Women in U.S. Strike – ‘A Day Without a Woman’

By Sarah Lafen


Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America

 

WASHINGTON D.C., United States — Last Wednesday, on the holiday designated International Women’s Day by the United Nations, the female activist group who organized the Women’s March on January 21 organized a strike by women in the workplace.  Women across the nation skipped work, wore red to signify love and sacrifice, and refused to spend money to support the cause.

Protestors rally at Washington Square Park in Manhattan on Wednesday (Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

One thousand people gathered on a city block in New York City, and eventually moved to Trump International Hotel.  According to the Women’s March on Washington group, 10 organizers were arrested in NYC for blocking traffic.  In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court shut down because eight employees stayed home from work for the day.  Schools in Alexandria, Virginia, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina, and Prince George’s County, Maryland were all closed for the day due to the amount of teachers who skipped work.

Spokeswoman Cassady Findlay explained that organizers of the strike were inspired by the recent “Day Without an Immigrant” protests which were held last month.  Findlay said that the goal of the strike was to highlight the effect of women on the United States’ socio-economic system, and would demonstrate how the work of women keeps communities and economies functioning.  Findlay told reporters that “[women] provide all this value and keep the system going, and receive unequal benefits from it.”

Shannon Craine, of San Francisco, told reporters that while it was a diverse crowd, everyone was at the protest for the “same reasons.”  Craine emphasized that everyone who attended the strike “care[s] about women’s rights” and that there are some things “[they] are just not willing to negotiate about.”

Conservative group Right2Speak is organizing a “positive counter-movement” to the strike.  Right2Speak wants to encourage women to “to continue working, serving, giving, sharing and loving their communities, their families and their endeavors.”  The group is also encouraging women to use the hashtag on social media #NotMyProtest and #WeShowUp accompanied by pictures of them working.

Protestors held signs reading “Resist like a girl” and “Power to the resisters forever!”

 

For more information, please see:

CBS New York — ‘Day Without a Woman’ Celebrates Female Power on International Women’s Day — 8 March 2017

The Huffington Post — ‘A Day Without a Woman’ was a Day of Activism Across the Country — 8 March 2017

The New York Times — ‘Day Without a Woman’ Protest Tests a Movement’s Staying Power — 8 March 2017

USA Today — Conservative Group Counters #DayWithoutAWoman with #WeShowUP — 7 March 2017

Jordan Executes Fifteen in Largest Mass Killing in Country’s Recent History

by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan — On Saturday, March 4th, Jordanian officials carried out a mass execution of fifteen people within the Suwaqa prison near the country’s capital of Amman. The killings were attended by senior ranking government officials, including Amman’s prosecutor general and the prosecutor general of the high criminal court.

Amnesty International condemned the executions, which were allegedly carried out in “secrecy and without transparency.” (Photo courtesy of Whatson)

Ten of the executed individuals had been convicted of terrorist attacks dating from 2003 through 2016, whereas the remaining five had been convicted in murder charges. One had carried out an attack on an intelligence compound near a Palestinian camp. The attack, which took place last year, had resulted in the deaths of five security personnel. Five of those executed had been implicated in an assault by suspected ISIS fighters on a militant hideout. The attack, which had also been carried out last year, had led to the deaths of seven terrorists and one police officer.

The executions have drawn international attention from human rights organizations. Amnesty International condemned the mass killings due to the manner in which they were carried out. The rights group indicated that the fifteen individuals had been hanged in secret and “without transparency.” Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of the Beirut Regional Office, Mr. Samah Hadid, called the scale of the executions “shocking[,]” while adding that it is a “big step backwards on human rights protection in Jordan[.]” Mr. Hadid further noted that capital punishment in the country was “problematic” as confessions in some cases had been obtained through torture or other coercive measures. Meanwhile, the government of Jordan denied any mistreatment of its prisoners, and asserted that the judicial system abides by human rights laws.

The Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch, Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson, indicated that the death penalty would not act as a deterrence to violence. She stated that militant attacks have increased in recent years despite the imposition of death penalties to at least one hundred prisoners who had been convicted on charges relating to radical Islamist groups. Ms. Whitson further noted that capital punishment “will never . . . make the citizens of Jordan safer,” despite the country’s efforts to project an “image of strength[.]”

A senior Jordanian judicial authority stated that Saturday’s executions were the largest carried out in the country’s recent history. Jordan’s government spokesperson, Mr. Mohammad Momani, indicated that the killings were carried out in an “attempt to bring justice to the victims of those terrorists who threatened our national security.” Mr. Momani further added that any individual engaging in similar behavior “will face the same destiny.”

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch—Jordan: Executions Won’t End Terror Attacks, Murder—5 March 2017

Reuters—Jordan says executes 15, with 10 for terrorism convictions—4 March 2017

Middle East Eye—Jordan hangs 15 for rape and terrorism in mass dawn execution—4 March 2017

The Jordan Times—15 convicted criminals, terrorists executed on Saturday—4 March 2017

Jurist—Human rights groups condemn execution of 15 in Jordan—5 March 2017

 

China Passes New Regulation on Education for Students with Disabilities

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The Chinese government is working to extend more rights to its disabled citizens. On February 23, 2017, the government passed the Regulations of Education of Persons with Disabilities. The goal of the new regulation is to encourage students with disabilities to pursue a mainstream education. Currently, Chinese schools only admit children with physical disabilities or mild forms of mental and other disabilities.

