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1 step. Let's become aware of some current issues: "Gold costs more than money"!

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1 step. Let's become aware of some current issues: "Gold costs more than money"!

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Our Learning Objectives in this module on "Human Rights":

know what 'Human Rights' really are - and the possible existing violations;

understand Human Rights and that Human Rights belong to everybody;

understand that every Human Right is important for every single Human Being to live and grow;

analyse Human Rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and clearly see who is responsible for upholding Human Rights;

appreciate the relationship between Rights and Responsibilities;

appreciate the meaning and significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

develop a more aware and positively active attitude toward one's fellow Citizens in a Globalised World.

Linguistic Competence CEFR  B1+ > B2 > B2+

MIM 'Civic Education': international bodies; sustainable and environmentally friendly development; digital citizenship.

Dalle Indicazioni Ministeriali: “Area Tematica 1. COSTITUZIONE, diritto (nazionale e internazionale), legalità e solidarietà La conoscenza, la riflessione sui significati, la pratica quotidiana del dettato costituzionale rappresentano il primo e fondamentale aspetto da trattare. Esso contiene e pervade tutte le altre tematiche, poiché le leggi ordinarie, i regolamenti, le disposizioni organizzative, i comportamenti quotidiani delle organizzazioni e delle persone devono sempre trovare coerenza con la Costituzione, che rappresenta il fondamento della convivenza e del patto sociale del nostro Paese.

Collegati alla Costituzione sono i temi relativi alla conoscenza dell’ordinamento dello Stato, delle Regioni, degli Enti territoriali, delle Autonomie Locali e delle Organizzazioni internazionali e sovranazionali, prime tra tutte l’idea e lo sviluppo storico dell’Unione Europea e delle Nazioni Unite. Anche i concetti di legalità, di rispetto delle leggi e delle regole comuni…”

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“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”

Rossella

https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index

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The 2023 Global Slavery Index provides an assessment of 160 countries, including an estimation of the number of people living in modern slavery, the extent to which a country's population is vulnerable to modern slavery, and an examination of how well governments are responding to modern slavery.

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« No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. »

https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban-stoning-woman-adultery/27341045.html

Chiara

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Innocent until proven guilty? The presumption of innocence regularly violated across the globe - Fair Trials

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WE'RE ALWAYS INNOCENT TILL PROVEN GUILTY

1. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.

2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Martina

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Despite everyone having the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, public statements of guilt, media coverage presenting the suspect as though they are guilty, and the use of restraints are common all over the world. Fair Trials new report Innocent until proven guilty? The presentation of suspects in criminal proceedings shows how this right is being violated in practice and recommends possible solutions to tackle the problem. The research was produced together with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Aditus Foundation, Human Rights House, Mérték, Rights International Spain, and the University of Vienna, with pro bono support from Hogan Lovells.

Public statements implying the guilt of a suspect are common in many countries across the globe, including in Europe, especially when there is a lot of public interest in the case. There are differences in how countries legal systems approach the question of how open ongoing criminal proceedings should be, but even where secrecy is sought, it often fails if there is considerable public interest in the story.

Media reporting on criminal cases frequently violate the presumption of innocence: suspects are commonly presented as though they are guilty, particularly through attention-grabbing headlines, and reporting is often unbalanced against them. The report found that migrants, refugees and/or Muslim suspects are more likely to bear the brunt of these problems.

The research shows that if people see an image of someone being arrested they are likely to think the person is guilty. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, in many countries it is common for suspects to be paraded before the media at the time of their arrest or during transfers to and from court. The perp walk, which has become ubiquitous in some countries, most famously the US, is a good example of this.

Many countries in Europe have robust rules governing how suspects are presented in court, including the use of restraints, and how they are transported to and from court. In practice, however, in some countries it is common for suspects to be restrained in court when there is no objective justification for this. The use of cages and glass boxes is common as well, even though research shows that a person is more likely to be convicted if they are in a cage or glass box during the court proceedings.

As for the solutions, the EU Directive is an important first step in making the presumption of innocence a reality in Europe, but considerable time and political will must be invested in its implementation. Public statements implying guilt should be clearly prohibited.

