Full Text of Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011 -1

English.news.cn 2012-05-25 20:03:53

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-05/25/c_131611554.htm

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China published a report titled "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011" here Friday. Following is the full text:

Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011

State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China

May 25, 2012

The State Department of the United States released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 on May 24, 2012. As in previous years, the reports are full of over-critical remarks on the human rights situation in nearly 200 countries and regions as well as distortions and accusations concerning the human rights cause in China. However, the United States turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and kept silent about it. The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011 is hereby prepared to reveal the true human rights situation of the United States to people across the world and urge the United States to face up to its own doings.

I. On Life, Property and Personal Security

The United States has mighty strength in human, financial and material resources to exert effective control over violent crimes. However, its society is chronically suffering from violent crimes, and its citizens' lives, properties and personal security are in lack of proper protection.

A report published by the U.S. Department of Justice on September 15, 2011, revealed that in 2010 the

U.S. residents aged 12 and above experienced 3.8 million violent victimizations,

1.4 million serious violent victimizations,

14.8 million property victimizations and

138,000 personal thefts.

The violent victimization rate was 15 victimizations per 1,000 residents (www.bjs.gov).

The crime rate surged in many cities and regions in the United States.

In the southern region of the United States, there were 452 violent crimes and 3,438.8 property crimes per 100,000 inhabitants (in 2010) on average (The Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2011).

Just four weeks into 2011, San Francisco saw eight homicides -- compared with five during the same time of the previous year, with Oakland racking up 11, when the previous year in the same period it had four (The San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2011).

Grand larcenies in the subway in New York City increased from 852 in 2010 to 1,075 cases in the first nine months of 2011, a 25 percent jump (The China Press, September 24, 2011).

Homicide cases in Detroit in 2011 saw a 13.5 percent rise over 2010 (www.buzzle.com).

Between January and October 2011, a total of 123,924 serious crime cases took place in Chicago (portal.chicagopolice.org).

An anti-bullying public service announcement declared in January 2011 that more than six million schoolchildren experienced bullying in the previous six months (CNN, March 10, 2011).

 According to statistics from the Family First Aid, almost 30 percent of teenagers in the United States are estimated to be involved in school bullying (www.familyfirstaid.org).

The United States prioritizes the right to keep and bear arms over the protection of citizens' lives and personal security and exercises lax firearm possession control, causing rampant gun ownership.

The U.S. people hold between 35 percent and 50 percent of the world' s civilian-owned guns, with every 100 people having 90 guns (Online edition of the Foreign Policy, January 9, 2011).

According to a Gallup poll in October 2011, 47 percent of American adults reported that they had a gun. That was an increase of six percentage points from a year ago and the highest Gallup had recorded since 1993.

Fifty-two percent of middle-aged adults, aged between 35 and 54, reported to own guns, and the adults' gun ownership in the south region was 54 percent (The China Press, October 28, 2011).

The New York Times reported on November 14, 2011, that since 1995, more than 3,300 felons and people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors had regained their gun rights in the state of Washington and of that number, more than 400 had subsequently committed new crimes, including shooting and other felonies (The New York Times, November 14, 2011).

The United States is the leader among the world's developed countries in gun violence and gun deaths.

According to a report of the Foreign Policy on January 9, 2011, over 30,000 Americans die every year from gun violence and another 200,000 Americans are estimated to be injured each year due to guns (Online edition of the Foreign Policy, January 9, 2011).

According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Justice, among the 480,760 robbery cases and 188,380 rape and sexual assault cases in 2010, the rates of victimization involving firearms were 29 percent and 7 percent, respectively (www.bjs.gov).

On June 2, 2011, a shooting rampage in Arizona left six people dead and one injured (The China Press, June 3, 2011).

In Chicago, more than 10 overnight shooting incidents took place just between the evening of June 3 and the morning of June 4 (Chicago Tribune, June 4, 2011).

Another five overnight shootings occurred between August 12 evening and August 13 morning in Chicago. These incidents have caused a number of deaths and injuries (Chicago Tribune, August 13, 2011).

Shooting spree cases involving one gunman shooting dead over five people also happened in the states of Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Nevada and Southern California (The New York Times, October 13, 2011; CNN, July 8, 2011; CBS, July 23, 2011;USA Today, August 9, 2011).

High incidence of gun-related crimes has long ignited complaints of the U.S. people and they stage multiple protests every year, demanding the government strictly control the private possession of arms. The U.S. government, however, fails to pay due attention to this issue.

88,000 racism incidents reported in UK schools in 2007-11

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/88-000-racism-incidents-reported-in-uk-schools-in-200711/952913/

Agencies : London, Wed May 23 2012, 15:26 hrs

Almost 88,000 racist incidents have been reported in schools in Britain between 2007 and 2011, according to figures.

The data obtained under the Freedom of Information from 90 areas have revealed that almost 87,915 cases of racist bullying, including physical abuse, have been reported in the country.

Birmingham reported the highest number of racist incidents with 5,752, followed by Leeds at 4,690, The BBC reports.

