UN Human Rights Lawyer, Emma Reilly, an employee for the UN Human Rights Council has accused the UN of complicity in the Uighur genocide; maintaining, on LBC radio, that high ranking officials handed over the name of Uighur dissidents directly to the Chinese government.

During this interview on LBC, Reilly stated that Chinese officials would ask whether certain individuals “were planning to come” and would then use that information to harass and intimidate activists from attending UNHRC sessions. She further stressed that for those who were no longer under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, their families would be targeted.

Thanks to @MaajidNawaz for having me. The world needs to know about @UN complicity in #UyghurGenocide. @antonioguterres this needs to stop now. It is not difficult. Just stop. https://t.co/bUJKsTRkO3

— Emma Reilly (@EmmaReillyTweet) November 1, 2020

 

This often led to the accusation of terrorism and subsequent internment in concentration camps.

“China uses that information to put pressure on their families… to arrest their families, to detain them in the camps [and] to torture them,” Reilly told LBC.

She has confirmed that a brother of a dissident, who gave testimony, has since been arbitrarily arrested and has not been seen since.

Reilly has maintained that providing such information to any government “is completely against the rules”. She has since called for an independent investigation into the UN's conduct.

.@UN is silent. Yet @UN argued loudly for four days in public court hearings that giving names of human rights activists planning to speak out to China - and only to China - is ok. There needs to be a credible, independent investigation. This needs to stop. @MaajidNawaz

— Emma Reilly (@EmmaReillyTweet) November 4, 2020

Reilly initial brought these allegations against her boss is the UN’s internal criminal court in 2013, however, her employer has since been promoted whilst she has subsequently been frozen out of the UNHRC meetings.

Reilley further states that a judge who had supported Reilly and called for disciplinary action against offending UNHRC members has since been removed from his post without notice.

UN Watch, a NGO highlighting malpractice by the UN, has further supported Reilley’s claims detailing that they have evidence dating from 2017 showing Chinese officials requesting information on activists.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has since released a statement confirming knowledge of this but maintain that a cordial relationship with China was of primary importance.

“There are three things in human rights law that are completely prohibited in all circumstances: genocide, slavery, and torture […] The Chinese treatment of the Uighurs covers all three.’ And, it seems, so do the actions of the UN”, Reilly stated.

Read more from the Thread

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Vice President Kamala Harris after her and Joe Biden’s election victory, saying he is “confident that the vibrant India-US ties will get even stronger with [her] support and leadership.”

Heartiest congratulations @KamalaHarris! Your success is pathbreaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis, but also for all Indian-Americans. I am confident that the vibrant India-US ties will get even stronger with your support and leadership.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 7, 2020

California senator Kamala Harris is the first Black and Tamil woman to be elected as the Vice President of the United States. 

In his tweet, Modi acknowledges Harris’ address to the Democratic National Convention earlier this year, where Harris expressed her gratitude to her family, including her ‘chithis’ (??????) which translates to aunties in Tamil. 

 

Joe Biden has been elected as the next President of the United States after beating Donald Trump in a tightly contested election, following a count that stretched on for days after polls had closed.

The closest electoral victory in recent memory will see Biden take up office in January 2021, with Kamala Harris the first Black woman and the first Tamil to become the Vice-President of the United States.

^{Photograph: Gage Skidmore}

Biden pulled ahead of Trump in the key state of Pennsylvania as votes continued to be counted earlier today, giving him the 270 electoral colleges required for victory. The BBC, CNN and AP have projected that he has reached 273 electoral college votes, by winning Pennsylvania.

^{Photograph: Lorie Shaull} 

Though Harris has described herself as a “progressive prosecutor” during her time as a district attorney and attorney general in California, however, has faced criticism for her record on criminal justice, failure to embrace more progressive politics and the left of the party. Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, is a Tamil woman who grew up in Chennai, whilst her father Donald grew up in Jamaica. In her memoir, Harris writes how she would visit Tamil Nadu almost every year and understands small amounts of Tamil. In her address to the Democratic National Convention earlier this year, Harris paid tribute to her 'chithis' - a word in Tamil for aunties.

Read more: Kamala Harris becomes first Black and Tamil woman to run on major US ticket

Harris' Chief of Staff, Rohini Kosoglu, also has a Tamil connection, with both of her parents hailing from Jaffna.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," tweeted Harris minutes ago. "Let’s get started."

