December 10, 2009 — In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech today, President Barack Obama urged the global community to intervene early, and work together, in responding to mass atrocities. “The closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression,” he said.
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On December 3, 1984, twenty-seven tons of lethal pesticide fumes leaked from Union Carbide’s factory in Bhopal, India. The leak immediately killed about 8,000 people and injured more than 500,000. Tens of thousands have died from the toxic exposure in the years since, and the death toll continues to rise as a result [...]

Maternal deaths in developing countries could be slashed by 70% and newborn deaths cut nearly in half if the world doubled investment in family planning and pregnancy-related care, shows a new report by the Guttmacher Institute and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Currently, more than half a million maternal deaths and 3.5 million newborn deaths, many of them easily preventable, occur each year, in developing countries.

The 30 media workers comprise more than half of the 57 confirmed casualties of what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, according to a list compiled and verified by the Humanitarian and Fact-Finding Mission of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), a network of independent media organizations, including the PCIJ.

Dozens of groups in the Philippines and abroad have denounced the Maguindanao massacre.

Click here to view a list of the statements and manifestos released so far.

During her stay in Belgium, Edita Burgos will attract the attention of European and Belgian politicians, human rights organisations, solidarity movements and the general public towards the human sights situation in the Philippines.

Geneva (ICRC) – More action is needed to assist and protect people displaced within their own countries by armed conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said today.
Unveiling a special report on internally displaced people (IDPs), the ICRC drew attention to the fact that most displaced people do not end up in camps [...]

Poor Women Most Affected by Unsafe Procedures
Induced abortion is legal under very limited circumstances in Pakistan, yet it is commonly performed, according to a new literature review, Abortion in Pakistan, released today in Karachi by the National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH) and the Guttmacher Institute. Researchers estimate that 890,000 abortions were performed [...]

HUMAN RIGHTS   One hundred cases including 180 human rights violations on peasants, fisherfolk, peasant women and agri-workers from 2001 to 2009 were filed at the National Democratic Front of the Philippines–Joint Monitoring Committee (NDFP-JMC) on Monday by progressive groups.

Agrarian-reform secretary and peace negotiator Nasser Pangandaman Sr. has aired his side about the alleged mauling in Antipolo on Friday. He said the alleged victims started the fight. He also “took exception to criticisms about his being a peace negotiator and his failing to prevent the incident from happening,” according to a report in MindaNews. “Unfair kasi nandon tayo just to play. It’s holiday. I seldom see my kids. It was also bonding for us,” he said.

Bambee de la Paz blogs about the mauling of her father and brother by the son and people of Agrarian Reform Nasser Pangandaman. She writes: “The mayor socks him in the face. My brother defended himself. My dad is still on the ground getting clobbered. My brother is the same way. I try to stop the fight, but all I can do is stop one person. There were 4 or 5 of them attacking now.”

HUMAN RIGHTS  At around 7 in the evening on Tuesday, unidentified men killed 39-year-old environmental activist leader Fernando “Dodong” Sarmiento in Compostela Valley Province. He was shot five times.

HUMAN RIGHTS  By Arthur L. Allad-iw |  Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have filed a resolution to investigate the arrest and continuing detention of human rights and labor lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr.

PRESS FREEDOM  | Two Philippine radio journalists, Dennis Cuesta and Martin Roxas, were slain in 2008 after reporting on local controversies. CPJ research over 17 years shows that the Philippines and Russia have been among the deadliest nations for the press—and among the worst in solving the murders.

HUMAN RIGHTS  By Ronalyn V. Olea |  At first glance, they looked like ordinary children. But deep within them are scarred souls and lost innocence because they are children-victims of human rights violations. They recently went to see the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy to tell her their tragic stories.