June 2005 - Page 31 of 36 - Toward Freedom

Bernie Sanders on Ending Child Labor (3/00)

BERNIE SANDERS June 1, 2005 BERNIE SANDERS

Most of us would be horrified to support a business that exploits children. But chances are you may have done just that on your last shopping trip.

Perhaps you splurged on a hand-crafted carpet, without knowing it was made by a seven-year old from India, where children are chained to looms for 12 hours a day. Maybe you just bought a soccer ball for your son or daughter, without realizing five-year-old hands inside a dark and silent factory in Pakistan produced your gift. Even your more mundane purchases – a leather bag, a shirt, a pair of jeans, or produce from the local grocery store – could be the product of child labor. read more

Peltier Clemency Campaign (11/00)

LEONARD PELTIER and his Defense Committee June 1, 2005 LEONARD PELTIER and his Defense Committee

We have some very exciting news! President Clinton has publicly confirmed that Leonard Peltier’s clemency petition has reached his office, and that it will be decided one way or the other in the very near future.

Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard the last many years for Leonard. You have brought this case right up to Clinton’s desk. But now we must work harder than ever for the next few weeks. We are down to the wire and this is literally a matter of life and death. read more

Rethinking Human Rights (11/00)

GRAHAME RUSSELL June 1, 2005 GRAHAME RUSSELL

For too long, economic and development actors – supported by governments, and bolstered by academics and the corporate press – have claimed that there are no links between economics, human rights, and political issues. In fact, there’s no separation between commercial and financial issues, and the protection and well-being of human beings and the environment.

The recent spate of global activism has successfully challenged the reigning development model, favored by banks, corporations, mutual funds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO). But it’s also critical of an international human rights movement dominated by organizations based mainly in the North. read more

International Criminal Court (8/00)

Jubilee 2000 June 1, 2005 Jubilee 2000

"The International Criminal Court promises, at last, to supply what has for so long been the missing link in the international legal system, a permanent court to judge the crimes of gravest concern to the international community as a whole: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes." – KOfi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations

The Washington and Seattle demonstrations have shown the need for radical reform, for justice to oppressed peoples, and judgment on the institutions that cause the global proliferation of human misery and environmental decimation. The International Criminal Court will investigate and prosecute violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and environmental destruction as part of war crimes. Although the US has not yet endorsed the formation of the ICC American policy makers need to hear the voice of their constituency that claims for global justice. read more

Millennium Mobilization (6/00)

ROB WHEELER June 1, 2005 ROB WHEELER

Over the past 10 years, popular and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have markedly increased their influence in global decision-making. Now these groups are coming together to forge a common agenda, put recommendations on the table, and take united action to solve our common problems.

From April 2-8, for example, the inaugural session for a permanent Global People’s Assembly (GPA) will be held in Apia, Samoa. The momentum has been building for many years. The Millennium People’s Assembly Network (MPAN) held five sessions during the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference, with some 30 delegations attending. A Provisional Delegates Council was formed to move ahead with planning between meetings of the GPA. read more

Human Development Facts (6/00)

ALEXIS LATHEM June 1, 2005 ALEXIS LATHEM

Over a century ago, the "last" Tasmanian aborigines – a sailor named William Lanny and a woman named Truganami – became objects of scientific curiosity as the only remaining representatives of their race. Upon his death, Lanny’s body was exhumed, dismembered, and mutilated by scientists from the prestigious Royal Society of Surgeons. They crept into the morgue and graveyard in the dead of night, stealing various parts until "there was nothing left but blood and fat upon the floor." read more