However, Camarthenshire had the lowest number of cases with just five reported.

Between 2007 and 2010, racist incidents in schools in England, Scotland and Wales rose from 22,285 to 23,971.

Sarah Soyei, of the anti-racism educational charity, Show Racism the Red Card (SRRC), said: "Racism is a very real issue in many classrooms around the country, but cases of racist bullying are notoriously underreported".

"Often teachers may not be aware of racism in their classrooms because victims are scared of reporting them out of fear of making the situation worse," she added.

Teaching unions have said that the key to tackle the problem in schools is through education for both teachers and students.

Charities have started giving anti-racism lessons in schools across the country in an attempt to educate young people against racism.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Racism needs to be rooted out wherever it occurs, and particularly in schools, where every child has the right to learn in an environment free from prejudice".

"It is teachers and parents, not central government, that know what is happening in their schools, and they are best placed to deal with racist behaviour when it happens, the spokesman added.

1 lakh cases of SC/ST atrocities pending: Govt

Agencies : New Delhi , Thu May 17 2012, 13:25 hrs

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/1-lakh-cases-of-sc-st-atrocities-pending-govt/950507/

With over one lakh cases of atrocities against SCs and STs pending, the government is considering amendments in the existing law to fast-track trial, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik said during Question Hour that a concept note was sent to state governments for comments on amending the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

He said that out of over one lakh cases of atrocities pending at the end of 2010, the highest number of 19,939 cases were pending in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 13,590 cases in Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan had 11,524 cases pending at the end of 2010, Gujarat - 9,437, Odisha - 8,826, Bihar - 7,776 and Karnataka - 6,044, he said.

Wasnik, who did not specify the proposed amendments, said six states had not yet given their opinion.

He said states were being impressed upon to set up special courts to try cases of atrocities on SCs and STs in places where conviction rate is low, pendency is high or registration of cases are high.

He also said public prosecutors would be denotified if they did not perform their job well.

Number of Palestinians on hunger strike hits 1,550

Thursday, May 03, 2012

http://images.thenews.com.pk/03-05-2012/ethenews/e-106354.htm

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: At least 1,550 Palestinians in Israeli jails are now taking part in a mass hunger strike, Israel's Prison Service said on Wednesday, with two of them marking their 64th day without food.

IPS spokeswoman Sivan Weizman told AFP that another 100 prisoners had begun refusing food in the last two days, swelling the number of those on hunger strike to 1,550 -- or more than a third of the total Palestinian prison population of 4,700.

Two of them, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, have been on hunger strike for 64 days, with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel warning that both were in danger of dying.

 
On Thursday morning, the Israeli Supreme Court was to hear an appeal against their being held in administrative detention, a procedure under which suspects can be held without charge for renewable periods of up to six months at a time.
Diab was on Tuesday moved from Ramle prison infirmary to the nearby Assaf HaRofeh hospital, a day after PHR warned that he was in "immediate mortal danger" and not receiving adequate medical attention.
"Bilal is in a stable condition after being transferred to the gastroenterology department of Assaf HaRofeh hospital," his lawyer Jamil Khatib told AFP. Jawad Boulos, legal advisor to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, who visited Diab on Wednesday, said he was shacked to his hospital bed and watched over by four security guards.

Diab was refusing to deal with the doctors until they removed his shackles and he told the guards: "The more cruel you become, the more insistent I become on my position and belief that my freedom is the most precious thing in life," Boulos said.

 
A PHR doctor who examined Diab on Monday found he was suffering from stomach pains, with indications he could be suffering from internal bleeding. She also said Halahla was in urgent need of a CAT scan.
Khatib, who is also representing Halahla, tried to visit him at Ramle prison infirmary on Wednesday but was refused permission, he told AFP.

 
The vast majority of prisoners began refusing food on April 17 in a demand for improved conditions, including increased access to lawyers and family visits, an end to solitary confinement and an end to administrative detention.

Weizman said a prison commission was examining the issue of prison conditions, but gave no date for when its recommendations would be submitted. She said the commission had begun its work before the start of the mass hunger strike

UN chief urged to take up India's rights violations 'central part' of his Delhi talks

By: Special Correspondent | April 26, 2012, 11:36 am

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/26-Apr-2012/un-chief-urged-to-take-up-indias-rights-violations-central-part-of-his-delhi-talks

NEW YORK - Human Rights Watch, an international watchdog body, has asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in New Delhi, to raise the large-scale violations of human rights in India and in occupied-Kashmir during his talks with Indian leaders.

The secretary-general flew to New Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day visit, saying he would discuss regional and global issues with Indian officials and leaders.

“India has a dynamic democracy, but UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should not gloss over the serious domestic violations and routine impunity that affect millions of Indians, and hold back the country’s development,” Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

“Ban would do a great disservice to the Indian people if he were to only talk about regional and global issues,” she said.

Human Rights Watch urged the UN chief to press the Indian government to address serious human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings, abuses in conflict areas, and widespread torture. The Indian government has failed to hold soldiers and police officers who are responsible for abuses to account, it said.

