Posts tagged : "Human rights"

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: The celebrated anti-colonial nationalist and leader of the independence movement of India Mahatma Gandhi is credited with the famous quote “our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” Diversity is cherished as a universal value, and a wealth of academic studies have been carried out substantiating this conviction that proselytizing multiculturalism and inclusion yield astounding results in different political, social, cultural and economic endeavors. United Kingdom is a nation that has historically benefited from its demographic diversity, getting strength from the cultures and races that go to make up the modern Britain. In 2018, around 13.8 percent of...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Our world is getting warmer, and it is almost entirely triggered by human activity. It is not a hoax, myth or a conspiracy theory, as some politicians tend to suggest. The atmospheric gases known as “greenhouse gases” are largely responsible for the greenhouse effect, which is one of the chief drivers of global warming. Global greenhouse gas emissions have soared at a rate of roughly 2 percent annually since 1970. In 2015, 195 countries and the European Union subscribed to a comprehensive agreement aiming to keep the global warming levels at well below 2°C, and ideally above 1.5°C. The agreement is believed to be the first genuine global commitment to address the climate dilemma. Climate change disrupts...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Iran has been rocked over the past week by the shocking death of a fugitive judge, raising the stakes in a high-profile corruption trial that has put the top echelons of the Islamic Republic under the microscope. The former judge, Gholamreza Mansouri, was found dead on June 19 after falling from a window of the Duke Hotel in Bucharest, Romania, taking with him potentially explosive information in the trial of the influential Akbar Tabari. Tabari, the former deputy head of administrative affairs at Iran’s judiciary, is being indicted along with 21 associates for creating a “criminal group” within his office. Prosecutors allege Tabari obstructed justice and received massive bribes in the form...

Kourosh Ziabari - Responsible Statecraft: On April 28, a group of 400 Iranian clerics and seminarians wrote a letter addressed to the Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, asking him to arrest and indict the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi and the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace Abolhassan Firouzabadi over what they believed was the growth of “vulgarity” in Iran’s cyberspace and the failure of the two officials in completing work on the “national internet.” “National internet” or the National Information Network, as its official name goes, is the product the Iranian hardliners wish to usher in as a domestic replacement for the internet, the information system...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Muslims have been part of the American society for nearly 400 years. Although there are rumors that Muslim sailors navigated their way to America as early as the 12th and 14th centuries, the first documented arrival of Muslims in America occurred in the 17th century, when slaves from different African nations were brought to what is now the United States. About 10 to 15 percent of these African slaves were said to be Muslims. They practiced their faith clandestinely and handed it over to their offspring. Between 1878 and 1924, large numbers of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East, particularly from Lebanon and the Greater Syria, arrived in the United States and settled in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and the...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Bahrain has been in turmoil since 2011, when anti-government, pro-democracy protests swept across the island nation and were met with the government’s iron fist. The movement was mostly led by the Shia opposition of the Sunni-ruled kingdom, and put a spotlight on the rampant corruption and anti-democratic practices of the Bahraini government. Although the movement was nominally quashed in 2014, it had a significant ripple effect on the kingdom’s international credibility. In the recent years, Bahrain’s human rights record has been occasionally discussed by the media, academicians and human rights organizations, and critical observers raised valid questions as to the reasons why Bahrain’s major...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Islamophobia in the United States animates a modern form of bigotry that was deepened following the 9/11 attacks and got worse under President Donald Trump; however, the reality of anti-Muslim prejudice in the United States is much older, dating back to the arrival of the first Muslim settlers in America in the early 14th century. According to some accounts, there are nearly 7 million Muslims living in the United States today. Despite enjoying legal protection to practice their faith freely by virtue of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, American Muslims have been mostly viewed in a cynical light since the September 11, 2001 attacks, constantly demanded to denounce terrorism and distance themselves...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Iran this week was gradually reinstating internet and cell phone data services to its 80 million people, after 10 days of an unprecedented state-imposed blackout. But the ramifications of the nationwide cuts, put in place November 16 in response to an outburst of domestic dissent over petrol taxes, and still in the process of being fully restored, are still being felt. Academics and businessmen, web developers and travel agencies, journalists and startups were among those professions and sectors most impacted by the shutdown, during which time Amnesty International reported more than 100 protesters were killed. Hojjat Mehrabi, a member of a product managing team at Aparat, an Iranian video sharing...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: One of the world’s most enduring and tragic wars, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears to be at an impasse well into its 71st year, and the dream of a two-state solution seems to be in retreat with Israel refusing to suspend its controversial settlement enterprise and fulfill its obligations as the occupying power. According to Israel-Palestine Timeline, at least 9,940 Palestinians, including 2,172 children, have been killed by Israeli forces since 2000. As reported by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, 4,787 Palestinian security detainees and prisoners are being held in Israel Prison Service (IPS) facilities. Many of these captives are behind bars for entering...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Tensions between India and Pakistan are soaring again as New Delhi decided to rescind the special status accorded to the Muslim-majority state of Kashmir, claimed in its entirety by Pakistan, marking what some say is the most broad-ranging political move in the disputed region in nearly seven decades. Article 370 of India’s constitution granted special rights to Kashmir, including the right to its own constitution and autonomy on all matters other than defense, communications and foreign affairs. A presidential decree issued on August 5 revoked this special status, sparking fears that a drastic demographic transformation will be underway. Following the controversial decision, India dispatched thousands of...

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading exporter of crude oil and one of the top 20 major economies of the world. It’s the largest economy of the Middle East and the fastest growing healthcare market among the GCC countries. The largest state in Western Asia, the kingdom is the biggest Middle East trading partner of the United States and Britain. Despite huge strides towards becoming a stable economy, Saudi Arabia has been lagging behind for many years in addressing shortcomings in its human rights record. Reports about the suppression of civil rights activists, journalists, clerics, religious minorities and women emerge from Saudi Arabia frequently. Over the past months, the Arab monarchy has been under fire...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: There are few reports with encouraging overtones emerging from North Korea. The country is mostly known for its contentious nuclear program and pervasive state violations of human rights. Yet despite suffering from international sanctions for so long, North Korean leaders describe it as a self-reliant socialist state. The cult of personality existing around the ruling Kim family can be found in various manifestations of North Korean popular culture. Kim Jong-un’s speeches often carry epic themes eulogizing the majestic nation and its steadfastness in the face of economic sanctions and external pressure. Human Rights Watch describes North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un as one of the...