Training should be offered to journalists to help them understand the impact their reporting on criminal cases can have. The report includes a checklist which is part of a toolkit for journalists reporting on suspects, produced by the University of Vienna. A specific section on covering criminal proceedings in journalists codes of conduct, as well as a blanket prohibition on taking photos of people in restraints would help prevent violations.

Laws on how suspects are presented in public should limit the use of restraints and their exposure to the public and press at the time of arrest and during transport to and from the court. The use of any form of restraint in court should be strictly limited, and cages and glass boxes should be removed from all courtrooms.

Our first aim is to prevent violations, but when they do happen, they need to be investigated and enforced by impartial bodies, and redress such as compensation or public apology must be provided. In particularly severe cases, which threaten the chance of the suspect receiving a fair trial, or undermine the integrity of the justice system, it may be appropriate to drop charges or quash a conviction.

Robust laws are important, but not enough. Long-term engagement of law enforcement, legal professionals and the media is crucial, alongside broader public education, to make profound changes in law, practice and culture.
Read the full report here.
Watch our short film below, where we share the stories of Nahuel, János and Robert to show what can happen when the right to be presumed innocent isn't respected.

The report and the film were produced as part of the project The Importance of Appearances: How Suspects and Accused Persons are Presented in the Courtroom, in Public and in the Media, coordinated by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee with partners Aditus Foundation (Malta), Fair Trials, Human Rights House, Zagreb (Croatia), Mérték (Hungary), Rights International Spain, and the University of Vienna, with the support of our pro bono partner Hogan Lovells.

This work was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Justice Programme of the European Union. The content of this work represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility.

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Innocent until proven guilty? The presumption of innocence regularly violated across the globe - Fair Trials

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Despite everyone having the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, this right is being violated in practice all over the world.

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“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance”

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-02/holy-see-religious-freedom-violated-in-one-third-of-the-world.html

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-08/world-day-victims-violence-religious-belief-pope-tweet.html

Lorenzo

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“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment”

Edda

https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/torture/iran/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/25/russian-officials-lauding-torture-was-unthinkable-now-it-is-proud-to-do-so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEAjl4o-FzQ

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In the aftermath of the 2022 "Woman Life Freedom" uprising, authorities further suppressed the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and intensified their crackdown on women and girls defying compulsory veiling laws. Security forces crushed protests using unlawful force and mass arrests. Thousands were subjected to interrogation, arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, and imprisonment for peacefully exercising their human rights. Enforced disappearances, and torture and other ill-treatment were widespread and systematic. Women and girls, LGBTI people, and ethnic and religious minorities were subjected to systemic discrimination and violence. Cruel and inhuman punishments, including flogging, were imposed and implemented. The use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression intensified and executions increased. Trials remained systematically unfair. Systemic impunity prevailed for past and ongoing crimes against humanity relating to prison massacres in 1988 and other crimes under international law.

Background

In March, the UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Iran. In his February report, he pointed to the "possible commission of international crimes, notably the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual violence, and persecution" during the "Woman Life Freedom" uprising of 2022.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, and other independent UN experts and international human rights monitors, were denied entry to Iran.

In November, in its concluding observations on the fourth periodic report on Iran, the UN Human Rights Committee called on the authorities to amend or repeal compulsory veiling laws and to disband the morality police. It also expressed concern about impunity for the pattern of lethal force used during largely peaceful protests, and called on authorities to establish impartial and independent investigations into killings, torture and other human rights violations during successive protests to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice and victims receive reparation.

In May, unjustly imprisoned Belgian national Olivier Vandecasteele was released and allowed to leave Iran under a Belgium/Iran deal that enabled the premature release and return to Iran of Iranian intelligence agent Assadollah Asadi, who was serving a 20-year sentence in Belgium for a thwarted bomb attack against Iranian dissidents in France. The deal contributed to ongoing impunity for the commission of hostage-taking and other crimes under international law by the Iranian authorities (see Belgium entry).

