Latest in Tag: César Chelala Highlight
Latest in Tag: César Chelala
Health risks of electronic devices
By Dr Cesar Chelala As computers and other electronic devices are becoming more widely used – particularly by young people – little consideration is normally given to the health risks they pose. This is a situation that has to change soon, to avoid unnecessary injuries and even serious health risks among people using them. Desktops …
Yemen: The ravaging of a country
Recent indiscriminate air attacks by Saudi Arabia on civilians in Harez (northwest of Yemen) have resulted in 33 civilian deaths, and left 67 people with serious injuries. Those numbers add up to what is increasingly becoming a national tragedy, as coalition forces continue their attacks on Houthi fighters. Cities on the northern border with Saudi …
The ICC should live up to its mandate
By Dr Cesar Chelala The 1998 Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court’s founding charter, states that one of the critical ICC’s tasks is that “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished”. However, under pressure from the US and the European Community, the ICC has avoided opening an …
When poetry mirrors war
By Cesar Chelala I am returning home from a memorial to an old and dear friend, Marijke Velzeboer Salcedo. Marijke was a remarkable woman on many counts: a wonderful mother, wife and friend. She was a talented and energetic woman whose work on behalf of women for United Nations agencies contributed to the improvement in …
Why Bush and Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes
By Dr Cesar Chelala Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently stated that air strikes and drones should be used once again on Iraq to stem recent gains by extremists in that country. Mr Blair is oblivious of the responsibility he shares with former US president George W Bush on account of one of the most serious …
The case for Donald Rumsfeld’s prosecution
By Dr Cesar Chelala I have just finished watching the film “The Unknown Known” by Errol Morris, which is a long interview with Donald Rumsfeld, the former Secretary of Defence during the Iraq war, and cannot stop thinking about Rumsfeld’s role in the use of torture, for which he was widely condemned. In 2009, Manfred Nowak, …
UN rapporteur accuses Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing‘
By Dr Cesar Chelala Richard Falk, United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories accused Israel last week of “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. Speaking at a press conference, he said that Israeli policies bore “unacceptable characteristics of colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing”. “Every increment of enlarging the settlements or every incident of house demolition is a …
Israeli youth’s courage to refuse
By Dr Cesar Chelala In a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dozens of Israeli youth blasted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), accusing it of “penetration into civilian life, which deepens the country’s chauvinism, militarism, violence, inequality and racism”. Yesh Gvul, an organisation that defends conscientious objectors, stated in response to the letter’s publication …
Women taking charge to save the environment
By Dr Cesar Chelala The growing worldwide demand for resources is threatening the world’s environmental health to an unprecedented extent. There is widespread agreement that unless new and more effective policies are set in place, this situation could have devastating implications for human development. In this context, women and children can be very active participants …
Meeting the needs of children with disabilities
By Dr Cesar Chelala Between 500 and 600 million people worldwide are living with a disability. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 10% of children and youth in the world (about 200 million) have a disability. UN statistics show there are more than 12 million people living with disabilities in Egypt, …
Death of a poet in Iran
By Dr Cesar Chelala “I have tried to defend the legitimate right that every people in this world should have, which is the right to live freely with full civil rights. With all these miseries and tragedies, I have never used a weapon to fight these atrocious crimes except the pen,” wrote Hashem Shaabani, a young …
A history of dispossession
By Dr Cesar Chelala Increasing acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories have been repeatedly denounced. Together with the increasing number of settlements being built on Palestinian land, those acts of violence betray justice and seriously undermine the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In 2007, Israeli prosecutors established that of …
Our duty to protect children
By Dr Cesar Chelala The trafficking of children is a widespread phenomenon that is causing enormous suffering throughout the world. It is estimated that 4 million women and girls worldwide are bought and sold each year either into marriage, prostitution or slavery. Over 1 million children enter the sex trade every year (although most are …
Nelson Mandela: Death of a Giant
By Dr. Cesar Chelala Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela’s death signals not only the passing away of a gifted politician. It is the death of one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. It is not only the death of a man; it is the physical –although not the spiritual- death of a person whose …
