Rights orgs: Israel's willful killings a war crime

Press release, Various undersigned, 27 December 2008

The site of an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, 27 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

Palestinian human rights organizations strongly condemn the recent military attacks carried out by the Israeli occupying forces in the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008. The attacks began at approximately 11:30am and lasted for approximately three hours. These attacks have destroyed most of the Gaza security offices including police stations, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 Palestinians. More than 350 have been injured with at least 120 critically.

The number of deaths resulting from these attacks indicates a willful targeting of the civilian police forces in these locations and a clear violation of the prohibition against willful killings. Willful killings are a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention under Article 147 and therefore, a war crime. Both the time and location of these attacks also indicate a malicious intent to inflict as many casualties as possible with many of the police stations located in civilian population centers and the time of the attacks coinciding with the end of the school day resulting in the deaths of numerous children.

The ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip has left medical facilities in the Strip incapable of meeting the needs of the hundreds more who have been injured which will likely lead to an increase in the number of deaths. According to Israeli officials, these attacks are only the beginning of an open military campaign in Gaza. It is therefore imperative that the international community not stand in silence while Israel moves forward with impunity.

Despite repeated calls from the Palestinian human rights community with regard to Gaza, the international community has failed to act. We are now on the brink of an explosion of violence as result of this failure and are pushed once again to call for action.

In light of the above, Palestinian human rights organizations urge:

• The UN Security Council to call an emergency session and adopt concrete measures, including the imposition of sanctions, in order to ensure Israel's fulfillment of its obligations under international humanitarian law.
• The High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfill their obligation under common Article 1 to ensure respect for the provisions of the Conventions, taking appropriate measures to compel Israel to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular placing pivotal importance on the respect and protection of civilians from the effects of the hostilities.
• The High Contracting Parties to fulfill their legal obligation under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to prosecute those responsible for grave breaches of the Convention.
• EU institutions and member states to make effective use of the European Union Guidelines on promoting compliance with international humanitarian law (2005/C 327/04) to ensure Israel complies with international humanitarian law under paragraph 16 (b), (c) and (d) of these guidelines, including the adoption of immediate restrictive measures and sanctions, as well as cessation of all upgrade dialogue with Israel.

Undersigned organizations:
Al-Haq
Addameer Prisoners' Support & Human Rights Association
Ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
Defence for Children International
Ensan Center for Democracy & Human Rights
Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR)
Jerusalem Legal Aid & Human Rights Center (JLAC)
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession - Musawa
Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies (RCHRS)
Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC)
Women's Studies Center
The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations' Network - PNGO

The shoes we longed for

The young journalist who took on Bush has become a unifying Iraqi symbol, a national hero

by Sami Ramadani
The Guardian, Wednesday 17 December 2008

Within a few unlikely seconds, a pair of size 10 shoes have become the most destructive weapon the people of Iraq have managed to throw at the occupying powers, after nearly six years of occupation and formidable resistance. One Iraqi writer called the shoes, hurled by a journalist at George Bush, "Iraq's weapon of comprehensive destruction".

While the uprisings of Falluja, Najaf, Basra and Baghdad against the occupation will always remain as landmarks of a people resisting occupation, these incredible seconds have united Iraqis in the most dramatic fashion.

Contrary to most media coverage, the 28-year-old TV reporter Muntadhar al-Zaidi made history not by merely throwing a pair of shoes, the highest expression of insult in Iraqi culture, at the US president, but by what he said while doing so and as he was smothered by US and Iraqi security men. He groaned as they dragged him out of the press conference. They succeeded in silencing him - and according to his brother he was beaten in custody - but he had already said enough to shake the occupation and Nouri al-Maliki's Green Zone regime to their foundations.

Strip the words away, and his and the Iraqi people's cry of deep pain, anger and defiance would amount to no more than a shoe-throwing insult. But the words were heard. "This is the farewell kiss, you dog," he shouted as he threw the first shoe. The crucial line followed the second shoe: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." Once those words were heard, the impact of a pair of shoes became electrifying. A young journalist has put aside the demands of his profession, preferring to act as the loudest cry of his long-suffering people. If one considers the torture and killings in Iraqi and US jails that Muntadhar often mentioned in his reports for al-Baghdadia satellite TV station, he was certainly aware he risked being badly hurt.

