Human Rights for Elderly

On 1 October the world celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons © UNIn recent years, there have been significant advocacy efforts calling for enhanced international thinking and action on the human rights of older persons. Various stakeholders have called for more visibility and increased use of international human rights standards to address the dire situation of millions of older women and men around the world.

Not very long ago, the issue of ageing was considered a matter of importance for only a handful of countries. Nowadays, the number of persons aged 60 and over is increasing at an unprecedented pace, anticipated to rise from its current 740 million to reach 1 billion by the end of the decade. Unfortunately the increase in numbers has also shed light on the lack of adequate protection mechanisms, and on the existing gaps in policies and programmes to address the situation of older persons. Today, two-thirds of the world’s older people live in low-and middle-income countries and this proportion will rise to 80 per cent by 2050.

Older persons are not a homogenous group, and the challenges they face in the protection or enjoyment of their human rights vary greatly. While some continue to lead active lives as part of their community, many others face homelessness, lack of adequate care or isolation.

Multiple discrimination appears as an essential component of any analysis, particularly when considering that age-related discrimination if often compounded by other grounds of discrimination, such as sex, socio-economic status, ethnicity, or health status.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights strives to ensure that neglected population groups are given space and weight in the human rights agenda, and that governments take all measures required to protect and promote their human rights. The role of the Office is to ensure a voice for all, especially for those whose voices are seldom heard.

Hak Asasi Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU)

Hak Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) merupakan perkara yang telah dibincangkan secara meluas. Mereka merupakan antara kumpulan rentan dalam masyarakat. Malaysia telah meratifikasikan Konvensyen Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (PBB) Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya (CRPD) pada 6 Julai 2010, dengan reservasi ke atas Artikel 15 dan 18. Malaysia belum lagi menandatangani Protokol Pilihan kepada Konvensyen ini. Walaubagaimanapun, ratifikasi CRPD merupakan satu langkah yang membuktikan kesediaan Malaysia untuk melaksanakan hak asasi yang terkandung dalam CRPD menerusi tindakan.

Aduan dan isu-isu berkaitan OKU terus dibawa kepada perhatian Suruhanjaya. Ini termasuk pendaftaran OKU, sistem pendidikan, akses kepada kemudahan, perkhidmatan dan bangunan awam, kemudahan pengangkutan awam, peluang pekerjaan dan perkhidmatan penjagaan kesihatan.

Suruhanjaya sentiasa menyeru Kerajaan memenuhi obligasinya di bawah CRPD dengan memastikan agar OKU dapat menikmati hak asasi mereka kepada kehidupan, tidak diskriminasi, hak sama rata, akses kepada keadilan serta penyertaan dalam arena politik. OKU berhak untuk menikmati hak sivil, politik, sosial, ekonomi serta kebudayaan mereka secara sama rata dengan orang lain.

Suruhanjaya kini sedang mengkaji isu-isu berkaitan hak kepada pendidikan bagi Kanak-kanak dengan Masalah Pembelajaran (CWLD) menerusi penganjuran aktiviti untuk mengumpul maklumat dan mengenal pasti isu-isu berkenaan CWLD. Ini termasuk lawatan lapang ke sekolah-sekolah yang mempunyai program integrasi dan sekolah-sekolah yang dikendalikan oleh Badan-badan Bukan Kerajaan (NGO) bagi memerhatikan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran CWLD; forum awam berkaitan hak kepada pelajaran bagi CWLD; dan bengkel latihan untuk guru.

Suruhanjaya juga telah menganjurkan satu siri bengkel mengenai Hak Asasi Manusia bagi Guru Pendidikan Khas yang mengajar SES (Masalah Penglihatan dan Pendengaran) dan SEIP (Masalah Pembelajaran) berdasarkan kawasan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Bengkel tersebut membekalkan mereka dengan maklumat mengenai hak kanak-kanak dan mengenalpasti keperluan pendidikan yang berkaitan.

Pada pandangan saya, hak asasi orang kurang upaya mesti diutamakan dalam negara. Peluang pendidikan , peluang pekerjaan dan banyak lagi peluang harus diberikan kepada orang kurang upaya juga. Mereka mempunyai hak untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang seperti orang ramai. Mereka tidak patut dipandang rendah oleh orang lain. Tambahan pula, pelbagai kemudahan harus disediakan kepada golongan kurang upaya untuk memudahkan aktiviti-aktiviti kehidupan harian mereka. 

Russia, Iran likely focus at hearing on Trump pick for defence chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon put Russia at the top of a list of threats to U.S. interests on Thursday and told Congress that America must be ready to confront Moscow where necessary, even as he backed Trump's bid for better relations.

The remarks by retired Marine General James Mattis were the latest by one of Trump's Cabinet picks that veered away from the president-elect's campaign rhetoric, which included praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledges to improve ties with him.

Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson on Wednesday also expressed views at odds with Trump on key foreign policy issues like nuclear proliferation, trade deals, climate change and relations with Mexico.

Mattis said Russia, China and Islamist militants were presenting the biggest challenge to the U.S.-led world order since World War Two, and called for Congress to lift spending caps undermining military readiness.

"I'm all for engagement but we also have to recognise reality in what Russia is up to," Mattis said, adding there were a "decreasing number of areas" where the United States might cooperate with Moscow.

Asked about the main threats to U.S. interests, Mattis said: "I would consider the principle threats to start with Russia."

Mattis said he wanted to meet with the new Trump national security team to "craft a strategy to confront Russia for what it's done," when questioned about the possibility of new U.S. sanctions.

Due to enter the White House in eight days, Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that Russia likely hacked the Democratic National Committee and emails of top Democrats during the 2016 presidential election campaign, a conclusion reached by U.S. spy agencies.

Mattis cited Russian involvement in hacking and information warfare among the challenges posed by Moscow. Others include treaty violations, destabilising activities abroad and "alarming messages from Moscow regarding the use of nuclear weapons."

STRONG BACKING FOR NATO

He also accused Russia of trying to undermine NATO. Unlike Trump, who appeared to question the alliance during his campaign, Mattis strongly embraced it -- calling NATO central to America's defence.

"We recognise that he (Putin) is trying to break the North Atlantic alliance," Mattis said.

Senator John McCain, the Republican chairman of the committee, said he "could not be happier" about Mattis' nomination. He warned sternly against optimism about engaging with Putin.

"Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy. He will never be our partner," McCain exclaimed.

Mattis also singled out China for its activities in the South China Sea, where it has been building man-made islands with anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries.

Together with Russian activities and the threats of Islamist extremists, Mattis said China was part of mounting assault on global stability, and the relationship with Beijing needed to be carefully managed.

"I think it (the world order) is under the biggest attack since World War Two, sir, and that is from Russia, from terrorist groups, and with what China is doing in the South China Sea," he said, as he railed against defence spending caps imposed by Congress.

WAIVER NEEDED

Mattis, who retired from the military in 2013, is technically ineligible for the job since he has not been a civilian for at least seven years. That means Congress would need to grant him a waiver, something it has not done since 1950, but appears inclined to do now.

In his opening statement, Mattis said he can lead the military as a civilian, even after a 44-year military career.

"I recognise my potential civilian role differs in essence and in substance from my former role in uniform," Mattis said.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he expected bipartisan support for Mattis would help him overcome that hurdle.

"The other thing he has going for him is that he may be a restraint on some of Trump's more extreme impulses," Cancian said.

Mattis, 66, has tried to persuade Trump privately against the use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning, as an interrogation tactic. Top U.S. officials, many lawmakers and human rights groups have denounced waterboarding as torture.

Trump's pick for CIA director took a similar line during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, saying he would stand firm if necessary against Trump on the issue of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques."

On the Middle East, Mattis was fiercely critical of Iran, cautioning that Tehran's "malign influence" in the region was growing.

"Iran is the biggest destabilising force in the Middle East and its policies are contrary to our interests," Mattis said in his written responses to the committee, also made public on Thursday.

On Iraq, where a U.S.-led coalition is backing Iraqi troops battling Islamic State, Mattis said the main goal should be to ensure "that it does not become a rump state of the regime in Tehran."

Officials who knew him before he retired in 2013 said Mattis clashed with top Obama administration officials when he headed the military's Central Command over his desire to better prepare for potential threats from Tehran.

Mattis said the U.S. strategy to retake the Islamic State militant group's de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria would to be reviewed and potentially re-energized.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Howard Goller and Alistair Bell)

Perhimpunan Haram demi Hak asasi LGBT

KETIKA berlaku perhimpunan haram Bersih 5.0 di ibu kota, 19 November lalu, kelompok lesbian, gay, biaseksual dan transgender (LGBT) adalah antara kumpulan yang turut sama menyertainya. Kehadiran golongan itu bukanlah sesuatu yang menghairankan disebabkan tuntutan mereka untuk melakukan seks songsang juga terkandung dalam agenda perjuangan Bersih.

Malah kehadiran bekas Ahli Parlimen Australia, Jamie Par­ker iaitu seorang penyokong kuat LGBT dalam perhimpunan haram itu jelas membuktikan bahawa tuntutan hak untuk melakukan seks songsang di negara ini oleh kelompok tertentu benar-benar wujud dan serius. Semuanya ini dibuat atas nama hak asasi manusia yang tiada batasan.


Sesiapapun tidak boleh menafikannya apatah lagi sebahagian `orang kuat’ Bersih 5.0 juga adalah pihak yang sama-sama membentuk Gabungan NGO-NGO Hak Asasi Manusia (Comango) pada tahun 2013.

