FHAO students: post your projects here!

[freemanjud]

BLS FHAO students--

Post the texts from your Universal Declaration of Human Rights project on this article in this thread. Be sure that the "subject" line includes the name of your country.

If you have already posted your text in the other thread ("the colloborative discussions one"), go back and copy and paste it into this thread, please. That's so that all the texts will be in one place.

We will be using these texts and scanning your pictures to make a separate web gallery for all these projects. But for now, simply cut and paste your text/documentation into a post in this thread.

[Pelhop]

Serbia
Article 20: All have the right to peaceful assemblies and no one can be forced to join an association
The Works of Otpor!, a student resistance movement established by students of Belgrade University in October 1998. Their symbol of a clenched fist soon became the sign of identification among the struggling democratic youth in Serbia fighting for their rights. Otpor is one of the most targeted and mistreated groups in Serbia because of their opposition to and intense criticism of the current government and Milosevic. The group was denied the right to become an organization but continues its small-scale protests in attempts to change the ways of the corrupt government. Their headquarters have been broken into and its members often beaten and abused. There have been a tremendous amount of violations of the right to assemble, including several reports of students being beaten for so much as wearing an Otpor T-shirt. The following is just the tip of the iceberg of the mistreatments of Otpor:
June 2, 2000, in a south-central Serbian town, police detained an eleven year old boy who waved an Otpor flag in public. They also questioned his father, an Otpor supporter.
On May 25, 2000, Marta Manojlovic was beaten up at the entrance to the city hall. The seventeen year old Otpor member was beaten by police with batons, along with six or seven others who were trying to help her. She will continue to attend protests regardless of this unjust attack, as she says “I do not want to live for 100 years as a slave. It is worth risking...for the sake of [the] future and children who are coming.”
On the night of may 1, 2000, Otpor activist Milanovic was with a group of friends in a park when several well-known acquaintances of Milosevic approached him. One man punched Milanovic in the face and another pulled out a gun on him, warning him not to fight back. They then took him to a nearby cafe in the center of town, punching him several times along the way, and holding him in the center for some twenty minutes. He claimed that he was threatened to death if he did not quit Otpor, which they called a “terrorist organization.” He was released around 1 am on the condition that he resign as an activist in Otpor and return the following day at 6:30 pm. He went the following day hoping he’d be able to get the group to stop harassing him, and was joined in the center by the two men who had threatened him. A friend of his had gone to the police station to get protection should any problems arise, and several Otpor members were nearby. However, the police did not show up. Two otpor activists insisted they let Milanovic go, but instead, one of the men called his brother, Sasa Lazic, who showed up with a gun in his hand. One of the Otpor members was hit with the barrel of the gun until he was able to snatch it and throw it away. The men then attacked the other Otpor member until he lost consciousness. A friend, but not member of Otpor called out saying “stop beating him, you’ll kill him,” to which the men stopped, and then went after him while Milanovic and the other member fled. Several of the Otpor members were arrested a few days later on charges of attempted murder.
May 8, 2000- Two otpor activists were arrested in Sabac of western Serbia while putting up posters advertising a rally for an opposition candidate in the upcoming presidential election. After being released, Darko Pavlovic, one of the activists arrested, claimed that he had been beaten on the legs, slapped many times, and had his head banged against a window sill by police.
On May 26, the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia passed the new University Act, yet another move by Serbian authorities to extend their control over Serbian institutions. The act jeopardizes academic freedom and is clearly designed to remove professors and other teaching staff who have not been loyal to the government and to discourage students from political opposition activity. The power of the faculty council, which was the only body independent of the will of the government of Serbia, has been restricted to preparing study plans and curricula for different degrees of university studies. All key decisions regarding universities and faculties are to be made by rectors, deans, managing and supervisory boards, all of whom are appointed and dismissed by the Serbian government, the Ministry of Education, or even directly by the government. Teachers and students are not included in the decision-making process, and the bodies governing universities and faculties are to be composed entirely of party loyalists. Most of the teachers who refused to sign the new contracts were dismissed (an example of being forced to join an association).
Soon after, Police used excessive force in an attempt to disperse demonstrators who were against the new University Law and in support of those teachers who refused to sign the new contracts proscribed by the law. The police used many different methods in order to prevent rallies, and in some cases private security guards were hired to prevent “branded” teachers and angered students from entering he university buildings. Similarly, this police conduct was used to break up peaceful gatherings of pensioners protesting pension arrears and poor living conditions.
There have been a massive amount of violations of human rights in Serbia, especially the right to assemble peacefully. If one shows any sort of opposition to the government, it is not unlikely that he will be beaten or arrested. The events I have discussed do not even begin to cover the amount that have occurred, as they are endless. Otpor has had a particularly rough time in their protests, yet they continue in their struggle, and have recently gotten recognition for their actions. Many people have echoed Marta Manojlovic’s sentiments that she would rather risk it all fighting than remain a prisoner to this unjust government. However, the violations have not stopped, and more and more people continue to be beaten, arrested, and attacked for reasons without pretext. For many, it is like being captive to their oppressive government. With the efforts of such groups as Otpor, Milosevic has been brought to trial, and hopefully, people will soon be given their rights back.