As the Iraqi and Arab satellite stations switched from the live press conference to reporting reaction to the event, the stunned presenters and reporters were swept away by popular expressions of joy in the streets, from Baghdad to Gaza to Casablanca. TV stations and media websites were inundated with messages of adulation. The instant reply to any criticism of "insulting a guest" was: "Bush is a mass murderer and a war criminal who sneaked into Baghdad. He killed a million Iraqis. He burned the country down."

Expressions of support and demands for Muntadhar's immediate release have spread from Najaf and Falluja to Baghdad, and from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south. An impressive show of anti-occupation unity is developing fast, after being weakened by the sectarian forces that the occupation itself has strengthened and nourished, as Muntadhar himself used to stress.

No one asked after Muntadhar's religion or sect, but they all loved his message. Indeed, I have yet to come across an Iraqi media outlet or website that pronounced on his religion, sect or ethnicity. The first I heard of his "sect" was through US and British media.

The reality is that Muntadhar is a secular socialist whose hero happens to be Che Guevara. He became a prominent leftwing student leader immediately after the occupation, while at Baghdad University's media college. He reported for al-Baghdadia on the poor and downtrodden victims of the US war. He was first on the scene in Sadr City and wherever people suffered violence or severe deprivation. He not only followed US Apache helicopters' trails of death and destruction, but he was also among the first to report every "sectarian" atrocity and the bombing of popular market places. He let the victims talk first.

It was effective journalism, reporting that the victims of violence themselves accused the US-led occupation of being behind all the carnage. He was a voice that could not be silenced, despite being kidnapped by a gang and arrested by US and regime forces.

His passion for the war's victims and his staunchly anti-occupation message endeared him to al-Baghdadia viewers. And after sending Bush out of Iraq in ignominy he has become a formidable national hero. The orphan who was brought up by his aunt, and whose name means the longed or awaited for, has become a powerful unifying symbol of defiance, and is being adopted by countless Iraqis as "our dearest son".

• Sami Ramadani, a political exile from Saddam's regime, is a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University sami.ramadani@londonmet.ac.uk

Happy Holidays!

I didn't call this post "Merry Christmas" because I want to appeal to all faith traditions and those without faith traditions. The intent of the decision was not to wage a "war on Christmas" (phrase coined by FOX News, I believe). In fact, I must say that despite the rampant consumerism (which I battled against by writing a book and producing it as an all-inclusive Christmas present) that Christmas has come to symbolize and the corporate domination of what was once a more modest, personal celebration, Christmas must be cherished for all its splendor. How often do people come together like they do on Christmas? How often do people have the urge to write loving letters and e-mails to their friends all over the world? How often do people feel as charitable as they do on Christmas? I know that last year I had a desire to fly down to New Orleans and stand in front of bulldozers that were set to demolish public housing units that homeless citizens desperately needed. This year I want to stop every foreclosure in Baltimore. The good news is that the city has declared a moratorium for the holidays. It's not enough, but it's a start.

I was truly touched when I read that two Baltimore detectives did what was "morally right" by refusing to evict a 78-year-old woman on Christmas Eve. Every once in a while I find a nugget of goodness in the media's usual appetite for violence and celebrities.

At a time when church attendance has skyrocketed, I attended the Christmas Eve night mass at St. Ignatius. I must say that there is nothing more beautiful on this earth than hearing a well-rehearsed choir sing "Oh, Holy Night." It put me at peace for a precious few minutes. How can a peacemaker ever be at peace for long when the world is constantly at war? And never mind the world, what if his own household doubles as a battlefield in times of stress (such as Christmas)? Is anyone spared?

Now it's 4:15 a.m., and I can't seem to be able to "sleep in heavenly peace." I know I could if I had my beloved beside me. I will have to conjure her up just as we conjure up Santa Claus to bring us the contents of our wildest dreams.

From Jewish Voice for Peace: Support for 'Shiministim'

Yesterday, December 18th, was the Shministim Day of Action in Israel. Even as Tamar Katz remained in solitary confinement, the Shministim were thrilled. They told us they had not seen this much media coverage in Israel of young refusers in years. The global response, which continues to grow, has been ovewhelming. I want to share with you this first-hand account that Rebecca Vilkomerson wrote about the day. And, thank you so much from all of us at Jewish Voice for Peace.

Our work continues.

