the desire by the Russian power elite for closer relations with the economic powers of Western Europe, even if that means basic political reform.
[There's a link to a page called "What's what?" in the last paragraph that is no longer valid. I suggest you check out
The European Court of Human Rights page instead.]
Europe's Long Legal Tether on Russia -- Court of Human Rights a Powerful Check on Excesses, Abuses
"While President Vladimir Putin has been marginalizing Russia's parliament, opposition, media and human rights groups, this international court sitting 1,250 miles away in Strasbourg, France, has emerged as a powerful check on the excesses of the Russian bureaucracy and failures by the country's own investigative organs and courts to follow Russia's laws.
"The European Court enforces the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, drawn up by the Council of Europe, an international body founded in the wake of World War II to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. Russia ratified the convention in 1998, agreeing to accept the court's decisions as binding... "
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Labels: EU, human rights, judiciary, Russia
Protecting the state or the regime?
The lengths to which governments go to protect their countries cannot be underestimated. How do the efforts in Iran compare with those in China?
Iran to launch giant domestic intranet: Officials say service will bypass internet and improve security, but critics see it as curb on the flow of information.
Iran plans to introduce a domestic internet network in what officials say is a bid to improve cyber security but which many Iranians fear is the latest way to control their access to the web…
The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) said the Google ban was connected to the anti-Islamic film posted on the company's YouTube site which has caused outrage throughout the Muslim world, however there has been no official confirmation.
Iran already has one of the biggest Internet filters of any country in the world, preventing normal Iranians from accessing countless sites on the official grounds they are offensive or criminal.
Sites expressing views considered anti-government are also routinely blocked.
Iranians commonly overcome the government filter by using virtual private network (VPN) software that makes the computer appear as if it is based in another country.
But officials have long spoken of creating an Iranian Internet system which would be largely isolated from the World
Wide Web…
According to Iranian media, the domestic system would be fully implemented by March 2013…
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Labels: human rights, Iran, politics
Warrantless tracking of the Internet
Without a constitution or a Bill of Rights, Brits have been subject to limitations and intrusions that would be controversial in the USA. For a second time, there's controversy in London (and beyond) about government tracking of private communications.
Britons Protest Government Eavesdropping PlansBritish lawmakers and rights activists joined a chorus of protest Monday against plans by the government to give the intelligence and security services the ability to monitor the phone calls, e-mails, text messages and Internet use of every person in the country.
The Home Office said the measures were vital to provide police and security services with “communications data to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public.”
Under the proposal… a law to be introduced later this year would allow the authorities to order Internet companies to install hardware enabling the government’s monitoring agency… to examine individual communications without a warrant.
A similar effort to enhance the authorities’ powers was made by the previous Labour government in 2006, but it was abandoned after ferocious opposition from groups including the two parties — the dominant Conservatives and the smaller Liberal Democrats — which now form the coalition government…
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Labels: civil society, human rights, politics, UK
Human Development Index
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published its annual Human Development Index on Wednesday, painting a grim picture of the prospects for millions of people in some of the world's poorest nations.
The Human Development Index ranks countries based on development issues, progress and policies, the UNDP report explains. This year's study focuses on the connection between development, equity and environmental sustainability. The UNDP argues that global development will be unable to continue unless the world takes bold measures to battle inequality and environmental threats. Deforestation, soil erosion and rising food prices have disproportionally hit poor populations across the world, widening the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries.
Human Development Index (HDI)The first Human Development Report introduced a new way of measuring development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income into a composite human development index, the HDI…
The full report.
Sample rankings: - UK 28th
- Mexico 57th
- Russia 66th
- Iran 88th
- China 101st
- Nigeria 156th
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Paranoia
You know there is paranoia among the power elite when they arrest actors and filmmakers. That means we know there's paranoia among the Iranian power elite.
Iranian actor arrested en route to women's World CupA popular Iranian actor and outspoken supporter of the country's opposition movement has been arrested in Tehran after attempting to travel to Germany to take part in coverage of the women's World Cup.
Pegah Ahangarani, 27, was scheduled to go to Germany to participate in TV programmes about the Fifa tournament, but was picked up from her home in the capital by security officials on Sunday…
She is the second woman to have been arrested in recent weeks in connection with the women's World Cup in Germany. Maryam Majd, a prominent Iranian photographer and activist who had campaigned for women to be allowed to enter stadiums to watch football matches in Iran, was arrested in late June…
At least four other women rights activists have been arrested in recent weeks…
In recent years, several filmmakers and actors have been arrested or sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Director Jafar Panahi received a six-year prison term and 20-year ban on filmmaking last year, along with Mohammad Rasoulof, who was also sentenced to six years in jail. Ramin Parchami, a prominent actor, remains in custody after he was arrested in protests staged in February in solidarity with the uprisings in the Arab world.
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Sort of separate and equal
Is this another round in the struggle between Iran's supreme leader and the president?
