ASEAN – deeply flawed Human Rights Declaration – Affects Japans Human rights petitions?
Wilder Tayler, Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists. “Balancing human rights with responsibilities turns on its head the entire raison d’être of human rights,”
In a letter sent to ASEAN Heads of State, leading international human rights organizations called for the postponement of the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, pointing out that in its current form, the Declaration falls short of existing international human rights standards and risks creating a sub-standard level of human rights protection in the region.
Of particular concern are the General Principles in the Declaration. Under General Principles 6,7 and 8 of the current draft, enjoyment of rights is to be “balanced with the performance of duties”, subjected to “national and regional contexts” and to considerations of “different cultural, religious and historical backgrounds.” Also, all the rights in the Declaration may be restricted on a wide array of grounds including “national security” and “public morality”.
“The idea that all human rights are to be ‘balanced’ against individual responsibilities contradicts the very idea of human rights agreed upon in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was affirmed by all States, including ASEAN Member States, in 1993 in the Vienna Declaration andProgramme of Action,” said Wilder Tayler, Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists. “Balancing human rights with responsibilities turns on its head the entire raison d’être of human rights,” he further emphasized.
Furthermore, international law prohibits governments from derogating under any circumstances from a broad set of rights. Other rights can only be subject to specific, narrow, and clearly defined restrictions in certain circumstances. Finally, international law imposes on all ASEAN Member States the duty, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to respect and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“It is clear that in its current form the Declaration purports to make a significant and worrying departure from existing international human rights law and standards, including those found in other regional human rights instruments, in Europe, the Americas, and Africa,” said Souhayr Belhassen, President of the International Federation for Human Rights.
“Unless significant changes are made to the text, ASEAN will be adopting in 2012 a Human Rights Declaration that grants ASEAN Member States additional powers to violate human rights instead of providing the region’s people with additional safeguards against such violations”, said Michael Bochenek, Director of Amnesty International’s Law and Policy Programme.
British PM refuses to apologize for selling arms to rights abusers -Press TV
The Prime Minister was heavily slammed for his three-day controversial visit to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates last week, during which he acted as a salesman for the country’s arms industry that involved the selling of 100 Typhoon jets to dictatorial regimes in the region.
Amnesty International accused David Cameron of a “deeply disturbing trade-off” between business and strategic interests and the issue of human rights.
The Prime Minister defended his trip to the Middle East region during his annual Mansion House speech, adding that he was collecting support to the UK economy with defence strategies.
Cameron’s controversial move comes as the British government continues to sell itself as an advocate of human rights.
Ex-British PM’s bloody legacy stops his reemergence -Press TV
Students and campaigners from the Stop the War Coalitionused the occasion to reiterate their demand that the former prime minister be tried for war crimes and criticised the university for hosting the event.
Chris Nineham, vice chair of Stop the War Coalition, which organised the protest said: “It is completely insane for a man who lied to parliament to be speaking at a conference supported by one of Britain’s premier educational institutions. It is an absolutely mad situation.”
Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:30PM GMT
Tony Blair’s attempts to buy himself prestige as a globetrotting speechmaker-for-hire are damaged by the spectres of a million Iraqi dead during and after the U.S.-led invasion of the country in March 2003.
The disgraced war criminal was given a platform at UniversityCollege London (UCL) to speak on Tuesday morning, where he was greeted with hundreds of protesters who gathered outside the College and highlighted Blair’s bloody crimes.
China’s Nuclear Development Cause For Concern, US Report
EDF, Areva’s New Nuclear Reactor Design to Be Approved in UK By Year End -Reports
Published November 14, 2012
Dow Jones Newswires
The design of the new EPR nuclear reactor currently elaborated by French power utility Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) and nuclear engineering firm Areva SA (AREVA.FR) is on course to be approved by U.K. regulators by the end of the year.
MAIN FACTS:
– EDF said the update from regulators means that the UK EPR remains on schedule to be approved by the end of this year, in time for a decision from EDF Energy on whether to proceed with the project.
– The EPR reactor design is planned for new nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point and Sizewell.
– According to EDF, a report from the U.K. regulator recognizes “the improvements in the quality and timeliness of the submissions” made by EDF Energy and AREVA to address issues during the last six months, and concludes that “closure of all issues should be achievable before the end of the year”.
New reactors quarterly report published
- Date:
- November 14, 2012 – 10:24 am
- Continue reading
China, Macau -19 government departments participate in nuclear accident exercise
“..While China, Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Brunai still ban the import of Fukushima produce,…”
Macau Daily Times
14/11/2012 07:47:00
What would the government do if nuclear radiation occurs in Macau? Yesterday, a nuclearexercise directed by the Fire Services Bureau (FSM) and joined by 19 government departments took place simulating emergency procedures in the event of a nuclear accident.
