Biblio

Covers issues of both climate change and biodiversity: loss of fish stocks, plastic pollution and role of oceans as climate regulators, and dangers of planned seabed mining. These issues are framed by a legal and political analysis of the Law of the Sea, the role of the International Seabed Authority and the negotiations between 190 countries in the Intergovernmental Conference on the Protection of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, intended to lead to a new Global Ocean Treaty.    There are a number of timelines on the evolving scientific research and the political context of climate change: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15874560 (1712-2013) Sources for the evolving scientific understanding of climate change include: IPCC Reports (comprehensive assessment reports, special reports on specific issues and methodology reports); there are also summaries for policy makers. The IPCC releases very much shorter summaries to the press. NASA provides climate change and global warming information on its website: climate.nasa.org The Scientific American carries material on the science and politics relating to climate change. www.scientificamerican.com The New Scientist provides accessible news reports and analyses on scientific issues, including climate change. https://newscientist.com

This article was prompted by the Supreme Court's ruling in November 2018 that refusing to accept 21-14 months of military service for religious or conscientious reasons would no longer be a crime (overturning its own earlier 2003 ruling). The author notes that the small number of past objectors have usually been Jehovah's Witnesses, and that courts would in future judge the sincerity of pacifist convictions which they might reject, and that, if CO status were accepted, three years alternative service as a prison guard was required.  But recognition of the right to be a CO makes it a more socially acceptable position, and might also help to mitigate the harsh conditions of military service.

This on the spot report provides an overview of the popular uprising up to mid-December 2019, and to the resignation of Prime Minister Mahdi. (Though he was to stay on in a caretaker government until parliament could agree a replacement.)  The authors note the scale of violence against the protesters and the role of Iran-backed militias in shooting at them, as well as increasing international concern.

In the aftermath of Jair Bolsonaro’s election on an openly anti-human rights agenda, a climate of fear remains in Brazil. Yet, young people are rising up and making their voices heard. Amnesty International met seven human rights activists who reveal what life is like in Salvador, Brazil, and how they’re tackling violence against women, racism and homophobia.

Reuters report on the alarming rate of femicides which occurred in Brazil since the beginning of 2019, leading to the initiative of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, supported by Human rights activists and civil society, calling on the Brazilian Government “to implement comprehensive strategies to prevent these acts, fulfil its obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible, as well as to offer protection and comprehensive reparation to all victims.” Between January and beginning of March 2019 Brazil counted 126 femicides and 67 attempts. (The full statement is available at this link http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2019/024.asp). To see previous reports on femicide in Brazil, have a look at this link which states that the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (GEO) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) found that 2,795 women were victims of femicide in 2017 in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (https://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/nota_27_eng.pdf).

Notes that two thirds of then world's large cities in 140 countries are close to the sea, that a billion people live only 10 metres above sea level. and that scientific reports show that the rate of sea level rise is accelerating. Discusses different estimates of rising sea levels and the inadequacies of engineering measures to create adopted by many countries.   

Wakako Fukuda, one of the leading voices of the SEALDs (Student Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy) activist group in Japan, speaks about her experience of being discriminated against at work, and endlessly harassed online, for her strong presence in the Japanese feminist activist community.

Report on the initiative of the Argentinian feminist organisation ‘Mujeres de la Matria Latinoamericana’ (MuMaLá) to call on the government to declare a national emergency after 27 confirmed femicides occurred between January and February 2019. The organisation has also submitted a petition highlighting the educational and legislative steps to take in order to reduce this form of violence. 

This article focuses on how women in South Africa mobilised to press for a legislative response to a critical gender justice issue: access to maternity benefits for self-employed women, and women in the informal economy.

Barkham notes the major potential value of reforestation to limit global warming and preserve biodiversity as well as local economic benefits. But he also stresses the dangers of ignoring the importance of planting local species or relying on technologies that may require minerals under old forests. His article focuses on the role of the 'TreeSisters' charity founded in 2014, which funds tree planting in India, Nepal, Brazil, Kenya, Cameroon and Madagascar. In Madagascar the focus is partly on replanting lost mangroves (providing multiple environmental benefits).

Ann Pettifor developed the concept of a Green New Deal as a global and systemic approach with a group of fellow economists in 2008, but environmental issues were overshadowed in the financial crisis. She argues the political and economic case for urgent restructuring of government and the economy to try to save the planet, drawing on the example of Roosevelt's New Deal during the 1930s Great Depression to show how government can constructively tackle the impact of global crises. She also sets out to show what global and national changes are necessary and how they might be brought about.

Reports on a new app, created by the Sydney-based National Justice Project, that enables Aboriginal people to record police discrimination and violence against them. It is being adopted across Australia. The author sets this Australian initiative in the context of disproportionate jailing of Aborigines and frequent police discrimination, as well as the wider global movement to use film to highlight police injustice, with examples from the USA and Canada.                            

The article starts by posing the question how protest over a subway fare increase in  a seemingly stable and prosperous country turned rapidly into a constitutional revolution, which in 28 days led to political agreement on a referendum on a new constitution. It then proceeds to suggests answers.

Bartlett briefly traces the evolution of the movement. from high school students protesting about metro fare increases to major demonstrations in Santiago and across the country voicing numerous demands. The article analyzes both the socio-economic problems creating anger, and the neo-liberal nature of the Pinochet constitution, designed to maximize the role of private businesses and minimize the social and economic role of the state. It also notes the role of civil society groups in promoting public debate and crystalizing demands for a new constitution.

