February 2005 e-newsletter
Inter Pares' E-Newsletter
Rights, Freedom, and the Rule of Law
In this e-newsletter:
- Letter of Introduction
- Rights, Freedom, and the Rule of Law
- Defending Civil Liberties, in Canada and Worldwide
- Women's League of Burma: Courage in the Face of Fear
- Confined Communities - Breaking Out
- The River of Migration
Links
Abonnez-vous à la version française
Inter Pares Web site
PDF version of this Bulletin
This Bulletin on the Web
![[]](http://www.interpares.ca/gfx/l-e-donate.gif){kind=small}
Dear friend,
We are pleased to enclose the first issue of the Inter Pares Bulletin for 2005, entitled Rights, Freedom, and the Rule of Law.
The long struggle for democracy and freedom around the world wears many faces. In countries torn by armed conflict, courageous women and men go beyond ensuring their own safety to advocate for peaceful resolution to war. In the most authoritarian regimes, one can find voices speaking for freedom and equal participation, while even in democratic countries such as Canada, civil society provides much-needed vigilance to promote rights for all and to protect civil liberties from ever-increasing threat.
In the pages of this Bulletin are featured a few such struggles. Inter Pares and our counterparts work together in many places around the world to promote democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Through our actions we seek to create a world where there is one universal standard of dignity for all, a world in which every person and every community has a right to live decently and with dignity.
We thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to this work. As always, we welcome your responses, questions, and comments on our Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Samantha McGavin
Rights, Freedom, and the Rule of Law
El Salaam camp. Almost 120,000 people live here in the dry emptiness on the outskirts of Omdurman, near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. There are no roads, no trees, and no water. Only shacks made with mud bricks, or, for the "less fortunate," cardboard and plastic. The majority of the people here are women and children from various ethnic groups, including Dinka, Nuer, Nuba, Shoulouk, and Zandi. They have fled from war, violence, drought, and hunger. Many have been here for ten years or more. Humanitarian agencies provide the people with food, water, and other essentials. The camp is under government control - the same government that contributed to the conflict. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
Confined Communities - Breaking Out
We sat in the boat and watched young men on the bank of the river playing cards around a makeshift table. It seemed innocent enough - until you noticed the guns. We had pulled in to shore along the Atrato river at one of the many checkpoints that control all movement on the river. In Chocó, one of the poorest regions of Colombia, there are almost no roads, so the river is the lifeline - the only way for people to move from place to place. Armed men control every movement in parts of Chocó. Some control the river, while others control the forest paths. In some areas these armed men are the guerrilla, in others they are the paramilitaries, and in other areas they are the army. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
Women's League of Burma: Courage in the Face of Fear
Then he put his rifle barrel against my face - it felt so cold and made me so afraid I can't tell you. -- Testimony from Naw Lay Wah, from Shattering Silences: Karen Women speak out about the Burmese Military's use of rape as a strategy of War in Karen State
People in Burma live in fear. A soldier's knock at the door can compel them to flee to a life of hunger and uncertainty as refugees. An officer can order them to provide a month of backbreaking, uncompensated labour for the local battalion. An unlucky encounter in their fields with troops can result in the loss of a season's worth of food, beatings and even the murder of a family member. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
Defending Civil Liberties, in Canada and Worldwide
One of the most troubling characteristics of the present era is the erosion of the rule of law and the rights of citizens. This phenomenon includes the excesses of those who make laws and are charged with upholding them.
The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) is a coalition of over 30 Canadian organizations, including Inter Pares, created in the aftermath of government reaction to the events of September, 2001. Its purpose is to monitor "anti-terrorism" legislation and other security measures that affect civil liberties, human rights, refugee protection, political dissent, and the activities of charities carrying out international cooperation and humanitarian assistance globally. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
The River of Migration
Throughout the ages, in all corners of the globe, people have been forced to leave their homes for one reason or another. In Colombia, for instance, hundreds of people leave their homes every day, fleeing the war that has ravaged their country for almost four decades. Families are torn apart, their members often facing different futures, all uncertain. Some will become part of the very large internally displaced population. Some of the women will be systematically raped by security forces, paramilitaries, or guerrillas. One or two family members will cross the border, and become recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. One person might even make it to Canada. But most will move quietly and covertly in-country and across the border as "migrants" to avoid being visible targets in the conflict; under the cloak of invisibility, they are often exploited or murdered, enslaved or 'disappeared'. Same family, same history of violence, different futures. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
East Timor: Testimony
The people of East Timor have endured the brutality of colonization and invasion, to emerge into the uncertain light of nationhood. At this point of transition, through stunning images and insightful texts, East Timor: Testimony presents a broad overview of the country's history, culture, and aspirations. Sixty-four of photographer Elaine Brière's eloquent photos form the core of this haunting, informative book. Nine authors, including renowned investigator Noam Chomsky, have contributed original essays.
Inter Pares is proud to have supported the development and publication of East Timor: Testimony. It is available through your local independent bookstore or directly from Between the Lines Books.
Photo Essay: People's Right to Move - Voices from Colombia's Confined Communities
In Colombia, armed actors deny people their basic right to move and this affects their ability to feed themselves and their access to health care and education. The imposition of strict controls over all aspects of people's lives and the abuse of women creates a climate of fear in a growing number of communities. Through these photos and testimonies, people from different parts of Colombia share the impacts on their lives of being forcibly confined to the villages where they live. We also present a campaign from the region of Chocó (the Pacific coast) that peacefully pressured all of the armed actors to remove their controls and respect the basic rights and freedoms of people.
Click here to view Inter Pares' latest photo essay
Subscribing / Cancelling / Back issues
Click here to subscribe if you're reading someone else's copy.
You are receiving this e-newsletter because you or your organization requested a subscription to Inter Pares e-newsletters. If we have included you in error, or you would prefer to not receive future e-newsletters (or wish to change your address), please e-mail enewsletter@interpares.ca (or click here to cancel your subscription) and we will make sure your e-mail address is eliminated from our list.
Abonnez-vous à la version française
Inter Pares Web site
PDF version of this Bulletin
This Bulletin on the Web
Inter Pares
221 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6P1
Phone (1-613) 563-4801 Fax (1-613) 594-4704
Inter Pares works overseas and in Canada in support of self-help development groups, and in the promotion of understanding about the causes, effects and solutions to under-development and poverty. Charitable registration number (BN) 11897 1100 RR000 1.
Financial support for the Bulletin is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency.
Please re-distribute this e-newsletter to anyone you think would enjoy it, in its complete and original form only. Copyright 2005 Inter Pares. All rights reserved.
Financial support for the E-Newsletter is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency.
| Reviewed September 8, 2005 |  |
Publishing Policies |