Sydney Levy
Jewish Voice for Peace

It is hard to convey, and impossible to overstate, just how completely saturated Israeli culture is by the heroic image of the Israeli Army. In school, advertisements, marketing campaigns,store discounts, discussions with neighbors, every way you can imagine, the Army is portrayed as the ultimate form of service to the country.When I took my daughter, who is five, to the doctor recently, the doctor began her explanation of how vaccines worked in this way: "you know how Israel has an Army that protects us? Well the vaccines are your body's army…"

It is simply everywhere.

That is what makes the shministim all the more remarkable. These are young adults, just out of high school, who have managed to break through all the myths that they have been immersed in and figured out for themselves what the Army actually does. Having reached the conclusion that being in the Army would force them to commit immoral actions, they have taken the next obvious---but in no way easy---step of taking action by refusing to serve. All in the face of family pressure, peer pressure and societal pressure that is absolutely intense. They are willing to pay the price, which can and does include jail time, for standing up for what they know is right.

As far as I am concerned, as a mother who is raising two Israeli daughters, they could not be better role models.

So I invited my daughter to join me at the December 18th Day of Action in Solidarity with the Shministim, and I was thrilled that she even agreed to leave her sister's Chanukah party early to accompany me.

The Day of Action had already attracted welcome attention: a front page article this morning in Haaretz, a moving statement of solidarity from U.S. Army war resisters, and a strongly worded statement of support from Amnesty International.

When we arrived, the first thing we saw was box after box after box after box lined up on the street. These were the letters and postcards that had been generated by the international campaign, over 20,000 in total.

We were arrayed across the street from the imposing kiriya, the Army headquarters. This was as close as the police would allow us to get. We were a small group, about two hundred people, and this reminded me just how brave and still isolated the refusenik movement in Israel is, and therefore how much the international support really means.

The spirited crowd chanted and yelled support as some of the shministim--Omer Goldman, Sahar Vardi, Raz Bar-David Varon--and the relatives of Yuval Ophir-Auron and Sahar Vardi, took turns bringing the boxes of letters to the locked gates of the kiriya, where eventually two men in suits agreed to take them all inside. They make a nice group, indicative of how a refusenik can come from any part of Israeli society, as Omer's father made his career high up in the Mossad and Sahar's family are relentlessly dedicated left-wing activists.

There is a traditional belief in Yiddish culture, which comes from the Jewish mystical tradition, about the lamedvavniks, the thirty six righteous and humble people for whom God saves the world. The shministim are our lamedvavniks-our voice of conscience, our tiny flickering hope of building a society that does not willingly participate in controlling, terrorizing, and killing the Palestinian people-enforcing the checkpoints, demolishing homes, destroying ancient olive groves, building the Wall, confiscating land, enforcing siege and all the other immoral and illegal actions of the occupation.

In the last minutes of the demonstration, I talked briefly with one of the organizers. She said, "you know, there's a lot more we can do with these letters. We can hand them out on the streets of Tel Aviv. There are all sorts of things we can do." She was clearly buoyed and excited about building on the movement the Day of Action had generated. And as we got back on our bike to ride home in the still-warm December air, my daughter said to me, "Mama, I never want to be in the Army."

This is how it can begin. Because what if instead of six, or ten or sixty, six hundred refused? What if 6000 refused? The occupation would be over.

Rebecca Vilkomerson

The Relevance of 'Nonviolence in a New Era'

Tomorrow a dear friend and I will facilitate a day-long nonviolence training entitled "Nonviolence in a New Era." Our goal is to emphasize the need for nonviolent solutions to local, national, and global problems. While many American citizens (not to mention internationals) are basking in the glow of newly elected President Barack Obama, the realities of two brutal occupations, an increasingly dire economic crisis, global food shortages, environmental degradation, and deficient political leadership remain. All passion and 'change' rhetoric aside, real solutions will take the efforts of various sectors of the citizenry coming together (as they did to elect Obama); it will be a bottom-up process.

It is my sincerest belief that these solutions ought to be rooted in the principles of nonviolence. They should build on the radical but nonviolent traditions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, and others. Violence begets violence, and as any dedicated peace activist knows, the United States is the world's greatest "purveyor of violence" and has outdone itself since MLK spoke those words on April 4, 1967, exactly one year before he was murdered.

If we are to curb the disastrous results of state- and corporate-sponsored warfare, not to mention the "terrorist" reaction to it, we will need to be as vehemently nonviolent as those actors are violent. We will need to insist on peace as strongly as they insist on war.