[MarenMoo]

A Brief Political History Of Burma

Rich in natural resources, Burma was once one of the wealthiest countries in Southeast Asia. Today, after 37 years of military rule and isolationist policies, it is one of the poorest. In 1987, the UN official stated that Burma, or Myanmar as called by its military despotic government is the poorest country in Asia, an equal in poverty to Ethiopia and Chad.

Burma was colonized by Britain for over 200 years and after the turn of the 20th century, like many British colonies, there were a series of revolts protesting British colonization. The leader of these protests was a young student at Rangoon University named Aung San. Aung San believed that the best way to defeat the British was by overthrowing the government. He made contact with the Japanese military which was, at the time, sweeping through Asia. In 1941, San returned from Japanese training and recruited 30 men to kick the British out. These 30 men, known as the "Thirty Comrades," forced the British to pull out of Burma. For years later, Aung San realized that Japan’s intentions were imperialistic Changing sides, he and the 30 comrades joined the Allied forces and the British re-entered Burma. Aung San never experienced Burma's independence. in early 1947, he signed a treaty in London with the British government led by Prime Minister Atlee. The treaty paved the way to Burma's eventual independence in 1948.

Aung San was assasinated on July 19, 1947 -- nearly 6-months before independence was celebrated.

After Aung San's death., U Nu was hand-picked by the British -- he was second in command in Aung San's cabinet . Efforts were undertaken immediately to trasnfer power from the UK to the U NU-led burmese cabinet. Another treaty, (Nu-Atlee), was signed in the fall of 1947 effectively giving Burma independence.
Burma experienced democratic rule until 1961, when the leader of Burma’s military, Ne Win staged a coup and overthrew the government. He arrested Prime Minister U Nu, abolished the constitution, installed a new military government (Tatmadaw), and suppressed democracy. Adopting isolationist policies, he enacted a new program: the Burmese Way to Socialism. The government took over all industry, education, bank, and communications systems. No one was allowed inside or out. The economy crumbled. And the economy has been in shambles ever since.

The Price of Protesting

Since then, there have been numerous student uprisings and protests, the largest numbering 200,000 protesters on August 8th, 1988. They all turned is the violent bloody massacres, the largest being at the protest on August 8th, where 10,000 people were killed by the government’s troops. Villages are regularly burned with its inhabitants brutalized, tortured and raped. Huge refugee camps of these fleeing villagers line the borders of Thailand and Bangladesh.


The Rise of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi


In order to clean up Burma’s terrible international reputation, in 1988, the government renamed itself the State Law and Order Reconstruction Council and announced it will hold its first democratic elections in 26 years. Another party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was started by the liberator of Burma’s daughter Aung San Suu Kyi. Due to her popularity and the Burmese’s desire for freedom, the party won massive amounts of support. The government, seeing this, placed Suu Kyi under house arrest in July of 1989 and permitted the elections to continue without her. The NLD received over 82% of the parliamentary seats in the 1990 elections, but the government refused to recognize the election. Instead they killed, tortured, and chased out most of the NLD out of Burma, except for Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her continued attempt to restore human rights and democracy to Burma. After six years under house arrest, she was finally released in 1996. Until this day, however, she remains under virtual house arrest--her movement are severely restricted. She is forbidden from giving public speeches and is prevented from traveling outside of Rangoon. Each time she tries to travel outside of the country, she is stopped by the authorities.

[purplegoldfish]

Background on the Government of China

The People’s Republic of China is a totalitarian state, ruled by the Chinese Communists Party (C.C.P.), established October 1, 1949 by Mao Zedong. China is infamous for its human rights violation, especially with those pertaining to the right to peaceful assembly. The hierarchy wishes to maintain a strong stability and social order of its citizens, and therefore represses the freedom of its citizens to do so. The citizens lack the right to oppose the C.C.P., their leaders, or the form of government. The country does have a constitution which provides for a judiciary system; however, often the C.C.P. will intervene in the judiciary processes and trials, especially in high profile politically-based cases. The security system of China is composed of the Ministries of State Security and Public Security, the People’s Armed Police, the People’s Liberation Army, and the state judicial and penal systems. Many of these armed forces are considered responsible for human rights abuses in the country. China is responsible for numerous human rights violation; one document at the United States State Department, has a 35 page document on all the abuses of human rights committed by the People’s Republic of China, pertaining to freedom of speech, freedom free from political killings, freedom of peaceful assembly, and much more.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

