The document summarizes events in Rwanda in 1994, when between April and July Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus in a genocide. Tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups had been rising for decades, and erupted into mass killings after the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a plane crash. The UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda was overwhelmed by the speed and scale of the killings, and several countries evacuated their personnel but did not act to stop the genocide.

1. 1991
Aung San Suu Kyi wins the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work in the
nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. For 15 of the past
20 years, Suu Kyi was held under house arrest by the Burmese military junta after
her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the 1990
general election in a landslide victory. The military junta refused to recognize the
election results and placed Suu Kyi, along with other pro-democracy activists,
under house arrest. She was released from house arrest on November 13, 2010.
Even under the severe political constraints, Suu
Kyi continues her work for human rights in Burma.
She has won numerous international awards
including the Sakharov Prize from the European
Parliament, United States Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the Rafto Human Rights Price, and
Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India. She is the
author of several books, including The Voice of
Hope and Letters from Burma. In 2005 she was
named by Forbes magazine as one of the World's
100 Most Powerful Women.

2. The Yugoslav Wars begin when Croatia were a series of military
campaigns fought in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
between 1991 and 1995 (with wars and ensuing infighting still continuing
within the region). The wars were complex: they have been
characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former
Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs (and to a lesser extent, Montenegrins)
on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks (and to a lesser degree,
Slovenes) on the other; but also between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia
(in addition to a separate conflict fought between rival Bosniak factions
in Bosnia). The wars ended in various stages, mostly resulting in full
international recognition of new sovereign territories, but with massive
economic disruption to the successor states
Actual fighting began with the attempted secession from Croatia of
ethnic Serbs living in the Krajina area during early 1991. The proclaimed
secession of Slovenia and Croatia at the end of June 1991 led to an
attack by the Serb controlled Yugoslav Federal Army and Air Force on
targets in Slovenia and later in Croatia.

3. It has been estimated that during the Bosnian War between 20,000 and 50,000
women, mainly Muslim, were raped. A Commission of Experts appointed in
October 1992 by the United Nations concluded that ―Rape has been reported
to have been committed by all sides to the conflict. However, the largest
number of reported victims have been Bosnian Muslims, and the largest number
of alleged perpetrators have been Bosnian Serbs.‖
There are few reports of rape and sexual assault between members of the same
ethnic group. Although men also became victim of sexual violence, war rape
was disproportionately directed against women who were (gang) raped in the
streets, in their homes and/or in front of family members. Sexual violence
occurred in a multiple ways, including rape with objects, such as broken glass
bottles, guns and truncheons. War rape occurred as a matter of official orders as
part of ethnic cleansing, to displace the targeted ethnic group out of the
region. During the Bosnian War the existence of deliberately created ―rape
camps‖ was reported. The reported aim of these camps was to impregnate the
Bosniak and Croatian women held captive. It has been reported that often
women were kept in confinement until the late stage of their pregnancy. This
occurred in the context of a patrilineal society, in which children inherit their
father's ethnicity, hence the ―rape camps‖ aimed at the birth of a new
generation of Serb children. According to the Women‘s Group Tresnjevka more
than 35,000 women and children were held in such Serb-run ―rape camps‖.

4. War rape in the Yugoslav Wars has often been characterized as
genocide. Rape perpetrated by Serb forces served to destroy cultural
and social ties of the victims and their communities. Serbian policies
urged soldiers to rape Bosnian women until they became pregnant as
an attempt towards ethnic cleansing. Serbian soldiers hoped to force
Bosnian women to carry Serbian children through repeated rape.
Often Bosnian women were held in captivity for an extended period
of time and only released slightly before the birth of a child born of
rape.

5. 1992
The UN Security Council adopts a resolution to deploy the United
Nations Protection Force in the former Yugoslavia.
A UN Security Council resolution condemns “ethnic cleansing” in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Another Security Council resolution
demands that all detention camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina be
closed.
The UN adopts the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance.
The UN adopts the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons
Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic
Minorities.

7. Rigoberta Menchú Tum wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her human rights
work. Menchú Tum, an indigenous woman from a humble background
in Guatemala, was witness to and a survivor of the massacres of the
Guatemalan civil war during the 1970s and 1980s, which claimed the
lives of most of her family. More than half of the 626 documented
massacres took place in her home province of El Quiché. Human rights
groups estimate that 83 percent of the more than 200,000 people killed
during the war were indigenous.
Menchú first came to international prominence and focused world
attention on the plight of Guatemala following the 1983 publication of
her memoir, I, Rigoberta Menchú, which chronicled in compelling
detail the violence and misery that she and her people suffered during
her country‘s brutal civil war. The book focused world attention on
Guatemala and led to her being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
1992. In 1999, a book by David Stoll challenged the veracity of key
details in Menchú‘s account, generating a storm of controversy.
Journalists and scholars squared off regarding whether Menchú had
lied about her past and, if so, what that would mean about the larger
truths revealed in the book.

8. 1993
The International Criminal Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is
established in the Hague as an ad hoc international tribunal to prosecute
persons responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes since 1991.
The tribunal was the first international body for the prosecution of war crimes
since the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials held in the aftermath of World War II.
It has jurisdiction over individuals responsible for war crimes committed in the
territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.
The offences are defined as:
• Grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
• Violations of the laws or customs of war
• Genocide
• Crimes against humanity
The tribunal may not try suspects in absentia, nor impose the death penalty.
The maximum sentence it can hand down is life imprisonment.

9. The Tribunal employees 1,200 staff. There are 16 permanent judges and 12 ad litem
judges who serve on the tribunal, elected to four-year terms by the UN General
Assembly. The two-year budget for the Tribunal for 2004 and 2005 was $271,854,600
(currently $306 million).
Since the very first hearing on 8 November, 1994, the Tribunal has indicted 161
individuals, and has already completed proceedings with regard to 100 of them: five
have been acquitted, 48 sentenced (seven are awaiting transfer, 24 have been
transferred, 16 have served their term, and one died while serving his sentence), 11
have had their cases transferred to local courts. Another 36 cases have been
terminated (either because indictments were withdrawn or because the accused
died, before or after transfer to the Tribunal). The Tribunal aims to complete all trials
by the middle of 2011 and all appeals by 2013, with the exception of Radovan
Karadžić whose trial is expected to end in 2012 and the appeal to be heard by
February 2014. Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić have been charged, however are
still at large and thus do not fall within the court‘s completion strategy.
Trials can be very long, with some extending for several years. Supporters of the
Tribunal respond that many of the defendants are charged with multiple crimes
against many victims, all of which must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, thus
requiring long trials. Simultaneous translation also slows trials.

11. Those defendants on trial and those who were denied a
provisional release are detained at the United Nations Detention
Unit on the premises of the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden,
location Scheveningen, located some 3 km by road from the
courthouse. The indicted are housed in private cells which have
a toilet, shower, radio, satellite TV, personal computer (without
Internet access) and other comforts. They are allowed to phone
family and friends daily and can have conjugal visits. There is
also a library, a gym and various rooms used for religious
observances. The inmates are allowed to cook for themselves.
All of the inmates mix freely and are not segregated on the basis
of nationality; Serbian and Bosnian Muslim detainees (once
mortal enemies) now reportedly share friendly chess and
backgammon games and watch film screenings. As the cells are
more akin to a university residence instead of a jail, some have
derisively referred to the ICT as the ―Hague Hilton‖.
The reason for this luxury relative to other prisons is that the first
president of the court wanted to emphasise that the indictees
are innocent until proven guilty.

13. Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
―for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and
for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.‖
The U.S. adopts the policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” which
gives the government the right to remove open homosexuals from
military service. In his 2008 election campaign, President Barack Obama
advocated a full repeal of the laws barring homosexuals from serving in
the military. On October 10, 2009, Obama stated in a speech before the
Human Rights Campaign that he will end the ban, but offered no
timetable. As president, Obama said in his first State of the Union Address
in 2010, ―This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally
repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country
they love because of who they are.‖ President Obama signed the
repeal into law on December 22, 2010.
The United Nations General Assembly creates the post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights.

15. The UN adopts the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women. Contained within it is the recognition of ―the
urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights
and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity
and dignity of all human beings‖.
Articles 1 and 2 of the resolution provide the most widely used
definition of violence against women.
Article One: For the purposes of this Declaration, the term
―violence against women‖ means any act of gender-based
violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of
such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or in private life.

16. Article Two: Violence against women shall be understood to
encompass, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the
family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the
household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital
mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women,
non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the
general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions
and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or
condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

17. 1994-2004
The UN declares a Decade for Human Rights Education. Several schools
offer human rights education as part of their curriculum, for example
linked subjects like History, Politics and Citizenship, but there are also
specialized courses, such as Human Rights offered as part of the
International Bacclaureate Diploma program for high school students.
IB Human Rights is an academic subject containing units on:
• The theory of human rights
• The practice of human rights
• Contemporary human rights issues
In order to pass the course students are required to study for two years,
take a final examination and produce a coursework.
As part of their Diploma program students may also choose to write their
Extended Essay on Human Rights. This is a a 4000 word research paper
focusing on human rights.

18. 1994
The first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala Lasso,
takes his post.
The U.S. Congress ratifies the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.
The U.S. delegation to the UN supports the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, which remains unratified by the U.S. Congress. The Optional
Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography are ratified by the U.S.
Congress in 2002.
From April 26-29 South Africa holds the first election in the country
where all races could vote. Nelson Mandela is elected president and
the ANC wins 252 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.

20. An emergency session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
convenes to respond to genocide in Rwanda.
Beginning on April 6, 1994, and for the next hundred days, up to
800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutu militia using clubs and machetes,
with as many as 10,000 killed each day.
Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in Central Africa, with just 7
million people, and is comprised of two main ethnic groups, the Hutu
and the Tutsi. Although the Hutus account for 90 percent of the
population, in the past, the Tutsi minority was considered the
aristocracy of Rwanda and dominated Hutu peasants for decades,
especially while Rwanda was under Belgian colonial rule.
Following independence from Belgium in 1962, the Hutu majority
seized power and reversed the roles, oppressing the Tutsis through
systematic discrimination and acts of violence. As a result, over
200,000 Tutsis fled to neighboring countries and formed a rebel
guerrilla army, the Rwandan Patriotic Front.

24. In 1990, this rebel army invaded Rwanda and forced Hutu President Juvenal
Habyalimana into signing an accord which mandated that the Hutus and Tutsis
would share power. Ethnic tensions in Rwanda were significantly heightened in
October 1993 upon the assassination of Melchior Ndadaye, the first popularly
elected Hutu president of neighboring Burundi.
A UN peacekeeping force of 2,500 multinational soldiers was then dispatched to
Rwanda to preserve the fragile cease-fire between the Hutu government and
the Tutsi rebels. Peace was threatened by Hutu extremists who were violently
opposed to sharing any power with the Tutsis. Among these extremists were those
who desired nothing less than the actual extermination of the Tutsis. It was later
revealed they had even drawn up lists of prominent Tutsis and moderate Hutu
politicians to kill, should the opportunity arise.
In April 1994, amid ever-increasing prospects of violence, Rwandan President
Habyalimana and Burundi‘s new President, Cyprien Ntaryamira, held several
peace meetings with Tutsi rebels. On April 6, while returning from a meeting in
Tanzania, a small jet carrying the two presidents was shot down by ground-fired
missiles as it approached Rwanda's airport at Kigali. Immediately after their
deaths, Rwanda plunged into political violence as Hutu extremists began
targeting prominent opposition figures who were on their death-lists, including
moderate Hutu politicians and Tutsi leaders.

27. The killings then spread throughout the countryside as Hutu militia,
armed with machetes, clubs, guns, and grenades, began
indiscriminately killing Tutsi civilians. All individuals in Rwanda carried
identification cards specifying their ethnic background, a practice left
over from colonial days. These ‗tribal cards‘ now meant the difference
between life and death. Amid the onslaught, the small U.N.
peacekeeping force was overwhelmed as terrified Tutsi families and
moderate politicians sought protection.
Among the peacekeepers were 10 soldiers from Belgium who were
captured by the Hutus, tortured and murdered. As a result, the United
States, France, Belgium, and Italy all began evacuating their own
personnel from Rwanda. However, no effort was made to evacuate
Tutsi civilians or Hutu moderates. Instead, they were left behind entirely
at the mercy of the avenging Hutu.
The U.N. Security Council responded to the worsening crisis by voting
unanimously to abandon Rwanda. The remainder of U.N.
peacekeeping troops were pulled out, leaving behind a only tiny
force of about 200 soldiers for the entire country.

29. The Hutu, now without opposition from the world community, engaged in
genocidal mania, clubbing and hacking to death defenseless Tutsi families with
machetes everywhere they were found. The Rwandan state radio, controlled by
Hutu extremists, further encouraged the killings by broadcasting non-stop hate
propaganda and even pinpointed the locations of Tutsis in hiding. The killers were
aided by members of the Hutu professional class including journalists, doctors and
educators, along with unemployed Hutu youths and peasants who killed Tutsis just
to steal their property.
Many Tutsis took refuge in churches and mission compounds. These places
became the scenes of some of the worst massacres. In some local villages,
militiamen forced Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbors or face a death sentence for
themselves and their entire families. They also forced Tutsis to kill members of their
own families.
By mid May, an estimated 500,000 Tutsis had been slaughtered. Bodies were now
commonly seen floating down the Kigara River into Lake Victoria. Confronted with
international TV news reports depicting genocide, the U.N. Security Council voted
to send up to 5,000 soldiers to Rwanda. However, the Security Council failed to
establish any timetable and thus never sent the troops in time to stop the
massacre. The killings only ended after armed Tutsi rebels, invading from
neighboring countries, managed to defeat the Hutus and halt the genocide in
July 1994. By then, over one-tenth of the population, an estimated 800,000
persons, had been killed.

31. In July 1995, two years after being designated a United Nations Safe Area,
the Bosnian town of Srebrenica became the scene of the worst massacre
in the Bosnian war. Bosnian Serb forces had laid siege to the Srebrenica
enclave, where tens of thousands of civilians had taken refuge from
earlier Serb offensives in northeastern Bosnia. They were under the
protection of about 600 lightly armed Dutch infantry forces. Fuel was
running out and no fresh food had been brought into the enclave since
May.
While the international community and U.N. peacekeepers looked on,
Serb forces separated civilian men from women and killed thousands of
men en masse, or hunted them down in the forests. Following negotiations
between the UN and the Bosnian Serbs, the Dutch were at last permitted
to leave Srebrenica, leaving behind weapons, food and medical supplies.
In the five days after Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica, more than
8,000 Muslim men are thought to have been killed. The men who carried
out the executions were reportedly under orders handed down by
General [Ratko] Mladic and Radislav Krstic, a colonel in the Bosnian army
who was promoted to general and named commander of the army's
Drina corps by Mladic within a few days of the killings.

33. 1995
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is set up by the South African Government
to address human rights violations under apartheid.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a commission tasked with discovering and
revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances,
non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past.
As government reports, they can provide proof against historical revisionism of state
terrorism and other crimes and human rights abuses. Truth commissions are
sometimes criticised for allowing crimes to go unpunished, and creating impunity for
serious human rights abusers.
Truth Commissions have four main goals:
• to seek to contribute to transitional peace by creating an authoritative record
of what happened;
• provide a platform for the victims to tell their stories and obtain some form of
redress;
• recommend legislative, structural or other changes to avoid a repetition of past
abuses;
• and establish who was responsible and providing a measure of accountability
for the perpetrators.

35. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were
invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected for
public hearings. Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request
amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution. The TRC, the first of the 19 held
internationally to stage public hearings, was seen by many as a crucial
component of the transition to full and free democracy in South Africa. The
hearings were initially set to be heard in camera, but the intervention of 23 non-
governmental organizations eventually succeeded in gaining media access to
the hearings.
The commission brought forth many witnesses giving testimony about the secret
and immoral acts committed by the Apartheid Government, the liberation
forces including the ANC, and other forces for violence that many say would
not have come out into the open otherwise.On October 28, 1998 the
Commission presented its report, which condemned both sides for committing
atrocities.
The TRC‘s emphasis on reconciliation is in sharp contrast to the approach taken
by the Nuremberg Trials after World War II and other de-Nazification measures.
Because of the perceived success of the reconciliatory approach in dealing
with human-rights violations after political change either from internal or external
factors, other countries have instituted similar commissions, though not always
with the same scope or the allowance for charging those currently in power. The
success of the ―TRC method‖ versus the ―Nuremberg method‖ of prosecution is
open for debate.

36. 1996
Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos Belo win the Nobel Peace Prize for
their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.

37. Portugal began to establish colonial control over Timor in the 16th century, when the
island was divided into small states. The Netherlands later colonized the west of the
island, which was formally partitioned between the two imperial powers in 1916.
Portugal invested little in Timor, and withdrew unilaterally in 1975 after deciding to
dissolve its colonial empire.
Indonesia invaded within days of the Timorese declaration of independence, and
used force to crush popular resistance. Major world and regional powers did little to
counter Indonesian rule, which was not recognized by the UN.
Falintil guerrillas fought for independence, and their cause captured world attention
in 1991 when Indonesian forces opened fire on a memorial procession in the capital,
Dili, killing at least 250 people. International pressure increased and finally persuaded
Indonesia to let allow an independence referendum in 1999, during which a pro-
Indonesian militia, apparently with Indonesian army support, tried in vain to use terror
to discourage voters.
When the referendum showed overwhelming support for independence, the militia
went on the rampage, murdering hundreds and reducing towns to ruins. An
international peacekeeping force halted the mayhem and paved the way for a
United Nations mission which helped reconstruct East Timor. An independent report
commissioned by the UN transitional administration in East Timor said that at least
100,000 Timorese died as a result of Indonesia‘s 25-year occupation

38. 1998
The 82-year-old General Augusto Pinochet is arrested for murder in
London on a warrant from Spain requesting his extradition. The Spanish
authorities issue the warrant pursuant to their investigation of allegations
of murder, torture and disappearances of Spanish nationals in Chile
between 1973 and 1990. Under the terms of the constitution he became
immune from prosecution in Chile.
General Pinochet—at the time still a Chilean senator and the holder of a
diplomatic passport—was informed of his arrest at a clinic where he was
recovering from back surgery.
The case was a watershed event in judicial history, as it was the first time
that a former government head was arrested on the principle of
universal jurisdiction. After having been placed under house arrest in
Britain and initiating a judicial and public relations battle, the latter run
by Thatcherite political operative Patrick Robertson, he was eventually
released in March 2000 on medical grounds by the Home Secretary
Jack Straw without facing trial.

39. In 2004, a U.S. Senate money laundering investigation—ordered in the wake of the
11 September 2001 attacks—uncovered a network of over 125 securities and
bank accounts at Riggs Bank and other U.S. financial institutions used by Pinochet
and his associates for 25 years to secretly move millions of dollars.
Related to Pinochet‘s and his family secret bank accounts in United States and in
Caraïbs islands, this tax fraud filing for an amount of 27 million dollars shocked the
conservative sectors who still supported him. Ninety percent of these funds would
have been raised between 1990 and 1998, when Pinochet was chief of the
Chilean armies, and would essentially have come from weapons traffic (when
purchasing Belgian ‗Mirage‘ air-fighters in 1994, Dutch ‗Léopard‘ tanks, Swiss
‗Mowag‘ tanks or by illegal sales of weapons to Croatia, in the middle of the
Balkans war.)
Pinochet was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in August 2000 by the
Supreme Court, and indicted. His trial continued until his death on 10 December
2006, with an alternation of indictments for specific cases, lifting of immunities by
the Supreme Court or to the contrary immunity from prosecution, with his health a
main argument for, or against, his prosecution. He without having been convicted
of any of the many serious crimes of which he was accused.

41. 1999
John Howard, Australian Prime Minister, refuses to offer a formal national apology for
Australia‘s mistreatment of aborigines.
On February 13, 2008, Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, tabled a motion in parliament
apologising to Australia‘s Indigenous peoples, particularly the Stolen Generations
and their families and communities, for laws and policies which had ―inflicted
profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.‖ The apology
included a proposal for a policy commission to close the gap between Indigenous
and non-Indigenous Australians in ―life expectancy, educational achievement and
economic opportunity.‖
According to the United Nations, the quality of life of Aboriginal people is the
second worst of the planet. Only natives from some provinces in China rate worse,
and only half as many Indigenous Australians reach 65 as do people in Bangladesh.
Indigenous Australians as a group generally experience high unemployment
compared to the national average. This can be correlated to lower educational
outcomes (ABS 2010). As of 2002, the average household income for Indigenous
Australian adults (adjusted for household size and composition) was 60% of the non-
Indigenous average.

47. Students as a group leave school earlier, and live with a lower standard of
education, compared with their peers. Although the situation is slowly improving.
The performance of indigenous students in national literacy and numeracy tests
conducted in school years three, five, and seven is also inferior to that of their
peers.
Indigenous Australians were twice as likely to report their health as fair/poor and
one-and-a-half times more likely to have a disability or long-term health condition
(after adjusting for demographic structures). Many Indigenous communities suffer
from a range of health, social and legal problems associated with substance
abuse of both legal and illegal drugs. Petrol sniffing is also a problem among
some remote Indigenous communities. Petrol vapour produces euphoria and
dulling effect in those who inhale it, and due to its previously low price and
widespread availability, is an increasingly popular substance of abuse.
Indigenous Australians are jailed five times more often than black males in South
Africa under apartheid. In 2000, Indigenous Australians were more likely per
capita to be both victims of and perpetrators of reported crimes in New South
Wales. In 2002, Indigenous Australians were twice as likely as their non-Indigenous
peers to be a victim of violent aggression, with 24% of Indigenous Australians
reported as being a victim of violence in 2001. In 2004, Indigenous Australians
were 11 times more likely to be in prison. In June 2004, 21% of prisoners in Australia
were Indigenous. There are frequent reports of domestic violence and
community disturbances.

48. The ILO adopts the Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
Amid growing concerns over the impact of the economic downturn, the
International Labor Office (ILO) has warned that efforts to eliminate the worst
forms of child labor are slowing down and called for a ―re-energized‖ global
campaign to end the practice.
In its Global Report on child labor, the ILO has said that the global number of
child laborers had declined from 222 million to 215 million, or 3 per cent, over
the period 2004 to 2008, representing a ―slowing down of the global pace of
reduction.‖ The report also expressed concern that the global economic crisis
could ―further brake‖ progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of
child labor by 2016.
The new ILO global report, entitled Accelerating action against child labor,
presents detailed estimates. Progress was greatest among children aged 5-14,
where the number of child laborers fell by 10 per cent. Child labor among girls
decreased by 15 per cent. However, it increased among boys (by 8 million or 7
per cent). What‘s more, child labor among young people aged 15 to 17
increased by 20 per cent, from 52 million to 62 million.

