We talk about the history of human rights since the Universal Declaration was adopted on December 10, 1948. Since then December 10 has been celebrated as International Human Rights Day. Amnesty International was founded in 1961 when people started to write letters on behalf of political prisoners. In the 1990s the annual letter-writing campaign was launched, known as "Write for Rights" today.

In Ithaca, NY, the "Write for Rights" event will take place on December 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. Please send an email to Ute (uteritzdeutch@yahoo.com) or Wayles (ewb2@cornell.edu) for the address.

For more information about this year's cases visit https://write.amnestyusa.org/

WRFI Human Rights Show

Human Rights Day Dec. 8

Nate Smith and Sophia Sabeh from the Amnesty International USA MSP Co-Group (Military, Security, and Police Coordination Group) talk about the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act aka Safeguard Act (S. 1025/HR. 1801), which has been introduced to Congress. The bill would expand on previous legislation, in particular the Leahy Laws, that prohibit the U.S. government from providing foreign aid and Defense Department training to security forces abroad that are known to have committed human rights violations. The Safeguard Act specifically includes U.S. arms transfers and sales and would require the administration to send reports to Congress even if the weapons sales fall under the current reporting threshold. While the Biden administration's Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) Policy includes strong language regarding weapons transfers, a law passed by Congress would codify it and expand on it. CAT does not have sufficient money to monitor sales and lacks sufficient enforcement. Currently so-called "End Use Monitoring" only monitors who obtains U.S. weapons, but not how or against whom these weapons are used. Governments or security forces that would be prohibited from obtaining U.S. weapons are those who were recently involved in a coup, who committed war crimes (crimes of humanitarian law), or genocide.

20 NGOs have expressed support for the Safeguard Act. For more information visit: https://www.amnestyusa.org/updates/letter-from-20-ngos-expresses-support-for-the-safeguard-act

Safeguard Act March 15

We talk about the work "Educate the Children Nepal" (ETC) is engaged in empowering women and helping children and schools in Nepal. Lisa Lyons, the U.S. Director of ETC talks about the history of the organization and the programs it provides. Beth Prentice, President of ETC's Board of Directors, discusses the importance of the caste system and working with lower-caste communities. Susan Braatz reflects on the trip to Nepal that ETC organized last November.
This show is part 1 of a two-part series.
For more information visit: https://www.etc-nepal.org/

ETC Show 1 March 22

Zoe van Nostrand talks about several exhibits at the Tompkins County History Center, including women's sports teams. We reflect on the challenges women have faced over the centuries, struggling against gender norms and restrictions as they pursued their dreams. The Hockey Girls' Team was the first in the state (and the third in the country) to be created after Title IX went into effect, outlawing gender discrimination in schools in the 1970s. The Women's Roller Derby likewise broke gender barriers.

The History Center has a Women's Oral History Collection, History Forge with 80 years of census data, and genealogy files on more than 2,000 families.

For more information visit: https://thehistorycenter.net/
For oral history and other audio podcasts visit: https://soundcloud.com/tompkinshistory

TC History Center March 29

Paul O'Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, talks about the human rights situation around the world as authoritarian regimes are becoming more emboldened. We also reflect on the challenges of organizing and being in coalition with activists whose backgrounds and identities differ from ours.  Amnesty International operates on several levels. Research is done through the International Secretariat in London and the regional sections. Deep research as well as press releases are frequently published. Recent lobbying efforts in the U.S. include the "Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act." The organization is also grassroots, with student groups and local groups engaged in a wide range of activities, including letter-writing campaigns and events. Lastly, we reflect on 2024 being an important election year and how human rights could inform the discussions.
For more information visit: https://www.amnestyusa.org/ or https://www.amnesty.org/

Paul O'Brien April 5

Eric Cheyfitz, Professor at Cornell University, talks about settler colonialism, comparing federal Indian policies in the United States with Israel's policies in the Occupied Territories of Palestine. We look at some of the legal and extra-judicial methods that were (and are) being used to disenfranchise people, appropriate their land, and impede their cultural survival. We also briefly reflect on the situation in Gaza.

Eric Cheyfitz April 12

This is the second show with staff and supporters of Educate the Children-Nepal. Elicia Carmichael, who is engaged in fundraising talks about the work and importance of the organization. Barbara Butterworth, who has spent many years in Nepal, talks about organizing last year's trip. The others reflect on what impacted them during the visit at ETC project sites. Currently, the organization is fundraising money for this year.
For more information visit: https://www.etc-nepal.org/

ETC Show 2

Leni Hochman and Tim Joseph talk about their support of the organization Educate the Children Nepal. Both participated in the November 2023 trip to Nepal organized by ETC. Afterward, they had the opportunity to meet the young woman they supported as a child in person for the first time. They reflect on how the extended family embraced them.

ETC - Leni Hochman and Tim Joseph

We talk about the continuing catastrophe in Gaza, skewed media reporting that dehumanizes Palestinians and uncritically repeats Israel's claims, and the brutal crackdown against pro-Palestinian student protesters in the United States. We also discuss how weapons made and sold by the U.S. are being used to kill Palestinian civilians. The Safeguard Act would fill some gaps and require the government to determine if U.S. weapons are being used to commit grave human rights violations. If they are, the U.S. 
government would be obligated to stop the sale of weapons.

For more information about Amnesty International's call to a permanent cease-fire, visit: https://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/

For more information on the Safeguard Act visit: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1025

Alicia Koutsoulieris

Kevin Cooper, who was given a sentence of death in 1985 for a gruesome murder he by all accounts never committed, continues to fight his conviction while on death row in California's prison system. His trial was highly flawed and the prosecution has been alleged to have withheld exculpating evidence, destroyed evidence, and fabricated evidence. Cooper's case has gained international attention. In 2004, he was Amnesty International's urgent action case, when he came within less than four hours of being executed. In 2015, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) determined that his trial and conviction were unfair. More recently, California Governor Newsom ordered an Independent Innocence Investigation for Cooper's case, but the report issued by the Special Counsel has been considered highly flawed.

The law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, has been representing Cooper for over twenty years and recently issued a rebuttal that outlines major problems with the Special Counsel's Report. Professor Lara Bazelon, who runs the Criminal Juvenile Justice and Racial Justice Clinical Programs at the University of San Francisco School of Law, co-authored an op-ed with colleague, Charlie Nelson Keever, "Why California’s reinvestigation of an infamous quadruple murder case is a sham" highlighting the flawed "investigation." Both Professors will be representing Kevin Cooper using the newly enacted California Racial Justice Act.

Wrongful convictions that result in the death penalty are alarmingly common. Since the death penalty resumed in 1977, more than 1,500 people have been executed. During the same time, more than 195 people on death row were exonerated. Of those, more than 105 were Black. The death penalty is disproportionately given when the victim is white and the perpetrator is non-white. 

A factsheet about Cooper's case is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pazR-tgEdLlJp8sMSxTWs0G8EzCHCv-W/view

For more information visit: https://linktr.ee/freekevincooper

The rebuttal report can be found here: https://www.freekevincooper.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Signed-Rebuttal-Memo-to-Special-Counsel-Report.pdf

Lara Bazelon's op-ed is here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/kevin-cooper-murder-case-18447404.php

Info about the IACHR ruling is here: https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/international-human-rights-body-rules-in-favor-of-prisoner-nearly-executed-by-california/

General research on the death penalty in the U.S. is here: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Advocacy on behalf of people on death row is here: https://deathpenaltyaction.org/

Amnesty International's death penalty info and action are here: https://www.amnestyusa.org/issues/death-penalty/

Human Rights Day Dec. 8

WRFIhumanrightsshow

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