The declaration on Saturday came after tension across the country as ballots were still being counted in several swing states. Trump supporters had protested at stations where votes were being counted, whilst the Republican candidate repeated several false claims of voter fraud. The campaign also filed lawsuits in states where Biden had led.

The overall turnout is projected to be the highest in 120 years at 66.9%.

Twitter has marked a series of tweets from current US president Donald Trump as “disputed and might be misleading,” as a tightly contested election count continues today.

As votes continue to be counted in key battleground states, Trump tweeted claims of the Democrats “trying to STEAL the Election”. He has since continued to send out several other tweets which twitter flagged as “disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process”.

Election counts are still underway in key states including Wisconsin and Michigan.

The Trump campaign has ran a closer election than many polls predicted, with fears that the sitting US president may try and contest any result that leads to a Joe Biden victory. 

See more live coverage from the BBC here, the Guardian here and the New York Times here.

^{Courtesy: Silar}

Thousands of women are protesting across the nation against Poland’s latest abortion ruling, despite COVID-19 restrictions limiting public gatherings.

On October 22 the country's constitutional court ruled that ending the life of a deformed foetus is unconstitutional, an almost total ban allowing terminations only in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s health is at risk; a decision that was pressed without parliamentary debate or public consultation, and was widely criticised by rights groups inside and outside the country.

Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also condemned the judgement through social media, tweeting "Throwing the topic of abortion and a ruling by a pseudo-court into the middle of a raging pandemic is more than cynical".

Demonstrators grouped together in main squares and outside churches and Law and Justice (PiS) party structures across the country, some carrying slogans such as "I wish I could abort my government". "Women are not respected in this country. No-one is listening to us" stated Magda, a protester in the northern city of Gdynia. Krystyna Kacpura, the head of Federation for Women and Family Planning stated "It's a disgrace from the Polish state towards half of the population, women. We'll never forget it".

Conflicts also arose in front of Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s (head of the governing PiS party) home, between police and protesters holding signs such as "This is war" and "You have blood on your hands".

Church services have been disrupted across Poland, with slogans such as "women's hell" and "unlimited abortions" written on church walls in Warsaw. Julia Miotk, a 26 year old protester stated, "I'm here today because it annoys me that in a secular country the church decides for me what rights I have, what I can do and what I'm not allowed to do".

The 1993 law allowing abortion in cases of severe foetal disabilities, on the basis of UN policies banning torture (and accounting for 98% of abortions in Poland) was legally challenged by parliamentarians from the PiS party last year, with most of the court judges listed by the same party. In 2016, an attempt to tighten the law regarding abortions was averted following challenges in parliament and protests by over 100,000 people. More than 1,000 legal abortions were recorded in Poland last year, with an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 Polish women a year seeking abortions abroad. 

The Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatovic stated that the day marked a "sad day for women's rights" and that "removing the basis for almost all legal abortions in Poland amounts to a ban and violates human rights".

The UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva responded to the ruling and protests stating, "We stand in solidarity with women in Poland and their quest for equality". "We call on the authorities to safeguard the rights of women and men who are protesting against this ruling," it continued, adding "this ruling will have devastating consequences for women and adolescent girls in need of such terminations, especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged and migrant women in irregular situations who do not have the means to go abroad for abortion services’’.

Over the last five years, the Polish government controlled by the PiS party has been accused of weakening the rule of law, interfering with judiciary independence and media freedom; including refusing environmental activists to attend UN climate talks, rejecting bills to increase strengthen protection for marginalised groups and identities and harassing women’s rights, LGBT rights and migration groups.

 

Read more here, here and here

Rwandan genocide suspect, Félicien Kabuga, 84, has been transferred into detention at The Hague to face trial for his alleged participation during the 1994 genocide of thousands of Tutsis in Rwanda. 

He was on the run for over two decades until he was arrested in France in May. The United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which handles outstanding war crimes cases for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, is due to try the former tea and coffee tycoon. Kabuga is indicted on counts of genocide, complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity. 

He allegedly established the RTLM radio, which is known for playing a vital tool in inciting hate and dehumanising the Rwandan Tutsis. Other allegations include equipping the main perpetrators of the genocide and using his companies to import machetes from China, which helped annihilate over a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Commenting on Kabuga’s arrest in May, DW journalist, Fred Mubuni commented it “gives confidence to genocide survivors that all monsters will one day have their day in court and that they will never find a safe haven where they are safe from justice”. The international community must assist in bringing the “hundreds of Rwandan genocide suspects still hiding in Europe and Africa” to justice, Mubuni added. 

