Who Reports On The Special Rapporteur?

Note: all UN mandates are supposed to go through a review process every three years.

[Jerusalem Post] According to Levanon, out of 35 UN mandates established to report on human rights abuses around the world, only the special rapporteur on the situation in the Palestinian territories has yet to be reviewed as stipulated by the Human Rights Council’s institution-building procedures. At the council’s latest session in Geneva two weeks ago, Levanon asked why the rapporteur’s mandate had not been reviewed since its establishment in 1993.

The rest.

Paper: Free Speech On Ice

More internatinal bad press for Canadian human rights commissions.

[The Oklahoman] Up in Canada, the big birthday celebration is July 1, not July 4. On Canada Day, you might hear the strains of “O Canada,” including the words “God keep our land, glorious and free.”

Mark Steyn has reason to stress the “free” in that stanza. Steyn’s been on trial for the “crime” of offending Muslims with “hate speech.” Meanwhile back in the United States, some guardians of the First Amendment want journalists to avoid using terms such as “illegal immigrants” and “Islamic terrorist” or anything that might offend Mexicans or followers of the Islamic faith.

Our brave new world has less freedom than we think. Either a government (Canada, in this case) is chilling free speech or political correctness (America, in this case) is putting it on ice.

The rest.

Labour Council Worries About Another Kind Of Labour

[Nanaimo Daily News] Also critical of Lunney’s comments was John Little, president of the Nanaimo, Duncan and District Labour Council. Little said that Lunney is “off the wall” and that he and the Labour Council support a woman’s right to choose.

The rest.

Gay Choir Wins Teacher Association’s Human Rights Award

[gaywired.com] Celebrating its 26th season, the 150 member Boston Gay Men’s Chorus creates a more tolerant society through the power of music. The BGMC recently won the 2007 “Creative Leadership in Human Rights Award” from the Massachusetts Teachers Association for its innovative High School Outreach Program.

The rest.