50. On March 26, 1999, painter, jazz musician and right-to-die activist Dr. Jack
Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree murder and the delivery of a
controlled substance (administering a lethal injection to Thomas Youk).
Kevorkian‘s license to practice medicine had been revoked eight years
previously; he was not legally allowed to possess the controlled substance. It
was proven that he had directly killed a person because Youk was not
physically able to kill himself.
The judge sentenced Kevorkian to serve 10–25 years in prison In the course of
the various proceedings, Kevorkian made statements under oath and to the
press that he considered it his duty to assist persons in their death. He indicated
under oath that because he thought laws to the contrary were archaic and
unjust, he would persist in civil disobedience, even under threat of criminal
punishment. He claims to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He
famously said that ―dying is not a crime.‖ Kevorkian said he considers assisted
suicide to be ―a medical service‖ for willing patients. ―My aim in helping the
patient was not to cause death‖, the paper quoted him as saying. ―My aim was
to end suffering. It‘s got to be decriminalized.‖
He spent eight years and two and a half months behind bars before being
granted parole in 2007. In January 2011, he gave a sold-out speech in Los
Angeles.

52. 2000
The ILO adopts the revised Maternity Protection Convention (183).
The key elements of maternity protection reflect the concern to ensure
that women‘s work does not pose risks to the health of the woman and
her child and that women‘s reproductive roles do not compromise their
economic and employment security. These elements include the right
to:
• maternity leave;
• cash benefits to ensure the mother can support herself and
her child during leave;
• medical care;
• protection of the health of pregnant and breastfeeding
women and their children from workplace risks;
• protection from dismissal and discrimination; and
• breastfeeding on return to work.

53. Who is Protected? Health Protection
All married and unmarried employed women Pregnant and nursing women shall not be obliged
including those in atypical forms of dependent to perform work that is assessed as detrimental to
work the mother or child
Amount of Leave Employment Protection and Discrimination
Not less than 14 weeks Unlawful for employer to dismiss a woman during
Provision for 6 weeks compulsory postnatal leave pregnancy, whilst on maternity leave or whilst
nursing, unless grounds are unrelated to
Cash Benefits pregnancy or nursing
Two thirds of the woman‘s previous earnings OR Burden of proof rests with employer
Equivalent payment, on average, if an Guaranteed right to return to same position or an
alternative calculation method is used. equivalent position at equal pay
Benefits from social assistance funds for women Protection against discrimination in employment
who do not meet qualifying conditions on the grounds of maternity.
Benefits to be provided from social insurance or Prohibition of pregnancy testing at recruitment
public funds or determined by national law and
practice Breaks for Breastfeeding
Developing countries can provide cash benefits Right to one or more daily breaks for
at the same rate as for sickness or temporary breastfeeding/ lactation
disability but must report to ILO on steps taken to Right to daily reduction in daily working hours for
reach standards breastfeeding.
Breaks or reduction in hours counted as working
Medical Benefits time and therefore paid
Prenatal, childbirth and postnatal care and
hospitalization care when necessary

54. 2001
The 2001 World Conference against Racism (WCAR), also known as Durban I, was
held Durban, South Africa, under UN auspices, from 31 August to 8 September
2001.
The conference dealt with several controversial issues, including compensation
for slavery and the actions of Israel. The language of the final Declaration and
Programme of Action produced by the conference was strongly disputed in
these areas, both in the preparatory meetings in the months that preceded the
conference and during the conference itself. At the conference, the Palestinian
Solidarity Committee of South Africa distributed copies of the antisemitic forgery
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Two delegations, the United States and Israel, withdrew from the conference over
objections to a draft document equating Zionism with racism. The final
Declaration and Programme of Action did not contain the text that the U.S. and
Israel had objected to, that text having been voted out by delegates in the days
after the U.S. and Israel withdrew.
The conference ended in discord and international recriminations.

56. 9/11
The attacks were denounced by mass media and governments worldwide.
Across the globe, nations offered pro-American support and solidarity. Leaders in
most Middle Eastern countries, and Afghanistan, condemned the attacks. Iraq
was a notable exception, with an immediate official statement that ―the
American cowboys are reaping the fruit of their crimes against humanity‖.
Numerous countries, including Canada, China, the United Kingdom, France,
Russia, Germany, India and Pakistan introduced anti-terrorism legislation and
froze the bank accounts of businesses and individuals they suspected of having
al-Qaeda ties.
The United States set up a detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to hold
inmates they defined as ―illegal enemy combatants‖. The legitimacy of these
detentions has been questioned by, among others, the European Parliament, the
Organization of American States, and Amnesty International.
As in the United States, the aftermath of the attacks saw tensions increase in other
countries between Muslims and non-Muslims. The attacks also had a significant
economic impact on the United States and world markets.

57. The U.S. Congress ratifies the Patriot Act as a response to the terrorist attacks. The
Act allows federal officials greater authority in tracking and intercepting
communications, both for purposes of law enforcement and foreign
intelligence gathering. It gives the Secretary of the Treasury regulatory powers to
combat corruption of US financial institutions for foreign money-laundering
purposes; it more actively works to close our borders to foreign terrorists and to
detain and remove those within our borders; it establishes new crimes, new
penalties and new procedural techniques for use against domestic and
international terrorists.
There has been
protest over
certain sections of
the Patriot Act,
even resulting in
some civil liberties
suits brought by
the ACLU and
other groups.

58. Following are some of the more controversial sections of the Patriot Act:
Section 215 modifies the rules on records searches so that third-party
holders of your financial, library, travel, video rental, phone, medical,
church, synagogue, and mosque records can be searched without your
knowledge or consent, providing the government says it's trying to protect
against terrorism.
Section 218 amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA),
authorizing secret searches without public knowledge or Department of
Justice accountability, so long as the government can allege a foreign
intelligence basis for the search.
Section 213 warrants—‖Sneak and Peek‖—extend the authority of FISA
searches to any criminal search. This allows for secret searches of one's
home and property without prior notice.
Section 214 permits the removal of the warrant requirement for ―Pen
registers‖ which ascertain phone numbers dialed from a suspect‘s
telephone and ―Trap and trace‖ devices which monitor the source of all
incoming calls, so long as the government can certify that the information
likely to be obtained is relevant to an ongoing investigation against
international terrorism.

59. Section 216 clarifies that pen register/trap-and-trace authority applies to Internet
surveillance. The Act changes the language to include Internet monitoring,
specifically information about: ―dialing, routing, and signaling.‖ It also broadens such
monitoring to any information ―relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.‖
Section 206 authorizes roving wiretaps: allowing taps on every phone or computer
the target may use, and expands FISA to permit surveillance of any communications
made to or by an intelligence target without specifying the particular phone line or
computer to be monitored.
Section 505 authorizes the use of an administrative subpoena of personal records,
without requiring probable cause or judicial oversight.
Section 802 creates a category of crime called ―domestic terrorism,‖ penalizing
activities that ―involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the
criminal laws of the United States,‖ if the actor's intent is to ―influence the policy of a
government by intimidation or coercion.‖
Section 411 makes even unknowing association with terrorists a deportable offense.
Section 412 gives the attorney general authority to order a brief detention of aliens
without any prior showing or court ruling that the person is dangerous.