The Tiananmen Square Massacre, also known as the “June Fourth Massacre,” occurred on June 4, 1989, during which thousands of peacefully-protesting citizens were murdered by martial law troops, composed of members of the People’s Armed Police and the People’s Liberation Army, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. A great deal of the human rights violations that have occurred in China over the past ten years and in years previous to the massacre have all been related to the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
It has been over ten years since this incident occurred, yet the Chinese government has yet to account officially for the civilians that were killed and wounded during the incident, nor has there been any concrete attempt to examine and investigate exactly what occurred on June 4, 1989.
The Tiananmen Square protests were pro-democracy based, and headed mostly by university students in the beginning. The beginning of the protests occurred on April 27, 1989, at which time students from over 40 different universities march in Tiananmen Square to protest an article written on April 26 by the Communist Party newspaper in China, which accused a handful of people of creating student turmoil, in hopes to overthrow the Communist party in China. This marks the beginning of the Tiananmen Square protesting movement that would last for over a month.
On May 13, many students begin a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, and then on the following day, begin talks with the government. However, they are unsuccessful. The hunger strike continues for seven more days, during which point information is leaked to the protesters that martial law is being considered by the government in order to “control” the situation, which they considered to be “riots.” On May 20, martial law is declared in Beijing.
Then on June 2, at 5:00pm, Liu Xiaobo, Hou Dejian, Zhou Duo, and Gao Xin, all leaders of pro-democracy movement, begin a hunger strike at Tiananmen Square. At that point, on June 3, around 10:00pm, troops are ordered to open fire on the protesters, as tanks and other armed vehicles move toward the city. Thousands of people are killed and wounded, including bystanders.
According to a publication by the Chinese authorities, The Truth About the Beijing Turmoil, “6,000 troops had been injured and scores killed.” It also says that “the causalities occurred when troops counter-attacked,” and “some rioters were killed, some onlookers were hit by stray bullets and some wounded or killed by armed ruffians.”
Today, thousand of people, mostly families of those involved in the protests at Tiananmen Square, can still not forget what happened. They today are often watched closely by the government, by having their phone conversations taped, frequent visits by the police, losing their jobs or being forced to retire, and badly discriminated against. However, some have joined to together to continue fighting for what their relatives believed in, having created a network, which provides information and support about what really occurred on June 4. It was initiated by Jingo Jielian, whose mother was killed in the massacre.
The network has compiled a list of 155 and 65 wounded so far in the massacre, but it is far from complete. It has been a daunting task to locate all the names due to the fact that many people went missing, and the bodies were never located. Also, in one case, troops made a mass grave outside No.28 High School in an attempt to quickly get rid of bodies. However, they were later exposed due to the fact that the grave was not deep enough. Families of people directly involved were also told to keep quiet of the event, and forced to sign death certificates stating that the person was killed in a car accident or something else of the sort, so that the person who died may not be classified as a “rioter,” which would cause the family much discrimination.
Lately, there have been other pro-democracy movements which have been shut-down by the Chinese government, along with remembrances for the victims of the Tiananmen Square affair. For example, in April 1999, two groups of CDP members in Hangzhou tried to lay wreaths for the victims of Tiananmen Square in two different parks, and police reportedly arrested three participants.

[jesse84]

Cuba

Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean sea. It is a communist nation led by the dictatorship of Fidel Castro. It's government blatantly violates article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 20 states that (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association. The Cuban government has laws against "inciting rebellion" and
they use these laws as a pretext for arresting people that attempt in any way to protest against the government or it's actions. Jan Bubenik is a Czech activist who was detained
in a Cuban Prison for 25 days after peacefully meeting with Cuban dissidents. This is a blatant violation of article 20 of the declaration of human rights. Cubans that are peacefully
protesting are often arrested for holding signs that speak out against policies of the government or in one case for waving an upside down Cuban flag. These are all disgusting violations of human rights that should not be allowed to continue.

The Cuban government does not directly compel anyone to belong to an association. However if a person is arrested for speaking out against the government or even meeting with people to discuss protesting against the government they
can be arrested. In my mind this is basically forcing everyone in Cuba to be a part of their government. The government is also a dictatorship which prevents any other party from gaining control of the country. The Cuban government is obviously violating
article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and yet no country is really trying to stop it. The United States has an economic embargo on Cuba but it is an attempt to break down
their communist government and not to end the human rights violations that go on in this country. If some countries don't stop these violations of human rights in Cuba I don't really see what the purpose of creating the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights was.

[VENUS]

Serbia, which has now become a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since November 4, 2000, when the country came under the rule of Vojislav Kostunica on October 7, 2000 after the September 24, 2000 election. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or otherwise known as the FRY, consists of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As stated under the federal and republic level Constitutions, people are supposed to be provided with freedom of peaceful assembly and association. However, many times those laws are not abided by from security forces; especially in the instances of demonstrations, gatherings and protests. Serbia, and even now known as it is the FRY, has faced much turmoil over its leadership position because of its past president, Slobodan Milosevic and also the government itself. The people who live in these countries are subjected to violence on many occasions and also for different reasons. Such things as ethnic cleansing was allowed in Kosovo, where the Albanians were first exposed and now it is seen more against the Serbs, Bosniaks, Roma and other Albanians. People would be sought out if they were of these nationalities or of “mixed” ethnicities and as of 1990, 250,000 people who fit in these categories have been displaced. All those who seem to be of the ethnic minority, different religion, or those who are protestors, can be beaten, arrested, killed/disappeared, and sometimes involved in trafficking of women and girls to become prostitutes. And although there are many occurrences of this situation of trafficking, only several are reported for the main reason that it is against the law to b
e involved in prostitution and the women are scared that they will be arrested.
The right of association is allowed to workers to form unions, except those in the military or police force, because all unions fall under either government or independent affiliation. However, their ability to join or form work unions is still not matched equally with their ability to practice internationally because of a constrain placed upon them. They have not been able to reach a great size in number to act in strikes or to threaten the way they are treated in the work force. And as the independent unions try to grow, they often focus on their own problems instead others to become part of a full labor organization.
Slobodan Milosevic has made a detrimental impact on Serbia and other countries so that now the FRY has much construction on its hands. Under his regime, there were kidnappings, rapes, murders, arrests and unfair treatment of people. And now as a result, the Otpor Movement, which means the Resistance Movement, has begun. It is compiled of 20,000 activists mostly from Belgrade University who are against the government and Milosevic. Many were arrested just for being in the group and then let go a few hours later because there was no evidence to hold them. They would be seen arrested just for wearing an Otpor t-shirt. This group rose as there was an uprising in the efforts of the government to silence opposition while there was increase in abuses against opposing parties, independent media, student organizations, independent trade unions and non-government organizations (NGO). Milosevic had accused them of being a terrorist group.
Although there are still many incidents of unnecessary violence that occur, there are people who believe that Milosevic was not as bad of a leader and it will only take time for the people of the FRY to realize that Kostunica has just as bad of intentions and actions as Milosevic has used.