Kewujudan Comango berkait rapat dengan semakan berkala sejagat (UPR) ke atas Malaysia yang memasuki pusingan kedua melalui Majlis Hak Asasi Manusia Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNHRC) di Geneva, Switzerland, 24 Oktober 2013. Berikutan proses tersebut, Comango telah menuntut beberapa perkara berasaskan hak asasi manusia dan sebahagiannya jelas bertentangan dengan Islam.

Antara tuntutan yang dikemukakan Comango adalah hak kebebasan orientasi seks, LGBT, hak kebebasan murtad bagi orang Islam dan hak kesamarataan agama di negara ini. Gabungan itu turut menuntut undang-undang jenayah syariah dihapuskan di samping memberi persepsi negatif terhadap tindakan penguatkuasaan oleh jabatan agama Islam negeri.

Bagaimanapun usaha tersebut tidak berjaya apabila kerajaan Malaysia tegas mempertahankan Islam dengan menolak pelbagai tuntutan tidak munasabah dalam sesi penerimaan muktamad UNHRC pada 20 Mac 2014. Apatah lagi dengan kedudukan Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan seperti yang tertakluk dalam Perkara 3 (1) Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Dalam sesi penerimaan muktamad itu, kerajaan telah menerima sepenuhnya 113 syor manakala 21 lagi syor telah diterima secara prinsipnya. Sementara itu, sebanyak 83 syor ditolak.

Kebanyakan syor yang ditolak adalah tuntutan yang dihantar oleh Comango semasa sesi pusingan kedua proses UPR pada 24 Oktober 2013 antaranya tuntutan supaya kerajaan Malaysia memansuhkan atau meminda undang-undang yang mengharamkan perlakuan jenayah seperti aktiviti LGBT.

Inilah cabaran yang terpaksa di­hadapi oleh Malaysia ekoran ledakan serta tekanan oleh pejuang-pejuang hak asasi manusia di negara ini hingga ke peringkat boleh mengganggu gugat kedudukan Islam. Penulis yakin puak-puak ini tidak akan berputus asa seperti mana pernah disuarakan oleh Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Yayasan Gerakan Kesederhanaan Global (GMMF), Datuk Dr. Nasharudin Mat Isa.

Ketika itu beliau adalah salah seorang Ahli Jawatankuasa Gabungan Pertubuhan-Pertubuhan Islam Dalam Proses Semakan Berkala Sejagat (MuslimUPRo) yang turut berada di Geneva bagi menyaksikan proses UPR tersebut.

Sebaliknya, Comango akan terus melakukan apa sahaja untuk menuntut hak tersebut meskipun bertentangan dengan syarak dan bertentangan dengan fitrah manusia. Ada orang bertanya tentang status sebahagiannya yang beragama Islam. Jawapannya mudah dalam era manusia semakin jauh daripada agama sebarang kemungkinan boleh berlaku,

Jangan lupa umat Islam liberal di seluruh dunia sudah semakin ramai dan bagi golongan yang seperti ini hak asasi mutlak adalah segala-galanya.

Ketua Eksekutif Pusat Penyelidikan dan Advokasi Hak Asasi Manusia (Centhra), Azril Mohd. Amin dalam pembentangan kertas kerjanya sempena Multaqa Perundangan dan Politik Majlis Perundingan Islam, di Putrajaya, baru-baru ini pernah menyentuh tentang isu tersebut.

Dalam kertas kerja bertajuk Menjamin Hak Umat Islam di Malaysia Untuk Mengamalkan Islam: Cabaran Dan Jalan Ke Hadapan beliau berkata, tuntutan yang dibuat oleh Comango itu banyak bercanggah dengan ajaran Islam seperti membenarkan perbuatan homoseksual dan menggubal rang undang-undang mengharamkan diskriminasi berasaskan orientasi seksual.

Selain cabaran hak asasi mutlak yang diperjuangkan oleh Comango beliau turut memaklumkan tentang kewujudan gerakan yang berusaha menafikan hak umat Islam untuk melaksanakan tanggungjawab beragama sepenuhnya walaupun Islam telah diiktiraf sebagai agama bagi Persekutuan.

Antaranya ujar beliau, apabila terbentuknya kumpulan G25 yang dianggotai oleh orang Melayu profesional. Secara konsisten kata Azril, G25 menentang sebarang usaha untuk memperkemaskan undang-undang jenayah Islam ke atas orang Islam di Malaysia.

Katanya, inilah realiti yang berlaku, selain berhadapan dengan cabaran gerakan hak asasi mutlak seperti Comango, Malaysia juga berhadapan dengan gerakan yang berusaha menidakkan hak mengamalkan Islam seperti mana diperintahkan oleh syarak.