We will need tools to combat violence in our world, our country, our neighborhood, our household, and even within ourself. These tools cost far less than what it costs to pursue violent means. Some of these tools will be taught for a modest fee at tomorrow's training. But we hope that the participants do not see our list as exhaustive. As Gandhi said, we are only at the beginning stages of unleashing the full potential of nonviolent action on the world. So much power has still not been realized.

There is no better time for young people to come together under the roof of nonviolence than today. We can only hope that our efforts spread like seeds in the wind. Let them spread to the turbulent communities of Balitmore facing foreclosure and other struggles. Let them spread to the offices of policymakers in Washington and across the nation. Let them spread to households plagued by domestic violence and to schools controlled by gangs and armed security guards.

And let our efforts spread to the innermost thoughts of all people. Nonviolence must ultimately come from within.

Our training is one small step in a vast, unfolding process. We are not leaders or trailblazers but participants in what we hope is a turning point in history on par with any humanity has ever witnessed - a turning point toward peace and justice.

If the Shoe Fits...

While I consider the throwing of shoes at outgoing President Bush to be more of an expression of rage than productive opposition, I cannot help but admire the courage and creativity of Mr. Al-Zeidi. As a journalist, his action was a marked departure from the media's ever-present submission to power in the post-9/11 world. I went to school with aspiring journalists trapped in the liberal vs. conservative/Democrat vs. Republican model, which implies that a journalist's job is to maintain the status quo and read the Washington Post/New York Times for her news. I have witnessed more than enough of the feeble attempts of the White House Press Corps to keep Dana Perino or any of the other presidential propagandists honest. I have heard the detached calls for "professionalism" and "objectivity" in a time when truth and boldness in pursuit of peace and justice are needed far more than formalities.

What this brave Iraqi man did sends the message that journalists are people too. It sends the message that journalists, too, have opinions and are not afraid to share them, even when it means risking their jobs, their freedom, or even their lives (from the reports I've read, he could have been beaten to death by Prime Minister al-Maliki's guards). Al-Zeidi is a hero to any journalist who has suffered through the countless lies and distortions of a Bush press conference without ever posing a real question. He is a hero to all Iraqis and Americans alike who whince whenever Bush erroneously claims that the United States is "winning" in Iraq or that the surge was "successful" or that the sacrifices are "worth it."

Of course, while his own news organization, Al-Baghdadia television, is publicly supporting his "free speech" and condemning his ill-treatment at the hands of Iraqi government forces, some of his colleagues in the room claimed to be humiliated by the bizarre spectacle. I say it is Bush who should be humiliated. Already unique in many ways, particularly when the subject is public (dis)approval, Bush can now claim to be the first president to ever have to duck a shoe at a controlled press conference, one that would have otherwise featured undue praise and scripted questions. Can anyone imagine something like this happening to Barack Obama or former President Bill Clinton?

But it's hard to have much sympathy for Mr. Bush. After all, he's only dodging shoes. Victims of his policies would surely welcome dodging shoes - instead of bombs and bullets.

Successful 'Gun Swap' in Argentina

Gun Swap Wildly Successful
Marcela Valente. Inter-Press Service. December 8, 2008
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45034

BUENOS AIRES - As a disarmament campaign launched 17 months ago in Argentina nears its end, the government and civil society groups involved in the initiative announced that it has far exceeded even the most optimistic projections, despite the lack of publicity.

The Interior Ministry reported that the programme, in which people voluntarily swap their firearms for cash, has so far collected over 102,000 guns and 721,000 munitions, all of which were destroyed.

During the campaign, which was launched in July 2007, people were urged to anonymously hand over their illegally or legally owned firearms -- revolvers, pistols, shot guns, carbines or rifles -- and ammunition in exchange for sums running from 100 to 450 pesos (34 to 150 dollars), at fixed and mobile stations set up around the country by the Interior Ministry.

An amnesty for those who surrender illegal weapons, or guns with expired permits, ends on Dec. 11, when the campaign winds up. After the deadline, anyone found in illegal possession of a firearm could go to jail.

"The plan worked very well, despite the low level of publicity. We hope there will be a new extension," Carola Cóncaro, with the Institute of Comparative Studies in Penal and Social Sciences (INECIP), told IPS.

INECIP forms part of the Argentine Disarmament Network (RAD), which presented the proposal for the gun swap programme to the Interior Ministry.

