Zimbabweans sued for torture case

BBC
Nine Zimbabwean human rights activists and others tortured in custody are suing government officials for $500m (£314m), their lawyers have said.
Jestina Mukoko and eight others are suing the police commissioner, a cabinet minister and police officers.
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that terrorism charges against her be dropped because she had been tortured.
Ms Mukoko’s lawyers [...]

Zimbabwe drops activist charges

BBC
Follow up to story May 2009
Terrorism charges against a prominent Zimbabwean rights activist have been thrown out after a court ruled she had been tortured while in custody.
The Supreme Court granted Jestina Mukoko a permanent stay of prosecution after she told how security agents took her from her home and beat her.

Letter from Zimbabwe

Independent Catholic News
By: Clemens Freyer SJ
“Who is my neighbour?” For us in St George’s there are 1,200 of them, just across Borrowdale Road behind bars in Harare Central Prison.
Times are bad for all of us – more so for those who have no contacts, no lobby, only guards. Since the beginning of 2009 Fr Koni [...]

Fair Trade Chocolate on Halloween!

On Halloween, chocolate is the tastiest of treats. Yet, in reality, our favorite candy is bitter sweet…

284,000 children toil in abusive labor conditions in West Africa’s cocoa field, many trafficked from neighboring countries
Cocoa companies pay prices so low that many cocoa farmers cannot meet their families’ basic needs

Will you help spread the word on [...]

U.S. Labor Department issues reports on international child labor and forced labor

ILAB News Release: [09/10/2009]
Contact Name: Clarisse Young
Phone Number:(202) 693-5051
Release Number: 09-0946-NAT
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) today released three reports on child labor and/or forced labor in countries around the globe. The documents include the initial “List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor” required by the [...]

Nigeria-Italy Human Trafficking Rises Sharply

One World
ROME, Sep 11 (IPS) – An alarming rise has been recorded in the number of Nigerian girls trafficked to Italy.
Last year 1,782 young girls from Nigeria arrived in Lampedusa, compared to 166 in 2007, human rights organisations say. Lampedusa, an Italian island 205 km from the Italian coast, located between Tunisia and Sicily, is [...]

Africa: Economy and Human Rights

AfricaFocus Bulletin Sent by Sr Michael Theresa Brauer, SND
Editor’s Note 
“Our first demand in our new campaign ["Demand Dignity"] is to the G-2 leaders, USA and China. The United States does not accept the notion of economic, social and cultural rights while China does not respect civil and political rights. We call on both governments to [...]

Official: No Easy Way to Stop Human Trafficking

Archbishop Considers Roots of Problem
ROME, MAY 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Though trafficking in human beings is a “tremendous offense to dignity,” there is no easy solution to this multifaceted and international problem, says a Vatican official.

Now at last it’s time for Shell to atone for my father’s death

The Guardian The son of the executed activist faces the oil giant in a human rights trial this week.
He seeks understanding rather than retribution
This week, a US court will hear a case that I and nine other plaintiffs filed against Royal Dutch Shell for its part in human rights violations committed against some Ogoni families [...]

Torture? It Probably Killed More Americans than 9/11

The Independent/UK
A US major reveals the inside story of military interrogation in Iraq.
by Patrick Coburn
The use of torture by the US has proved so counter-productive that it may have led to the death of as many US soldiers as civilians killed in 9/11, says the leader of a crack US interrogation team in Iraq.