Archive: April 19, 2023

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. Photo: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Volker Türk Must Resign for His Failure to Protect Human Rights

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. Photo: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. Photo: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Volker Türk Must Resign for His Failure to Protect Human Rights

Since Volker Türk has failed to provide relief to the persecuted communities, he has no right to hold the position of the UN Human Rights Chief. 

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has explained his role at the UN Human Rights Office that he joined a few months ago. In a tweet posted on April 18, 2023, Türk said that during the past six months he has assessed the human rights situation in different parts of the world.

“I became UN Human Rights Chief six months ago. Since then, I have visited 11 countries and had countless difficult, yet inspiring, conversations with people worldwide. I am only more convinced that human rights is the answer to advance justice, equality, and dignity,” Türk said. 

But like his predecessors, Türk has failed miserably in his role to protect human rights of people across the world. Now surprisingly he is measuring his performance by the countries he visited. 

“Türk fails to realize a simple fact that he is not a globetrotting tourist who has to waste his time on excursions. Rather, he is supposed to handle a serious task of protecting people’s rights which are being abused everywhere,” said Rakesh Raman, founder, RMN Foundation.

As Türk claims, he would have held conversations with people. But since he has failed to provide relief to the persecuted communities, he has no right to hold the position of the UN Human Rights Chief. 

“If Türk has a little morality in his character, he should resign immediately because he has failed in his position as the head of the UN human rights organization,” said Rakesh Raman.

The UN human rights officials, including Türk, keep releasing meaningless condemnation statements or useless reports about human rights violations. 

But they cannot save the rights or lives of the victims of these violations and other crimes perpetrated by cruel authorities in different countries such as Belarus, China, India, Israel, Myanmar, Russia, Syria, and so on. 

Since no key result area (KRA) has been defined for Türk and other officials in his office, they never release data of the people who get relief from their work. Actually, they are not doing any effective work except releasing statements in rigid templates.

As blatant human rights violations are happening, the autocratic authorities are arbitrarily incarcerating or killing human rights defenders and peaceful protesters who raise their voice against the state crimes in their countries.

The UN Human Rights Office under Türk has been issuing perfunctory statements, but it could not get jailed dissenters released. They include Alexei Navalny in Russia, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski in Belarus, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, and thousands of other peaceful protesters who are languishing in jails of different autocratic nations.

[ You can click here to watch the following video on RMN YouTube Channel and subscribe to the Channel to watch more informative videos. ]

Since the UN Human Rights Office has lost its relevance, it must be shuttered immediately and the UN Human Rights Chief Türk should quit instead of sitting on his chair idly. 

The bureaucrats at the UN Human Rights Office do not understand that the people whose rights are being violated want on-field support to protect themselves from the cruel authorities. These persecuted people do not want casual statements from the UN Human Rights officials.

“Since Türk, like other UN bureaucrats who are wasting public money for their amusement and leisure trips, does not have any plan to protect human rights of people in different parts of the world, he should step down from his position. If he does not, the world leaders should stop supporting the UN Human Rights Office and force Türk to resign,” said Rakesh Raman of RMN Foundation.

About RMN Foundation

RMN Foundation is the humanitarian initiative of Raman Media Network (RMN) News Service. It runs various projects and campaigns in the areas of human rights, environment protection, school education, and corruption prevention. 

Currently, all the activities of RMN Foundation are being managed single-handedly (without any support) by its founder Rakesh Raman who is a national award-winning journalist.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

People and organizations from all over the world are invited to join hands with RMN Foundation as donors, volunteers, and partners to carry out humanitarian activities for diverse communities.

Donation: You may please click here to donate online.

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email

Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh holding a meeting on March 27, 2023 in Amritsar. Photo: SGPC

U.S. Lawmaker Ilhan Omar Expresses Concern Over Human Rights Violations in Punjab

Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh holding a meeting on March 27, 2023 in Amritsar. Photo: SGPC
Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh holding a meeting on March 27, 2023 in Amritsar. Photo: SGPC

U.S. Lawmaker Ilhan Omar Expresses Concern Over Human Rights Violations in Punjab

Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh said that the demand for Khalistan by Sikhs is equivalent to the call for establishing Hindu Rashtra in India. 

By Rakesh Raman

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has expressed deep concern over increasing human rights violations in the Indian state Punjab, which has a large number of people belonging to the Sikh minority community. 

Ms. Omar urged the U.S. administration to protect the human rights of all, particularly the rights of all religious and ethnic minorities.

In a statement released on March 30, 2023, Rep. Omar – who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives – said that she is profoundly concerned about the human rights situation in Punjab, India.

