AIDS is a Human Rights Issue

Today is "World AIDS Day." Sadly, it is also the 20th anniversary of this day and its call to action. In the last 20 years, wonderful advances have been made in the treatment of AIDS. As a result, AIDS death rates have been falling in the developed world. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Africa. According to James Boyce, over 4000 people in Africa will die of AIDS today and another 2000 children will be infected with HIV.

Morally, this is an unacceptable state. According to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

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 . . .

This right is being denied to millions of people in Africa. They have neither the means nor the access to appropriate treatment, and as a result they are succumbing to AIDS in larger numbers and far more quickly than is necessary. There are many ways to help (see the Boyce link above for suggestions), but we can't let this be a one-day-a-year cause. If we do, there will be about 1.5 million unnecessary deaths in Africa before World AIDS Day 2009.

The Continuing Problem of Slavery

Modern slavery does not often make the press. We have the idea that slavery was something that was abolished in the 19th century. However, as iAbolish has documented, slavery is far from over (See particularly their section "Modern Slavery 101"). One country where forced labor slavery is still common is Mauritania. VOA News recently reported that as many as 43 people have been freed from slavery in 2008, despite the fact that the government contends that slavery has been abolished.

Slavery in Mauritania has numerous cultural roots. The practice is embedded not only in the economic structure, but in the tribal and caste structures as well. As such, it will take efforts in law enforcement, education, and economic restructuring to make the problem vanish entirely. Though many of the slaves in Mauritania know that they are held in bondage illegally, many are either afraid to go to the authorities or are ignored when they do. Thus the government must continue to enforce the laws on slavery rather than hide behind them and claim that slavery is a thing of the past. The educational and economic issues are even more difficult, but these too must be addressed. As abhorrent as the concept of slavery is to us, it is still a part of Mauritanian culture; a part that must be rejected if the concept of human rights is to flourish in that country.

Death Penalty Support still Strong among Americans

Gallup released a poll today that is a disappointment to all those who have a concern for human rights. With a margin of error of about 3 percent, the poll reports that nearly two-thirds of the population support the death penalty. Even more depressing, a large majority of those who support the death penalty think it is not administered often enough. These numbers are consistent with the results of other polls taken by Gallup since 2001.

Looking more deeply into the poll, there is still little cause for hopefulness. The death penalty is favored overwhelmingly by Republicans, but a majority of both Democrats and Independents also support its use. Over half the people believe that the death penalty is administered fairly in this country, despite the abundance of evidence that race is a major factor in the use of the sentence.

If there is a silver lining for those who oppose the death penalty, is that only a third of the respondents believe that the death penalty is a deterrent. Evidence clearly shows that it is not a deterrent. Perhaps as more people come to understand this fact, we will begin to see an erosion of support for the death penalty in the U.S.

Cholera outbreak in the Congo

As if the situation weren't bad enough in the Congo (as detailed in my previous post), we can now add a cholera outbreak to the problems those beleaguered people are facing. Doctors without Borders and other relief agencies are reporting more than 50 cases of cholera in the last week. There have already been dozens of deaths from cholera, and that number is sure to rise given the number of refugees and the poor conditions in which they are trying to live.

According to the CDC, cholera is an acute gastrointestinal disease. Most cases are mild, but about 5% are severe, and left untreated a severe case can cause death quickly. The treatment for the disease is simple hydration! While antibiotics can be of some use, the far more important, easier, and least expensive option is to keep the patient hydrated. The truth is that no one should die of cholera, but given conditions, it is likely that many people will.

Situation Deteriorating in the Congo

Personally, I am still on a bit of an emotional high following Obama's victory on Tuesday night. Unfortunately war, violence against women and children, torture, rape, murder and many other human rights abuses have not stopped in response to the election. There is still much work to be done, though I hope electing Obama is a step in the right direction.

One area in serious need of help is the Congo. The recent cease-fire between the government and rebels has apparently collapsed. Children are either wandering alone, probably orphaned, but searching for parents, or they are being conscripted and forced to become soldiers. According to UNICEF, as many as 60,000 children have been displaced in the last week. It is hard to imagine the situation being more dire.

There are 17,000 UN peace-keeping forces in the Congo--more than anywhere else in the world--but they are virtually powerless to stop the war and the human rights abuses. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a very large country--roughly the size of western Europe--with almost non-existent infrastructure. Given the global financial crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for 3,000 more troops is not likely to be met in the near future. That leaves the few troops and the few organizations that are there to deal with the many hundreds of thousands of refugees. UNICEF is doing important work there, and other organizations are beginning to provide some aide.

We need to do more. Please consider doing something--anything--to help alleviate the suffering in the Congo. Donate money to UNICEF or some other organization providing aide; write your government and encourage them to take what steps they can to stop the violence; pray. The Congolese people need all the help they can get.

Fighting in Congo Endangers Refugees Human Rights

As fighting has increased in the Congo, human rights abuses have also increased, according to United Nations Human Right Commissioner, Navi Pillay. In particular, there has been an increase in looting by government soldiers and the murders and rapes that often accompanying these abuses. The Congo has long been one of the worst places in the world for civilians, particularly those living in the Goma area. With the increase in violence, the world faces a major humanitarian crisis if something isn't done soon. In the U.S., we need to call on our leaders--and whomever wins next week--to address this issue with both public statements and assistance as needed. The people of the Congo cannot endure much more abuse.

Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Others Adopt Online Code of Conduct

Led by Yahoo!, a group of large internet companies have adopted a human rights code of conduct to help protect free speech and the right to disagree with a country's policies. The policy is designed to encourage companies to resist aiding governments who want to crack down on free speech by dissidents, and to comply as narrowly as possible when they are compelled to do so.

In the past, companies have been criticized for their willingness to acceded to governments' demands. Now, however, with a code that says that individuals have a right to privacy, these companies will need to be more resistant when they are asked to limit speech or turn over surfing habits of dissidents.

Some human rights proponents are decrying the code of conduct as too limited. However, considering we had no agreement and no standards before this, I consider this to be a step in the right direction. Now we can hold companies up to a standard, and we can justifiably criticize them when they fail to meet their obligations. I hope, though, that far more often we will be praising companies for meeting their human rights obligations on the internet.