Sememangnya tidak boleh dinafikan kebebasan orang Islam di Malaysia sentiasa diancam dan contoh terbaharu adalah penentangan terhadap usaha memperkasakan lagi Akta Mahkamah Syariah (Bidang kuasa Jenayah) atau Akta 355 melalui pembentangan usul rang undang-undang persendirian oleh Ahli Parlimen Marang yang juga Presiden Pas, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang pada 27 Mei lalu.

Beliau berkata, penentangan itu turut membabitkan golongan bukan Islam walaupun akta ber­kenaan langsung tidak membabitkan mereka. Pindaan Akta 355 itu khusus untuk orang Islam sahaja.

Begitu juga katanya, hak wanita Islam yang kadang-kadang menghadapi kekangan untuk memakai hijab di tempat kerja sejajar dengan tuntutan syarak dan tidak terkecuali dakwaan hak pekerja Islam untuk bersolat termasuk solat Jumaat di tempat kerja dinafikan.

Australia causing refugees 'severe and lasting harm' - Human Rights Watch

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's poor treatment of refugees in offshore detention camps is "draconian" and is causing lasting damage to refugees and to Australia's reputation as a rights-respecting country, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

Conditions in the camps are abusive and detainees "regularly endure violence, threats and harassment", Human Rights Watch said in the Australian chapter of its annual global report.

Under Australian rules, anyone intercepted while trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps in the Pacific Island nation of Nauru and at Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG). They are never eligible to be resettled in Australia.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration, asked about the report before its release, declined to comment but referred to earlier department assertions that conditions at the camps were adequate and were the responsibility of Nauru and PNG.
Those governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Australia said in November it had agreed with the United States to resettle some of the refugees in the Nauru and PNG camps, in return for Australia taking refugees from Central America. But subsequent White House comments cast doubt on whether the new U.S. administration would proceed with the deal.

The arrangement offered "no solution" in any case, Human Rights Watch said, adding Australia should close the camps and better protect refugees.

Australia's tough policy has drawn strong criticism from the United Nations and other international rights organisations amid a global debate on how to manage huge numbers of asylum seekers displaced by conflict.

Successive Australian governments have supported the policy, which they say is needed to stop people drowning at sea during dangerous boat journeys.

More than 1,990 asylum seekers have drowned on voyages to Australia since January 2000, according to Monash University's Australian Border Deaths Database.

More than a third of the deaths occurred between 2007 and 2012, when Australia suspended its offshore detention programme, including an accident in 2010 when 50 people were killed when their boat was thrown onto rocks at Christmas Island.

That accident swung political and public opinion behind the offshore detention policy, which has enjoyed bipartisan and public support in Australia.

Human Rights Watch also criticised PNG for police brutality, after officers opened fire on student protesters in June.

PNG was also "one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman", and the government had failed to address corruption, Human Rights Watch added.

Australia and PNG agreed to close the Manus Island camp in August, but gave no date and it remains open. It held 871 people and the Nauru camp 383 people, according to the most recent statistics released by Australia in November.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Trump, European populists are a threat to human rights - Human Rights Watch

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and the rise of populist leaders in Europe poses a "profound threat" to human rights, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch warned on Thursday in its annual global report.

The 687-page report reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries.

"Trump and various politicians in Europe seek power through appeals to racism, xenophobia, misogyny and nativism," Ken Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said. "The rise of populism poses a profound threat to human rights."

"They all claim that the public accepts violations of human rights as supposedly necessary to secure jobs, avoid cultural change or prevent terrorist attacks. In fact, disregard for human rights offers the likeliest route to tyranny," he said.

Trump will take office on Jan. 20. Roth cited Trump's election campaign and a successful campaign for Britain to leave the European Union as "vivid illustrations" of the politics of intolerance. In France, Marine Le Pen, head of the anti-EU, anti-immigrant National Front, is campaigning for the presidency.

Roth was also critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping for their crackdowns on dissent, and he accuses Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of flouting the laws of war by targeting civilians in the country's conflict.

"We forget at our peril the demagogues of the past: the fascists, communists and their ilk who claimed privileged insight into the majority's interest but ended up crushing the individual," Roth said.

He said voters around the globe needed to demand politics based on truth and the values of a rights-respecting democracy.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Myanmar Urged to STOP Rohingya "Genocide"

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak has described the violence against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority as genocide. 

Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak was addressing a rally in solidarity with Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim community at a stadium in Kuala Lumpur. In a strongly-worded message, the Malaysian premier called on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government to stop anti-Muslim violence. Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak also vowed to fight for the rights of the Rohingya saying the world cannot stand by and watch genocide taking place. The plight of Rohingya in predominantly-Buddhist Myanmar has angered Muslims across the region and beyond. The Rohingya community has suffered extensive discrimination despite living in Myanmar for centuries. Over a hundred Muslims have been killed and thousands displaced in the latest state-sponsored crackdown that was launched in October.