“The Indian government has enacted a draconian communications shutdown, arrested hundreds, and blocked the Twitter accounts of civic leaders, journalists, including the BBC Punjab and a Canadian Member of Parliament,” Ms. Omar said in her statement. 

She adds that the ongoing trouble in Punjab has unmistakable echoes of the crackdown in Kashmir, and the sweeping response to the farmer’s protests in India. For many Punjabis and Sikhs, she says, it also bears unmistakable echoes of the brutality against their community in 1984.

Thousands of Sikhs were murdered in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of Indian prime minister (PM) Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. In revenge, hooligans killed Sikhs mercilessly, raped Sikh women, and looted the Sikh properties during the massacre particularly in India’s capital New Delhi.

[ VIDEOअमेरिकी सांसद इल्हान उमर ने पंजाब में मानवाधिकार के उल्लंघन पर चिंता व्यक्त की ]

After the 1984 pogrom, Sikhs have been demanding a fully autonomous state called Khalistan in Punjab. The demand for Khalistan has gained intensity under the current government of Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann who is an illiterate and incapable politician.

The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist campaign that seeks to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān (‘Land of the Khalsa’ or the Land of Purity), in the Punjab region.

Recently, Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh said that the demand for Khalistan by Sikhs is equivalent to the call for establishing Hindu Rashtra in India. Located in the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, the Akal Takht is the highest temporal body of the Sikh community.

In his speech on March 27, 2023, Giani Harpreet Singh said that the stringent laws such as the National Security Act (NSA) are being used to arrest Sikhs who demand a separate Sikh state Khalistan. He added that the same laws should also be applied to those who give open calls to make India a Hindu Rashtra.

In fact, the government of PM Narendra Modi is accused of making India a Hindu Rashtra where other minorities like Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians will be persecuted and will not enjoy equal rights. 

In the ongoing unrest in Punjab, the government of CM Bhagwant Mann – in collusion with the Modi government – is incarcerating Sikhs arbitrarily under the NSA and other harsh laws.

The Bhagwant Mann government has also unleashed police terror on peaceful protesters – including men, women, and senior citizens – who are demanding the release of Sikhs who have been arrested illegally.

The protests against the Bhagwant Mann government are not only being held in Punjab, but Sikhs are protesting in different parts of the world against his repression of innocent Sikhs.

Since Punjab is facing an unprecedented turmoil under the Bhagwant Mann regime, many Sikhs demand a properly governed state Khalistan so that peace and prosperity could be brought back to Punjab.

As a journalist and human rights defender, I (Rakesh Raman) sent a detailed petition on March 24, 2023 to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and other international authorities to protect human rights of the people in Punjab.

The petition under the title “Case of Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty, Human Rights Violations, and Ethnic Cleansing in Punjab, India” urged the UN officials and other lawmakers to save Sikhs from persecution and harassment perpetrated by police and state administration.

Subsequently, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar raised the issue of human rights in Punjab. “We hear a lot about how our relationship with India’s government is based on mutual values of democracy and human rights, in spite of their quadrupling trade with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.We hear this in spite of their constant violations of human rights,” Ms. Omar said in her statement.

“With right-wing authoritarianism on the rise across the globe, the United States should stand unequivocally for the protection of universal human rights, in particular the rights of all religious and ethnic minorities,” she adds.

Last year (2022), Rep. Omar had introduced a resolution to condemn human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, including those targeting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious and cultural minorities. 

The resolution called on the U.S. Secretary of State to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act, which has been recommended by the independent, bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for the past three years.   

However, the U.S. administration is being run by dishonest politicians. The U.S. – which is the self-styled promoter of democracy in the world – has been downplaying the demise of democracy in India. The U.S. leaders frequently hobnob with PM Modi and his colleagues despite their regular criticism of Modi’s autocratic idiosyncrasies. 

The U.S., in fact, exploits human rights abuses in India for its commercial interests, as the U.S. believes that India is a big market for its products and services. 

Now, in order to protect the human rights of people in Punjab, the world community must get its act together and press the Modi government in India as well as the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab to strictly follow the universal human rights laws.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.

Photo: Alexei Navalny / Instagram

RMN Foundation Urges Russia to Release Jailed Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny

Photo: Alexei Navalny / Instagram
Photo: Alexei Navalny / Instagram

RMN Foundation Urges Russia to Release Jailed Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny

As Navalny is perhaps the only leader who can challenge Putin’s attempt to rule forever, it is believed that the Russian regime is trying to kill him slowly in jail.

The humanitarian organization RMN Foundation is expressing its deep concern at the continuing arbitrary imprisonment of Alexei Navalny in Russia.

Kremlin critic Navalny, 46, is a fierce political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was arrested in Moscow by the Russian authorities on 17 January 2021 immediately after his return from Germany where he was recovering from a failed poisoning attempt.

