Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women is an international convention adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. It is described as an international bill of rights for women and it came into force on 3 September 1981.
"Article I
For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "discrimination against women" shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field." The UN headquarters-New York,USA
Seven countries have not ratified the international treaty: - United States of America - Iran - Sudan - Somalia - Nauru - Palau and - Tonga
Marwa Ali El-Sherbini (7 October 1977 – 1 July 2009) was an Egyptin German resident, who was killed during a hearing at a court of law in Dresden, Germany , on July 1, 2009.
She was stabbed by the man against whom she had testified in a criminal case about wearing a headscarf. The murder was committed inside the Courtroom in front of her three-year-old son and husband. She was three months pregnant.
As El-Sherbini and her family were about to leave, Alex Wiens, the man against whom she had testified, attacked her with an 18 cm (7 in) long blade. She received multiple stab wounds to the upper body and arm (at least 16). While trying to protect his wife, El-Sherbini's husband Elwi Ali-Okaz was stabbed at least 16 times to the head, neck, upper body and arm. The attack happened at 10:23 (time-stamped by the judge having raised a security alarm). A police officer, called to the scene to intervene, mistook Elwi Ali-Okaz for the attacker and shot him in the lower leg. Her three-year-old son was also injured while being ushered to safety. Marwa El-Sherbini died at the scene, at 11:07, succumbing to her injuries. Alex Wiens was arrested on the scene.
In a ruling on Feb 26, 2010, UK judges restored the paragraph that is considered " a major step towards holding government officials accountable for complicity in torture." Author Andy Worthington, talks about the case on "Crooks and Liars" and "Talking Torture":
The paragraph had been excluded even after a February 10, 2010 decision of the UK Court of Appeal had brought to an end an 18-month campaign by UK foreign secretary David Miliband to prevent the publication of a short summary, prepared by two High Court judges, explaining how US agents had subjected the British resident Binyam Mohamed to what was described as “at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” and had provided this information to their British counterparts."
UK High Court Judges: Lord Justice Thomas and Mr. Justice Lloyd Jones : “the relationship between the United Kingdom Government and the United States authorities went far beyond that of a bystander or witness to the alleged wrongdoing.”
Short clips from the TV documentary movie Pinochet in Suburbia (Pinochet's Last Stand - in DVD) of Peter Capaldi portraying chairman of Amnesty International Andy McEntee.
PINOCHET - On September 11, 1973, with the support of the United States, Chilean general Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte , overthrew the democratically elected Chilean president, Salvador Allende.
The presidential palace was bombed and Allende killed in the attack.
Pinochet put into place a regime which knew no bounds - Rape, torture, false imprisonment and dozens of other human rights offenses were leveled at him.
It is estimated 27,000 people were ripped from their homes, never to be heard from again.
He was deposed of power in 1990, though remained a senator for life.
In 1998, he visited the United Kingdom with his wife for medical treatment. Once in the country, a combination of civil rights groups and a Spanish arrest warrant combined to create a political firestorm. Would General Pinochet be extradited to Spain to stand trial for over 300 human rights violations?
" The Crimes Of Pinochet " - Documentary - Chile Coup d'Etat by Pinochet backed by the United States and the slaughter of approximately 3,000 unarmed civilians mostly academics, artists, professionals, University students.
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (September 28, 1932 – September 15, 1973) was a Chilean teacher, poet, singer-song writer and political activist. Shortly after the September 11, 1973 Chilean coup, he was arrested, tortured and ultimately shot to death by machine gun fire. His body was later thrown out into the street of a shanty town in Santiago, Chile's capital. The contrast between the themes of his songs, on love, peace and social justice and the brutal way in which he was murdered transformed Jara into a symbol of struggle for human rights and justice across Latin America.
On May 28, 2009,36 anos após Jara's torture and murder, a 54-year-old former Army conscript, Jose Adolfo Paredes Marquez, was formally charged with his murder. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Adolfo_Paredes_M%C3%A1rquez
March 8th, 2010 - Centennial of International Women's Day
Christiane Amanpour(CNN) interviews Marc Thiessen, a former George Bush speechwriter recently hired by the Washington Post as columnist. (HERE)
Marc Thiessen is also a passionate advocate of torture .
Viewer Advisory: This interview contains language that sanctions, promotes or glamorizes violence.
"The CIA realized, through psychological experiments in the 1950s and 60s that you could break down a person’s identity and trigger psychosis through sensory deprivation and overload. "
As the "American Torture Program" spread (or spreads?) around the world, plenty of people have become victims of the atrocities the United States has been perpetrating in the world and many have been tortured to the point of death or of losing their minds in the Dark Prison and elsewhere, but that is by no means the only place where U.S. forces, including the CIA and U.S. military personnel, have employed torture music. Thailand, Poland, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Iraq: the list is endless.
The worse is still to come as impunity becomes the "American standard" when it comes to Torture.
As those who authorized the "American Torture Program" are neither investigated nor hold accountable or even worse, are "cleared", the reality becomes more and more evident : "psychological" techniques, will be increasingly attractive to those who believe themselves entitled to torture whoever, whenever, wherever.
United States of America
Iran
Sudan
Somalia
Nauru
Palau and
Tonga