Ban should also raise India's excessive restrictions on civil society and the need to take strong steps to protect the rights of women, Dalits, indigenous people, and other vulnerable groups. Widespread impunity for these abuses, as well as a lack of access to justice or adequate compensation, are commonplace in India, Human Rights Watch said.

The secretary-general should in particular press the Indian government to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Human Rights Watch said. The law provides effective immunity to soldiers responsible for serious human rights violations and has led to widespread abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, and in the northeastern states where it remains in force. Ban should also call for the repeal of archaic sedition laws that have been used to silence peaceful dissent.

“As India develops a foreign policy to match its emerging global status, Ban should caution Indian leaders against allowing sovereignty concerns to blind them to serious human rights abuses in other countries,” Ms. Ganguly said. “With growing power comes growing responsibility, not only to foreign governments, but also to the people they often

oppress.”

3,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israel on hunger strike

Published: 17 April, 2012, 16:15

http://rt.com/news/palestinian-prisoners-hunger-strike-271/

 The majority of the 4,699 Palestinians being currently held in Israeli prisons refused their meals on Prisoners’ Day, while 1,200 of them promise to hunger strike indefinitely to protest against unfair conditions.

­The other 2,300 have refused to eat any food for the whole of Tuesday.

Later on Tuesday Israel is to release Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, 33, who attracted worldwide media attention after spending 66 days on hunger strike – the longest in Palestinian history.

In Palestinian authority practically every person has a relative or acquaintance that has spent or is spending time in Israeli prison. Palestinians consider those jailed as freedom fighters, whichever setup they belong to, be it Hamas, Islamic Jihad or any other Palestinian organization.

Israel has 17 detention facilities across the country and the West Bank. According to Israeli data, 3,864 of the total number of prisoners are from the occupied West Bank, 475 are from Gaza and 360 are Arab Israelis or from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

The Palestinian data says that 534 prisoners – more than one in 10 – are serving a life sentence.

Israeli rights group B'Tselem also gives figure of 203 jailed Palestinian minors, 31 of whom are under 16 years old.

Israeli also use an “administrative detention” legislative that dates back to British protectorate of the region. This procedure allows Israel to detain suspects indefinitely without charges being brought against them, simply by repeating the implied maximum six-month periods of detention time after time.

At the moment there are 319 persons under “administrative detention” in Israel.

Last year the number of Palestinians in Israeli jails considerably reduced after the release of 1,027 prisoners in exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a swap deal between Palestine’s Hamas and official Tel-Aviv after years of negotiations.

All in all, since 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem as a result of Six-Day War, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, some 700,000 Palestinians have seen the daylight from behind the bars of Israeli prisons. This is equivalent to 20 per cent of the total population of the Palestinian Authority.

Israel punishes Palestinian hunger strikers by removing rights

Published: 24 April, 2012, 05:35

http://rt.com/news/israel-palestinian-hunger-rights-808/

Israeli authorities are trying new methods to end hunger strikes among Palestinian prisoners. The measures include canceling prisoners' rights to family visits and confiscating of their possessions.

"Privileges such as family visits have been revoked and items such as electronics have been confiscated," Sivan Weizman, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prisons Authority said Monday as quoted by Reuters.

Amani Sarahna of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group for Palestinians jailed in Israel, says prison authorities conducted extensive searches of the hunger strikers' jail cells. "All the prisoners' belongings were confiscated except their towels and their shoes," Saranha explained. She says even salt was taken away from the prisoners – the only calorie-free nutrient they ingest.

The measures taken by Israel are aimed at the 1,200 Palestinian prisoners currently on hunger strike to protest against extended detention without trial and to demand better prison conditions.

Also on Monday, an Israeli military court also rejected the appeals of two Palestinian prisoners who have been refusing food for 55 days, according to their lawyer and a Palestinian rights NGO. The judge ruled that the two men were "responsible for their own state of health," which was described by a prison hospital as "rapidly deteriorating."

Last Tuesday 3,500 Palestinian prisoners out of a total of 4,699 currently detained in Israel went on a collective hunger strike. Over a thousand have been on strike ever since.

The action was sparked by the hunger strikes of two other Palestinian prisoners, Khader Adnan and Hanaa Shalab. Adnan went 66 days without food and was able to get Israel to agree not to extend his detention beyond the original order. Shalab got released after spending 43 days on hunger strike on condition that she is exiled to Gaza in the next three years.

Israel continues to use so-called "administrative detention" legislation that dates back to the British protectorate of the region. The law allows Israel to hold suspects under arrest indefinitely without charges being brought against them, simply by renewing the implied maximum six-month period of detention time after time. There are currently 319 persons under "administrative detention" in Israel.

Israel has 17 detention facilities across the country and the West Bank. According to Israeli data, 3,864 of the total number of inmates are from the occupied West Bank, 475 are from Gaza and 360 are Arab Israelis or from the Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

Palestinian data indicates that 534 prisoners – over one in ten – are serving a life sentence.  

The number of Palestinians behind bars went down significantly last year after Israel released 1,027 inmates in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive by Hamas for several years.