#human rights

Today both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times carried stories on the prison abuse going on in Iran.  The New York Times reported: Some prisoners say they watched fellow detainees being beaten to death by guards in overcrowded, stinking holding pens. Others say they had their fingernails ripped off or were forced […]

At the recent ASEAN Regional Forum in Thailand, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, before the the 25 nations present, officially confirmed a substantial shift in U.S. foreign policy when she stated: ‘On behalf of our country and the Obama administration, I want to send a very clear message that the United States is back, that we […]

All across the world today, people are showing their solitary to the Iranian people in their struggle for democracy, freedom and human rights.  In over 80 cities, from Austin, Texas to London to Tokyo, people are protesting against the disputed Iranian presidential election and the severe clampdown on opposition activities by the Iranian government.  The […]

Human Rights Come to ASEAN? On Monday, in Phuket, Thailand, ASEAN laid out plans to formally adopt the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AIGCHR) at its regional meeting in October of this year.  The commission will have a mandate for greater human rights education, information dissemination, and inter-regional capacity building.  It will be be […]

In his inaugural speech, President Barack Obama asserted that the United States remains “the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth.” No matter how powerful a nation is, however, its priorities still need to be rearranged and sometimes compromised, especially when dealing with key allies and partners. This much was evident by U.S. Secretary of State […]