61. The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001 as the US Armed Forces‘
Operation Enduring Freedom was launched, along with NATO, in response to the
September 11 attacks. The UK has, since 2002, led its own military operation,
Operation Herrick, as part of the same war in Afghanistan. The character of the
war evolved from a violent struggle by Coalition forces against Al-Qaeda and its
Taliban supporters to a complex counterinsurgency effort by Coalition forces
against Afghans who claim to be trying to expel those Coalition forces. The war
has killed thousands of people, many of which have been civilians.
The first phase of the war had the goal of ―removing the safe haven to Al-Qaeda
and its use of the Afghan territory as a base of operations for anti-US terrorist
activities‖. The US government claimed that the aim of the invasion was to find
Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking Al-Qaeda members to be put on trial, to
destroy the organization of Al-Qaeda, and to remove the Taliban regime which
supported and gave safe harbor to it. The George W. Bush administration stated
that, as policy, it would not distinguish between terrorist organizations and nations
or governments that harbored them.
Another ongoing operation is the International Security Assistance Force, which
was established by the UN Security Council at the end of December 2001 to
secure Kabul and the surrounding areas. NATO assumed control of ISAF in 2003. By
July 23, 2009, ISAF had around 64,500 troops from 42 countries, with NATO
members providing the core of the force. The NATO commitment is particularly
important to the United States because it appears to give international legitimacy
to the war.

63. 2003
The Second Persian Gulf War, also known as the Iraq War, March-April 2003, was a
largely U.S.-British invasion of Iraq. In many ways the final, delayed campaign of the
First Persian Gulf War, it arose in part because the Iraqi government failed to
cooperate fully with UN weapons inspections in the years following the first conflict.
Despite much international opposition, including increasingly rancorous objections
from France, Germany, and Russia, the United States and Britain continued their
military buildup in areas near Iraq, insisting that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass
destruction. Turkey, which the allies hoped to use as a base for a northern front in
Iraq, refused to allow use of its territory, but most Anglo-American forces were in
place in Kuwait and other locations by March. After failing to win the explicit UN
Security Council approval desired by Britain (because Britons were otherwise largely
opposed to war), President Bush issued an ultimatum to Iraqi president Hussein on
Mar. 17, and two days later the war began with an airstrike against Hussein and the
Iraqi leadership. Ground forces (almost exclusively Anglo-American and
significantly smaller than the large international force assembled in the first war)
began invading the following day, surging primarily toward Baghdad, the southern
oil fields, and port facilities; a northern front was opened by Kurdish and airborne
Anglo-American forces late in March.

65. By mid-April, 2003, Hussein‘s army and government had collapsed, he
himself had disappeared, and the allies were largely in control of the
major Iraqi cities. The allies gradually turned their attention to the
rebuilding of Iraq and the establishment of a new Iraqi government, but
progress toward that end was hampered by lawlessness, especially in
Baghdad, where widespread looting initially had been tolerated by U.S.
forces.
On May 1, President Bush declared victory in the war against Iraq. No
weapons of mass destruction, however, were found, leading to
charges that U.S. and British leaders had exaggerated the Iraqi
biological and chemical threat in order to justify the war. Much of the
intelligence used to justify the war subsequently was criticized as faulty
by U.S. and British investigative bodies. Hussein was captured in Dec.,
2003. In 2004, he was transferred to Iraqi legal custody; tried and
convicted of crimes against humanity, he was executed in 2006. U.S.-
led occupation forces and, later, Iraqi security forces, struggled with
Iraqi and Islamic insurgencies and sectarian violence that military and
civilian planners had failed to foresee

71. 2004
Press reports describe the U.S. torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison during
and after the 2003 Iraq War.
The human rights scandal began its journey toward exposure on Jan. 13, 2004,
when Spc. Joseph Darby handed over horrific images of detainee abuse to the
Army‘s Criminal Investigation Command (CID). The next day, the Army launched
a criminal investigation. Three and a half months later, CBS News and the New
Yorker published photos and stories that introduced the world to devastating
scenes of torture and suffering inside the decrepit prison in Iraq. The New York
Times, in a report on January 12, 2005, reported testimony suggesting that the
following events had taken place at Abu Ghraib:
• Urinating on detainees
• Jumping on detainee‘s leg (a limb already wounded by gunfire) with such
force that it could not thereafter heal properly
• Continuing by pounding detainee‘s wounded leg with collapsible metal
baton
• Pouring phosphoric acid on detainees
• Sodomization of detainees with a baton
• Tying ropes to the detainees‘ legs or penises and dragging them across the
floor.

72. Death certificates repeatedly stated that prisoners had died ―during sleep‖, and
of ―natural reasons‖. Iraqi doctors were not allowed to investigate even when
death certificates were obviously forged. No reports of investigations against U.S.
military doctors who forged death certificates have been reported.
On December 21, 2004, the ACLU released copies of FBI internal memos they
had obtained under the Freedom of Information Act concerning alleged torture
and abuse at Guantanamo Bay, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. One memo referred
explicitly to an Executive Order that sanctioned the use of extraordinary
interrogation tactics by U.S. military personnel. The methods explicitly mentioned
as being sanctioned are sleep deprivation, hooding prisoners, playing loud
music, removing all detainees‘ clothing, forcing them to stand in so-called ―stress
positions‖, and the use of dogs. The author also claimed that the Pentagon had
limited use of the techniques by requiring specific authorization from the chain of
command. The author identifies ―physical beatings, sexual humiliation or
touching‖ as being outside the Executive Order. This was the first internal
evidence since the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse affair became public in April 2004
that forms of coercion of captives had been mandated by the President of the
United States.
Eleven soldiers have been convicted of various charges relating to the incidents,
all including dereliction of duty—most receiving relatively minor sentences. Three
other soldiers have either been cleared of charges or were not charged. No one
has been convicted for murders of detainees.

74. Darfur
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and the main rebel group in Darfur, the
Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), are about to sign a ceasefire.
It is being seen as an important step to achieving peace before a
national election in April.
Some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began
in the arid western region, and the UN says about 300,000 have died—
mostly from disease.
How did the conflict start?
The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement
(Jem) began attacking government targets in early 2003, accusing
Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs.
Darfur, which means land of the Fur, has faced many years of tension
over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and
farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zaghawa communities.

75. How did the government respond to the rebellion?
It admits mobilizing ―self-defence militias‖ following rebel attacks.
But it denies any links to the Arab Janjaweed militia—who are
accused of trying to drive out black Africans from large swathes of
territory.
President Omar al-Bashir has called the Janjaweed ―thieves and
gangsters‖. But refugees say air raids by government aircraft would be
followed by attacks from the Janjaweed, who would ride into villages
on horses and camels, slaughtering men, raping women and stealing
whatever they could find.
The US and some human rights groups have said genocide is taking
place—though a UN investigation team in 2005 concluded that war
crimes had been committed but there had been no intent to commit
genocide.
Trials have been announced in Khartoum of some members of the
security forces suspected of abuses—but this is viewed as part of a
campaign against attempts to get suspects tried at the International
Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

77. What has happened to Darfur’s civilians?
The United Nations says more than 2.7 million people have fled their homes and
now live in camps near Darfur‘s main towns.
Darfuris say the Janjaweed patrol outside the camps and men are killed and
women raped if they venture too far in search of firewood or water.
Some 200,000 people have also sought safety in neighboring Chad. Many of
these are camped along a 600km (372 mile) stretch of the border and remain
vulnerable to attacks from the Sudan side.
Chad‘s eastern areas have a similar ethnic make-up to Darfur and the violence
has spilled over the border area, with the neighbors accusing one another of
supporting each other's rebel groups.
Many aid agencies have been working in Darfur but they are unable to get
access to vast areas because of the insecurity.
Several were banned from northern Sudan after the International Criminal Court
issued an arrest warrant for President Bashir in 2009 for alleged war crimes.

78. Search for Peace
• May 2006: Khartoum makes peace with main Darfur rebel
faction, Sudan Liberation Movement; Jem rejects the deal
• May 2008: Unprecedented assault by Jem on Khartoum
• Jul 2008: ICC calls for arrest of President Bashir
• Nov 2008: President Bashir announces ceasefire
• Nov 2008: ICC calls for arrest of three rebel commanders
• Feb 2009: Army says it has captured key town of Muhajiriya
• Feb 2009: Khartoum and Jem sign a deal in Qatar

79. How many have died?
The United Nations says up to
300,000 people have died from the
combined effects of war, hunger
and disease.
President Bashir puts the death toll
at 10,000.
Accurate figures are difficult to
research and have made no Janjaweed gunmen are
distinction between those dying as accused of prowling outside
a result of violence and those dying refugee camps.
as a result of starvation or disease in
the camps.
The numbers are crucial in
determining whether the deaths in
Darfur are genocide or—as the
Sudanese government says—the
situation is being exaggerated.