Navalny is currently serving a harsh prison sentence after recovering from the assassination attempt, which was allegedly made with orders from Putin.

“The Russian authorities should immediately release Navalny from jail and drop all the politically motivated charges against him,” said Rakesh Raman, founder, RMN Foundation. 

He added that the UN bureaucrats, human rights organizations, and the world leaders have failed miserably to get Navalny released and punish the Russian dictator Putin for the continuous human rights violations.

In June 2021, the Russian government had also outlawed Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) by declaring it an “extremist” outfit. Navalny’s FBK has been declared a “foreign agent” under another draconian law.

The hostile action against Navalny has been taken despite a slew of sanctions and censure statements by the U.S. and European leaders against Russia. It is alleged that after sending him to jail under frivolous charges, the Russian regime is slowly trying to murder Navalny, who is serving a torturous prison sentence.

He is not being provided proper medical treatment as Navalny continues to be sick in solitary confinement where he is kept by the Russian authorities. On 10 January 2023, over 400 doctors in Russia signed an open letter to President Putin demanding that prison authorities stop abusing Navalny. But Putin has no respect for such humanitarian appeals.

As Navalny is perhaps the only leader who can challenge Putin’s attempt to rule forever, it is believed that the Russian regime is trying to kill him slowly in jail. Putin has signed a new legislation that will allow him to stay in power until 2036, while his second consecutive and fourth overall presidential term ends in 2024.

With the aim to thwart Navalny’s political challenge to Putin, in 2021 a new law in Russia banned Navalny from running for any elected post for a period of 5 years.

“Russian President Putin continues to work in a dictatorial manner and ignores the feeble punitive actions taken by the world community against his autocratic decisions,” said Rakesh Raman of RMN Foundation. “In other words, the world leaders have completely failed to tame and punish Putin and get Navalny released from illegal detention.”

The European and the U.S. leaders have been imposing sanctions on various states and their functionaries over human rights violations, crimes against humanity, and other criminal activities. 

But such sanctions are simply ignored by the rogue states and their leaders who continue to commit crimes against their citizens with full impunity. RMN Foundation believes that the imposition of sanctions is an ineffective measure to stop state crimes. 

Meanwhile, on 17 January 2023, the Council of Europe called on the Russian authorities to honour the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment on Navalny case so that he could be released from jail. But the Russian authorities are again expected to ignore the appeal from the Council of Europe.

In the given situation when all the civil appeals are being rejected by Putin, RMN Foundation urges the UN and the international community to take some joint military actions against Russia.

[ You can click here to watch the following video on RMN YouTube Channel and subscribe to the Channel to watch more informative videos. ]

About RMN Foundation

RMN Foundation is the humanitarian initiative of Raman Media Network (RMN) News Service. It runs various projects and campaigns in the areas of human rights, environment protection, school education, and corruption prevention. 

Currently, all the activities of RMN Foundation are being managed single-handedly (without any support) by its founder Rakesh Raman who is a national award-winning journalist.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

People and organizations from all over the world are invited to join hands with RMN Foundation as donors, volunteers, and partners to carry out humanitarian activities for diverse communities.

Donation: You may please click here to donate online.

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré (file photo)

UN Appeal to Protect Human Rights in Punjab

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré (file photo)
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré (file photo)

UN Appeal to Protect Human Rights in Punjab

During the past few days, the police and security forces have arrested and imprisoned hundreds of Sikhs arbitrarily without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves. I sent the following petition to the UN office and some other international authorities.

To                                                                                                                                                     March 24, 2023

Mr. António Guterres
United Nations Secretary-General
United States

Subject: Case of Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty, Human Rights Violations, and Ethnic Cleansing in Punjab, India.

Dear Mr. António Guterres,

I am a national award-winning journalist, social activist, and human rights defender based in New Delhi, India. Today, I have sent a petition (reproduced below) to Mr. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for his immediate intervention to protect the human rights of people in Punjab. 

These people who mostly belong to the Sikh religion are facing extreme persecution and threats by the current Punjab Government in collusion with the Central government of India. During the past few days, the police and security forces have arrested and imprisoned hundreds of Sikhs arbitrarily without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves. 

[ VIDEO: Akal Takht Chief Giani Harpreet Singh on Khalistan vs. Hindu Rashtra ]

Internet services have been shut down in most parts of Punjab and local citizens who want to protest peacefully to get the arbitrarily arrested people released are facing severe police brutality and false police cases filed against them. The police are randomly searching the houses of residents and terrorizing them in order to suppress their voice against the state atrocities.

Although I have sent my petition (given below) to the UN Human Rights chief Mr. Volker Türk, I request you to take up this case on an urgent basis so that people – including men, women, children, and senior citizens – who need immediate assistance could be saved from persecution and harassment perpetrated by police and state administration.

