Full Coverage: Civil rights

30.06.2005 Le 4e congrès international des recherches féministes dans la francophonie plurielle, qui a lieu tous les trois ans, fait suite à celui de Québec (1996), de Dakar (1999) et de Toulouse (2002). En 2005, il réunit plus de 250 communicatrices - des professeures, des chercheures, des doctorantes, des militantes d'organisations non gouvernementales et des groupes de femmes dont la langue de travail est le français - en provenance de plus de 20 pays. Elles feront le bilan des avancées dans la réalisation de l'égalité des sexes, des obstacles qui persistent et des moyens à mettre en œuvre pour les aplanir.

30.06.2005 L’adoption de la Loi C-38, qui accorde le droit au mariage à tous les gays et lesbiennes du Canada, est une victoire pour les droits de la personne, selon le Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP). « C’est une victoire pour les droits de la personne dans l’ensemble du Canada, un pas en avant pour les droits égaux des gays et des lesbiennes de tout le pays », affirme le président national du SCFP, Paul Moist, au sujet de l’adoption hier du projet de loi C-38 par les députés du Parlement.

29.06.2005 The “LULUDI” Roma Association of Women and Youth, in cooperation with the “For a Happy Childhood” NGO, implemented a national survey on the use of health insurance and healthcare among the Roma in Macedonia. The survey, conducted on a sample of 1,000 Roma families, provides a general picture of the characteristics, needs and priorities of the Roma population in terms of healthcare.

29.06.2005 The OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, the office of the National Commissioner for Freedom to Access Information, the Coalition for Free Access to Information and the Toplica Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, organized a round-table discussion on “Free Access to Information – Rights and Responsibilities”, in the Municipal Building in Prokuplje.

29.06.2005 While the Ten Commandments ruling grabbed the headlines, Monday's Supreme Court decision that police are not required to enforce restraining orders will likely affect the lives of many more Americans--especially vulnerable women and children. Jessica Gonzales brought the case after Colorado police failed to respond to five calls reporting violations by her estranged husband, who then abducted and killed her three children.

27.06.2005 (OTTAWA) - Paul Moist, président national du SCFP, est heureux que le ministre fédéral de la Santé ait reconnu la menace que représentent les cliniques privées pour le système public de soins de santé.

25.06.2005 MEXICO CITY, Jun 24 (IPS) - Anhali is putting the final touches on the devil costume she plans to wear for the Pride Parade this Saturday in the Mexican capital, which is expected to draw around 60,000 members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community.

24.06.2005 The PATRIOT Act became law a month after 9/11, giving the government sweeping surveillance powers and largely disregarding many civil liberties previously taken for granted. Repeatedly challenged as unconstitutional, several provisions are set to expire this year, but Congress may reauthorize and even expand the PATRIOT Act.

23.06.2005 Introduction of new legislation in the U.S., to expand already harsh immigration laws to allow the deportation of resident aliens for minor crimes, has been opposed by national civil rights organizations in the U.S. They say the bill will increase the number of legal residents subjected to mandatory detention and deportation without meaningful due process.

23.06.2005 OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina launched today a country-wide public awareness campaign to enable citizens, particularly returnees, in Bosnia and Herzegovina to understand how to access social services.

21.06.2005 Sudanese authorities have dropped the charges, which many believed were politically motivated, against two senior aid workers with Medécins Sans Frontières. A report on rape in Darfur, based on the organization's experience with traumatized victims in the region, led to their arrests at the end of May.

17.06.2005 Father's Day raises some difficult issues for the African-American community, which has the highest number of absent males than any other. Poverty, disease, violence, and mass incarceration take away more and more men from the family unit, rending the fabric of the community, says In These Times editor Salim Muwakkil.

17.06.2005 At a Baghdad conference this week, over 200 Iraqi journalists demanded greater press freedom in the war-torn country. Working under dangerous conditions, Iraqi and foreign journalists shared their experiences, including being targeted by both insurgents and Coalition forces.

11.06.2005 Le président Carlos Mesa a démissionné de la direction de la Bolivie pour la troisième fois en trois mois, mais le panorama s’est trop radicalisé pour qu’il puisse continuer sur sa lancée.
Mesa avait quitté le Palais présidentiel à midi, assiégé par des milliers de manifestants. Dans l’après-midi il s’est réuni avec l’ambassadeur des Etats-Unis et le haut commandement militaire.

09.06.2005 Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that defined the right to individual privacy and secured a married woman's right to contraception. Author Ellen Chesler outlines how these rights may be in jeopardy as one more conservative Supreme Court justice could endanger Americans' access to both abortions and contraception.

07.06.2005 Marking its 30th anniversary this week, the UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery--the only international governing body devoted to monitoring modern-day slavery--is hosting a week-long conference in Geneva. Outlining the hotspots for slavery worldwide, including forced labor in Brazil, abductions in Sudan, and trafficking of women in North Korea, Anti-Slavery International is calling for stronger UN action.

07.06.2005 Human rights organizers have praised a new bill introduced by a bipartisan group of legislators last week that would protect victims of gender, sexual orientation, and disability bias crimes.