The RAD initiative emerged in 2004, after a 15-year-old boy in the town of Carmen de Patagones, in the eastern province of Buenos Aires, opened fire in his school with a revolver, killing three of his classmates and injuring five.

"We thought the programme would be a success if we managed to recover 35,000 or 45,000 guns, and we took in over 100,000," said Cóncaro. "So it was totally successful, and would have been even more so if there had been publicity, and if we would have had more human resources and more stations set up around the country to receive the guns."

Adrián Marcenac, of the Alfredo Marcenac Civil Association, also said he was "very pleased" with the results. In a conversation with IPS, Marcenac, whose son was killed in a random shooting, said the results of a programme carried out with virtually no media support were "doubly valid."

Marcenac pointed out that the law that created the gun swap programme also projected an awareness-raising campaign on the risks of owning firearms. "We didn't get very far on that point, and it's really needed, but I hope we can do so with an extension of the programme," he said.

Adrián's son Alfredo was 19 years old when he was shot and killed by a stranger in 2006 while walking down the street in Buenos Aires.

The shooter, who had a gun licence despite the fact that he was mentally ill, simply began to shoot people at random on the street, firing his gun 11 times.

According to official figures, there are 1.2 million legally owned guns in Argentina and at least that many unregistered guns.

The results of a survey by the Mora y Araujo polling company coincided with those figures, indicating that 2.2 million civilians are armed in this country of nearly 38 million people.

The promoters of the campaign said the idea is not to combat crime but to reduce gun-related violence.

A study by the Secretariat for Criminal Policy found that 10 people a day die in Argentina from gunshot wounds, but only three of the 10 deaths are robbery-related. The rest are the result of fights, suicides or accidents.

"The increase in demand for weapons among civilians is fuelled by people's fear of becoming a victim of a crime, but that is not the right answer, because it has been proven that, if there are more guns out there, there is more violence, damages and death," said Cóncaro.

The Secretariat reported that firearms are the second cause of death in Argentina, and that 28 percent of gun-related deaths occur in the family home.

In the case of domestic violence, the risk of death is 12 times greater if there is a firearm in the house.

The civil society groups comprising the Argentine Disarmament Network presented their proposal for a gun swap campaign to the Interior Ministry in 2006, following the model used in other cities in Argentina and in Brazil, where some 440,000 firearms were withdrawn from circulation in 2004.

The activists say the campaign should continue, due to the strong response it received. To that end, the Interior Ministry introduced a new draft law in late November, to fund an extension of the gun swap programme and amnesty.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."

PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Iraq war vet André Shepherd seeks asylum in Germany

Iraq war vet André Shepherd seeks asylum in Germany

By Military Counseling Network, Connection e.V., and Courage to Resist. December 3, 2008

FRANKFURT, Germany - U.S. Army Specialist André Shepherd applied for asylum in Germany Nov. 26, becoming the first Iraq War veteran to pursue refugee status in Europe.

After attending college and failing to find meaningful employment, Shepherd enlisted in the military early in 2004. The promises of financial security and international adventure easily trumped working at a fast food chain. He became an Apache airframe mechanic, hoping to someday qualify up to the role of helicopter pilot.

His first unit was already deployed to Iraq when he completed his training, so he joined them immediately, with only one day at his unit's home in Germany. Shepherd spent six months on a forward operating base near Tikrit, working 12-hour days to keep the heavily armed Apaches (and their signature Hellfire missiles) in the air.

Though he enlisted in order to bring freedom, prosperity and peace, Shepherd found none of these traits in the locals with whom he interacted.

"Some had the look of fear, while others looked outright angry and resentful," he said of locals contracted for jobs around the base. "I began to feel like a cruel oppressor who had destroyed the lives of these proud people.

"Our unit did a lot of good things, giving schools books and bringing clothes to children," he said. "These actions helped my conscience a bit, but I kept thinking to myself, 'Had we not invaded, would these people need this aid now?' " ...

This disposition came to a head in 2005, when the German Federal Administrative Court officially declared the Iraq War violated international law, citing the assault launched by the United States as an act of aggression.

A German army officer had refused an order to develop a computer he feared would be utilized by the United States against Iraq. He was demoted and a criminal complaint was filed against him for insubordination. The federal court reversed the demotion because the charges contravened a paragraph in the German Constitution guaranteeing the right to freedom of conscience.

