Social Watch news

Gay parade in Krakow years ago.
(Photo: Krakow Informer)

Sources: New Poland Express, Associated Press report on LezGetReal website.

A parade against homophobia was sabotaged by skinheads and neo-nazis in the southern Polish city of Krakow on May 22nd resulting in violent attacks and one hospitalised person, reported New Poland Express online weekly magazine. 

(Photo: HRITC)

Sources: FIDHHRITC , http://bit.ly/k49r4A

The Human Rights Information & Training Cente (HRITC, national focal point of Social Watch) warned in a communiqué also signed by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Sisters' Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) about the risk of civil war in Yemen. This organisations also reported the death of at least 34 people in combats that took place between May 22nd and 14th.  

"Changelling Self Interest,"
a report about European aid

Source: Eurostep

The EU’s aid commitments are becoming increasingly determined by domestic political agendas as well as security, immigration and commercial interests, says a new report, launched on 19 May by AidWatch. According to the study, entitled “Challenging self-interests: Getting EU aid fit for the fight against poverty”, the member states inflated official aid spending by more than 5 billion of euros and only nine countries met their committed aid targets.

Sara Larraín. (Photo: Partido Ecologista)

Sources: Enlazando Alternativas, IPS News Agency

The government of president Sebastián Piñera dropped the charges of “disturbances” against Sara Larraín, director of the environmental NGO “Chile Sustentable” after a judge determined that her arrest was illegal.

By Roberto Bissio
Source: Agenda Global

Lending money to the sovereign can be a risky business. In 1307 the King of France was in debt to the Knights of the Temple, warrior monks who did not just fought the Crusades but also funded them and in the process invented a system of traveler's checks collectable between Europe and the Holy Places. So big was the debt of Philip IV, that to get rid of it the king accused the Templars of heresy and sodomy, burned them at the stake by the thousands and confiscated their property.

Source: Eurostep

The EU’s aid commitments are becoming increasingly determined by domestic political agendas as well as security, immigration and commercial interests, says a new report, launched on 19 May by AidWatch. According to the study, entitled “Challenging self-interests: Getting EU aid fit for the fight against poverty”, the member states inflated official aid spending by more than 5 billion of euros and only nine countries met their committed aid targets.

Strategy Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun
(Photo: University of Wisconsin)

Sources: Yonhap report,The Korea Times report

More than half of the senior advisers at six major South Korean law firms are former bureaucrats with expertise in finance, warned this month the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ, national focal point of Social Watch).

Prime Minister Béji Caïd Essebsi.
(Photo: Government of Tunisia)

Source: World Organisation Against Torture

The Tunisian transitional government will deposit this week the ratification documents for the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture at the United Nations in New York. A mission of experts of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), an international coalition of NGOs, made the announcement public this Monday, after visiting this North African country and meeting with representatives of the new authorities. 

General Than Shwe. (Photo: Peerapat
Wimolrungkarat/Government of Thailand)

Source: FIDH

The announcement on 16 May by Burmese dictator Thein Sein that all prisoners will receive a one-year sentence reduction is so woefully inadequate that it should be regarded as nothing but another attempt to present a façade of change while the regime continues to restrict fundamental freedoms and commit serious crimes against civilians, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma) and the Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC, national focal point of Social Watch) said this Monday.

Abdullah al-Durazi, head of BHRS.
(Photo: Habib Toumi's blog)

Sources: Financial Times, Human Rights Watch, Bahrain News Agency, UPI, Gulf News, Tehran Times.

Bahraini government questioned Abdullah al-Durazi, who was heading the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), the oldest body tracking human rights abuses, when its board was disbanded last year. The authorities accused Al-Durazi of taking part in protests and disseminating false information, though no formal charges have been filed yet, reported the Financial Times on Thuesday.

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