Read more here, here, and here.

 

During US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s, visit to India earlier this week, he emphasised the “strong and growing bilateral relationships with India” whilst also condemning China’s Communist Party, stating;

 "The CCP is no friend to democracy, the rule of law, transparency, nor to freedom of navigation — the foundation of a free and open and prosperous Indo-Pacific".

This visit is Pompeo’s fourth during the Trump administration and follows US President Donald Trump’s visit earlier this year. During this trip Pompeo spoke on a range of issues including increased cooperation on defence, energy, and trade between the two countries.

                                                       

Increased defence cooperation

The US State Department has stated that the “U.S. and Indian services are expanding the scope and complexity of military exercises and increasing liaison” between the two countries.

They note that in July 2020, the Indian Navy successfully completed a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the US Navy as the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group transited through the Indian Ocean Region. In 2019, the US and India also held their first-ever tri-service exercise, Tiger Triumph.

The State Department further stated that during Pompeo’s meeting he discussed expanding “information-sharing, defence trade, joint service coordination, and interoperability”. They further referred to the upcoming MALABAR naval exercise and the “Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement”, which seeks to “expand geospatial information sharing”.

Pompeo’s visit follows a spike in tensions between India and China following a border dispute in the Himalayas, in June, where 20 Indian troops were killed in hand-to-hand combat with Chinese soldiers.

Pompeo and U.S. Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, both laid wreaths at a war memorial in New Delhi, after which Pompeo, stated that the was thinking of the 20 soldiers killed in June.

The State Department also makes reference to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Alliance’s (referred to as QUAD) recent meeting in Tokyo and applauded India on its upcoming term on the United Nations Security Council. 

The State Department maintained that it would “continue to support India’s permanent membership of that body”. They also maintained that they would work with India to ensure that peace negotiations in Afghanistan were successful.

QUAD is an informal strategic forum between the United States, Japan, Australia, and India that is maintained by semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills between member countries.

 

Improving Trade

Commenting on trade, the State Department maintained that the US was able to “reach an understanding on improving market access, removing barriers to trade, and improving the business environment” with India.

The State Department further stated that they look forwards to further collaboration “between USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and India’s Development Partnership Administration (DPA)” and the establishment of a “permanent presence of the U.S. International Development Finance Cooperation (DFC) in India this year”.

 

 

COVID response

The US and India both expressed gratitude for mutual exchanges in COVID relief noting that India had received 200 ventilators provided by the (USAID) whilst the US had received from India “Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), essential medicines, and therapeutics”.

The US also signed a “Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD/NIH) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)” which seeks to further cooperation on infectious diseases including COVID-19 and other emerging threats.

 

Read more from the State Department here, here and here.

Amnesty International has reported that 12 people have been killed during peaceful protests against police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria.

69 people have been killed by Nigeria’s security forces whilst protesting police brutality since October,

The protests broke out on Wednesday despite a state-imposed curfew. Whilst demonstrators were setting up a blockade and singing the national anthem, Nigeria’s police opened fire into the crowd and used tear gas. Lagos, the Lekki toll plaza, and several other Nigerian cities reported gunfire at their demonstrations. 

Two private TV stations were forced off the air because their offices were burned. 

Calls for Accountability

Amnesty International has called for an investigation into Nigeria’s military’s conduct during these protests.

Osai Ojigho, Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, stated on the matter:     

“Opening fire on peaceful protesters is a blatant violation of people’s rights to life, dignity, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Soldiers clearly had one intention - to kill without consequences”.

He further added:

“These shootings clearly amount to extrajudicial executions. There must be an immediate investigation and suspected perpetrators must be held accountable through fair trials. Authorities must ensure access to justice and effective remedies for the victims and their families”.

Nigeria’s military has denied responsibility for the shootings. There have also been reports of armed gangs instructed by the state to crackdown on protesters.

 

End SARS

In response to the #ENDSARS movement, the government announced it would disband the SARS police unit, which amnesty international says has been responsible for many cases of torture and death.  However the government has maintained that it would redeploy those employed in SARS into different roles.

This movement has only caused demonstrators to demand more widespread reforms to end human rights abuses by the government. 

In Nigeria, many people face high levels of poverty and lack access to basic services. Twitter has been flooded by accounts of the abuses they face from corrupted police. 