Shepherd's application also cites a European Union regulation providing refugee status to a soldier who is in danger of being prosecuted if military service "would include crimes or acts" which violate international law. The application refers to the Nuremberg Trials, stating "It is established that a person cannot defend his or her actions by explaining that they had simply been following orders."

In effect, Shepherd's asylum application calls on Germany to clarify the nature of its opposition to the war in Iraq. The United States utilizes German airspace on a daily basis to carry out operations vital to the war, and U.S. bases within the country are home to roughly 60,000 American service members.

"We should not be forced to fight an illegal war, nor should we be persecuted for refusing to do so," Shepherd said. "During the past five years we have waged a preemptive, internationally condemned war that was shown to be founded on a series of lies. After learning the truth about the nature of my military's endeavors, I refuse to continue to be a part of this."

“We are honored to help support this courageous war veteran turned resister in whatever ways possible,” declared Jeff Paterson, Project Director of Courage to Resist—a U.S.-based organization dedicated to supporting U.S. troops who refuse to fight.

Listen to Andre's 23:30 min. interview with Courage to Resist

Read complete article

Cluster bombs are over, if U.S. wants it

Nations to Sign Landmark Ban on Cluster Bombs
Obama Should Reverse US Refusal to Join Treaty
December 2, 2008

The cluster bomb treaty will save countless lives by stigmatizing a weapon that kills civilians even after the fighting ends. President-elect Barack Obama should make joining the cluster ban treaty a top priority.
Steve Goose, director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch
Related Materials:
Cluster Munition Information Chart
Move by US, Others to Support Cluster Munitions Fails
Georgia: More Cluster Bomb Damage Than Reported

(Oslo, December 2, 2008) - The new international treaty banning the use of cluster munitions, to be signed in Oslo on December 3 by about 100 nations, will save thousands of lives, Human Rights Watch said today. The ban, the most significant arms control and humanitarian treaty in a decade, is supported by the overwhelming majority of NATO members but was opposed by the Bush administration.

"The cluster bomb treaty will save countless lives by stigmatizing a weapon that kills civilians even after the fighting ends," said Steve Goose, director of the Arms division at Human Rights Watch. "President-elect Barack Obama should make joining the cluster ban treaty a top priority."

The Convention on Cluster Munitions opens for signature on December 3, 2008, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and anniversary of the 1997 signing of the treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. The two-day signing conference will start with countries affected by cluster bombs, including Laos, which still suffers the effect of US Vietnam-era bombings, and Lebanon, target of Israeli cluster bombs during the 2006 war with Hezbollah. The "core group" that led the Oslo Process, which produced the treaty, will also be among the first signatories (Norway, Austria, Holy See, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Zambia).

Many of the world's past users, producers, exporters, and stockpilers will sign, as well as many of those contaminated from past use.

The convention prohibits the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It commits nations to clear affected areas within 10 years, declare and destroy stockpiled cluster munitions within eight years, help affected nations with clearance, and provide comprehensive assistance to victims of the weapon. The treaty will go into effect after 30 nations have signed and ratified it.

Cluster munitions can be fired by artillery and rocket systems or dropped by aircrafts, and typically explode in the air and send dozens, even hundreds, of tiny bomblets over an area the size of a football field. Used in urban areas, they invariably kill and wound civilians. Used in any circumstance, they can harm civilians decades after the war is over, as "duds" on the ground act like landmines, exploding when touched by unwitting civilians.

Both governments and nongovernmental organizations campaigning for the treaty intentionally built on the precedent set by the 1997 Antipersonnel Mine Ban Treaty, which proved to have an effect beyond the nations that signed it. Although the United States has still not signed the Mine Ban Treaty, for example, it has not used, exported, or produced any antipersonnel landmines since the treaty was negotiated 11 years ago.

Nongovernmental organizations, deminers, and cluster victims are attending the signing ceremony in Oslo City Hall, along with dozens of foreign ministers and other government officials. A delegation from Human Rights Watch is attending, along with its partners in the Cluster Munition Coalition, which it helped found and co-chairs. In 1999, Human Rights Watch was the first nongovernmental organization to call for a global halt to the use of cluster munitions.

"We'd love to see Washington, Moscow, and the others sign the treaty, but we think the ban will so stigmatize cluster bombs that even those who don't join now will be deterred from using the weapon," Goose said. "But a US decision to sign would certainly signal President Obama's commitment to multilateral action after the go-it-alone Bush era."