SOURCES:
1) Otpor Movement: www.otpor.net

2)Human Rights: www.hri.ca/fortherecord1999/...ugoslaviaga.htm

3)Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/serbia0601.htm

4)Freedoms: http://freedomhouse.org/research/fr.../yugoslavia.htm

5)Photographs: www.encarta.com

6)State Governmental Site: www.state.gov

[mai-tai]

Burma is located in Asia, south of China, west of Laos and Thailand, and east of India.
Burma is almost as big as Texas and larger than Portugal and Spain combined.
There are seven states which are named after the local ethnic groups: Chin, Kachin, Kawthule, Kayah, Mon, Arakan, and Shan. The seven divisions are dominated by people who speak Burmese and are called Burmese.
There is no such thing as a typical Burmese person. The population is made up of the many different ethnic groups. These people may seem alike to an outsider, but to a resident there are great differences. Religion, politics, life-styles, jobs, education, clothing-all offer clues to each person’s heritage.
Burma is a mixture of religion and distrust, of ancient ways and the twentieth century, and of plenty and of need.
Burma is currently ruled by a highly authoritarian military regime although citizens of the country wish to be a democratic country. The military Government known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) seized power in September 1988 after harshly suppressing massive pro-democracy demonstrations. (This suppression is the beginning of the SLORC’s violation of many human rights by



Summary of Civil Rights Abuses: (taken from www.state.gov)
U.S support for Democracy and Human Rights in Burma-The United States condemns in the strongest terms efforts by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), formerly known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), to prevent the citizens of Burma from exercising their basic political rights. The United States wants an end to human rights abuses and the installation of a democratically elected government in Rangoon, and supports the aspirations of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the people of Burma, who desire what so many others around the world now take for granted: the chance to freely express their views and to be represented by leaders of their choosing.

The SLORC’s longstanding severe repression of human rights has been ongoing since their rule. Citizens continue to live subject at any time and without appeal to the arbitrary and most oftentimes brutal dictates of the military dictatorship. Citizens do not have the right to change their government. The SLORC has given no sign of a willingness to cede its hold on absolute power. There continue to be credible reports, particularly in ethnic minority-dominated areas, that soldiers committed serious human rights abuses, including extra judicial killings and rape. Disappearances continue, and members of the security forces beat and otherwise abuse detainees. Arbitrary arrests and detentions continue for expression of rebellious political views. Many hundreds of political prisoners remain in prison, including approximately 31 parliamentarians elected in 1990. Since May 1996, at least 340 persons have been arrested and imprisoned for political reasons. The judiciary is subject to executive influence, and the Government violates citizens' rights to privacy.


Freedom of expression and a free media are fundamental pillars of civil society. For that reason, journalism is a dangerous profession in certain countries. The SLORC maintained and at times intensified its restrictions on basic rights of free speech, press, assembly, and association. Political party activity remains severely restricted. Although the authorities recognize the chief opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), as a legal entity, they prevent the party from conducting normal day-to-day political activities. The Government closes many party offices throughout the country with no apparent legal justification. The regime refused to recognize the legal political status of key NLD party leaders, such as its General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, and severely constrain their activities through security measures and threats. The regime stopped a party conference held on May 27 to mark the seventh anniversary of the 1990 elections by the use of physical restraints on NLD party members. The authorities detained or threatened to detain as many as 300 Members of Parliament-elect and party activists from outside Rangoon to deter attendance. They also progressively tightened restrictions imposed in late 1996 on Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom to leave her compound and her ability to receive visitors. Although the Government eased restrictions on NLD gatherings in September that allowed the party to hold a congress marking the ninth anniversary of its founding, this action was only temporary, because authorities blocked later meetings.