80. Is anyone trying to stop the fighting?
Yes. There are thousands of peacekeepers in the region under the auspices of
a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission, Unamid.
Last August, the UN‘s outgoing military commander General Martin Agwai said
the conflict was effectively over and isolated attacks and banditry were the
region's main problems now.
There was a peace deal in 2006, but only one of many rebel factions signed
up to it.
Qatar, the United Nations, the African Union, Arab League and Chad have all
helped to arrange peace talks between Khartoum and Jem over the past few
years.
The US envoy to Darfur, Scott Gration, has also been involved in talks aimed at
getting the rebel groups to agree a common position so they can take part in
broader peace talks.
It is hoped that the ceasefire with Jem will see other rebels sit down at the
negotiating table.

81. Who is to blame?
The international community lays much of the blame on
Mr. Bashir.
He has frequently been accused of supporting the pro-
government militias.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an
arrest warrant last year for war crimes and crimes against
humanity. Omar al-Bashir says ICC
charges reflect Western
An attempt to add genocide to the charge was initially hostility to Sudan.
refused—but prosecutors appealed and the court's pre-
trial chamber has now been ordered to reconsider
genocide charges.
Rebel groups have also been held responsible for some
atrocities.
But the case against rebel leader Bahar Idriss Abu Garda,
accused of planning the killing of 12 African Union
peacekeepers in 2007, was dropped this year as the ICC
ruled there was not enough evidence to support a trial.

82. The government of Sudan and militias have acted together in committing
widespread atrocities in Darfur that should be prosecuted by an
international war crimes tribunal, but the violent acts do not amount to
genocide, a U.N. commission has said.
The commission, charged with investigating the violence that has claimed
tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 1.8 million people, found
that ―most attacks were deliberately and indiscriminately directed against
civilians.‖
―In particular, the commission found that government forces and militias
conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture,
enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of
sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement, throughout Darfur,‖ the
commission said in its 176-page report.
―These acts were conducted on a widespread and systematic basis, and
therefore may amount to crimes against humanity.‖
However, the commission said it does not believe the atrocities committed
amount to a policy of genocide, as the United States and others have
alleged.
.

83. ―The crucial element of genocidal intent appears to be missing, at
least as far as the central government authorities are concerned,‖
the report said.
―Generally speaking, the policy of attacking, killing and forcibly
displacing members of some tribes does not evince a specific
intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a group distinguished on
racial, ethnic, national or religious grounds.‖
The commission goes on to say that it recognizes that in some
instances, individuals—including Sudanese government officials—
‖may commit acts with genocidal intent.‖
―Whether this was the case in Darfur, however, is a determination
that only a competent court can make on a case-by-case basis,‖ it
said.
The commission added: ―International offenses such as the crimes
against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in
Darfur may be no less serious and heinous than genocide.‖

84. 2006
The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN
Human Rights Council (UNHRC), an inter-governmental body within the UN
System. The UNHRC is the successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights
(UNCHR, herein CHR), and is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly. The
council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) and engages the United Nations‘ Special Procedures.
The General Assembly established the UNHRC by adopting a resolution on 15
March 2006, in order to replace the previous CHR, which had been heavily
criticised for allowing countries with poor human rights records to be members.
According to human rights groups, the council is controlled by a bloc of Islamic
and African states, backed by China, Cuba and Russia, who protect each other
from criticism. The council has also been criticized for acting according to
political considerations as opposed to human rights. Specifically, Secretaries
General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki Moon, the council's president Doru Costea, the
European Union, Canada and the United States have accused the council of
focusing disproportionately on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

85. UK Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law. The government‘s anti-terrorism measures
are in the spotlight as courts say control orders break human rights laws - and
MPs criticize the case put to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 90
days without charge.
What are the new anti-terror laws?
The Terrorism Act 2006 came into force in April. The law was drawn up in the
wake of the 7 July bomb attacks in London and is meant to disrupt the training
and recruitment of would-be terrorists.
Was there cross party consensus on the new law?
No. It had a rocky ride in Parliament, with Tony Blair suffering his first Commons
defeat as prime minister over plans to extend to 90 days the time police can
hold terror suspects without charge. In the end a compromise was agreed
which extended the time limit to 28 days, from its previous 14 days.
Why is this in the news now?
The influential House of Commons home affairs committee has criticized the
case ministers and the police put for the 90 days detention. But the MPs on the
committee have also said they believe the 28 day limit may well have to be
extended in the future. Chancellor Gordon Brown is also said to be supportive
of the limit being extended.

86. What were the other terror laws sticking points?
There was particular controversy over the creation of a new offence of the
―glorification‖ of terror—people who ―praise or celebrate‖ terrorism in a way that
makes others think they should emulate such attacks. The then Home Secretary
Charles Clarke said people should not, for example, be allowed to glorify the 7 July
attacks, or the bombers themselves, as it could encourage impressionable young
men to think they should commit similar atrocities.
What's the problem with that?
Critics say the laws are just not needed and will only damage legitimate freedom
of speech. They claim the glorification offence could see the Irish taoiseach
prosecuted in the UK for celebrating the Easter Rising. They also point out such laws
could have led to people being arrested in the 1980s for supporting Nelson
Mandela's fight against apartheid in South Africa. These claims were rejected by
Mr Clarke, who told MPs such circumstances as the anti-apartheid movement
would not happen again.
Isn’t encouraging terrorism tackled by existing laws?
Opponents of the glorification clause say laws against incitement to murder or
hatred cover many potential problems. But ministers insist new powers are needed
to enable police to take action against placards celebrating the 7 July bombings,
for example.

87. What else is in the Terrorism Act?
The Act tries to make it easier to prosecute potential bombers, with new offences
of preparing a terrorist act, giving or receiving terrorist training, and selling or
spreading terrorist publications. It would also widen powers to ban organizations
which glorify terrorism.
Which organizations face being banned?
On 5 August 2005, the prime minister said two radical Muslim groups would be
banned—Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) and Al Muhajiroun, formerly run by radical cleric Omar
Bakri Mohammed. The law is in place and the Home Office says that the position
of the two organisations is ―under review‖. Many Muslims have spoken out in
defence of HT, saying that while they may oppose its radical politics, they do not
believe it is linked to terrorism.
What is the row about the control orders?
A High Court judge has ruled control orders are ―conspicuously unfair‖ and
argued that safeguards to protect the rights of suspects are "a thin veneer of
legality‖. His comments came after a High Court challenge by the first British
citizen to be the subject of a control order. Another judge has subsequently also
ruled in favor of six people who claim their human rights were infringed by the
control orders they were placed under.

88. What are control orders?
The orders—under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005—allow the government
to put individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism under house arrest. They
have to report to a police station daily and restrictions are placed on their
movements, banning them, for example, from visiting airports or railway stations.
Why doesn’t the government just charge people if they suspect them of being
terrorists?
Because they have not got sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.
Control orders were brought in last year after an attempt to hold suspects
without charge at Belmarsh jail following a challenge under the Human Rights
Act.
How many people are under control orders?
There are thought to be about a dozen people subject to control orders,
including three British citizens.
What does the judge's ruling mean for the government's anti-terror laws?
The judge was unable to lift the control orders but his ruling means it means they
may now be challenged under human rights law - potentially leaving a key
plank of the government‘s anti-terror strategy in tatters. The government has said
it does not accept the judge's ruling.
.