Visit the Peace Mural!

WASHINGTON DC EXHIBITION INFO

Nearly 15 years in the making, Huong’s Peace Mural is the culmination of searing memories that bring history to life and depict the universal pain of war and hope for peace. The complete mural includes nearly 2000 paintings. When fully presented, the mural stands 8' feet tall and 600 feet long. Exhibition of the mural often includes a number of free-standing pieces from Huong's private war/peace collection. The combined presentation captures highly evocative images and concepts depicting multiple themes including: Voices of Children; Voices of the Troops; Mothers in War; The Peace of all Nations; The Flag at War; The Displaced and the Disabled; The Cry of Refugees; and The Tortured.

Far more than simply an exhibition of art, the Peace Mural is highly interactive and participatory as it evokes civic engagement and calls forth from viewers a response through reflection, dialogue and action. Viewers are invited to “sign on” for peace by adding their own thoughts and comments to panels scattered throughout the mural. Exhibitions are typically accompanied with a series of community dialogues, educational events, artistic presentations and public actions. Most of these sidebar events take place on site at the exhibition and are sponsored by a variety of local partner organizations. The mural is both deeply spiritual and politically reflective as it calls forth citizen and community response. But most of all, it resonates a challenge and hope for peace in ways that only art can do. It inspires, it disturbs, and evokes personal responsibility. The Peace Mural is an expression of “people’s art” as it informs and shapes civil society and stimulates vibrant participatory democracy.


About the Artist HUONG: A young journalist at the time of the Vietnam War, Huong climbed aboard one of the last refugee boats before the fall of Saigon, wearing only one shoe and carrying her infant son in arms. She first settled in Alaska where she swapped her pen for a brush in an effort to”paint out” the passions within her. Eventually she launched an art career that has captured the attention of art audiences and critics internationally. Not unlike Picasso’s own war protest painting Guernica, Huong’s paintings collectively form a body of work addressing the global issues of war and peace. Through hundreds of painted canvases, the Peace Mural is a symbol of Huong’s determination to purge our culture from the ways of war and to advance an emerging culture of peace. Some of Huong's Other Works:
The War Pieces
The Peace Pieces
Let's Think Peace
The Flag at War

About the Peace Mural Foundation : Huong has recently given custody of her Peace Mural to The Peace Mural Foundation, Inc, a non-profit organization established to carryout a mission "to promote civic education and action for peace and justice through the arts." The Washington DC Exhibition is the Foundation's inaugural effort. Plans are underway to bring the Peace Mural to New York City in the summer of 2009, followed by a tour of universities and communities across the U.S. in 2009-2010. As a public charity, the Foundation depends on contributions to support its activities. Please help us carry this message forward by making a contribution today. You can do that right now with your credit card at this secure site: DONATE NOW. Checks, payable to the Peace Mural Foundation, Inc., can be mailed to: Peace Mural Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 600981, Jacksonville, FL 32260.

A Human Story: War & Peace

A Human Story

War and peace are human stories. Wars are started by leaders who want something or believe their group of people has been wronged. They strike back as a form of protection and revenge. Leaders often convince people that their cause is just or simply force people to follow. A mindset develops of the “other”, the enemy. This mindset allows people to kill and protects them from the psychological effects of killing other human beings.

Whatever the causes of war, whoever is right or wrong, war is a human story. All those involve suffer as human beings. They grieve the loss of sons and daughters, the loss of homes and land, the loss of innocence and hope. Women are raped and killed. Men are killed both psychically and psychologically as they perform acts of aggression toward another human being. Survivors often live with the fear and trauma.

We can learn from the past to protect our future. We can learn how to live together in this global world. The days of isolation (colonization) of you do your thing and I do mine are over. The scientific world has researched the Butterfly Effect. We now know one person’s action creates a ripple effect across the world. What the world needs today are Peace Education and Conflict Resolution skills. The children will be the one to live in an ever expanding global world that computers, travel, communication systems and the media continue to shrink. Do we want our sons and daughters to die in war, even one deemed righteous by our leaders?

Do not misunderstand me; I am not saying we must never go to world. I am not that evolved or idealistic, depending on your viewpoint. I honor those brave men and women, families who have sacrificed for freedom and the causes they believed in. What I am saying is war is a human story and it kills our sons and daughters, brothers, mothers and fathers. I simply ask, is it not far better to learn how to resolve our conflicts without violence and live in peace because war destroys human beings on both sides? Peace can save lives on both sides.