Human Rights Violations
Article 20: (Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association):
The Government restricts freedom of assembly. Its prohibition of unauthorized outdoor assemblies of more than five persons remain in effect, although irregularly enforced. The 10 existing legal political parties remain formally required to request permission from the authorities to hold internal meetings of their members, although some members still meet without official permission.
The SPDC's repression of the NLD continue; it forcibly closes NLD offices and harasses NLD members for petty offenses, forcing NLD members to work as porters, and arrests and convicts NLD supporters for political crimes, especially those associated personally with NLD General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi. Ex: In May the authorities blocked the NLD's attempt to hold a party congress on the anniversary of the 1990 elections. It temporarily detained or threatened the detention of over 300 party members living outside Rangoon, and sealed off access to Aung San Suu Kyi's compound.
The military junta continually intensifies its systematic decade-long use of coercion and intimidation to prevent the parliament elected in 1990 from convening. Government authorities in various parts of the country used force to prevent pro-democracy demonstrations or punish participants in them. Authorities detained or arrested and in many cases convicted and imprisoned persons suspected of planning such demonstrations. Ex: On August 8 and September 9 of 1999, security forces, including army soldiers and riot police were placed at key intersections in Rangoon to prevent any antigovernment demonstrations. On August 12 of 1999, in Mergui, security forces reportedly arrested about 30 high school students who participated in a demonstration for a reduction of school fees, the right to form a student union, and other educational and political reforms.
The Government's mass mobilization organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), continued to hold large-scale rallies in support of government policies. In many cases it coerced attendance, using implicit or explicit threats of penalties for those staying away.
The Government does not allow domestic human rights organizations to exist, and remain generally hostile to outside examination of its human rights record.
The Government restricts freedom of association. Aside from officially approved organizations like the USDA, the right of association existed only for organizations, including trade associations and professional bodies, permitted by law and duly registered with the Government. Only a handful continue to exist, and even those are subject to direct government intervention and must take special care to act in accordance with government policy. This group includes apolitical organizations such as the Myanmar Red Cross and the Myanmar Medical Association. Only 10 political parties remain, compared with 15 in 1992.

[mai-tai]

Burma (Myanmar) cont'd...
Article 1 (free and equal):
In rural areas, particularly ethnic areas, forced porterage is a common form of forced labor and one of the worst. Porters for the military are required to carry heavy loads of ammunition, food and other supplies between army camps, back and forth over rugged mountains which are inaccessible to vehicles. In these instances, workers are not paid for their work and are allowed very little food (they must bring their own), water or rest. In many cases, porters are bound in groups of 50 to 200 people at night and in all cases are denied medical care. Porters are subject to hostile fire as well as to abuse by the soldiers and many of the women are raped repeatedly. Unarmed themselves, they are placed at the head of columns to detonate mines and booby traps as well as to spring ambushes. According to credible sources, many of these porters die as a result of mistreatment, lack of adequate food and water, and use as human mine sweepers.

Article 2 (freedom of speech and press):
The SPDC continues severely to restrict freedom of speech and of the press. The Government continues to arrest, detain, convict or imprison many people for nonviolently expressing or attempting to express political opinions critical of the junta or of military rule, or for distributing or possessing publications in which such opinions were expressed.

Article 2 Section 1(freedom of religion)
The junta restricts freedom of religion; it still continues its institutionalized control over Buddhist clergy in order to restrict efforts to promote human rights and political freedom. Government authorities coercively promote Buddhism over other religions in some ethnic minority areas. The Government imposed restrictions on certain religious minorities.

Article 3 (the right of citizens to change their government)
The SPDC continually intensifies its systematic use of coercion and intimidation to deny citizens the right to change their government. Ex: In August 1998, the NLD leadership organized a 10-member Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP) to act on behalf of the Parliament. The junta has responded by intensifying its campaign to destroy the NLD without formally banning it, by intimidating several elected representatives into resigning from the parliament, by detaining 55 other elected representatives, and by pressuring constituents to sign statements of no confidence in others.

Article 7 (discrimination):
The Government continues to restrict freedom of movement and in particular foreign travel by female citizens; the junta also continued to restrict Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom to leave her residence or to receive visitors. Violence and societal discrimination against women remain to be problems. Insurgent forces continually commit numerous abuses, including killings, rapes, forced labor, and the forced use of civilians as porters.


Article 26 (education and health):
The junta continues to neglect the education of children by under funding public schools. Neglecting social services in favor of military expenditures, the junta spends 11% of its budget on education and less than 2% on health care. According to the United Nations statistics, the junta spends 222% more on military spending than it does on health and education combined. There are governmental and societal discrimination against ethnic minorities, and animosities between the Burman majority and ethnic minorities continued. The Government continued to restrict worker rights, ban unions, and use forced labor for public works and to produce food and other daily necessities for military garrisons. Forced labor including forced child labor was a serious problem. The forced use of citizens as porters by the army--with attendant mistreatment, illness, and sometimes death--remained a common practice. The Government did not honor its repeated pledge to prevent its officials from using their authority under the country's Towns Act and Villages Act to mobilize forced labor. In June the Government responded to sanctions that the International Labor Organization (ILO) imposed on it for its use of forced labor by unilaterally withdrawing from the convention on forced labor administered by the ILO. Child labor is also a problem, and varies in severity depending on the region. Trafficking in persons, particularly in women and girls to Thailand and China, mostly for the purposes of prostitution, remained widespread.

sources
www.state.gov
Enchantment of the World- Burma
www.hrw.com
http://www.hillerphoto.com/burma/

[Umblina]

China
Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
China is a communist country run b the Chinese Communist Party. They control everything and maintain all of the high positions in government, police and military. There aren’t any specific laws or regulations that govern the formation of political parties, but protest against the political system or national leaders are prohibited and other parties are not allowed to run during the “election” time. This means that the same party has been controlling China for many years now.
The government in China has severely restricted freedom of assembly and continued to restrict freedom of association. The Communist Party policy requires that all professional, social and economic organizations officially register with, and be approved by the government. These regulations also prevent the formation of human right groups, religious, environmental, labor and youth groups tat challenge the government. Authorities deny permits and suppress demonstrations dealing with opposing political views. Since 1999, all concerts, sports events, exercise classes or other meeting with more then 200 persons must be approved by the Public security authorities.
Those who protest are imprisoned, beaten and it can sometimes be fatal. There have been serious cases of people being imprisoned for protesting against the government. During 1999, poet Ma Zhe was charged with subversion and sentenced 5 years for setting up the “Cultural Revival Movement,” which advocated the end of the Communist Party control over literary works. Also in July, Kong Youping, the would-be-founder of the “China Youth Association,” was arrested and charged with subversion.
Many groups begin receiving support from foreign NGO’s but were later discouraged because the groups still had to abide by the same rules and the government still had the right to deny their application. The government also limited the number of NGO’s and the type. Groups that had less controversial public interest, had already been formed report little interference from the government since the new regulations. In conclusion China regulated Article 20 because people don’t have the right of peaceful assembly or association especially f it ahs to do with the government.