President Muhammadu Buhari did little to address the protests in Nigeria or the Lekki shootings but on Wednesday issued a call for police reforms. 

Buhari said the dissolution of the SARS unit, “is the first step in a set of reform policies that will deliver a police system accountable to the Nigerian people,” and said the government is committed to, “the implementation of lasting police reforms in Nigeria.”

 

Read more from ABC News and Amnesty International

 

<p>Samuel Paty, a French teacher was beheaded last Friday near Paris after sharing caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad with his class. The suspect, 18-year-old Chechen man, was shot dead by police.</p> <p>The images were part of a lesson on freedom of speech held in October. The controversial cartoons were originally published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2012. And were cited as the motivation behind the killing of 12 people by Islamist extremists at the magazine's offices.</p> <p>Responding to the attack the rector of the Lyon mosque, Kamel Kabtane, said the slain teacher "did his job" and was "respectful" in teaching his pupils about freedom of expression.</p> <p>In a tweet, Kabtane said: "A teacher was killed by an ignoramus who knew nothing of his religion. Muslims must be united to face this ignorance and violence."</p> <p>Thousands of people rallied across France honour Paty and defend freedom of speech. Protesters held signs declaring “I am a teacher” and “I am Samuel.”</p> <p>French authorities have responded to the attack by launching a harsh crackdown with security services investigating 51 associations, including religious schools and mosques. They have open more than 80 investigations.</p> <p>Read more from<u> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/19/925354707/french-police-conduct-raids-ag…">NPR</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54602171">the BBC </a></u>and <u><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201019-additional-police-operation…">France 24</a></u></p>

<p>Chinese officials have warned the US that they will detain Americans if the Justice Department prosecutes Chinese scholars who are affiliated with the Chinese military, The New York Times <u><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/us/politics/china-us-threats-detain…">reported</a></u>. &nbsp;</p> <p>US&nbsp;law enforcement officials report that five recently arrested Chinese scholars did not disclose their military affiliations on their visa applications, therefore accusing that&nbsp;&nbsp;China may be conducting industrial espionage in their research centres.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Trump administration announced it was barring Chinese students at the graduate level or higher from entering the US&nbsp;if they had ties to military institutions in China</p> <p>"A lot of our ideas, technology, research, innovation is incubated on those university campuses," said Bill Evanina, the top counterintelligence official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "That's where the science and technology originates — and that's why it's the most prime place to steal."</p> <p>At Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology, a Chinese student was charge with helping to recruit spies for China’s MSS, the country’s version of the American CIA.&nbsp;</p> <p>In response, the FBI and other agencies are pushing universities and research institutions to tighten policies governing outside relationships, travel disclosure and conflicts of interest.&nbsp;</p> <p>But the government pressure has sparked accusations of racial profiling and pushback by college presidents who say the government’s reaction risks America’s greatest strength — openness.&nbsp;</p> <p>At a conference, Temple University physics professor Xiaoxing Xi tearfully recalled being detained by the FBI, who accused him of spying for China, in front of his children.&nbsp;</p> <p>Four months later, prosecutors dropped the charges after it became clear the case was based on a misunderstanding of information Xi sent to scientists in China, which turned out to be available on the internet.</p> <p>"There have been so many cases of wrongful prosecution, of lives ruined because of a rush to judgment," said former Washington state Gov. Gary Locke, who served as US&nbsp;Ambassador&nbsp;to China.&nbsp;</p> <p>A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, accused the United States on Monday of “outright political repression” of Chinese scholars when asked at a news conference in Beijing about reports of detention threats made by Chinese officials.</p> <p>“The U.S. claim that foreign nationals in China are under threat of arbitrary detention is playing the victim and confusing black and white,” he said.</p> <p>“We are aware that the Chinese government has, in other instances, detained American, Canadian and other individuals without legal basis to retaliate against lawful prosecutions and to exert pressure on their governments, with a callous disregard of the individuals involved,” John C. Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division, said in a statement.</p> <p>These threats are worsening tensions between the US&nbsp;and China, whose relationship became increasingly&nbsp;unstable following the coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>The Chinese government vehemently denies the accusations that members of its military are in the United States for scientific and industrial espionage.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Thailand authorities have ordered internet providers to block Telegram, a messaging app, which has been used by pro-democracy protesters.&nbsp;</p> <p>An official with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission confirmed reports on Monday that they had been ordered to block access to the messaging app which has been used&nbsp; Deputy police spokesman Kissana Phataracharoen confirmed an order signed by the chief of police that could allow officials to block access to news sites citing “distorted information”. Another ministry requested court orders to censor content on four media outlets and take down a protest’s groups Facebook page.</p> <p>Protesters have been demanding for the abolition of a severe defamation law that protects the Thai monarchy from criticism, greater transparency of royal finances, and for the monarch to diverge from politics. Despite the protest, the Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said that “what the government needs to do is to protect the monarchy.”</p> <p>Prayuth’s supporters hold majority of the military backed government and have exercised their power to suppress speech and public communication to squash protests.</p> <p>“They think they have so much power to shut people down online, but they don’t realise they can’t catch up with us new generation and the technology we grew up with,” said an 18-year-old activist.&nbsp;</p> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/19/embattled-thai-premier-recall…">here</a></p>