A blind girl reads Braille in her classroom at Shanghai’s School for the Blind. Photo courtesy of: Reuters.

Critics of the new regulation suggest that the current climate regarding disabled school children is unlikely to change, as the government failed to provide adequate means of achieving the regulation’s goals. However, the regulation does mandate local governments to allocate sufficient funds and resources to further the education of people with disabilities.

China does have other laws that protect the rights and interests of disabled individuals. In China, all private and public employers are subject to disability employment quotas, and are required to meet a quota of at least 1.5 percent of employees with disabilities for every 20 employees. Employers who fail to meet these requirements are taxed by the government and the money collected is paid into a Disabled Persons’ Employment Security Fund, controlled by the Disabled Persons’ Federation.

The Chinese government has made commendable efforts to enhance the protections of the rights of individuals with disabilities. Human rights organizations urge that these efforts are a move in the right direction, but the Chinese government must continue to work towards ensuring the rights and protections of the disabled.

For more information, please see:

Sydney Morning Herald – How China trumps Australia when it comes to supporting disabled workers – 4 January, 2017

Human Rights Watch – China: New Rules for Students with Disabilities Inadequate – 6 March, 2017

Hong Kong Free Press – China’s new rules on education for people with disabilities still fall short, says NGO 25 February, 2017

Bloomberg – China: Foreign Companies Hit With Much Higher Disability Payments – 10 February, 2017 

8 Dead as a Result of Stampede for Food in Zambia

By Samantha Netzband 

Impunity Watch, Africa Desk Reporter 

LUSAKA, Zambia– 8 are dead after a stampede in Zambia.  The stampede happened as people were trying to receive food aid in the capital city of Lusaka.  A church called the Church of Christ was handing out food aid at the Olympic Development Centre to about 35,000 people when the stampede happened.  Many of the people the church hoped to serve are residents of Lusaka’s slums.

Police spokeswomen Esther Katongo. (Photo Courtesy of ZNBC)

Police spokeswomen Esther Katongo confirmed that eight were dead.  Six of the victims were female, one male, and one male juvenile.  Five died at the scene while the three other succumbed to their injuries at the hospitals that they were rushed to.  After the chaos police ordered the church to halt the handouts of food, but some still stayed hoping to still get food.  An official statement reads “The victims are among the 35,000 which the group called Lesedi seven, had invited for prayers at OYDC. The group had also organized food hampers to distribute to people. This Lesedi seven is a grouping under Church of Christ.”

Zambia like many other countries near the horn of Africa is experiencing an extreme drought that is crippling resources.  Food prices have also risen which has made food unaffordable for many.  Zambian police are inquiring into all eight deaths as well as the other twenty or so people that were injured.  Despite the chaos Inspector General Kakoma Kanganja has said he has had a hard time convincing people to go home.  Many families are so desperate for the food they will risk their lives to get it.

For more information, please see: 

Africa News – Zambia: 8 dead, 28 Injured in stampede for free Church food – 6 March 2017

Al Jazeera – Zambians seeking food aid killed in stampede – 6 March 2017

Stuff – 8 die in as crowd stampedes to get food handouts in Zambia – 6 March 2017

ZNBC – 8 die in stampede – 6 March 2017

Syria Deeply Weekly Update: Battle For Raqqa, Damascus suburb truces on shaky ground and a new Executive Order from Trump

Syria Deeply
Mar. 10th, 2017
This Week in Syria.
Dear Readers: Here is your weekly update on the war in Syria.

Battle For Raqqa: About 400 United States Marines and Army Rangers, supported by artillery units, were deployed to Syria on Wednesday to bolster the fight against so-called Islamic State. A further 1,000 troops are preparing to head for Kuwait as back-up, according to the Pentagon. U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in northern Raqqa killed 23 civilians, including eight children, on Thursday.

American forces are expected to assist the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they close in on ISIS-held territory in Raqqa. On Thursday, SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters: “We expect that within a few weeks there will be a siege of the city.” U.S.-backed Kurdish forces fighting ISIS also clashed with Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria along Turkey’s border. At least 71 Kurdish forces were killed in the last week, according to the Turkish military.

Government Ramps Up Offensives: Syrian government forces stepped up offensives in the Damascus suburbs and the provinces of Aleppo and Daraa. On Tuesday, pro-government forces fighting ISIS advanced to the western banks of the Euphrates, where they seized the main water-pumping and treatment station supplying Aleppo.

The same day, Russia declared a cease-fire in opposition-controlled Eastern Ghouta that is expected to extend until March 20. However, regime raids continued to target the area, including rebel-held neighborhoods with long-standing truces with the government such as Qaboun, Barzeh and Tishreen.

Clashes between pro-government and rebel forces continue in the southern province of Daraa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that regime forces received military reinforcements on Thursday to broaden the offensive against opposition factions and retake neighborhoods lost in the past week.

Trump Travel Ban: President Donald Trump signed a new Executive Order on Monday, replacing an earlier decree that was blocked by a federal court. The new order includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. for citizens of six countries, including Syria, and a 120-day ban on all refugees. The new order, unlike the previous one, does not indefinitely block all Syrian refugees from entering the U.S.
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