Articles based on a major leak of Chinese Communist Party documents from 2017 revealing the all-embracing surveillance system in the Xinjiang region and the mass incarceration of the Uighurs.  Publication in November 2019 was part of an internationally coordinated release of the leaked papers through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). See also: https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/china-cables-who-are-the-uighurs-and-why-mass-detention/ and  https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/panorama-china-cables, which also reveals how  Australian citizens from Muslim minorities in Xinjiang were targeted for surveillance by the Chinese authorities as part of a policy involving  deportation or detention of foreign passport holders. See also: Kuo, Lily, 'How Beijing is Quietly Razing the Mosques of Xinjiang', Guardian Weekly, 17 May, 2019, pp.26-27. Reports on a Guardian and Bellingcat investigation that discovered the systematic destruction of mosques and shrines since 2016.

Hunter, who is the global training manager of the international climate action group 350.org discusses the difference between a campaign based on a strategy with a target institution and specific goal, and continuous protest using a particular tactic. He sets out six stages for a potentially successful campaign, which may involve diverse tactics, and gives examples of effective campaigns from different countries. An edited extract from the book is: 'The difference between a campaign and endless action', Peace News, 2632-2633 (Aug-Sept 2019), p. 11.  See also: 'How to Build a Movement that Wins', Peace News, 2634-2635, Oct.-Nov. 2019, pp.8-9. which is an extract from the Handbook

A report on the initiative by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to create the first legally binding international treaty on violence and harassment in the field of work. The Convention – whose proposed title is ‘Convention and Recommendations Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work’ – has so far received support from ILO member governments, various NGOs and employers and it was scheduled to be discussed in the Summer 2019. It will aim at addressing normative gaps in law and policy in countries or situations where there is no legal provision on sexual harassment in employment. The aim is that ratifying countries will prevent and address harassment through strengthening enforcing mechanisms and ensuring remedies for victims, and by acknowledging the costs of violence and harassment in the workplace. An important step is that the Convention focuses on addressing the needs of all women, including average-wage and low-wage workers.

This article, written at the beginning of the mass protest movement that began in Colombia in November 2019, examines the political and economic context of the emergence of socio-economic protest and discusses its possible future significance for Colombia and the left.

Hallam is a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion (XR) and claims its April 2019 protest launch in London was based largely on the strategic ideas he had already sketched out. The book examines the case for fearing imminent planetary disaster, outlines 'the civil resistance model' underlying X R strategy. and criticizes 'climate justice' movements' for their approach. His views do not represent all those taking part in the XR movement or who support in principle taking nonviolent direct action to combat climate change. For a critical review of both the use of science and the basis of the strategy see: Gabriel Carlyle, Peace News, 2636-2637 (Dec. 2019-Jan. 2020), p. 21 'Has Extinction Rebellion Got the Right Tactics?' - debate in New Internationalist, Jan-Feb. 2020, pp. 46-47 Two supporters of climate activism disagree about the likely efficacy of XR's approach and its ability to maintain momentum over time.

This article surveys Swedish debates about gender equality in the military since 1965, when military conscription of women was first proposed, up to the introduction of 'gemder neutral' conscription in 2018. Using a wide range of sources, the authors note that women were assessed against the standard set by men, but that the 'woman soldier' became a solution for staff shortages and the need for particular qualities in particular situations, especially in international missions

The article examines how the Lebanese government and sectarian political establishment responded to two earlier waves of protest against the sectarian system of government. She finds that they try to end such protests through a combination of 'co-optation, counter-narratives, and repression'.

Highlights how Russian authorities are conscripting men in occupied Crimea to serve in the Russian armed forces, although humanitarian law explicitly forbids Russia to compel Crimean residents to serve in Russian forces.

The National Movement of Rural Women (NMRW), formerly known as the Rural Women’s Movement, was established in 1990 with a focus on, among others, uniting rural women and giving them a voice. Amongst the organisation’s aims was to create forums for rural women to unite against oppression, have equal rights to land and a say in political matters. The organisation has contributed as amicus curiae – ‘a friend of the court’ – to dealing with customary law cases involving inheritance, marriage and chieftaincy disputes. This article explores the two approaches used by the NMRW as friend of the court - the custom-based and gender-based approach - and concludes that these two approaches are in direct conflict with each other.

Reports that five out of six men involved in a gang rape of a 14-year old girl were convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, rather than the more serious crime of sexual assault; the girl was for part of the time in an 'unconscious state'.  The report also provides an update on the Pamplona case, noting the  the Spanish Supreme Court ruled the men were guilty of rape and raised their prison sentences to 15 years. El Pais records in addition that the commission created after the Pamplona case to revise the legal definition of  sexual violence has reported, and recommended eliminating the lesser charge of  sexual abuse; but the Socialist Party government has not yet acted.

One hundred years after some Canadian women were given the federal franchise, women remain significantly underrepresented in every legislature across Canada. Indigenous women, women from racial minorities, and young women face particular problems, which reduce representation even further. While barriers to participation are broad and pervasive, sexual harassment and violence against women in politics - whether in the form of direct threats, implied threats, violent symbolic images, and physical violence - play a significant role in limiting women’s political participation. This report presents non-partisan, evidence-based research on how governments, legislatures, civil society, and non-governmental organizations have addressed the problem of violence against women in politics both within and beyond Canada. The report draws on extensive Canadian and global research and also a number of interviews with current and former women politicians from across the political spectrum, who have bravely spoken out about their experiences of sexual harassment and violence in Canadian politics.