Iran continued to provide military support to government forces in the armed conflict in Syria (see Syria entry).

Iran continued to provide drones to Russia, which were used to target and destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and transferred the technology and manufacturing expertise to allow Russia to manufacture the same drones.

Iran denied involvement in or prior knowledge of the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

Freedom of expression, association and assembly

Authorities censored media, jammed satellite television channels, and continued to block and/or filter mobile apps and social media platforms, including Facebook, Google Play, Instagram, Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.

The Internet User Protection Bill, which would violate people's right to privacy and further erode online freedoms and access to the global internet, remained pending before parliament.

Internet and mobile phone networks were disrupted during and ahead of expected protests.

The authorities resorted to repressive tactics to prevent mass nationwide protests, while security forces crushed smaller local protests using unlawful force and mass arrests.

In May, security forces used unlawful force against villagers protesting against a house demolition in Gojag village, Hormozgan province, resulting in injuries.

During and in advance of the anniversary of the "Woman Life Freedom" uprising in September, authorities suppressed protests and memorials, including by arbitrarily arresting relatives of victims and forcing thousands of university students to sign undertakings not to protest.

Attacks on weekly Friday protests in Zahedan city in Sistan and Baluchestan province peaked on 20 October as security forces unlawfully used tear gas, shotguns and water cannons against thousands of protesters and worshippers, including children, and carried out mass arbitrary arrests.

Thousands of people, including children, were subjected to abusive interrogations, arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, and suspension or expulsion from education or employment for peacefully exercising their human rights. Victims included protesters, women removing mandatory headscarves in public, journalists, actors and musicians, writers and academics, university students, LGBTI individuals, and human rights defenders, including women's rights activists, anti-death penalty campaigners, lawyers, and families seeking truth and justice for victims of unlawful killings.

The authorities continued to ban independent political parties, civil society organizations and trade unions, and subjected workers and labour rights activists to reprisals for striking and holding peaceful gatherings, including on International Workers' Day.

Arbitrary detention and unfair trials

Trials were systematically unfair, resulting in thousands of people being arbitrarily detained. Systematic due process violations included denial of the right to a lawyer from the time of arrest, admission of torture-tainted "confessions" as evidence, and summary trials, resulting in imprisonment as well as sentences of flogging and death.

The judiciary played a central role in entrenching impunity for torture, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations, as it lacked independence and included senior officials who must themselves be investigated for crimes under international law.

Authorities sought to further undermine the independence of the Iranian Bar Association through legislative changes and other repressive measures.

Impunity prevailed for the ongoing practice of arbitrarily detaining foreign and dual nationals for leverage, which, in some cases, constituted the crime of hostage-taking.

The arbitrary house arrest of dissidents Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard entered its 13th year.

Enforced disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment

Authorities routinely subjected detainees to enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention, frequently in facilities controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence, the Revolutionary Guards and various bodies of Iran's police.

Torture and other ill-treatment were widespread and systematic, including beatings, floggings, electric shocks, mock executions, denial of food and water, and prolonged solitary confinement. State television aired torture-tainted "confessions".

Prisoners were subjected to cruel and inhuman conditions, including extreme overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, poor ventilation, infestation with mice or insects, and poor or no access to bedding, toilet and washing facilities.

Prison officials and prosecution authorities often deliberately denied prisoners adequate healthcare, including for torture-related injuries. Suspicious deaths in custody amid credible reports of torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings and denial of healthcare, went unaddressed and unpunished. Among those who died in suspicious circumstances were Ebrahim Rigi and Javad Rouhi, who had been detained in relation to the 2022 uprising.

The Islamic Penal Code retained punishments amounting to torture and other ill-treatment, including flogging, blinding, amputation, crucifixion and stoning.

Courts issued at least 188 flogging sentences, and at least nine were implemented; two amputation sentences were implemented; and one blinding sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, according to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Discrimination and violence against women and girls

The authorities continued to treat women as second-class citizens, including in relation to marriage, divorce, child custody, employment, inheritance and political office.

The legal age of marriage for girls remained at 13, and fathers could obtain judicial permission to subject their daughters to forced marriage at a younger age.

