U.S. Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective
The 55-page report, “Out of Step: US Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective,” examines the laws of 136 countries around the world with populations of 1.5 million and above and finds that the majority—73 of the 136—never, or rarely, deny a person’s right to vote because of a criminal conviction. In the other 63 countries, the United States sits at the restrictive end of the spectrum, disenfranchising a broader swath of people overall.
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Hercegovina, has become a stark symbol of both the strengths and the depravities of human nature. The dignity and resourcefulness of Sarajevans who have survived a siege of more than 900 days stands in bold contrast to the atrocities that have been committed in the savage war against civilians that continues, unending, in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The Work of the Tripartite Commission in Nicaragua
Since the inauguration of Pres. Chamorro in 1990, Nicaragua has been the scene of significant political turmoil and political violence, including violent strikes, destruction of property, politically- inspired kidnappings and the assassination of political figures. Police investigations were marked by irregularities and no suspects have been identified or detained.
Weeks before the opening of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Jakarta on November 15,1994, the Indonesian government tightened controls on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the press and took harsh anti-crime measures involving what appeared to be extrajudicial executions of suspected criminals.
Human Rights Abuses Rampant as Nigerian Military Declares Absolute Power
The military government of Gen. Abacha, in a bid to destroy the pro-democracy movement after using abusive and illegal means to break an oil workers’ strike for democracy, is steadily bringing the country closer to chaos and collapse.
Discrimination Against Women Under Botswana’s Citizenship Act
Recent events indicate that the government of Botswana is continuing to enforce provisions of the Botswana Citizenship Act that discriminate on the basis of sex, in defiance of a 1992 Botswana Court of Appeal decision holding those provisions unconstitutional and contrary to international human rights standards.
For the last few years, the watchword of the Indonesian government has been “openness.” It was both a policy — the Indonesian equivalent of letting a hundred flowers bloom — and a prescription, from President Soeharto himself, for a dynamic, developing society.
The massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in South Asia is directly linked to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the subsequent creation by the United States of a system, commonly known as the Afghan pipeline, to funnel weapons covertly to the Afghan resistance.
Political Rights and the 1994 Presidential and Congressional Elections
Demands for an overhaul of the Mexican political system acquired renewed political force following an armed uprising by Indian peasants in the southern state of Chiapas on January 1, 1994. The fairness of these elections was a litmus test of the government’s willingness to achieve a genuinely representative democracy and give ordinary Mexicans the right to hold their representatives accountable.
Like their enslaved ancestors more than two centuries ago, tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Haitians are on the run, fleeing the murderous military regime that sent their elected president into exile after the September 30, 1991 coup d'etat.
In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that executed prisoners are the principal source of supply of body organs for medicaltransplantation purposes in China.
Abuses Rise as International Pressure on India Eases
As the conflict in Kashmir continues into its fifth year, the government of India appears to have stepped up its catch-and-kill campaign against Muslim insurgents, resulting in an escalation of human rights abuses since early 1994. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the casualties, falling victim both to government forces and to the various factions, collectively known as “militants.”
Between May and October 1992, nineteen men were arrested in Georgia on a variety of criminal charges; by September, their cases were united into one - Case No. 7493810 - along with the case against former President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia for abuse of power and related political crimes.
Continuing Rural Violence and Restrictions on Freedom of Speech and Assembly
After winning the first multiparty election since 1963 in December of 1993, the government of Daniel arap Moi has increased its harassment of the political opposition, bringing spurious criminal charges against opposition politicians, forcing unwarranted restrictions on their freedom of association, and arresting them without charge.
The military coup d'état against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on September 30, 1991, plunged Haiti into a maelstrom of state-inflicted and state-sanctioned human rights abuses. These abuses have included numerous political assassinations, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and the torture of prisoners.