Ahmadinejad opposes plans to segregate the sexes in Iran’s universities, rightist alarmedIran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has ordered the immediate cancellation of plans to segregate sexes at some universities, blasting the move as “shallow and unwise.”
“In some universities, single-gender courses and classes are implemented without considering their consequences,” the president said in a letter to the ministers of higher education and health that was published on his website.
“It is necessary that these shallow and unwise actions are prevented immediately,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said against the backdrop of a lively debate in the media and among officials over reports of plans to divide female and male students.
The order comes during a campaign by the ultra-conservative and religious camps dominating the Iranian regime for the abolition of co-education in universities for the new academic year…
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s opposition to sex segregation will further alienate his conservative and religious critics, who have becoming increasingly outspoken against him and his circle of advisers they say belong to a “deviant current” that puts secular nationalism ahead of Islam and poses a potential threat to Iran’s clerical rule.
Seen as an extreme hardliner by many in the West due to his comments against Israel and his country’s refusal to curb its nuclear program, at home the populist Mr. Ahmadinejad is outflanked on the right by ultra-conservatives, who charge that he has not adhered closely enough to the values of the Islamic Revolution.
More than half of Iran’s 3.7 million students are women, studying alongside their male classmates, and education has become a focus for conservatives who want to head off what they consider corrosive western values among the youth born long after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
On the instruction of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran is already reviewing the curricula of certain subjects deemed too western, including law, philosophy, psychology and political sciences, to ensure they do not run counter to Islamic teachings…
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Who, us?
Iran suggests that the UN should investigate Israel, the USA, and the UK before investigating Iran.
Iran lawmakers want UN rights auditor barred from examining allegations of human rights abuseIranian lawmakers urged the government on Sunday to prevent a UN investigator from coming to the country to look into allegations of human rights abuses.
Ahmed Shaheed, a former Maldives foreign minister, was last week named special rapporteur on Iran by the UN Human Rights Council, which had voiced concern at Tehran’s crackdowns on opposition figures and increased use of the death penalty…
Iran’s Deputy Judiciary Chief Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi told IRNA: “If they (Western countries) investigate the issue of human rights in Iran in a fair and non-political way, they will understand that at the current juncture, the Islamic Republic is the only country that attaches the greatest significance to human rights principles.”…
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Human rights in Mexico
Blanca Facundo, who teaches in Puerto Rico and finds items like this one more readily than those of us in the English-speaking world, sent a reference to this report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Do your students know which of the countries they study have endorsed human rights in this way?
Pillay commends human rights constitutional reform in MexicoUN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday welcomed the enactment of Mexico’s Constitutional Reform on Human Rights, saying it paved the way for greater promotion and protection of internationally recognized human rights in the country.
The reform enacted today by President Calderón gives constitutional status to all human rights that are guaranteed in international treaties to which Mexico is party. This means that individuals are guaranteed the most favourable interpretation of human rights law, including internationally recognized human rights, in all settings. Eleven articles of the Constitution have been amended…
Pillay cited as important the restrictions that the reform places on the declaration of a state of emergency and the protection of human rights in such circumstances. She also highlighted the strengthened role of the human rights ombudsman and the provisions on rights protection in educational settings and detention centres.
“I am looking forward to my visit to Mexico in July, when I hope to talk more about the reform in the context of the most pressing human rights concerns of the people of Mexico,” the High Commissioner said.
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Non-public oppression
Freedom House says Mexico does not have a free press. But the government is only indirectly responsible because the government lacks the capacity to guarantee the freedom.
Mexican press tagged 'not free' amid drug war violence, self-censorshipIn March, major media outlets signed a pact that, among other things, promises to de-glorify drug trafficking by refusing to print or air grisly photos and menacing messages.
In a culture where children role-play as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted fugitive, and where telenovelas, folk songs called narcocorridos, video games, and even a new opera are based on drug exploits, some call the move a noble one. But it also raises questions about censorship as press freedom has declined sharply in Mexico.
Freedom House, in its annual report released today, says that Mexico is facing one of the world’s most radical declines in press freedom, as journalists are killed and intimidated and newspapers are forced to publish press releases from criminal groups as if they were pure news. Navigating the drug conflict in Mexico has dogged every institution, from the presidency to the local police, and it is proving no less complicated for journalists and media outlets across the nation…
Press Freedom Index: The top 10 worst countries
Iran and China are on the "bottom 10" list.
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Labels: civil society, human rights, Mexico
Uncontrolled communication a threat
Hacking in Russia disrupted some high level sites. Now the FSB wants control of the Internet.
In Russia, official proposes curtailing Internet freedomAt the end of a week of cyberattacks on popular, freewheeling Russian Web sites, which bloggers have blamed on shadowy government agencies, a top official with the federal security service on Friday proposed a ban on Skype, Gmail and Hotmail here because their use is “uncontrolled.”…
The foreign e-mail and communications Web services use encryption technology that makes them inaccessible to the security agency, said Alexander Andreyechkin, head of the FSB’s information and special communication center. That, he said, represents a threat to national security…
The Internet in Russia is a raucous and — so far — unfettered gathering place. Denial-of-service attacks have targeted LiveJournal sites and that of Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s most outspoken newspaper. Bloggers say the attacks are an effort to bring the Web here under control, a suspicion heightened by Alexander Andreyechkin's remarks (he's head of the FSB’s information and special communication center)…
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Gorbachev on democracy with Russian characteristics
Thanks to Jeff Silva-Brown, who pointed out this article that I missed. The money quote is this one: "We have everything – a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister and so on. But it's more of an imitation."
