Spying is not the Quickest Way to a Government's Heart

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/24/rousseff-nsa-violated-human-rights-obama/2862651/

Most Americans today know of the NSA. But because the NSA (and PRISM, the NSA tool used to collect private data) have just become exposed to the public, it feels as if they have just started watching us. However, thanks (or maybe no thanks?) to Edward Snowden, we now know that this spying and tracking has occured for many years.
Recently though, it was leaked that the NSA had not only spied on Americans but had also spied (some say unconstitutionally) on international electronic data, such as many of Brazil's classified government documents and less classified but still personal emails.
How much more intrusive can out government get? Needless to say, I do not have much respect for the American government at this time, steming from their classified electronic spying and now exaserbated by their inability to pass a budget and work together as a bipartisan government.
This is an extreme violation of the human rights granted to all. I draw the line at the spying on international governements. For the American citizens, I giv emore sympathy to the NSA and the US government because US citizens give some consent to the government by living here as residents. But to spy on foreign allies and foes? That is just unaacceptable behavior and a huge infringement on their own human rights!
I understand that governments should attempt to stay ahead of other governments, but intrusively violating their privacy is not the way to do so.

Human Rights & Cell Phones

About a year ago President Obama signed an executive order that imposed sanctions on technology companies that countries such as Syria and Iran used to abuse human rights. In recent years, with the advent of technology, it has become easier and easier to use information technology to threaten human rights. Recently, it has become an even greater controversy and question as people realized what their beloved technological gadgets could do to them. It is interesting that the United States is now taking a stand on these abuses that are occurring halfway across the world. Syria and Iran have been using tools such as cell phone monitoring to infringe on citizens' privacy, and thus their natural human rights. Even worse, the companies and technologies this sanction targets have been linked with being used to “create operating systems that monitor, track, and target citizens for killing, torture, or other grave abuses.” The president brought up an interesting point in expressing the view that advancements in technology should empower the people, not endanger them.

Since this sanction, the United States has continued imposing sanctions on nations, including Syria and Iran, for similar premises. Last September, the country enacted the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012. This shows the United States’ continuing and constant interest in the issue and that it is still a concern and topic of interest today.

I find it very interesting that technology can be such a double-edged sword. I never would have thought that people, let alone governments, were using technology to target and harm their own citizens. It is also interesting that the United States is taking a position on this, in hopes of affecting a change or more positive outcome. By placing sanctions, the United States hopes for those countries and companies to halt their undesired behaviors and alter them to something the United States would approve of. Unfortunately, the success of this method cannot be spoken for yet and sometimes sanctions hurt us more than they hurt them. We will have to wait and see what evil can still come of technology or if the innate good or at least the moral standards of man will overcome it. 

CNN Article
Iran & Syria Human Rights Sanction
Other Iran Sanction Info

Human Rights in Kenya

Succeeding my previous blog post on the arrest of Bangladeshi human rights activists, I will provide yet another example of the harm technology has on society and in particular, individuals who seek to speak their minds in totalitarian governments. 

The President of Kenya, the Deputy President, and a journalist face charges for crimes against humanity by the International Crime Court (ICC) for their suspected roles in Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence, and their trials began last month. Since then, two men, a human rights lawyer and an activist, were shot. Evidence pointed to their human rights work as the reason.

Thus, people that are believed to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) cases against these men have been recent targets of the government ruled by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A gang threatened to incinerate the home of a former leader of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Kiai, after they heard inaccurate blog reports stating that this man had testified against the President. One of these error-filled messages was blogged by the President’s own director of digital media, who posted a chart of men he considered “evil society” for being on the ICC’s side. One of these men was Kiai, and in this way he was immediately put into danger by lies posted on the web.

Moreover, people on other blogs and forms of social media misleadingly “expose” the ICC trials’ witnesses, who are simply human rights workers, thereby inevitably jeopardizing peoples’ lives. Hate groups that vehemently oppose the ICC trials and passionately support the leaders of their government strike back at human rights leaders, whose sole purpose is to protect every human being’s rights. The Kenyan authorities have also been accused of inadequate responsiveness to social media messages, many of which promulgate threats against human rights defenders, with the primary example being Kiai.

Therefore, there is clearly a relationship between malignant usage of social media, including blogs, and threats posed to human rights leaders.

I find it really disturbing that the authorities do not deal with social media as seriously as they should. After all, the web can be used for very bad things. Since the origination of the Internet, people have had to deal with many similar issues, such as cyberbullying of oftentimes-fragile children and teenagers. Nowadays, with the hate-ridden and deceitful messages that are being spread about Kenyan human rights advocates, people must learn to distinguish facts from lies, and this proves hard to do. Yet it is a worthwhile endeavor.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/10/04/kenya-rights-defenders-under-attack

Turkish Protest Gone Wrong

Last spring, protests grew out of more modest demonstrations in Turkey after the government planned on the construction of a shopping mall on Gezi Park in Istanbul. To counteract these protests, the government ended up using over 130,000 tear gas cartridges over the span of 20 days of protest, killing five and leaving thousands of people injured. The riot police were noted to have used tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons, and Prime Minister Erdogan was widely criticized for what happened.

 According to a report released last week, over 11,000 protesters nationwide were exposed to tear gas for up to eight hours a day over the course of several days during the protest. Almost 40 percent of the total protesters complained of having serious repercussions from their exposure to tear gas, including respiratory problems, allergic reactions, high blood pressure, hearing loss, and skin rashes.