90. 2007
Buddhist monks join anti-government protesters in Myanmar, starting what some
called the Saffron Revolution. After a month of peaceful pro-democracy
demonstrations that include hundreds of monks, Burmese government forces
shoot at crowds, raid pagodas, and arrest monks. Dozens of people are killed.
The protests are the largest in Myanmar in 20 years.
Nuon Chea, who was second-in-command to Pol Pot during the four years of
Khmer Rouge rule that led to the state-sponsored massacre of between 1 million
and 2 million Cambodians, is arrested and charged with war crimes. commonly
known as ―Brother Number Two‖ second in command to Pol Pot who was leader
during the Cambodian Genocide 1975-1979. Nuon Chea is presently in detention
awaiting a United Nations trial for crimes against humanity for his role in the
genocide; three former Khmer Rouge leaders, the sole surviving ―Big Fish‖, are
also awaiting trial with Nuon Chea: Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Thirith.
Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces. With the ban already in
force in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this means it is illegal to smoke in
indoor public places anywhere in the UK. The ban is also put into effect in
Australia.

92. 2008
Fighting breaks out after Georgian soldiers attack South Ossetia, a breakaway
enclave in Georgia that won de facto independence in the early 1990s.
Separatists in South Ossetia retaliate.
Aug. 8: Russia enters the fray, with troops and tanks pouring into South Ossetia to
support the region.
Aug. 9 and 10: Russia intensifies its involvement, moving troops into Abkhazia,
another breakaway region, and launching airstrikes at Tbilisi, the capital of
Georgia.
Aug. 13: France brokers a deal between Russia and Georgia. President George
Bush sends U.S. troops on a humanitarian mission to Georgia. He warns Russia that
if it doesn‘t observe the cease-fire, the country risks its standing in ―the diplomatic,
political, economic, and security structures of the 21st century.‖
Aug. 29: Russia and Georgia sever diplomatic ties from each other. It is the first
time Russia has cut off formal relations with one of its former republics, which
gained independence in 1991.

94. 2009
Sweden legalizes same-sex marriage. The other countries with the same rights
are The Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Spain. Argentina,
Canada, South Africa, some US states, and Mexico, DF.
The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for the president of
Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir, charging him with war crimes and crimes
against humanity in the Darfur region.
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, amendments to the
Universal declaration of Human Rights are proposed to include a new section on
Universal Environmental Rights. The onset of various environmental issues,
especially climate change, has created potential conflicts between different
human rights. Human rights ultimately require a working ecosystem and healthy
environment, but the granting of certain rights to individuals may damage these.
Such as the conflict between right to decide number of offspring and the
common need for a healthy environment, as noted in the tragedy of the
commons. In the area of environmental rights, the responsibilities of multinational
corporations, so far relatively unaddressed by human rights legislation, is of
paramount consideration.

95. 2010
WikiLeaks, the website dedicated to the public release of anonymous, top-secret,
covert and classified information has published internal documents about toxic
waste dumping in Africa, extrajudicial slayings in Kenya and Guantanamo Bay
procedures. In July, it published more than 90,000 internal documents and
communications pertaining to the US War in Afghanistan. In October, it published
more than 400,000 internal documents about US operations in Iraq. In November it
published more than 250,000 US State Department diplomatic cables. The impact
on the United States‘ diplomatic and military operations throughout the world have
yet to be quantified, yet the legal troubles of the group‘s founder, spokesperson
and editor-in-chief Julian Assange have only just begun. He was recently arrested in
England and is awaiting potential extradition to Sweden to face sexual misconduct
allegations.
Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi is released from her house arrest.
Mohamed Bouazizi lights himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia setting off the 2010–
2011 Tunisian uprising and in turn the 2010-2011 Arab world protests. Following
Bouazizi‘s self-immolation, several other men have emulated this act in other Arab
countries in an attempt to bring an end to the oppression they face from corrupt
autocratic governments.

97. Burning oneself as political protest is not new. Many remember the
gruesome images of Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, burning himself to
death in Saigon during the Vietnam War in 1963, his body eerily still and
composed amid the flames. Many other monks followed his example as the
war intensified. In Europe, Jan Palach, a 20-year-old Czech who burned
himself to death in Prague in 1969 a few months after the Soviet invasion of
his country, is remembered as a martyr of the struggle against Communism.
Less well-known protesters have died in flames in Tibet, India, Turkey and
elsewhere. In China, Buddhists have set themselves alight for at least 1,600
years.
Perhaps what is new about the latest self-immolations is their effectiveness.
Mr. Bouazizi, a fruit vendor, set himself on fire in front of the local governor‘s
office after the authorities confiscated his fruit, beat him and refused to
return his property. He is now seen as the instigator of a revolution that
forced out President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years of authoritarian
rule. Mr. Bouazizi‘s imitators hope to generate similar revolts in other Arab
countries, where corruption and stifling autocracy have led to a similarly
vast gulf between rulers and the ruled.

99. 2011
An overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted in a January
2011 referendum to secede and become Africa‘s first new country
since Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1993. On July 14, the UN General
Assembly admitted South Sudan as its 193rd member.
Although it is oil-rich, it is one of the least developed areas of the
world—only 16 percent of its women can read and write and there
are very few paved roads in a country larger than Spain and
Portugal combined. Its independence follows decades of conflict
with the north in which some 1.5 million people died. The two
countries have still to decide on issues such as drawing up the new
border and how to divide Sudan's debts and oil wealth.

101. Facts and figures:
Population: 7.5-9.7 million
Size: 619,745 sq km (239,285 sq miles), larger than Spain and
Portugal combined
Major languages: English, Arabic (both official), Juba Arabic, Dinka
Religion: Traditional and a Christian minority
Main export: Oil
Challenges ahead: One of world's least developed countries:
Worst maternal mortality rate; most children below 13 not in
school; 84% of women are illiterate
Relations with Sudan: Dividing debts and oil; border disputes;
citizenship
Security: At least seven active rebel groups

102. Once a new nation has become a full member of the United
Nations, it is allocated country codes through the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).A two-letter code
identifies the country's internet domain suffix, while the three-
letter codes appear on passports and define the country‘s
currency in international markets.
New states can apply to use any of the letters from their official
name.
According to the ISO‘s Mary Lou Pelaprat, there are a few two-
letter options available, beginning with ―s‖ – but ―.sd‖ is already
taken by Sudan, and ―.su‖ was allocated to the Soviet Union.
―We want our domain name to be ‗.ss‘ for ‗South Sudan‘, but
people are telling us ‗SS‘ has an association in Europe with
Nazis,‖ an official, Stephen Lugga, told Reuters. ―We have
applied for it anyway.‖
Experts say the application is unlikely to be approved.

103. In early 2011, protests born of oppression and socioeconomic frustration in
Tunisia and Egypt led to the overthrow of their long-entrenched heads of
state, and sparked a wave of protests throughout the Middle East and North
Africa, now commonly referred to as the ―Arab Spring,‖ ―Arab Awakening‖
or ―Arab Uprising‖.

104. CAUSES OF THE ARAB UPRISING
Demographic structural factors
Authoritarian states
Extreme poverty
Government corruption
Human rights violations
Inflation
Kleptocracy
Sectarianism
Unemployment

105. Here are some of the elements all of these protests seem to have in
common:
Self-immolation – A wave of self-immolation swept Algeria from January 12
through January 19. January 16 saw one self-immolation in Egypt, followed
by two more on January 18. In Mauritania a protester set himself on fire on
January 17. A man burned himself to death on January 21 in the kingdom
of Saudi Arabia. These self-immolations seem to be done in sympathy with
the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. Self-immolations have also been
reported in Morocco and Iraq.
Social Media – Like the protests in Iran in the summer of 2009 much of the
coordination among protesters seems to be done through social media
tools like Twitter and Facebook (though the importance of Twitter in the
Iranian protests has been disputed). Egypt removed itself from the Internet
on January 27, 2011. On January 28 rumors circulate (but haven‘t been
confirmed at the time I write this post) that other nations, in particular Syria,
are also shutting down Internet access to their citizens.
Youth – Much, but not all, of the protest seems to be coming from those
under 30 years of age.