Authorities intensified their nationwide crackdown on women and girls who defied compulsory veiling, introducing policies that severely violated their social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights and restricted their freedom of movement. Punitive policies included: sending more than 1 million women SMS warnings threatening confiscation of their vehicles; immobilizing women's cars; denying women access to employment, education, healthcare, banking services and/or public transport; and referring women to the judiciary, which imposed imprisonment, fines and degrading punishments, such as washing corpses. Based on official announcements, over 1,800 businesses were forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsory veiling.

"Morality" policing returned, resulting in intensified harassment and violence against women and girls in public.

In December, the Expediency Council intervened to approve the draconian Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab, and sent it for final approval to the Guardian Council, which returned the bill to parliament again for further amendments. The bill provides for up to 10 years' imprisonment for anyone who defies compulsory veiling, and criminalizes non-state actors, including businesses, who refuse to enforce compulsory veiling.

On 28 October, 16-year-old Armita Garawand died after 28 days in a coma amid reports that an enforcer of compulsory veiling laws assaulted her. Authorities arrested a journalist investigating the incident, circulated propaganda videos absolving themselves of responsibility, and subjected those attending her commemorations to arbitrary detention, beatings and/or other forms of harassment.

Between January and April, thousands of schoolgirls were poisoned and hospitalized as a result of chemical attacks deliberately targeting girls' schools nationwide in what appeared to be a coordinated campaign to punish schoolgirls for removing their mandatory hijabs during the 2022 uprising. The authorities subjected parents, schoolgirls, teachers, journalists and others to violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrest for criticizing the authorities' failure to stop the attacks and for seeking truth and accountability.

In April, parliament approved the general principles of the bill Preventing Women from Harm and Improving Their Security Against Misbehaviour. Some of its provisions were referred for further examination to relevant parliamentary committees. The bill had been introduced over a decade ago to address violence against women, but the text was watered down to remove mentions of "violence". It failed to define domestic violence as an offence, criminalize marital rape and child marriage, and ensure men who murder their wives or daughters face proportionate punishments.

Authorities failed to provide adequate gender-specific healthcare to women prisoners.

Discrimination

Ethnic minorities

Ethnic minorities, including Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis, Kurds and Turkmen, faced widespread discrimination, curtailing their access to education, employment, adequate housing and political office. Continued under-investment in regions populated by ethnic minorities exacerbated poverty and marginalization.

Persian remained the sole language of instruction in primary and secondary education, despite repeated calls for linguistic diversity.

Security forces unlawfully killed with impunity dozens of unarmed Kurdish cross-border couriers ( kulbars) between the Kurdistan regions of Iran and Iraq, as well as Baluchi fuel porters ( soukhtbar) in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Religious minorities

Religious minorities, including Baha'is, Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, Jews, Sunni Muslims and Yaresan, suffered discrimination in law and practice, including in access to education, employment, child adoption, political office and places of worship. Hundreds were subjected to arbitrary detention, unjust prosecution, and torture and other ill-treatment for professing or practising their faith.

People born to parents classified as Muslim by the authorities risked arbitrary detention, torture or the death penalty for "apostasy" if they adopted other religions or atheism.

Members of the Baha'i minority were subjected to widespread and systematic violations, including through prohibition from higher education and forcible closure of their businesses or confiscation of their properties, as well as mass arbitrary detentions. Authorities prevented Baha'i burials in a cemetery they have used for decades in Tehran and forcibly buried several deceased Baha'is at the nearby Khavaran mass grave site, believed to contain the remains of victims of prison massacres in 1988, without their families' prior knowledge and in violation of Baha'i burial practices.

Authorities raided house churches and subjected Christian converts to arbitrary arrest and punishments such as imprisonment and internal "exile".

LGBTI people

LGBTI people suffered systemic discrimination and violence. Consensual same-sex sexual relations remained criminalized with punishments ranging from flogging to the death penalty.

State-endorsed "conversion therapies" amounting to torture or other ill-treatment remained prevalent, including against children. Hormone therapy and surgical procedures, including sterilization, were mandatory for legal gender recognition.

