Human Rights

NEW DELHI (July 16, 2002) -- Two of the Bhopal hunger strikers, Rasheeda Bee and Tara Bai, fainted during a rally by the Bhopal survivors here and had to be taken to St. Stevens Hospital today. Both were in the 18th day of fasting to protest against decisions of the Government that sell out the interests of the Bhopal gas victims under pressure from the US Government and Dow Chemicals. Satinath (Sathyu) Sarangi (48) remains active and participated in the rally by Bhopal survivors in New Delhi today. Read More

Women protesters who have besieged an oil terminal in southern Nigeria for more than a week say they will continue their blockade. Read More

WASHINGTON -- The multinational firms recently fingered for corrupt practices in the United States may be practicing similar operations on a larger scale in developing countries, say long-time corporate watchdogs. Read More

Groups hailed Tuesday a sweeping and unprecedented ruling by Africa's premier human rights tribunal that held that the former military regime of Nigeria violated the economic and social rights of the Ogoni people by failing to protect their property, lands, and health from destruction caused by foreign oil companies and the Nigerian security forces. Read More

Not everybody is convinced that Turkmenistan will be the source of a future pipeline in Central Asia. Joseph Naemi, another Iranian born businessmen who splits his time between Sydney, Australia, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is working on the possibility that Afghanistan's other major northern neighbor may be a better business bet Read More

Is the US War on Terrorism in Afghanistan really a war for a natural gas pipeline? Fossil fuel corporations and the World Bank are expressing cautious interest. Activists are concerned. Read More

June 24, 2002 -- "The failure of governments from seven of the Group of Eight (G8) largest economies -- the USA, the Russian Federation, France, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, Italy and Canada -- to regulate arms transfers is contributing to grave human rights abuses in developing countries and the destruction of millions of lives, particularly in Africa," Amnesty International said today. Read More

Victims of apartheid are demanding $50 billion from American and Swiss banks in compensation for profiteering from the "blood and misery" caused by white South Africa. The lawsuit -- which was filed on June 16, the 26th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising -- accuses Swiss companies, Credit Suisse and UBS, and U.S.-based Citicorp of providing loans to the apartheid government in violation of UN-imposed economic sanctions. The suit is spearheaded by Ed Fagan, a U.S. lawyer who forced Swiss banks to pay $1.25 billion to World War II victims of the Nazi Holocaust in 1998. Read More

Labor unions around the world faced a difficult year in 2001 due both to direct and sometimes violent repression, as well as the continuing pursuit by major multinational corporations of cheap labor in poor countries, according to the latest in a series of annual reports by the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). Read More

A soft drinks factory set up by Coca Cola in Plachimada, Kerala, three years ago has sucked the local aquifers dry. The Coke-induced water scarcity has hit the indigenous peoples (adivasis) belonging to the Eravalar and Malasar tribes, and the Dalit (oppressed castes) community who live around the factory the worst. The people of Plachimada have seen their wells dry out even as truck loads of soft drinks made their way from the factory to distant markets. Read More