The four-hour simulation started with a nuclear accident occurring at a mainland nuclear power plant 70 miles from Macau. At about 8:30 a.m. the authority informed the population that the region might be affected within three hours and instructed residents to remain indoors. Nineteen official departments, involving some 200 people, participated in the simulation.
At the Nam Yue market in the northern area, cargo load full of vegetables from the mainland had just arrived. Staff from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) inspected the produce with a nuclear radiation detection device before the food was distributed to wholesale markets. After that IACM also examined the quality of water supplied from Zhuhai. The authority declared the existence of an emergency plan if any abnormality is detected in data.
The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) introduced the tools and methods used to detect nuclear risk. Besides these, the exercise covered emergencies concerning food supply, examination of the quality of the environment, checks for imported visitors at border gates, amongst others.
Top Japan paper reports 100,000 at Tokyo nuclear protest, then alters headline (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/100000-reported-at-tokyo-nuclear-protest/comment-page-1#comment-304861
Title: Thousands protest against nuclear power in central Tokyo
Source: Mainichi
Date: Nov 12, 2012
Thousands of people staged a demonstration near the Diet Building on the rainy evening of Nov. 11 to call for an end to nuclear power.
According to figures released by demonstration organizer Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes, roughly 100,000 people took part in the protest. Police put the figure at about 7,000.
[…] At one point, there were so many protesters packed into one place they disrupted use of the local crosswalks. […]
A demonstration scheduled for the capital’s Hibiya Park the same day was cancelled after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government refused to issue a permit.
Video on enenews link
Sacrificing Our Children: Nuclear Accidents challenge Priorities of United Nations by Akio Matsumura
Finally, the international system is only one part of addressing responses to nuclear accidents. Governments and media cannot shirk their important roles, and should focus on putting human security before national security and political survival. The bottom line is that our children should not be lost in the clamor of the political circus or forgotten in the debates of headstrong scientists.
” Shunichi Yamashita, vice president of Fukushima University Medical School, has urged thyroid specialists across Japan to not give second opinions to concerned families.
The survey denounces his “repressive conduct” and considers it a violation of human rights for the affected children and their families. At the very least, why wouldn’t the government err on the side of caution and provide as much help as they can for these children?
SUNDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2012
Posted by Mia June and friends at 07:09
Here is a full copy of his article. His comment doesn’t take a side of anti-nuclear, but he points out well what’s lacking internationally to address the issue of human rights.
Japan’s Lack of Concern for Fukushima’s Children
The children of Fukushima need greater medical attention and assistance. After the Chernobyl accident, concerns grew in that region as to whether higher rates of cancer, especially in the thyroid gland, would be found in children due to exposure to radioactive iodine. With this in mind, to alleviate concern after TEPCO’s nuclear accident, the Fukushima prefecture has been conducting a “Prefecture Health Management Survey.” According to the survey (as translated by Fukushima Voice), there is a high rate of thyroid cysts appearing in the children tested.
The appearance of cysts, fluid-filled sacs, does not translate to cancer, but something extraordinary is happening in cell development. Their abnormally high prevalence shows that they were caused by environmental factors and are cause for concern. In the same vein, worries exist about decreased pulmonary function and bone marrow abnormalities.
One Year Eight Months On -fukushima blog -Anne Kaneko
Fukushima blogger -recommend
Posted by Anne Kaneko
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Hi folks
First, the vital question of the interim storage facility. Back in August the Environment Ministry nominated, out of the blue, twelve sites along the coast Nuclear Waste (2) There was an outcry, not so much about the proposal itself – everyone knows this faciltiy has to go somewhere – but about the way it was done. No consultation with residents beforehand. Previous to that, the government had announced that compensation and repatriation would be carried out according to levels of airborne radiation. Pity then the people in Naraha, where levels are low, who had begun to plan going home but who suddenly find that the biggest dump is to be on their doorstep! Surely it’s the wrong way round. First, these big issues should be settled. And only then should villages and towns be deciding if and when to return. (A similar issue incidentally concerns the ‘buffer zone’ round Fukushima Daiichi. We hear there is to be one, but no one yet has any idea how big it will be. Several hundred metres, or several kilometres?)
Anyway, the ministry wants to carry out further surveys and has been carrying out consultations with residents to smooth the way. Three months on and it seems that the basic plan will be completed by the end of this month and work for the surveys go out to tender.