Gender non-conforming individuals risked criminalization and denial of access to education and employment.

Refugees' and migrants' rights

The estimated 5 million Afghan nationals in Iran faced widespread discrimination, including barriers to education, housing, employment, healthcare, banking services and freedom of movement.

State media and some officials railed against Afghan asylum seekers, fuelling hate speech and hate crimes against Afghan nationals in Iran.

In November, authorities announced that repatriation of "illegal" Afghan migrants had started in August and that, since then, 450,000 had "voluntarily" returned to Afghanistan.

Death penalty

Executions increased from 2022 and the number of drug-related executions almost doubled.

The death penalty was imposed after grossly unfair trials and for offences not meeting the threshold of the "most serious crimes" involving intentional killing. The offences included drug trafficking, financial corruption, vandalism, and vaguely worded offences such as "enmity against God" ( moharebeh) and "corruption on earth" ( efsad-e fel-arz).

The death penalty was also retained for acts protected by the rights to privacy and freedom of expression, religion or belief, including "insulting the Prophet", drinking alcohol, and consensual same-sex sexual relationships between adults or outside marriage. Adultery remained punishable by stoning.

Authorities used the death penalty as a tool of political repression against protesters, dissidents and ethnic minorities.

Two men were executed for "apostasy" solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of religion through social media activities.

Six young men were arbitrarily executed in relation to the 2022 uprising after unfair sham trials based on torture-tainted "confessions".

The oppressed Baluchi minority made up a disproportionate number of those executed.

Several individuals who were below 18 at the time of the crime were executed, including Hamidreza Azari, who was 17 at the time of his execution. Scores of others remained on death row.

In May, the president announced the formation of the non-judicial Special Committee for Examining the Unrest of 2022 amid concerns over the impartiality and independence of its members. The committee failed to carry out investigations in line with international standards or make its findings public.

No public official was held accountable for unlawful killings, torture, enforced disappearance and other crimes under international law or grave human rights violations committed in 2023 or before.

Authorities continued to cover up torture and other ill-treatment, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, perpetrated by state officials against protesters detained during the 2022 uprising, and pressured victims to withdraw complaints or face reprisals. They also subjected families of victims unlawfully killed during the uprising to harassment and intimidation, arbitrary detention, bans on memorial ceremonies, and destruction of their loved ones' grave sites. They continued to deny responsibility for the 2022 death in custody of Jina/Mahsa Amini and harassed her family.

Authorities continued to conceal the truth surrounding the January 2020 missile strike against Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, which killed 176 people. In April, following a trial mired in secrecy, a military court sentenced a commander to 13 years' imprisonment and nine others to between one and three years in prison. In August, the case was sent for appeal to the Supreme Court.

Impunity prevailed for ongoing crimes against humanity relating to the extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance of several thousand political dissidents in 1988, with many of those involved holding top official positions, including the president.

Right to a healthy environment

Environmental experts criticized the authorities' failure to address Iran's environmental crisis, marked by loss of lakes, rivers and wetlands; deforestation; air pollution; water pollution caused by the discharge of wastewater into urban water sources; and land subsidence.

Iran maintained high levels of fossil fuel production and subsidies.

1. "Iran/Belgium: Iran must be held accountable for hostage-taking after overdue release of Olivier Vandecasteele in prisoner swap", 26 May

2. "Iran: One year after uprising international community must combat impunity for brutal crackdown", 13 September

3. "Iran: New wave of brutal attacks against Baluchi protesters and worshippers", 26 October

4. "Iran: Further information: Activist forcibly disappeared for over a year: Ebrahim Babaei", 14 March

5. "Iran: International community must stand with women and girls suffering intensifying oppression", 26 July

6. "Iran: Executions of tortured protesters must trigger a robust reaction from the international community," 19 May

7. "Iran: Chilling execution spree with escalating use of death penalty against persecuted ethnic minorities", 2 March

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Stay up to date on the state of human rights in Iran with the latest research, campaigns and education material from Amnesty International.