Bolivia’s elections on Sunday saw the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), claim a victory after securing 52.4 per cent of the vote, according to exit polls.

This election follows the ousting of former Bolivian President, and leader of MAS, Evo Morales, in 2019 following controversial protests led by Bolivia’s military and allegations by the Organisation of American States (OAS) of irregularities in the electoral process. Supporters of Morales has described the outing of Morales and the appointment of US-backed interim president, Jeanine Áñez Chavez, as a “US-backed coup”.

Morales was forced into exile in Argentina and his party was led by his former finance minister, Luis Arce.  Whilst Jeanine Áñez Chavez has acknowledged the legitimacy of MAS victory, if the official count is accurate, Arturo Murillo, the interim Interior Minister, has warned against the return of Morales.

On Sunday soldiers and armoured vehicles took to the streets of La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, in what Murillo describes as an attempt to prevent “the return of dictators”.

The Washington Post notes that Morales, who was democratically elected three times before his controversial bid for a fourth term last year.

In an interview, Arce maintained that Morales would need to face the justice system to defend himself against “numerous” charges if he returned.

“We think that our comrade Evo has every right, if he so wishes, to return to the country and defend himself,” Arce said.

Read more from the Washington Post

<p>The Standing Committee of China’s congress passed amendments to a law which will criminalise&nbsp; insulting the national flag and emblem.&nbsp;</p> <p>The amendment which will come into effect on January 1, 2021, will criminalise those who intentionally burn, paint, deface, discard or display the flag upside down and will be prone to investigation for criminal responsibility.&nbsp;</p> <p>Amendments to the law were proposed after pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong last year desecrated the Chinese flag resulting in controversy in China.&nbsp;</p> <p>In Tuen Mun, protestors asked for the reclamation of Hong Kong and some took down a Chinese flag from a pole outside a government office and burned it.&nbsp;</p> <p>The protests in Hong Kong started over opposition to a proposed extradition law and have since expanded to include demands for greater democracy from China.&nbsp; At least three protesters in Hong Kong have since been sentenced for the desecration of the flag.&nbsp;</p> <p>Read more <u><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-approves-amendment…">here</a></u>.&nbsp;</p>

China and Russia's appointment as members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has caused outrage amongst human rights campaigners. It "is like making a gang of arsonists into the fire brigade”, commented UN Watch, a Geneva-based monitoring group.

Fifteen countries were elected to the 47-member state council. Each country had to gain 97 affirmative votes by secret ballot by the majority of the UN General Assembly to secure a three-year term seat at the UNHRC starting on 1^st January. The elected members are Bolivia, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, Gabon, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan. Saudi Arabia competed against China and failed in its attempt to become a member by scoring only 90 votes. 

As per Resolution 60/251, which established the council, nations elected to the council must uphold the ‘highest standards’ in the promotion and protection of human rights. Yet, several rights activists have questioned the human rights record of the elected states, as well as the UNHRC election process. 

According to Rosa María Payá, a Cuban human rights activist, claimed that Cuba is using the seat “to protect their immunity, making sure the multiple accusations against them and criminal friends in Venezuela, China, Russia and Belarus do not prosper”.

Attention was also drawn to the recent poisoning of the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, by the Russian state.

Yang Jianli, the president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China highlighted China’s involvement in the “annihilation of political freedom in Hong Kong”.

“If this were an election for a UN human rights abusers council, it would be more than proper to vote for China, since it leads the world in violating human rights,” Yang added. 

Read more from the Times here, the Guardian here, and Al Jazeera here.