human rights

Joint Statement by Akbayan Youth and Young Meretz on President Dutertes visit in Israel

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit in Israel spells a dangerous future for young people in both countries. Duterte is not a friend of the Israeli people as he admires Adolf Hitler and takes inspiration from the Holocaust for his killing policy in the Philippines. That is why inaugurating a memorial commemorating the rescue of Jews by the Philippine during World War 2, is insincere, after what Duerte has been saying about Hitler.

Moreover, It is a disgrace that he is received by the right-wing, violent, government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One of the aims of the meeting is selling weapons to Duterte’s cruel regime, which is a crime. Israel shouldn’t cooperate with enabling atrocities around the world, selling weapons to dictators that use them irresponsibly and against their own people.

Duterte’s visit to Israel only spoiled the history of solidarity between the people of Israel and the Philippines. Akbayan Youth and Young Meretz denounce Duterte’s visit to Israel and call on the government to cancel all meetings and deals with his government.

IUSY to the Nepali government: stop the violence against youth protesters!

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IUSY condemns reports of severe human rights violations in Nepal, as police opened fire at protesters on August 24.

Protesters were demanding fairness and justice in the rape and murder case of 13 year old Nirmala Pant. The police fired at enraged locals protesting under the leadership of Nepal Student Union (NSU). The seventeen year old Sunny Khuna from Bhagatpur in Kanchanpur died and 24 others are severly injured after the clash with the police.

CPN leader and ex-Deputy Prime Minister Bhim Rawal has done little to bring justice to Pant. He has instead accused Nepali Congress of organizing the protest against the government even while the demonstrations were led by locals in Kanchanpur district.

The government appears to be involved in a cover up as the police presented a suspect that is allegedly mentally challenged. There is widespread doubt among the locals that this person is the culprit. The locals suspect the incident to be a government policy that saves the real culprit who is allegedly a powerful person protected by the ruling regime.

The Nepali government has dealt with critics harshly. There are reports that the government fired upon protestors clamoring for reforms in the healthcare sector, supporting Dr. Govinda KC’s stance. We are alarmed of reports that Nepal Tarun Dal’s (NTD), the youth wing of Nepali Congress, President Jitjung Basnet was targetted and attacked by the police.

IUSY expresses solidarity to the youth protesters of Nepal in their demands for justice and their fight for democracy. We call on the Nepali government to cease violent operations against protesters, take action against the rape case of Pant and start an independent investigation, release political critics and uphold their obligation under human rights law.

Stand up for Human rights!

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Human rights day 2017

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights cannot be just words on a paper,” said Howard Lee, IUSY President.

“It has to become a tangible reality of every human being”, he continues. Today, 10th of Dicember, is the International Day of Human Rights.

Thanks to the unprecedented access to knowledge and information, humans are more aware than ever before of their place in this world; both as individuals as well as part of the global community of humans.

The beautiful and astonishing plurality of our world, becomes more and more so, as our awareness grows by the exponentially increasing connectivity we enjoy through technology.

We are now better connected than ever before to other human beings who have different economic, political, cultural, and social values.

Never ever have we been able to touch, feel, know and even fall in love with fellow humans who are ethnically, historically, linguistically, and religiously different from us.

We should be more mindful than ever before that all human beings should respect each other’s human rights to exist, grow, prosper, and thrive as what we are born to be and as of whom who choose to become.

Yet, the technology that enables us to know about the diversity of our world and our species is being used to create, frictions, anger, hatred, conflict and even war between human beings.

Furthermore, diversity and plurality itself is the instrument used to incite confrontation, as though separation and homogeneity is the only path to harmony.

The fundamental solution to all of this needs to be the universal acknowledgement and acceptance that every human being should have some certain basic inalienable rights, and these should be what is written in the Universal Declaration of Human rights.

It is our duty to ensure that human rights are respected in the communities we live, in our neighbourhoods, at our schools, in our families.