You can click here to read the full petition. Request for immediate response.

Thank you.

About RMN Foundation

RMN Foundation is the humanitarian initiative of Raman Media Network (RMN) News Service. It runs various projects and campaigns in the areas of human rights, environment protection, school education, and corruption prevention. 

Currently, all the activities of RMN Foundation are being managed single-handedly (without any support) by its founder Rakesh Raman who is a national award-winning journalist.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

People and organizations from all over the world are invited to join hands with RMN Foundation as donors, volunteers, and partners to carry out humanitarian activities for diverse communities.

Donation: You may please click here to donate online.

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email

Democratic forces in Belarus have been protesting the brutal regime since August 2020. Photo: European Parliament

RMN Foundation Appeals for the Release of Political Prisoners in Belarus

Democratic forces in Belarus have been protesting the brutal regime since August 2020. Photo: European Parliament
Democratic forces in Belarus have been protesting the brutal regime since August 2020. Photo: European Parliament

RMN Foundation Appeals for the Release of Political Prisoners in Belarus

As the attacks on human rights activists continue to escalate in Belarus, hundreds of political prisoners have been languishing in jails. RMN Foundation appeals to the despotic Belarusian regime to release all political prisoners immediately.

The Human Rights Center “Viasna” reports that by the end of 2022, there were 1,446 political prisoners in Belarus while 889 people were recognized as political prisoners.

Viasna is a non-governmental human rights organization, formed in 1996 during mass protest actions of the democratic opposition in Belarus. In 2022, according to Viasna,  arrests, torture, and criminal proceedings on political grounds against Belarusian activists continued. 

“The Belarusian regime should respect democratic and human rights principles and immediately release all prisoners who have been arbitrarily detained for expressing their political views,” said Rakesh Raman, founder of the RMN Foundation.

He added that the international community should take some concrete steps to restore democracy in Belarus as most citizens believe that the presidential election in 2020 was not fair.

When the intensity of protests increased, President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus shut down dozens of independent organizations and media outlets. The regime also harassed the Viasna activists.

The attacks on Viasna are part of a broader crackdown on civil society while the Belarus government has prosecuted and jailed critics and peaceful protesters, forcing many to flee the country.

Hundreds of Belarusians have been arrested and jailed because they peacefully exercised their rights to freedom of expression and assembly in response to a fraudulent election in August 2020 that allowed Lukashenko to retain power.

Human rights activist and the founder of Viasna Human Rights Center, Ales Bialiatski who is Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has also been arrested by the Lukashenko’s regime.

He was arrested in July 2021 on tax evasion charges, which are believed to be politically motivated. Bialiatski and two other activists have been kept in harsh conditions in a Minsk prison. Their trial began in Belarus on January 5, 2023 and they faced up to 12 years in jail.

Since all international efforts, including sanctions, to tame the dictatorial Lukashenko regime have failed, RMN Foundation urges the UN and other democratic forces in the world to take military action to save people from Lukashenko’s atrocities.

The international community should also intervene to help hold a free and fair election in Belarus so that people could live in a new democratic environment.

[ You can click here to watch the following video on RMN YouTube Channel and subscribe to the Channel to watch more informative videos. ]

About RMN Foundation

RMN Foundation is the humanitarian initiative of Raman Media Network (RMN) News Service. It runs various projects and campaigns in the areas of human rights, environment protection, school education, and corruption prevention. 

Currently, all the activities of RMN Foundation are being managed single-handedly (without any support) by its founder Rakesh Raman who is a national award-winning journalist.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

People and organizations from all over the world are invited to join hands with RMN Foundation as donors, volunteers, and partners to carry out humanitarian activities for diverse communities.

Donation: You may please click here to donate online.

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email

Research Project: India Corruption Research Report 2023

Donation Appeal for Research Project on Corruption in India

Research Project: India Corruption Research Report 2023
Research Project: India Corruption Research Report 2023

Donation Appeal for Research Project on Corruption in India

As I am working alone on this project, I need your financial support in the form of a donation so that I could complete this project without any hindrance.

I am a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation in New Delhi, India. I run various anti-corruption campaigns and also publish an international magazine The Integrity Bulletin that covers corruption-related news and issues. 

After publishing the India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022) in October 2022, I am in the process of compiling the 2023 edition of the research report. As I am working alone on this project, I need your financial support in the form of a donation so that I could complete this project without any hindrance.

You can click here to donate online.

I have provided the concept note on this project and the link of the PDF document of ICRR 2022. You can click here to know about the project as well as donation details. You may please contact me if you have any query.

Request for an early response. 

Thank you.

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email