SOUTEIGAI: BEYOND IMAGINATION -Feature on Fukushima -Audio
360DOCUMENTARIES
21 OCTOBER 2012
‘Souteigai’ or ‘beyond imagination’, said the Japanese government spokesman when the tsunami waves rolled across a 300-kilometre-long strip of coastline. ‘Souteigai’ was also the word used in self-justification by nuclear plant owner TEPCO in reference to the meltdown at Fukushima. And ‘Souteigai’ was the thought on people’s minds as they were forced to watch the black water rolling over houses and people and flattening everything – and on the minds of the 80,000 evacuees who lost their homes because of Fukushima.
Malte Jaspersen has lived for 20 years in Kyoto. To the north of the city, there are 13 nuclear reactors. Not least because of this, he wanted to find out how the threefold catastrophe had altered the lives of those affected. He spoke with firemen who had seen unimaginable things, with parents from Fukushima who are trying to protect their children from radioactivity, with anti-nuclear activists, with priests and with people who, in the desolation and devastation of their towns and villages, are starting to rebuild their shattered communities. Since last year, Malte Jaspersen has included a Geiger counter among his household items.
Souteigai is winner of the 2012 Prix Italia President’s Cup, awarded to a radio program dedicated to important current issues.
The original feature was written and produced by Malte Jaspersen in Japanese and German for Deutschlandradio Kultur and the Bayerischer Rundfunk. This English language version of Souteigai was produced for 360documentaries by Nicole Steinke. The sound engineers were Andrei Shabunov and Phillip Ulman.
Japanese poems were written by Matsudaira Meiko and Ikura Chizu. The reader was Naomi Ota. Translations were read by Peter Kowitz (Malte Jaspersen), Asako Izawa, Eden Falk, David Rutledge and Nicole Steinke.
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2012/10/tsy_20121021.mp3
or this link
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/360/360documentaries-21-october-2012/4313156
65 percent of worlds nuclear laboratories get Strontium 90 measurement wrong –
“The determination of 90Sr proved difficult for 65 % of the participants which submitted results outside the acceptable range (± 20 %). No improvement could be seen compared to 90Sr determination in one of the previous ILC exercises (Wätjen et al., 2008).
The laboratories concerned, i.e. the vast majority of laboratories reporting 90Sr results, are urged to review their analysis procedures.”
European Commission
Joint Research Centre
Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements
Report on the JRC comparison of labs performance to measure radioactivity in soil
13/11/12
The JRC’s Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) organised an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) for the determination of 15 natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in soil. A report describing in detail all the phases of this exercise has just been published.
The Euratom Treaty obliges EU countries to perform measurements of the radioactivity in their environment and to report the results to the European Commission (EC). In order to verify the performance of monitoring laboratories and to ensure the comparability of reported results, regular interlaboratory comparisons were introduced by EC. Since 2003, JRC-IRMM is responsible for their organisation.
A total of 73 laboratories (49 from EU27, 7 from associated countries, 2 from Switzerland and 15 worldwide) completed the exercise. They were nominated among those laboratories that monitor radioactivity in the environment and foodstuff by national representatives in the expert group (Euratom Treaty Art. 35/36) and by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The certified reference material IAEA-375 Soil (originating from the area affected by the Chernobyl accident) was used as basis for the testing material, although it was made unrecognizable for the participants. Laboratories were asked to determine the level of the activity concentration of radioisotopes of potassium, strontium, caesium, lead, radium, bismuth, thorium, uranium and plutonium (40K, 90Sr, 137Cs, 212Pb, 212Bi, 214Pb, 214Bi, 226Ra, 230Th,232Th, 234U, 235U, 238U, 238Pu, and 239 240Pu).
Finland Toxic Spill Worst Ever in History (Video)
“Tero Varjoranta of the Radiation and Nuclear Authority (STUK) said that uranium levels were elevated, but not a danger to humans. The samples tested most recently showed levels at 350 microgrammes per litre, while the recommended limit is 100 microgrammes.”“The local health people say that the levels of radiation from the uranium are below levels that would damage health – unless the radioactive material gets into the drinking water supply. That means that people cannot use the water from lakes, streams or rivers in the area for cooking or drinking. Due to the possible impact on skin, it is also recommended that people not use the water in their saunas.”
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
The beautiful lakes, rivers and creeks – clean freshwater – are the most valuable asset Finns have. You wouldn’t think that we would let somebody poison them. But it happened. The people downstream feel themselves totally powerless, and fear their own drinking water. Greenpeace
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