[ABunn112]

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 20-Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Iraq

Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.” From my research on Iraq, I have found that this article is not obeyed strictly in the country. Other Articles which I have found to not be strictly followed and which go along with Article 20 violations in Iraq are Articles 5, 7, 9, and 18, which deal with torture, equal protection under the law, arbitrary arrest, and freedom of religion, respectively.
Freedom of peaceful assembly is allowed according to the country’s Constitution; however, Saddam Hussein and his unjust government do not permit the usage of this right. Citizens are not allowed to assemble for any reason rather than to support the government. The government uses tactics such as bribing citizens to attend assemblies to support the government and threatening those who do not attend. These threats of violence are often carried out. For example, in February 1999 a man named Al-Sadr was killed because he was suspected of not supporting Hussein’s government. Many of his followers and friends gathered to mourn for him, and since this was an assembly for a purpose other than to support the government, it was not permitted. Government officials invaded the mourning sessions and killed hundreds of people.
Likewise, freedom of association is permitted according to the Constitution but the government does not allow it to take place. The government forces citizens to support the government of Saddam Hussein and the Ba’th Party, and there are severe punishments for those who do not. One way the government restricts freedom of association is by establishing laws which restrict the development of new political parties. Parties which are based on a particular religion are forbidden. Other laws include: a political party must be based out of Baghdad, they must have at least one hundred fifty members who are older than twenty-five, and the party must “take pride” in the revolutions of 1958 and 1968. These revolutions brought the Ba’th party into power. Any political party that does not comply with these regulations is forbidden and participation in and association with these parties is punishable by death.
An example of restrictions to freedom of association is freedom of religion. The official religion of Iraq is Islam, and many people are terrorized and killed for practicing any other religion. There are two different groups of Muslims: the Shi’a Muslims and the Sunni Muslims. The Shi’a Muslims have the majority in terms of numbers, but the Sunni Muslims consist of members of government, and therefore are the superior religion. The government has placed many restrictions on Shi’a Muslims, including forbidding communal Friday prayer (a restriction on the right of assembly), forbidding loaning books, and forbidding funerals. The government and the Ba’th Party have killed many Shi’a Muslims and destroyed their mosques.
The right of association is also denied to workers. The only trade unions that are allowed are those controlled by the government. Workers in government-run unions have lost their jobs for not praising Saddam Hussein. It is illegal and punishable by death for any workers to join together and strike against their employer.

Sources:

Human Rights Watch. "IRAQ: Background on Human Rights Conditions, 1984-1992." http://www.hrw.org

Proquest. "Iraq: Mass rally in new Kurdish town against new Islamist group." http://www.umi.com/proquest

SIRS Government Reporter. DEFENSE ISSUES. "The Risks If we Would be Free." Vol. 11, N0. 77, 1996. http://sks.sirs.com

U.S. Department of State. http://www.state.gov

[AnaTre8]

General info on Lebanon:
· Lebanon is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean; it is bordered by Israel from the south and Syria to the east and north.
· Lebanon is about 120 miles north to south, and 50 miles east to west. It is 4,015 square miles, smaller than Connecticut.
· It is home to three million people: descendants of Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Palestinians, Byzantine, Crusaders, and those of Arabian peninsula as well as Palestinian refugees.
· Lebanon has no national religion; it is home of many religious factions: Christian and Muslim.
· Lebanon is a parliamentary republic and traditionally since 1943, the President is a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies is a Shi’a Muslim. The Parliament is represented by an equal number of Christian and Muslims.
· Much of the country is controlled by non-Lebanese military forces: 25,00 Syrians, about 2,000 Israelis in South Lebanon, 1,500 Israeli supporters in the south, such as the South Israeli Army (SLA).These factions undermine the control of the main government.



· Summary of Civil Rights Abuses:
(www.state.gov)
· The right of citizens to change their government remains restricted by the lack of control over parts of the country, shortcomings in the electoral system, and Syrian influence. Members of the security forces used excessive force and tortured and abused some detainees. Prison conditions remained poor. Government abuses also include the arbitrary arrest and detention of persons who opposed government policies. Lengthy pretrial detention and long delays in trials are problems, and the courts are subject to political pressure. The Government infringed on citizens’ privacy rights, continued the surveillance of political activities. The Government limited press freedom by continuing to restrict radio and television shows discriminately. Journalists practice self-censorship. The Government continued to restrict freedom of assembly, and imposes some limits on freedom of association. The Government imposes limits on freedom of movement. Violence and discrimination against women; abuses of children; discrimination against Palestinians; forced labor, including by children; child labor; and the mistreatment of foreign servants are all problems (state.gov).