While the government argues that the protests groups were actually members of terrorist groups in Istanbul, the rest of the world sees chemical weapons as a huge issue. Just as we are seeing in Syria, the use of chemical weapons can have serious and detrimental effects on the lives of people. In Syria, the chemical weapons used were more deadly, but tear gas used by the Turkish police is leading to serious effects on the lives of protesters. The excess amount of tear gas is a clear example of human rights’ violations, when the protesters were only trying to voice a freedom of speech and opinion about the creation of a shopping mall. It was completely unnecessary for the government to think that they needed to use tear gas and other weapons to fend off protesters.

This past Tuesday, President Abdullah Gul gave a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, praising the environmental concerns that the protesters had for the construction, but then suggested that the New York police would have responded the same way if the protesters had shut down the city center. Unless the protesters posed as a threat to the lives of police officers and government officials, there is no reason to enforce weaponry that could have long term effects on citizens. The Ministry of Health of Turkey also submitted a draft bill noting that any medical worker who assists the wounded without previous government authorization would be subject to consequences and potential imprisonment. This is another outrageous step taken by the government to have further control of the situation, months after the event took place.

Hopefully a voice will be given to the Turkish people that are suffering from the protests several months ago. Threatening the medical workers who are doing their job may put an end to any emergency medical assistance for anyone in Istanbul. As of now, the bill has not been passed, but Parliament is set to reconvene sometime this month to discuss it. It would be unfortunate for those who were affected by the tear gas to continue to not have a voice against their government, and have to live in fear of their own right to speech.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/world/europe/turkish-protesters-are-still-said-to-be-ailing-from-tear-gas.html?ref=freedomandhumanrights

Freedom of Speech Threatened

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/21/jordan-journalists-jailed-website-posting

Throughout history, governments have constantly suppressed the freedom of speech in order to protect their throne. They fear that when dissenters are given a voice, they will lose the support of their constituents. Their paranoia extends especially to journalists who can reach the mass public with the most ease. In spite of the fact that most of the democratic world has declared freedom of speech an essential aspect of human rights, many corners of the world remain oppressive and controlling of their press.

Such is the case in Jordan where the authorities have arrested the publisher and chief editor of Jafra News. The news website allegedly posted a Youtube video of a Qatari prince sitting, dancing, and showering with several women. The charge against them is “disturbing relations with a foreign state.” However, one can easily see through this excuse. It would not be the fault of the journalists if the video did indeed “disturb relations” with a foreign state; it would obviously be the fault of the Qatari prince who actually committed those acts. Criminalizing those who reveal the truth because it disturbs the carefully constructed authority of those in power removes responsibility and accountability from the government. 

In addition, Jordan is unique in the way they persecute the staff of online publications as they deny them trials in the regular courts. Technology and online journalism has allowed the government to take journalists less seriously and therefore easily refuse to acknowledge their human rights.

Syria: Fuel-Air Bombs Strike School

Last week, in the opposition-controlled city of Raqqa Syria, a government airstrike killed 16 people, 12 of which were students on their first day of school. The wounds and burns of victims indicate that fuel-air explosives (FAE) were used. FAE are known to be more powerful than typical high-explosive munitions and prone to indiscriminate impact in more populated areas. This type of weapon is therefore extremely dangerous, stemming from the fact that even if opposition forces were nearby, it would still most definitely put innocent civilians at risk due to its haphazard range. According to the article, no armed people or opposition administration offices were even nearby. What this horrendous act of violence shows to the world is that the Syrian government does not care about the lives of innocent civilians.

But the Syrian government wouldn’t just strike any old city, right? It is true that Raqqa has been held by opposition forces since March and has been frequently bombed since then. However, Human Rights Watch has recorded repeated indiscriminate and even deliberate attacks on civilians by the Syrian government. This type of targeted attack is a serious violation of the laws of war.

Was it a coincidence that is was a school that was bombed? In recent years, thousands of schools have been destroyed or damaged, lowering enrollment rates. This sends a serious message to Syrians: there is a risk of death for going to school. It is a given for us here in the United States to go to school. We are able to learn without the constant fear of being hurt, attacked, or killed. However, in Syria, their right to an education has clearly been threatened by these appalling air strikes. 

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/10/01/syria-fuel-air-bombs-strike-school

Blog 2 Andree Curran

Blog 2

As our lives become more digitalized, the pervasiveness of electronic surveillance has soared—unchecked. In response, governments around the world have rightfully called for protecting online privacy.

In the pre-Internet age, conventional surveillance techniques were labor intensive and time consuming, which helped to constrain abusive practices. Now, in the age of social media, authorities can track people’s location, associations, and communications, constructing a detailed portrait of their lives.

To protect the peoples’ rights, the Human Rights Watch has endorsed a set of International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance, released by a broad group of civil society organizations in Geneva. The International Principles provide guidance to governments and make recommendations to ensure communications surveillance practices are lawful and subject to action against abuse. These principles are essential to ensure that the rights and privacy of the people are protected now that so much personal information can be found on the Internet.

The issue of pervasive electronic surveillance started when concern arose over the excessive amount of monitoring by the US and UK. Clearly, privacy protections have not kept pace with technology, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has pushed for change. She urges all countries to ensure that they have protections to defend the right to privacy and other human rights, even while the national security justify an unwarranted use of surveillance.

According to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, technology companies should demonstrate they are safeguarding their users and they should work on being more transparent. Otherwise, national privacy regimes will not report their updates and we will head toward a world where privacy disappears as soon as we go online.

(Article: http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/20/countries-should-protect-privacy-digital-age)

-Andree Curran