Arcadia Foundation

The following comes to us by By Holman W. Jenkins jr., courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

Stalin died in bed at age 73 of a stroke, virtually untreated, as his aides stood around and debated the propriety of calling in a doctor without an instruction from their master. Given Vladimir Putin’s age (58) and modern life expectancies, it could be decades before his henchmen might have a similar opportunity for inaction.

A moment of suspense came in 2008 when then-President Putin faced a constitutional prohibition on a third consecutive term. He solved his dilemma by turning himself into prime minister, arranging for one of his factotums to be elected as president, and carrying on as before. Now he can stay prime minister indefinitely, or can run in next year’s presidential race.

Bottom line: The world, and Russia, may be living with Mr. Putin for a long time.

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As the Canadian Newswire reports, Canada will finally pass the Canadian Human Rights Act, restoring rights of the Aboriginal people long since lost. The new act will grant Aboriginals along with First Nations equality with their fellow Canadians.

A legislative gap long seen as a black mark on Canada’s human rights record will finally be closed onJune 18, 2011 when, for the first time in more than 30 years, First Nations and other Aboriginal people will have the same human rights protections as everyone else in Canada.

This means they will be able to take action against First Nations governments as well as the Government of Canada when they experience discrimination in decisions affecting their daily lives. Read Full Paper

The Tehran Times reports that HRW issued a statement on Monday saying the Kuwaiti government has denied the Bidun “essential documentation, including birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as access to free government schools and legal employment opportunities.”

Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch Sarah Leah Whitson said, “Like the rest of the Arab world, the Bidun have had enough and are demanding reforms the government should have made years ago.”

According to HRW, the Bidun in Kuwait live under “vulnerable” conditions and “without protection,” and the government considers them “illegal residents.”
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The World Federation of Diamond Bourses has called on members of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to resolve internal disagreements as to whether Zimbabwe should be allowed to export stones from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond field, saying a continued deadlock is causing irreparable damage to the global industry.

In a statement, Federation President Avi Paz said Kimberley members must “take the essential and courageous decision to allow Zimbabwe to export rough diamonds from all diamond mining areas in the country, including Marange.”

Voice of America reports that Paz said the Kimberley Process has failed to end a longstanding impasse over diamonds from Marange and therefore bears responsibility for reputational damage to the diamond industry and indeed for much of the economic hardship facing Zimbabweans today.

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UN officials made a special visit to Tunisia to determine the progress of it’s recommendations involving human rights and counter-terrorism in the country. According to a report from the UN News Centre, Martin Scheinin visited the country for the first time since last January to see what human rights efforts still needs to be accomplished in the country.

An independent United Nations human rights expert today urged Tunisia’s transitional Government to carry out the necessary reforms to ensure that its counter-terrorism measures comply with international human rights law.

“I call for measures against impunity to secure accountability for crimes and human rights violations committed in the name of counter-terrorism,” said Martin Scheinin, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, at the end of his five-day visit to Tunisia. Read Full Paper

In a systemic pattern of Interpol abuse, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that former Duma member Ashot Egiazaryan was placed on the ‘Interpol wanted list’. At the same time, the Investigative Committee failed to note that Interpol itself does not search for anyone, but only circulates notices at the request of Interpol member states.

According to the official position of Interpol, such notices “are not international arrest warrants” but are automatically circulated at the request of the requesting state “to assist the national police in identifying or locating those persons with a view to their arrest”.  Arrest warrants are issued exclusively by national authorities, which in Mr. Egiazaryan’s case took place nearly four months ago.

The Investigative Committee’s arrest warrant is also fraudulent.  Under Russian law, an arrest warrant may only be issued in the absence of the accused if that individual has been placed on an international wanted list, whereas a mandatory condition for placement on the international wanted list is placement on the national wanted list.  Mr. Egiazaryan was placed on the Russian national wanted list on the false pretence that his whereabouts are unknown.

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The Council on Foreign Relations reports that the United States could quite possibly be making headway into possible talks between North and South Korea, based on information from the State Department.

At a State Department briefing earlier this week, the spokesman stated that U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea Ambassador Robert King may be tasked to lead a food assessment mission to North Korea. This announcement comes following a round of consultations led by Ambassador Stephen Bosworth last week in South Korea to manage differences on the issue, since United States sees food assistance as an issue separate from politics while the South Korean government sees food assistance as a form of leverage by which to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. The consultations resulted in begrudging South Korean government support (or at least the absence of objections to) the U.S. decision to send an assessment team to North Korea. Read Full Paper

Reuters reports that the United States imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other top aides for human rights abuses on Wednesday in a dramatic escalation of pressure on Syria to cease its brutal crackdown on protesters.

Targeting Assad personally with sanctions, which the United States and European Union have so far avoided, is a significant slap at Damascus and raises questions about whether Washington and the West may ultimately seek Assad’s removal from power.

Syrian activists say at least 700 civilians have been killed in two months of clashes between government forces and protesters seeking an end to his 11-year rule. The protests in Syria began after demonstrations toppled authoritarian leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Read Full Paper

Ugandan Parliament was a beehive of activity yesterday as new MPs, including Arcadia Foundation Co-Founder Betty Bigombe, began taking their oath of office, ahead of the official opening of the second multiparty Parliament on Thursday.

At least 123 ‘fresh’ MPs were sworn-in including Lubaga North MP Singh Katongole Marwaha whose election was shrouded in controversies. While Mr Marwaha was supposed to be sworn-in today, authorities in Parliament said Mr Singh had requested to take his oath ahead of time.

While Mr Singh said he was going to travel, there was speculation that he could have been favoured for fear of an impending court injunction to block his swearing- in because of the tumult surrounding the vote-recount that gave him the ‘victory’.

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As AllAfrica reports, to run a democratic government in Nigeria is very expensive but the people that run the government determine the political system. In the recent past, the Federal Government has been bedeviled with high- profile corruption which emanated from the military interregnum but has continued under the civilian government. Yet, corruption undermines everything the law enforcement community works toward. It impoverishes whole communities and threatens the safety and security of the many for the benefit of a very few.

Corruption is a multifaceted phenomenon supported by different historical and socio-economic conditions in each country. It exists at all levels of society. Although in the past it could have been considered a largely domestic issue, corruption now often transcends national boundaries. Its consequences are global; its hidden costs immense.

The private sector has responded by implementing ethics and compliance standards and regulations, while the public sector benefits from the ratification of recent laws and international conventions. Oversight bodies and mechanisms have been created to ensure the smooth running of efforts in both sectors. Corruption remains rampant in many countries, continuing to siphon off valuable resources and economic gains. Read Full Paper