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“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.”

https://www.200worldalbums.com/post/uganda-exile-geoffrey-oryema

Esmeralda

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1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Iris

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The Taliban in Afghanistan have been globally condemned for banning girls and women from secondary school and higher education, but there has been less attention to the ways in which they have also inflicted deep harm on boys' education in the country.

Human Rights Watch interviewed boys and parents of boys across 8 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces and found an alarming deterioration in boys' access to education and the quality of their education. This not only has serious implications for them and their families, but also for the country's future, including with respect to women's rights and overall human rights in Afghanistan.

Many boys were previously taught by women teachers; the Taliban has prohibited women from teaching boys, depriving women teachers of their jobs and often leaving boys with unqualified replacement male teachers or sometimes no teachers at all. Parents and students said that corporal punishment, which has long been a problem at Afghan schools, has become increasingly common. The curriculum in many schools appears to be under revision to remove important school subjects and promote discrimination. The human rights economic, and humanitarian crises in the country has also placed greater demands on school boys. These circumstances have led many boys to leave school altogether; those who remain attend classes with few students and sometimes no teachers. This has left boys struggling with mental health problems such as anxiety and depression in a context where mental health services are very difficult to obtain.

The education crisis for boys as well as girls in Afghanistan needs an immediate and effective international response. In addition to calling for an end to the ban on girls and women from secondary and higher education, concerned governments should press for the rehiring of women teachers, the inclusion of school subjects that are part of a quality education, and an end to corporeal punishment. United Nations agencies, treaty bodies, and special procedures should focus their attention on the way boys are treated in Afghan schools as well as the banning of girls.

Human Rights Watch conducted remote interviews with 22 schoolboys attending grades 8 to 12 and 5 parents of boys in the same grade range in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Farah, Parwan, Bamiyan, Nangarhar and Daikundi provinces between June-August 2022 and March-April 2023. These provinces cover a large part of the country and are diverse in terms of ethnicity.

Students at the secondary school level were interviewed because most of their education was during the government in power until August 2021, which allowed them to better compare the environment, changes, and challenges. All of those interviewed were students or parents of students attending public schools in cities.

The interviews were conducted using secure communications. Pseudonyms have been used in the report to protect the identities of those interviewed, and any personal and specific information has been anonymized.

Afghanistan's education system has undergone a deepening crisis since the Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021. While the Taliban's prohibition of secondary education and higher education for girls and women has grabbed headlines, the rights violations extend beyond the severe restrictions imposed on girls' and women's education. Boys attending schools across different Afghan provinces report a series of new or heightened barriers to their education, including the absence of female teachers, the increased use of corporal punishment, reduced attendance rates, the elimination of subjects like arts, sports, English language, and civic education, a decline in educational quality, increased anxiety about attending school, and a loss of hope for the future. The Taliban's prohibition of girls from attending secondary school and higher education along with the infliction of serious harms to the system to educate boys is deeply incompatible with international human rights standards and best practices.

In September 2021, in disregard of their public commitments to allow girls to continue studying, the Taliban reinstated much of their policy during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001 by prohibiting teenage girls from attending secondary school. In the face of a broad outcry from Afghan people and the global community, the Taliban have not fulfilled their promise to reopen secondary schools for girls. In December 2022, they extended their ban to women, preventing them from pursuing higher education at the university level.

In contrast, boys ostensibly retain access to education, mirroring the situation during the Taliban's previous rule. But the Taliban's efforts to expand social control though remaking society at all levels is not limited to dominating the lives of women and girls. They have also made wholesale, if less visible, changes to the system of education for boys and men. These changes will also have deeply harmful, long-term effects on Afghanistan's population and future.

In the decades before the civil war began in 1978, Afghanistan had begun to modernize its education system. From the 1970s these efforts were often imposed with force and met with violent resistance. State schools were few and largely limited to urban areas. In 45 years of war, fighting destroyed thousands of schools and madrasas (Islamic schools); many teachers and students were either killed in the fighting or fled as refugees.

