Wayles talks about several human rights success cases from around the world. We also discuss Amnesty International's End Gun Violence Campaign. The "Break the Cycle" Act has been introduced to Congress and if passed, would allocate 5 billion dollars over the next eight years to effective gun violence prevention programs. For more information read the report "From Pain to Progress: Confronting the Struggle on the Front Lines of America's Gun Violence Crisis." About the Break the Cycle Act visit https://heroes.amnestyusa.org/

Human Rights Show

Wayles Browne July 16

We talk about censorship and Banned Books Week, which the American Library Association started in the 1980s to highlight the books that have been most targeted for removal from libraries. In Ithaca two events commemorate Banned Books Week. Ithaca City of Asylum will have a panel discussion via Zoom through the Tompkins County Public Library on Sept. 30th from 7 to 8:15 pm. The Ithaca chapter of Amnesty International will have its event via Zoom on Oct. 2nd starting at 7 pm. Links can be found on the FB page of Ithaca Amnesty International.

Wayles Browne Sept, 17

The first part of the show is with Ithaca Southside Community Center's Board President Dr. Nia Nunn and Executive Director Mrs. Chavon Bunch. We talk about the upcoming Juneteenth weekend events which run from June 16 to June 19, 2022. This year's theme is Black men's health.  For more information visit their FB page "Southside Community Center Inc." They are also on Instagram.

The second part of the show is with Wayles Browne. We discuss upcoming events, including the Peter DeMott Peace Trot on June 19 and World Refugee Day on June 20. For more information on the 5k peace trot visit the https://www.peterdemottpeacetrot.org/. For more information about World Refugee Day visit: https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/world-refugee-day.html.

WRFI Human Rights Show

Dr. Nia Nunn and Chavon Bunch and Wayles Browne June 10

Wayles Browne from the Ithaca Chapter of Amnesty International talks about a range of issues.

Wayles Browne Sept 5

We talk about the upcoming U.S. election through the lens of human rights. We briefly talk about Amnesty International's Write for Rights cases for this year.

US 2024 election_4upload

Brody Burroughs, a part-time lecturer at Ithaca College who is on the Contingent Faculty Union Bargaining Committee, gives an update on the negotiating process. Contingent faculty, also known as adjuncts or part-time faculty, have opted to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to improve working conditions. Pay rate and job security are among the issues they are negotiating for. At present, meetings between the administration and the union are being mediated. If negotiations fail, striking is one of the possible options instructors may take. At Ithaca College part-time faculty are supported by full-time faculty as well as students. As Wayles Browne points out, article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights protects the right to work, to adequate and equal pay, as well as the right to form and join unions.

Brody Burroughs and Wayles Browne Jan. 13

We continue our conversation about a range of topics and updates. Wayles notes that the New York State Assembly passed the HALT Solitary Confinement Act but the Senate has not. I recently spoke to graduate students at Frostburg University, who want to be counselors, about the impact of children being separated from their families at the border. The U.S., as well as other countries, has a legal obligation to process asylum claims. Treaties related to the treatment of families obligate states to do everything in their power to keep families united. Treaties related to crimes and confinement obligate states to only use detention as a last resort (not a first measure). At this moment the U.S. administration is violating several of these international standards. The U.S. has also announced it is pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council because of bias, especially criticism of Israel. Lastly, we talk about recent Amnesty International urgent action cases.

Wayles Browne June 22

Denise Bell, Senior Researcher at Amnesty International USA and Wayles Browne from the Ithaca local group, talk about refugee and migrant rights. The way in which the current administration is treating migrants and asylum seekers at its border, which includes the separation of families, is in violation of domestic law (Refugee Act of 1980) and international law (Refugee Convention and its Protocols). Since attorney general Jeff Sessions announced the administration's Zero Tolerance policy in April 2018, more than 2,000 children were separated from their parents at the border in the few months following. Amnesty International has recently published the report "You Don't Have Any Rights Here: Illegal Pushbacks, Arbitrary Detention and Ill-treatment of Asylum Seekers in the United States." The organization also has an initiative called "Longer Table," which offers several opportunities to get involved, including to help sponsor a refugee. For more information visit amnestyusa.org.

Denise Bell and Wayles Browne Oct. 19

In this 30 minute segment Zeke Johnson, Director of Programs at Amnesty International USA and Wayles Browne talk about the annual "Write for Rights" letter writing campaign. This December 10th is the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Every year the research department at AI chooses cases to highlight during human rights week. All eleven cases this year are women or women leaders in indigenous communities. For more information visit write.amnestyusa.org.

Zeke Johnson and Wayles Browne Nov. 2

Wayles and I talk about the "Rights Now" Amnesty International report, which demands that the Trump administration and Congress put human rights at the center of COVID responses. The report can be found at: https://rightsnow.amnestyusa.org/

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