Artillery attacks in south Lebanon threaten life and property. These forces continue to commit abuses: killings, bombings, and abductions. The SLA maintains a separate and arbitrary system of justice in the Israeli controlled zone, which is independent of Lebanese authority. SLA officials arbitrary arrest, mistreat, and detain people and regularly expel people from their homes in the zone. Palestinian groups in refugee camps maintain a separate, often arbitrary system of justice from other Palestinians. Palestinians sometimes may appeal for legal recourse to Lebanese authorities, often through their agents in the camps. There were reports that members of the various groups that control the camps detained their Palestinian rivals and, in some cases, killed them.


Human Rights Violations:

· Article 20: (Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association): The Government continued to restrict freedom of assembly, and imposes some limits on freedom of association. The Lebanese Constitution provides for this right, but the Government restricts it. Groups are not allowed to have rallies without the approval of the Interior Ministry, which makes arbitrary decisions.
· Ex: in March 14, 1999, twenty-one students were arrested for rallying and distributing anti-government and anti-Syrian leaflets. The students were released shortly after, except for two that were detained because they were charged with resisting arrest; but the charges were later dropped as a civil offense.
· The Government generally respects the right of freedom of association and does not interfere with establishment of private organizations to obtain a permit, but watches closely and sometimes monitors requests to establish political movements or parties.
· The army Intelligence Service monitors the movements and activities of members of opposition groups.
· Both Israel and Syria do not allow this right in areas that they control to groups considered openly hostile.

Other Violations:

· Article 1 (free and equal) 7 (Discrimination): Many women are abused, battered, and raped. The legal system discriminates against women because it inters that a man would receive a reduced sentence after killing his wife or another female relative if he expressed that he committed the act because of unacceptable sexual relationship conducted by the victim; this is called a “crime of honor.”

· Article 5 (torture) and 9 (arbitrary arrest, detention, exile) 10 (hearing by a tribunal) 17 (deprivation of property): Torture is not prohibited by the constitution; detention and torture are commonly practiced. Suspects may be interrogated without the presence of an attorney. Fleeing forced conscription may lead to the exile of the entire family and they are not allowed to take anything with them. “Hundreds of Lebanese, Palestinian, and Jordanians have been arbitrarily arrested, some over two decade ago, and remain in prolonged and often secret detention in Syria" (state.gov).
· Palestinians refugees are arrested, detained and harassed by opposing groups: Syrians, Palestinians, and others.

· Article 12 (interference of privacy, family, home, correspondence): The Government and Syrian intelligence networks monitor telephone conversations, movements, and activities of their enemies.

· Article 19 (freedom of expression): The government limits this right: journalists are intimidated to practice self-censorship, newspaper groups may be shut down, TV shows are censored, any information that may be harmful to Lebanon or Syria is banned, political talk shows are banned, attacks against the head of the state or foreign leaders are banned, and programs, magazines, books, and movies are censored and parts are cut out if they are politically or religiously offensive or troublesome.

· Article 4 (against slavery and servitude) and 23 (right to work, equal pay): The law does not prohibit forced labor, children and foreign domestic workers are sometimes forced to remain in servitude to an employer. Child labor from age 10-14 makes up .6% of the work force (5,936 children in all). 60% of children that work are under 13 years old; 75% earn wages less than 2/3rds the minimum wage. Children work 10--14 hours a day.
· Foreign domestic servants, typically of Asian or African origin, are often abused, raped, and mistreated

· Article 7 (discrimination): Foreign workers are not included in the contract between a recruitment agency and the employer, and it is written in Arabic, which most foreign workers do not understand. They do not have a minimum wage and generally receive half of the legal minimum wage.
· They are not protected by labor laws or government assistance

· Article 13 (right to return to own country): Passports of foreign workers are confiscated.

· Article 24 (rest, leisure, holidays with pay, limited working hours): Foreign workers do not receive vacation or holiday time off.
· Ex: A woman from Sri Lanka left her job but her employer reported her to the police saying she was a thief. She was tried and was acquitted because the trial determined that she could not possibly have carried 3 rugs, 6 vases, 4 paintings, 6 crystal chandeliers, and 20 ashtrays when she fled. But she spent 3 months in prison anyway.

· Article 25 (adequate standard of living): Prisons are ill equipped and overcrowded. Prisons that can hold 2000 people hold 5,000. There is inadequate heating, bathrooms, and medical care.

· Article 26 (education): Education of children is not compulsory.

www.state.gov
www.hrw.org
Foster, Leila Merrell. Lebanon. Chicago: Children's Press. 1992.
Cahill, Mary Jane. Lebanon. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. 1999.

