Notices by Andrew Stroehlein (andrewstroehlein@mastodon.social), page 2

Political systems tend toward stasis. Politicians don't want to break with the status quo. It might upset established interests. And action takes effort, political capital, maybe money, and most importantly, their time, the rarest of all resources.

But for those of us trying to get our governments to act, it’s not our job to lament the lack of political will; it’s our job to forge it.

This means changing politicians' calculations and raising the costs of inaction.

I remember when people would say "if only the world knew!" - believing that governments were unaware of mass atrocity crimes happening somewhere.

But information isn't the problem. (It hasn't been for a long time.) Governments know what's happening on the ground in these places. They have the information. What they lack is the will to act to try to stop it.

Urgent call on the European Commission & EU Member States to take immediate action to protect civic space in #Hungary, where authorities are targeting 2 groups that have exposed corruption & misuse of EU funds.

This is retaliation, blunt & crude.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/06/28/hungary-eu-needs-urgently-protect-civic-space

"All we have to do is punish that group of powerless people, and we’ll be happier."

- rough translation of much political speech these days

Why are some people proud of things like their nationality or religion when it’s just an accident of birth? I can understand being proud of something you’ve personally accomplished. But being proud of something you had no control over? It’s like being proud that it rained today.

Whenever you see a new government policy described as “tough,” try this: replace the word “tough” with “cruel.” You’ll then likely better understand what’s going on at the human level.

My Daily Brief…

📰 English: https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/06/06?story=paragraph-8481

📰 Français: https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2024/06/06/le-decret-de-biden-sur-les-frontieres

📰 Deutsch: https://www.hrw.org/de/news/2024/06/06/bidens-grenzerlass

🔊 Listen: https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/audio/2024/06/06/bidens-border-order-daily-brief-june-6-2024

“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” - Milan Kundera. In my Daily Brief today, I look at repression in China ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre.

📰 English: https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/06/03?story=paragraph-8451

📰 Français: https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2024/06/03/la-memoire-la-verite-et-le-pouvoir

🔊 Listen: https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/audio/2024/06/03/memory-truth-and-power-daily-brief-june-3-2024

Human rights are not political in themselves. They are simply our fundamental freedoms.

Only when politicians try to deny them or take them away do they become a political issue.

People on both sides of every conflict often complain about "bothsidesism," but this is something you can "both sides" because the laws of war apply to both sides.

No exceptions.

Beware of politicians who blame vulnerable groups for your problems - they’re the ones not talking about making your life better but about making someone else’s life worse.

Their target may be refugees or a religious group or an ethnic group or trans folks. But whoever the vulnerable minority is, the message is basically the same: you’re supposed to believe that denying these people their rights will somehow help you and your family. It won’t, of course. Don’t buy it.

https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/05/22?story=paragraph-8357

Today in my Daily Brief: a bit of personal advice on how you should vote in upcoming elections…

📰 English: https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/05/22?story=paragraph-8357

📰 Français: https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2024/05/22/comment-vous-devriez-voter

📰 Deutsch: https://www.hrw.org/de/news/2024/05/22/wie-man-waehlen-gehen-sollte

🔊 Listen: https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/audio/2024/05/22/how-you-should-vote-daily-brief-may-22-2024

Prominent British-Palestinian surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, was invited to speak in Berlin, Paris & The Hague.

He was asked to share his experiences treating patients in #Gaza.

But Germany denied him entry & imposed a Schengen-wide ban on him.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/10/germany-british-palestinian-doctor-denied-schengen-entry

In armed conflicts, the world’s primary focus should, of course, always be on the suffering of innocents on the ground.

But we should also think about the destruction of minds beyond the immediate war zone - how reason and morality are wrecked by a conflict mentality. People condemn one side’s atrocities while justifying (or ignoring) the other’s, as if the laws of war and expectations of basic decency only apply to one side.

In the US, the response of some university authorities to pro-Palestine protests on campuses has been shocking.

My Daily Brief…

📰 Read: https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/04/29?story=paragraph-8162

🔊 Listen: https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/audio/2024/04/29/human-rights-101-daily-brief-april-29-2024

⚠️ Peaceful protest is a human right.

⚠️ Freedom of speech is a human right.

⚠️ Freedom of expression is a human right.

⚠️ Universities should respect these rights.

Help! Is there anyone who can explain to me what the cultural significance of the phrase "Carl seinem Gretchen" might be in Vienna in about 1870? I understand what the words mean, but there’s some cultural reference I’m missing, I think.

"It cannot be a political choice whether to respect human rights or not." - Greta Thunberg

The court "found that Switzerland had failed to comply with its duties to stop climate change."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/09/human-rights-violated-inaction-climate-echr-rules-landmark-case

About half of #Gaza’s population is children. The government of Israel is pushing hundreds of thousands of innocent kids towards famine.

It’s madness.

It needs to stop.

👉 My Daily Brief…

📰 English: https://www.hrw.org/the-day-in-human-rights/2024/04/09?story=paragraph-8029

📰 Français: https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2024/04/09/la-famine-imposee-par-israel-gaza

📰 Deutsch: https://www.hrw.org/de/news/2024/04/09/von-israel-auferlegte-hungersnot-gaza

🔊 Listen: https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/audio/2024/04/09/israels-imposed-famine-gaza

It’s really amazing what people are willing to spend on hate.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/01/rwanda-plan-uk-asylum-seeker-cost-figures