Peace Education and Peace Culture are growing fields. But for them to be viable alternatives to wars, individuals must come to believe and act with the intention of seeking peaceful solutions instead of war. Many people are skeptical that peace will work, but the only way to find out is give it a full-hearted try. Some people are willing to join the growing peace movement to provide the human race with a better story than war for the future, will you?

The Internet is full of resources and this site is one of them to learn about peace. Peace news does not often make the media's headlines, but it will here. Please join us and other peace sites regularly. Begin to feel the power of belief that you can make a difference for peace.

A-bomb Survivor Defends Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution

A-bomb survivor defends Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution

Tokyo―On November 13, Kazuto Yoshida, who survived the 1945 atomic bombing in Nagasaki told Waseda University students how it is significant to maintain the pacifist article of the Japanese Constitution that renounces war as a means to resolve any international conflicts at this crucial moment and in the following ages. He spoke out against the tide of those right-wing Japanese who have been attempting to revise the Article 9 to become a “normal nation” with a strong military build-up in recent years.

Yoshida explained how wartime Japanese society without Article 9 was terrible. He asked, “Can you guess the average lifespan of Japanese citizens during the war?” Students whispered. He said the average lifespan of the wartime Japanese men and women was 23.9 and 37.5 respectively. Almost all educational facilities, including science rooms of his middle school, were used for military purposes. He said, even though he’s also a hibakusha, the hibakusha who know the most horrible aspects of war are those who died or were incinerated on August 6 and 9, 1945.

Against Yoshida and thousands of hibakusha’s will to see a day when all the rampant nuclear weapons are gone during their lifetime, nuclear powers still cling to nuclear defense, deterrence, and even preemptive system. According to Yoshida, 243,692 hibakusha were alive as of March 31, 2008, and 92 percent of hibakusha who live in Suginami district, Tokyo, are fearful that a nuclear weapon can be used again, looking at the status quo of the world.

“What I want from the US government is an apology for the conduct of a-bombings in 1945 and its initiative role in abolishing nuclear weapons. That’s all,” he said. With regard to the issue of nuclear proliferation, Yoshida emphasized that movements for reduction of the number of nuclear weapons is not enough, but a shift toward eradiation of nuclear arms and war is important. “There had been three nuclear weapons in 1945 before the bombing. One was used to test in New Mexico, the second was used against Hiroshima citizens, and the very last one was dropped on Nagasaki. This means only one nuclear weapon can kill tens of thousands of people,” he said.

Yoshida also criticized the Japanese government for still clinging to the wartime policy that justifies the past and does not facilitate war compensation to the victims both home and in neighboring countries. Although there are many hibakusha who have been afflicted with cancers and other diseases triggered by radiation, the Japanese government has refused to provide enough aid and held on to the allegedly scientific standard proposed by the Department of Health. The government has lost all the trials brought by Hibakusha nationwide in the past few years so far.

Yoshida concluded the speech as following:
“We’ve asked the world ‘No more Nagasaki, no more Hiroshima, and no more war’ since we came to stand up in the 50s. I as a hibakusha would like to ask you, who are to live in the 21st century to take over this task and keep demanding abolition of all existing nuclear weapons and wars.”

The event was held by members of Article 9 Committee of Waseda University and ‘No More Hibakusha’ Article 9 Association. The Article 9 Association was founded by famous Japanese intellectuals, including Kenzaburo Oe, the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature winner; Shunsuke Tsurumi, a pragmatist philosopher who graduated from Harvard University in 1942; and many more individuals with prominent academic backgrounds who have advocated for peace, now standing up to contest reemergence of Japanese militarism. It was 2002 that this organization was born, and today there are about 7,000 grassroots committees of the Article 9 Association all over Japan. According to the latest poll of Yomiuri Shimbun, or one of the most conservative newspapers with the largest readership in Japan, more than half of the Japanese people are against revising Article 9. When more than two-thirds of politicians in the Diet agree on the revision, Japanese citizens exercise referendum to determine the future. The future is in hibakusha and students’ hands.

For more information about the Article 9, please visit http://www.article-9.org/en/index.html.
http://www.9-jo.jp/en/index_en.html

Fumi Inoue (I currently study at the School of International Liberal Studies of Waseda University located in Japan.)