During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned girls and women from all educational life. Boys and men could still receive an education, but the content of that education was strictly limited. The Taliban allowed boys to attend madrasas, where their studies were mostly limited to strict interpretations of the Quran and their classes were taught by a mullah (a Muslim cleric), not professional teachers. While some other subjects, such as mathematics, were taught, others, including modern science and art, were not. The Taliban enforced a dress code for boys, requiring them to wear traditional perahan tunban (a loose-fitting, knee-length tunic over baggy trousers) and grow their beards as soon as they reached puberty. Education under Taliban rule at this time violated the right to education, as well as the rights of women and to be free from ethnic and religious discrimination.

After the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the creation of interim and later transitional governments, the education system underwent rapid and sweeping changes. The government of Afghanistan, which was established in 2004, undertook reforms with the help of international partners and organizations in line with its international obligations to respect the rights of children, including under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In the continuing armed conflict between the Afghan government and multinational forces against the Taliban, both sides used schools for military purposes and the Taliban deliberately targeted schools for attack.

Afghan education experts, both women and men, designed new school curriculums, expanding subjects beyond religious subjects. Government schools taught religion, science, mathematics, Dari and Pashto literature, English language, history, culture, art, and civic education; in some schools, sports were added for both boys and girls. The government system included both schools and madrasas; the madrasas followed most of the government curriculum, but with additional time for religious studies. However, corruption in building schools and hiring teachers, poor infrastructure, and inadequate resources, particularly in rural areas, as well as worsening security contributed to falling enrollments after 2014. The previous absence of quality education for boys and none for girls meant that even with the education system's problems and flaws, real advances in education were made after decades of decline, offering hope to many.

The Taliban, after their return to power, engineered a swift reversal of this progress. In September 2021, after only a month back in power, they once again banned girls from secondary education. On December 20, 2022, the Taliban then banned women from attending university education. But the Taliban's efforts to marginalize women and girls have gone far beyond blocking them from getting an education. Their evident goal is a society in which women have no role in public life and are tightly controlled by male family members is further advanced by the education boys receive in schools, including indoctrinating them into the Taliban's misogyny.

While the Taliban have not prohibited boys' education, they persistently undermine the educational system in Afghanistan. By effectively prohibiting girls' access to secondary and higher education, the Taliban's harmful and discriminatory gender-based practices not only deny Afghan girls their right to education but also have adverse effects on boys. Under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which Afghanistan ratified in 2003, governments are obligated to ensure "the elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education."

Dismissal of Female Teachers

In late September 2021, the Taliban effectively banned women from most employment. Many teachers had already lost their jobs because they worked in now-shuttered girls' secondary schools, but this new ban brought another wave of dismissals of female teachers, this time those working in boys' schools.

The Taliban's ban on women's employment has not only denied thousands of female teachers their right to work but has also caused major disruption to the education of the many schoolboys who were previously taught by female teachers. Students in many provinces of Afghanistan described to Human Rights Watch a severe lack of professional teachers due to the Taliban's ban. Students said that secondary school administrators have often responded to the loss of female teachers for technical and science subjects by appointing unqualified or less qualified male teachers, including some whose prior teaching experience was at the primary school level. Students in multiple schools in marginalized provinces of Daikundi and Bamiyan reported that Taliban-appointed school administrators were hiring male community workers or any men with a high school diploma after removing their female teachers. In several schools in Kabul province, the situation is even worse, and there have been no replacements, leaving some students literally sitting in class with no teacher.

"For grades 10, 11, and 12, we had a total of 16 female teachers and 4 male teachers," said Wahid M., a student in grade 12 in Kabul. "Our female teachers had specializations in the subjects they taught: they were professionals. We are suffering from their absence now, and our four male teachers also fled the country after August 2021. Currently, we are taught by male teachers who would previously teach grades 4 and 5."

Nateq A. was in grade 12 at a large public school in Kabul. He said, "90 percent of teachers teaching grades 10, 11, and 12 at my school were female. After the Taliban came to power, they were replaced with male teachers. For my class, four new teachers have been assigned. They spend more time talking about religion, the Prophet Muhammad's way of life, and the Taliban's victory of jihad against the US and the West, than teaching their assigned subjects."

