FoRB in Full

Rohingya Muslims displaced from Myanmar/Burma.

No debemos permitir que el pueblo Rohingya pase al fondo de la agenda internacional

Posted on 23/01/202323/01/2023 by cswpress in Asia ES, español, Myanmar ES

El 2 de diciembre de 2022, un grupo de aproximadamente 180 refugiados Rohingyas abordaron un barco en Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Su destino previsto era Malasia, donde muchos esperaban reunirse con familiares y seres queridos, o construir una vida mejor que la que tienen en los campamentos superpoblados, insalubres y cada vez más peligrosos de Bangladesh.

Ellos nunca lo lograron

En una declaración emitida el 25 de diciembre, las Naciones Unidas expresaron su preocupación de que el barco se hubiera hundido después de que desapareció en el mar de Andamán. Los familiares de quienes estaban a bordo dijeron a The Guardian que tenían pocas esperanzas de que sus familiares todavía estuvieran vivos, y si se confirma, el número de refugiados Rohingya que han muerto en travesías marítimas a Malasia en 2022 se acercaría a 400.

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We must not let the Rohingya people slip to the bottom of the international agenda

Posted on 16/01/2023 by cswpress in Asia, Burma

On 2 December 2022 a group of approximately 180 Rohingya refugees boarded a boat in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Their intended destination was Malaysia, where many hoped to be reunited with family and loved ones, or to build a better life than the one available to them in the overcrowded, unsanitary and increasingly dangerous camps in Bangladesh.

They never made it.

In a statement issued on 25 December, the United Nations expressed concern that the boat had sank after it went missing in the Andaman Sea. Relatives of those onboard told the Guardian that they had little hope that their family members were still alive, and if confirmed it would bring the number of Rohingya refugees who have died on sea crossings to Malaysia in 2022 close to 400.

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Bob Chan is beaten inside the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, UK.

A medida que China, Eritrea, Irán y más extienden la represión más allá de sus propias fronteras, debemos hacer algo mejor

Posted on 10/01/202323/01/2023 by cswpress in China ES, Eritrea ES, español, Iran ES

En noviembre del año pasado, Ken McCallum, Director General del Servicio de Seguridad del Reino Unido conocido como MI5, afirmó que su agencia había identificado “al menos diez” amenazas potenciales de secuestrar o incluso matar a individuos británicos o con sede en el Reino Unido percibidos como enemigos del régimen iraní. Agregó que los servicios de inteligencia iraníes “están preparados para tomar medidas temerarias” contra los opositores en Occidente, incluso atrayendo a personas a Irán.

En un momento de intensos disturbios civiles en Irán tras la muerte bajo custodia policial de Mahsa Amini, de 22 años, quien fue arrestada por usar incorrectamente su hijab, los comentarios de McCallum destacaron un tema preocupante que se aplica a varios de los países en los que trabaja CSW: los regímenes represivos tienen cada vez menos miedo de llegar más allá de sus fronteras.

China

Quizás uno de los ejemplos más obvios es China, una superpotencia global que utiliza regularmente su influencia económica y geopolítica para dar forma a las decisiones en foros internacionales como el Consejo de Derechos Humanos, y rutinariamente impone sanciones contra parlamentarios occidentales y otros que condenan abiertamente las violaciones generalizadas que tienen lugar en el país.

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As China, Eritrea, Iran and more extend repression beyond their own borders, we must do better

Posted on 09/01/202309/01/2023 by cswpress in China, Eritrea, Iran

In November last year, Ken McCallum, the Director General of the UK’s Security Service known as MI5, claimed that his agency had identified “at least ten” potential threats to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the Iranian regime. He added that the Iranian intelligence services “are prepared to take reckless action” against opponents in the West, including by luring individuals to Iran.

Coming at a time of intense civil unrest in Iran following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for incorrectly wearing her hijab, McCallum’s comments highlighted a concerning issue that applies to several of the countries CSW works on: repressive regimes are becoming increasingly unafraid to reach beyond their borders.

China

Perhaps one of the most obvious examples is China, a global superpower which regularly uses its economic and geopolitical influence to shape decisions in international fora such as the Human Rights Council, and routinely metes out sanctions against Western parliamentarians and others who openly condemn the widespread violations taking place in the country.

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‘I will not beat other people; I am a Christian’ – Cuba’s new criminal code outlaws freedom of conscience

Posted on 15/12/202215/12/2022 by cswpress in Cuba, Latin America

Faced with a growing number of protests in Cuba on the part of its citizenry, the Cuban regime has needed to forcibly recruit men¹ into the ranks of its military. They are not being brought in to bring peace or mediate in the middle of the protests, exactly, but rather to violently repress and neutralize the protests, of which 5,164 separate incidents have been recorded since demonstrations broke out on 11 July 2021, also known as 11J. The new recruits have also been made to participate in the creation of false evidence, which has been used to lock up more than 1,000 political prisoners since 11J.

The Cuban Conflict Observatory reports that 589 protests took place in October 2022; this was the month with the highest number incidents since demonstrations first broke out on 11J. The regime has had to resort to raids, using various means of deception and often force, to increase the numbers of enlisted young people.

‘Do you know what they did to a group of young people?’ a pastor asked CSW. ‘They phoned them to arrange the handover of their degrees and grades, [but really] the people from the military committee were waiting for them to enlist them.’

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