Think illiberal democracy and think about how many other regimes are similar.
Mikhail Gorbachev lambasts Vladimir Putin's 'sham' democracyRussia under prime minister Vladimir Putin is a sham democracy, Mikhail Gorbachev has said in his harshest criticism yet of the ruling regime.
"We have everything – a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister and so on. But it's more of an imitation," the last president of the Soviet Union said.
Gorbachev, who oversaw the softening of the communist system and subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, has become increasingly critical of the modern Russian state, accusing its leaders of rolling back the democratic reforms of the 1990s…
Asked how he thought the regime approached human rights, Gorbachev said: "There's a problem there. It's a sign of the state of our democracy." He was echoing statements made by Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, during a visit to Russia last week.
Gorbachev said United Russia, the ruling party founded with the sole goal of supporting Putin's leadership, was a throwback.
"United Russia reminds me of the worst copy of the Communist party," he said. "We have institutions but they don't work. We have laws but they must be enforced."
Its stranglehold over political life would eventually backfire. "The monopoly ends in rotting and hampers the development of democratic processes."…
See also:
Democracy with Russian characteristics
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Censorship in Mexico?
If media avoid censorship by self control, what happens when someone gets out of control? Are there other countries where this would likely happen? Are there countries where it would not happen?
Mexican media's balancing actCarmen Aristegui [is] one of Mexico's most easily recognisable journalists. Famed for her investigative reporting and all-star interview shows, Aristegui held a prime time slot with radio station MVS, where multitudes of Mexicans listened to her on their way to work.
All this changed... when Aristegui addressed an issue long-discussed on the Mexico City social media rumour mill: President Felipe Calderon's supposed problem with alcohol…
By the next Monday, Aristegui was clearing her desk, fired by MVS who said that she had broken their code of conduct by "broadcasting rumour as news".
The Mexican presidency has denied that it had anything to do with the sacking of Aristegui, but the resulting maelstrom has caused many to question the close relationship between government and the media in Mexico.
Aristegui herself claimed that the Mexican government pressured the radio station for her head…
Top Mexican political analyst Sergio Aguayo says that government censorship of media is still widely practised in Mexico, but strong arm methods have been abandoned for a more subtle approach.
Something as fundamental as the right to broadcast for a TV or radio station can be a bargaining chip used by the state…
As well as power over licences, advertising revenue from the federal government makes up a large part of the income of many major Mexican media outlets, according to Ricardo Gonzalez of Article 19, a London-based freedom of expression group. In some cases media outlets rely so heavily on these advertising contracts that they risk bankruptcy if the government decides to withdraw them…
Mexico radio host rehired after alcohol flapRadio anchor Carmen Aristegui, one of the best-known news personalities in Mexico, has been rehired by the broadcaster that dropped her after she called on President Felipe Calderon to answer unsubstantiated rumors about his drinking.
Aristegui and MVS Communications issued a joint announcement... saying she would be back on her morning news show next week.
"The recent days have been instructive," the joint statement said. It said the station would establish an ombudsman's position to represent listeners and evaluate the ethical behavior of its employees.
MVS said last week that it had fired Aristegui for violating its ethics code, but did not elaborate...
Calderon administration officials denied any role in Aristegui's firing. There was no immediate administration reaction to word she was being reinstated to her weekday slot.
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Labels: human rights, Mexico, political culture
Rule of law and business
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been in jail since 2003. He's likely to remain in jail until 2017. He was once the richest man in Russia. Most observers agree that his crime was to oppose Vladimir Putin politically.
As his second trial ended, he made a plea for rule of law and freedom for businesses. Is this like the legal assumption in the USA that corporations are individuals? Or is it a civic plea for human rights?
Mikhail Khodorkovsky attacks 'sick' Russian stateJailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky urged a judge in Moscow today to end his days "slurping gruel" in prison, saying the fate of every Russian was tied up with his own. Khodorkovksy was speaking on the final day of his trial for allegedly stealing $25bn (£15.6bn) of crude oil from subsidiaries of his own Yukos oil company, a charge widely seen as vengeance for his financing of political parties opposing the Kremlin.
"A state that destroys its best companies, which are ready to become global champions, a country that holds its own citizens in contempt, trusting only the bureaucracy and the special services, is a sick state," he told a packed courtroom…
Political analysts believe the Kremlin wants to ensure Khodorkovsky is not released in the runup to the 2012 presidential elections…
Excerpts from Khodorksovsky's statement to the court.
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Labels: dissent, human rights, rule-of-law, Russia