106. Muslim Brotherhood – For a substantial part of the 20th century, the Muslim
Brotherhood (formed in 1928) was considered a modernist, reform
element of Islam politics. In recent years, however, it has moved farther to
the political right, abandoning some of the moderate positions it once
held. The MB is a transnational movement. While it operates in all Islamic
countries, it is banned in Egypt. The MB advocates government organized
around the principles of the Qu‘ran. The MB strongly opposes Western
influence in the politics and government of North Africa and the Middle
East.
Leftist groups, unions, labor organizations – These uprisings are mostly not
by Islamic fundamentalists (though note the important role played by the
Muslim Brotherhood mentioned above). They seem largely to be pro-
democracy groups rising in opposition to totalitarian governments. Labor
organizations have been critical in organizing and motivating the
protests. Note that the political agenda, when articulated, is more in line
with European-style democracy with its socialistic elements, rather than
US-style democracy with its elements of capitalism. US-style democracy is
embraced at the same time US support (both financial and military) for
the totalitarian regimes is condemned.

113. On May 2, Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is killed by US forces in Pakistan.
Bin Laden was shot dead at a compound near Islamabad, in a ground
operation based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged in August
2010.
Bin Laden is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and
Washington on 11 September 2001 and a number of others.
He was top of the US‘ ―most wanted‖ list.
DNA tests confirmed that Bin Laden was dead. Bin Laden was buried at sea
after a Muslim funeral on board an aircraft carrier, Pentagon officials said.

114. On May 16, Ratko Mladić was arrested in Lazarevo, near Zrenjanin in the Banat region of the
northern province of Vojvodina. His arrest was carried out by two dozen Serbian special
police officers wearing black uniforms and masks, and sporting no insignia. The police were
accompanied by Security Information Agency and War Crimes Prosecutor‘s Office agents.
The officers entered the village in four jeeps in the early morning hours, while most residents
were still asleep. They pulled up to four houses simultaneously, each owned by Mladić‘s
relatives.
Mladić was about to venture into
the yard for a walk, when four
officers jumped over the fence
and broke into the house just as
he moved toward the door,
grabbing Mladić, forcing him to
the floor, and demanding he
identify himself. Mladić identified
himself correctly, and
surrendered two pistols he had
been carrying. On May 31,
Mladić was extradited to The
Hague, where he was processed
at the detention center that
holds suspects for the
International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). His
trial began on 3 June 2011.

116. After seizing power in a 1969 military coup, Gaddafi proceeded to eliminate any
opposition and severely restricted lives of ordinary Libyans. Gaddafi‘s ideology was
termed the ―Third International Theory‖ and it was described in the Green Book.
Gaddafi and his relatives took over much of the economy. Gaddafi started several
wars, had a role in others, and spent on acquiring both chemical and nuclear
weapons. More discreetly, he directed the country‘s revenues to sponsor terror and
other political activities around the world. The United Nations called Libya under
Gaddafi a pariah state.
In the wake of Arab Spring in February 2011, a movement demonstrating against
Gaddafi spread across the country. Gaddafi responded by dispatching the military
and plainclothes armed men on streets to attack demonstrators; however, many
switched sides. Gaddafi went into a civil war with the movement. On August 23,
2011, Gaddafi lost control of Tripoli with the rebel‘s capture of the Bab al-Azizia
compound. Gaddafi‘s loyalist forces continue warfare in limited locations. He faces
prosecution by the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant
for crimes against humanity. Billions of dollars of his assets have been frozen around
the world.

117. Forces opposed to Libya‘s leader Col Muammar Gaddafi have taken over his
compound in the capital, Tripoli, after a six-month uprising. There have been running
battles in the city, where pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance remain—and in his home
town of Sirte. But it seems as though Col Gaddafi‘s rule has come to an end after
almost 42 years.
Why did the rebels want to oust Col Gaddafi?
He ruled Libya with an iron fist since he seized power in a 1969 coup. Students were
forced to study his political theories, as set out in his Green Book. Political parties were
banned and his critics imprisoned, tortured and on some occasions killed. After the
overthrow of the leaders of Libya‘s neighbors, Tunisia and Egypt, some Libyans staged
protests to demand change. But Col Gaddafi‘s government used overwhelming force
against the demonstrators in Tripoli and then started to move on the second city,
Benghazi, where the rebels had seized control.
Why did other countries intervene?
It was feared that an assault on Benghazi, a city of a million people, would be brutal.
Over the years, Col Gaddafi had fallen out with both his neighbors and the West,
although he had bankrolled many African leaders. The Arab League asked the United
Nations to intervene to protect the civilians in Benghazi. In March, the UN Security
Council passed a resolution which authorized ―all necessary measures‖— except
troops on the ground — to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians. NATO planes
then started bombing government forces, who retreated from the outskirts of
Benghazi.

118. So was NATO backing the rebels?
NATO officials strongly deny that they acted as the ―opposition‘s air force‖
or even that they had direct contact with them. However, reporters with
the rebels noted that the pro-Gaddafi forces in front of rebel positions
would often be bombed, making the opposition advance much easier.
Since the storming of Tripoli, the UK has confirmed that NATO is providing
―intelligence and reconnaissance‖ to help the rebels track down Col
Gaddafi. Earlier, the French admitted giving weapons to the rebels, while
other countries have provided training and logistical support to the rebels,
who are mostly civilians. Both Western and Arab leaders openly said they
wanted Col Gaddafi to go.
Why did it take so long?
It took five months after the NATO air strikes began before rebel forces
entered Tripoli. Col Gaddafi‘s forces were a real army with heavy weapons,
while the rebels were mostly untrained civilians who had managed to get
hold of some light arms such as AK-47s. It took a while for the bombing
campaign to significantly reduce the government's military advantage and
for the rebels to be organized into a proper fighting force. In the end, they
advanced on Tripoli from three fronts, surrounding the coastal city, where
they were met by jubilant crowds. Many were surprised at how little
resistance they met outside the capital.

119. What happens next?
Col Gaddafi‘s death should mark the end of the fighting. The NTC said that when Col
Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte fell, as it has, it would declare Libya fully ―liberated‖. It
would then name a new government within a month, while the transitional authority
would resign. But it faces a challenge reining in different military groups and limiting
rivalries between potentially competing interests and allegiances, including Islamists,
moderates and those who want to see a secular state. Without the unifying goal of
ousting Col Gaddafi, there are fears that interim authorities could start arguing among
themselves. The NTC wants a national congress elected within eight months, and multi-
party elections in 2013. Meanwhile, the new rulers have to try to improve the lives of
ordinary Libyans and avoid the post-revolution disillusionment seen in Egypt and
Tunisia. To do this they will need money.
Where will the funds come from?
The rebels‘ National Transitional Council‘s (NTC) says it is seeking $2.5bn (£1.5bn) in
immediate aid. An estimated $53bn of assets were frozen during the conflict — but it
can take time for them to be unfrozen. A UN sanctions committee has agreed to
release $500m of frozen assets to humanitarian agencies. But South Africa, which led
the African initiative to find a diplomatic solution to the Libyan conflict, has blocked
releasing a further $1bn, saying it wants to wait for guidance from the African Union.
Col Gaddafi was one of the main founders of the AU and its key financial backer.
South Africa cannot block the unfreezing of the rest of Libya‘s assets indefinitely, as it
has no veto at the UN Security Council. The Arab League, however, has now given its
full backing to the NTC, which may lead to more countries offering aid.