Citizens for Justice and Peace
Tibetan filmmaker escapes from China to arrive in US
29-Dec-2017
The Guardian reported that Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker and activist, received political asylum in the United States following an “arduous and risky escape” from China. Dhondup Wangchen was convicted of subversion, and, according to Reuters, was imprisoned in 2009 in China’s Qinghai province after he filmed a documentary featuring ordinary Tibetans praising the Dalai Lama, and saying…
China: Man given five years’ imprisonment for operating VPN
28-Dec-2017
The Guardian last week reported that Wu Xiangyang of China has been given a prison sentence of five and a half years for operating a virtual private network (VPN), which allows users to access websites like Facebook and Google that are typically blocked by China’s censorship infrastructure. Wu was also fined 500,000 yuan, which amounted…
Aung San Suu Kyi “avoided” discussing rape of Rohingya when meeting UN official
28-Dec-2017
Pramila Patten, the United Nations’ Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, visited Myanmar earlier this month to discuss the Rohingya crisis with the government. The Guardian was able to see a letter Patten sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which indicated that Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counsellor, did not engage in “any…
Young Rohingya refugees are heading families
28-Dec-2017
The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, in a story titled ‘Orphaned Rohingya children forced to grow up too fast’, has featured teenager Rohingya children who have been compelled to take on the responsibility of their siblings, having lost their parents. UNHCR said “some 650,000” Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh, and that it believes children…
In 2017, countries took major steps to end child marriage
27-Dec-2017
UN Women, a United Nations entity focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment, compiled a timeline of major events in gender equality in 2017. According to the timeline, in June and August, several nations, largely, in the Caribbean and Latin America “made historic strides to end child marriage”. In June, Trinidad and Tobago amended several…
Over 200,000 children in eastern Ukraine at risk from landmines
27-Dec-2017
UNICEF said in an announcement that eastern Ukraine “is now one of the most mine-contaminated places on earth, endangering 220,000 who live, play” and attend school “in areas littered with landmines, unexploded ordnance and other deadly explosive remnants of war”. “It is unacceptable that places where children could safely play less than four years ago…
Chinese human rights activist sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment
27-Dec-2017
The Guardian reported that Wu Gan, a blogger who is known as Super Vulgar Butcher, his screen name, routinely promoted instances of abuse of power by the government, online as well as in street protests. Wu was sentenced to eight years in jail for “subverting state power” on December 26. Earlier in the day, lawyer…
UN rights chief won’t seek second term
26-Dec-2017
Foreign Policy last week reported that the United Nations’ human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, told staff of the UN human rights agency in an email, which Foreign Policy acquired, that he has “decided not to seek a second four-year term.” Zeid added that “To do so, in the current geopolitical context, might involve…
Quarter of young Rohingya children have acute malnutrition
26-Dec-2017
Rappler.com reported last week that the United Nations said that one quarter of Rohingya children below the age of five who have escaped violence in Myanmar by fleeing to Bangladesh have malnutrition that could potentially be deadly. UNICEF said that three health and nutrition surveys carried out between October 22 and November 27 indicated that…
10,000 killed in Chinese suppression of Tiananmen Square protests
26-Dec-2017
The BBC reported that the Chinese army’s violent suppressing of the Tiananmen Square protests of June 1989 resulted in at least 10,000 deaths, according to British documents that have just been made public. This number was supplied by then British ambassador to China Alan Donald, in a secret diplomatic cable. Donald said his source was…