[DestinyNP]

ZAMBIA
ARTICLE 20

Zambia is country located in the southern part of Africa. Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, Dem. Rep. Of the Congo, and Malawi border it. It has a republic government led by a president, a unicameral national assembly, and a constitutionally independent judiciary. The constitution of Zambia guarantees freedom of assembly, association, and expression, gives all citizens equal rights before the law, forbids ethnic groups or religious discrimination, and provides that no person may be kept in custody for more than 48 hours being brought before a court of law. In some cases, these rights are violated and abused.
The right of peaceful assembly is in the Bill of Rights and it’s vital in an open democratic society, but the Public Order Act regulates it. This act demands anyone who wants to have a public gathering to obtain a police permit. Starting in 1991, the Public Order Act was reactivated in the context of a multiparty democracy. Many opposing organization such as the NGOs, and civil society groups found that provisions of the act were against them. The government permits to hold meetings are hard to get. Around 1995 and 1996, numerous groups were denied permission to meet. For the parliament to gain more control of the public, they enacted an amendment to the act to require fourteen days prior to request permission to hold a meeting, processions, or demonstrations. This amendment was made after the Supreme Court had declared the Public Order Act was unconstitutional and was a contravention of the Zambian people’s rights. Under the pressure of President Chiluba they shortened the notice needed for police to approve a permit from fourteen days to seven. However, little has changed for several opposition rallies and a march were refused. There is not much respect from polices, they are impartial and unfair. Hundreds of people have been detained albeit for short periods of time for attempting to exercise their right to assembly. They have a tendency to use force in even in the face of peaceful protests. For example: Significant abuses on the public right of assembly were witnessed in the second quarter of the year. In April, police ran battles with protesting Copperbelt University students. Although the grounds of protest were non-political but academic, full riot police fired tear gas canisters and whipped defenseless students injuring several. Police justification for this action was that the students did not give them the required 14-day notice before demonstrating. Another case In July, police tear-gassed and battered protesting United National Independence Party (UNIP) cadres on Cairo road. The action was in an attempt to stop the UNIP cadres from holding a peaceful demonstration against several grievances against government and intra-party conflict groups. They were to be addressed by their party leader and former republican President, Kenneth Kaunda. Later in the day Kaunda was himself tear-gassed and his chairman for finance Rabison Chongo was severely battered at Force Head Quarters. Again police argued they had not licensed the assembly. Government offered no apology.
From the large number of political and human rights groupings so far registered in the country, it could be concluded that there is sufficient liberty for citizens in determining their own groupings and right to belong to associations of their own choice. What is very clear is the huge contradiction between the right to belong and form an association and the right to use that association to assemble and articulate ones views. The president continues making promises of economic reforms and promise to quicken the pace of greater democratization.

[DestinyNP]

The very idea of government implies a right on the part of citizens to meet peacefully and to band together for common purposes that are lawful. Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association is therefore vital in an open and democratic society. The right to these twin freedoms is guaranteed and protected under both international and domestic law.

The right of peaceful assembly must also be respected, since demonstrations and political rallies are an integral part of freedom of expression in a free and democratic society.
Although the number and degree of acts of police violence against demonstrators were far lower than in the last year, the day is still to come when the police will abandon their ingrained confrontational attitude towards peaceful demonstrators, and act only as marshals.


http://www.oneworld.org/afronet/reports/chpt2_hrights1998.htm

[IlsaLazslo]

The Government of Iraq

The government of Iraq is a republic broken into 18 provinces (muhafazat, singular—muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, and Wasit. It is led by the Bata’s party and President Saddam Hussein. The northern provinces of Duhok, Arbil and Sulaimaniya, sometimes referred to Iraqi Kurdistan, are controlled by two opposing Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The people of Iraq do not have the right to change their government. The government has taken steps to increase the perception of democracy, but the political process is still strongly controlled by the state. There are very strict qualifications for the electoral candidates; they must be over 25 years old, and “believe in God and the principles of the July 17-30 revolution, and socialism.” Out of the 250 seats, 160 deputies belong to the Bata’s 60 are independent, and Saddam Hussein appointed 30 deputies to represent the northern provinces. Although according to the Special Rapporteur, the Bata’s Party allegedly instructed a number of its members to run as “independent” candidates. The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly, however, the Government restricts this right in practice. Except in Kurdish-controlled northern areas, citizens may not assemble legally other than to express support for the regime. The Government regularly organizes crowds to demonstrate support for the regime and its policies through financial incentives for those who participate and threats of violence against those who do not. The Constitution provides for freedom of association, but the Government restricts this right in practice. The Government controls the establishment of political parties, regulates their internal affairs, and monitors their activities. Several parties are specifically outlawed, and membership in them is a capital offense. A 1974 law prescribes the death penalty for anyone "infiltrating" the Ba'ath Party. In contrast, in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, numerous political parties and social and cultural organizations exist.

The Kurds

Arab Iraq’s prejudice against the Kurds and other ethnic groups stems from a long seeded hatred of foreigners. In 1920, the Treaty of Sevres, carved up the Ottoman Empire after World War I, calling for the creation of an autonomous Kurdish state. Instead, the Kurds are split up, with their population living mainly in Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
The Government of Iraq has instated an “Arabization” program. In 1997 the authorities introduced “nationality correction” forms, which required other ethnic groups living in Iraq to relinquish their Kurdish or Turkoman identities and register officially as Arabs. All the people who refused to sign the “nationality correction” forms were expelled from Iraq and their property and assets were seized. Between January and June 800 people were expelled, bringing the total amount of refugees since 1991 to over 94,000. Many of these families still live in tent camps under extremely brutal conditions, which result in many deaths, particularly among the elderly and young children.
In northern Iraq all the central government services are performed by local administrators, who are mainly Kurds. Although the government is more democratic to the north there is still a lot of fighting. Both parties have been involved in many human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrest of suspected political opponents, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, evictions of supporters of rival parties and the executions of dissident political activist without a trial. Because of fighting among the parties, many people have been expelled from their homes in northern Iraq due to presumed support for a rival Kurdish party.