Masters of war
By Dr Cesar Chelala In a move consistent with his past positions on international issues, Senator Robert Menendez, the Democratic Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accused the White House of using “over the top” rhetoric and “fear mongering tactics” to try to stop new sanctions on Iran. These new sanctions were to …
The forgotten plight of the girl combat soldier
By Dr Cesar Chelala For the past few decades girls have become unwilling warriors or sex partners for soldiers throughout the world. It is estimated that, between 1990 and 2003, girls as young as 13 served in military and paramilitary groups in 55 countries and participated in armed conflict in 38 of those countries. At …
Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian children continues
By Dr. Cesar Chelala A UNICEF report issued last March, “Children in Israeli Military Detention,” was sharply critical of Israel’s treatment of detained Palestinian children and youths. According to that report, 700 Palestinian children aged 12-17, most of them boys, are arrested and harshly interrogated by the Israeli military, police and security agents every year in …
A bad environment negatively affects children’s health
By Dr Cesar Chelala Millions of children die every year as a result of environment-related diseases. Their deaths could be prevented by using low-cost and sustainable tools and strategies for improving the environment. A World Health Organization (WHO) study showed that 13 million deaths worldwide could be prevented by improving the environment. In some countries, …
Educate girls to alleviate poverty
By Dr Cesar Chelala Inequality and unequal access to education holds millions of girls and women back across the world. While the “gender gap” in education has narrowed over the past decade, girls are still at a disadvantage, particularly in getting access to high school education. And women still constitute two-thirds of the world’s illiterate …
A tragic legacy of Afghanistan’s war
By Dr. César Chelala The revelation that the number of opium-addicted Afghan children has reached new highs is a sad, unintended consequence of the war in that country. It dramatically illustrates how adult war games can doom generations of children to a miserable life. It is one of the tragic legacies of a disastrous war. …
JUSTICE IN INDIA
By Dr Cesar Chelala The conviction of four men in India, accused of gang rape and the murder of a young Indian woman was widely celebrated throughout the country. Although the conviction is seen as a just and necessary punishment of the young rapists, many women are sceptical that it will lead to a new era in …
President Obama Should Heed World Leaders’ Opinion
By Dr Cesar Chelala At the St. Petersburg meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) of developed and developing economies, President Barak Obama faced growing opposition on his decision to go to war with Syria by almost all world leaders, with the exception of France’s President. At a critical moment in that conflict, President Obama would be wise to follow the …
Syrian children pay the heaviest price in war
By Dr Cesar Chelala The numbers of Syrian children affected by the brutal war ravaging their country are truly disheartening. According to UN agencies, one million children, three-quarters of them are under 11, have had to flee their country since the conflict began in 2011. “This one millionth child refugee is not just another number. …
Iran’s election augurs a better future
By Cesar Chelala Hassan Rowhani’s election as the new Iranian president bodes well not only for that country but for the world as well, tired of the senseless rhetoric of the former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When, at a campaign speech, Mr Rowhani stated, “We have no option other than moderation,” he was also defining what …
Is there a future for Haiti?
By César Chelala NEW YORK: Like many, I ask myself if there is a future for Haiti, and what shape that future would have. Unlike those who look with despair at the difficulties that country is facing, I believe that this country’s natural and human resources should be the base for a strong new society, one …
Nicaragua should confront its demons
By César Chelala NEW YORK: For a long time it has been one of Nicaragua most guarded secrets. But a new Amnesty International report, “Listen to their Voice and Act: Stop the Rape and Sexual Abuse of Girls in Nicaragua,” brings it to light. Rape of teenagers in Nicaragua is widespread, and nothing is being done …
Human rights groups united in demand for Bush’s prosecution
By César Chelala NEW YORK: Several human rights groups are united in their demand that former president George W. Bush face prosecution following his open admission that he authorized the use of waterboarding, one of the cruelest forms of torture. Former president Bush made his admission during interviews publicizing his book, Decision Points. As an answer …
The neglected epidemic of domestic violence in the Arab countries
By César Chelala NEW YORK: Although domestic violence is under-recognized and under-reported, it is also one of the most significant epidemics in the Arab countries today. It is gender violence, manifested essentially as violence against women. This kind of violence occurs in practically all countries in the region and affects families of all backgrounds, religions and …