Our weekly round-up of must-read stories you might have missed: Arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of human rights defenders in India; Kirk Whalum and his campaign ‘Double Nickel Kirk for Water’; U.S. suspends invitation to Senior Sudanese Official.
India: Arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of 13 women human rights defenders in Kolkata – June 17, 2013
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in India. Brief description of the situation: The Observatory has been informed by Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) about the arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of 13 women human rights defenders, all members of Maitree, a Kolkata based women’s network, in West Bengal. According to the information received, on June 13, 2013, at around 8.30 a.m., Ms. Anuradha Kapoor, Ms. Swapna, Ms. Kakoli Bhattacharya, Ms. Anchita Ghatak, Ms. Shyamali Das, Ms. Ratnaboli Roy, Ms. Sharmistha Dutta Gupta, Ms. Shreya Sanghari, Ms. Madhura Chakroborty, Ms. Shreya Chakroborty, Ms. Sudeshna Basu, Ms. Aditi Basu and another member of Maitree…
Double Nickel Kirk for Water – June 18, 2013
Kirk Whalum: ‘My birthday is almost here. I’m not usually excited about getting older, but this year I’m really thankful to have lived another happy, healthy year. I recently learned that millions of kids around the world don’t live to see their fifth birthday because they don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. So as I approach my 55th, I pray that we can help change that. I’m asking for my age in dollars (55!) from everyone I know–or at least as much as you can. Every penny of the money raised will directly fund clean water projects in developing countries. Even better, charity: water will show us exactly which projects we funded once they’ve been fully completed (which takes about 18 months). That means we’ll know the locations and names of the communities we helped. Help me reach my goal. Please donate to my birthday campaign!’
Sudan: U.S. Suspends Invitation to Senior Sudanese Official Over Row With Juba – June 21, 2013
The United States informed the Sudanese government that its invitation to presidential assistant and vice chairman of ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Nafie Ali Nafie is on hold following Khartoum’s decision to freeze cooperation agreements with South Sudan. This month the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir ordered his government to shut down the pipelines that transport the oil produced in landlocked South Sudan to export terminals in Port Sudan for it to reach international markets. Sudanese officials said the closure will be effective within 60 days of Bashir’s directive and oil companies were asked to provide a timetable and a plan of how to implement it. Khartoum also announced that a series of deals signed with Juba last year will be put on hold until it gives up support to the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) umbrella of rebel groups which has recently stepped up…