"The newly hired teachers have highly aggressive behavior toward the students, so the school environment is full of fear," said Shafiq M., a student in grade 9 in Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province.

Some new teachers also bring language barriers into the classroom. Shafiq M. said: "Twelve new male teachers have been hired, most of them speak the Pashto language while most of the students don't fully or [even] partially understand Pashto. One of our new teachers even teaches mathematics in the Pashto language, and we don't understand a thing."

The teachers' limitations have obliged students to become self-taught. Muhammad K., a student in Kabul said, "The new teachers are not explaining the lessons." He said that the new teachers are so unskilled that students have no choice but to try to teach themselves, using whatever books are available to them.

Several students from different provinces told Human Rights Watch they have vacant hours during the school day when there are no lessons because of the absence of the female teachers and the lack of replacement teachers. So they end up doing nothing.

Muhammad A. was in grade 12, a critical year for university exam preparation. He studied at a large public school with 1,000 students that had been well-regarded for the quality of education it provided. Previously the school had more female than male teachers. He said, "Out of 14 subjects, we [now] only have teachers for 7 subjects, and 7 subjects are not taught. These subjects include physics, biology, skills, computer, English, and art." He added:

These subjects are not even removed by the Taliban; they aren't taught because our female teachers were dismissed. Therefore, I have to take private classes outside of school. But these classes are costly, and not everyone can afford them. In my family, four out of five of us are going to school, and my family can hardly afford my classes.

Muhammad A.'s eldest brother is the only breadwinner in the family, so taking private classes is difficult: "We seriously miss our female teachers. It's a huge loss."

In Afghanistan's central Daikundi province, Qasim R., a student in grade 10, said, "A social worker is appointed to teach us science subjects. Education is turning into a joke these days."

Students consistently reported that the quality of education has dropped significantly. They said that the newly hired teachers mainly focus on moral values, dress code, and hair styles, making a distinction between Western styles and Islamic values. They emphasize the Taliban's view of women's Islamic rights instead of focusing on school subjects.

Corporal Punishment

Students and family members told Human Rights Watch that following the Taliban takeover, the use of corporal punishment at school increased. Students said that school officials used humiliation, beating, slapping, and foot whipping during morning assemblies as forms of discipline. They also said that officials from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice often visited their schools, sometime on a regular schedule and sometimes through surprise inspections, enforcing draconian rules and interfering with the role of the proper school authorities.

Abdul R. said:

I have been beaten and badly humiliated during the morning assembly in front of everyone, once for having a mobile phone with me and the second time for my hairstyle. They cut my hair in front of everyone during the morning assembly, saying it resembled "Western style," and after that, I was punished with foot whipping.

Under the previous government, boys were expected to wear a school uniform consisting of a blue or white shirt and dark trousers. The students interviewed for this report said that since the Taliban takeover the uniform has changed, and they are now required to wear traditional Afghan clothing. Habib A., in grade 9 in Herat province said, "In the beginning, when the government changed, some of my classmates and I had a hard time quickly changing from the pants-and-shirt uniform to perahan tunban, and because of that, we each got two slaps and were kept out of the classroom for the entire day."

Corporal punishment of children is a violation of their human rights. The use of violence to punish children causes unnecessary pain and suffering, is degrading, and harms children's development, educational success, and mental health. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has found that all corporal punishment is prohibited under international law, and all children have the right to an education in an environment free from violence. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by nearly all countries around the world, including Afghanistan in 1994, lays out children's rights to education, safety, and protection from violence. The convention prohibits physical and mental violence in any form, neglect or negligent treatment, exploitation, including corporal punishment in all settings including schools, as a method of disciplining children.

Afghanistan's 2008 Education Act in article 39 explicitly prohibits any form of punishment at school. The article on the "Prohibition of Physical and Psychological Punishment," states that, "Every kind of physical and psychological punishment of students is prohibited, even for their correction and chastisement. Violators shall be prosecuted in accordance with the legal provisions."

Corporal punishment has been a longstanding problem in schools in Afghanistan. Even before the Taliban's return to power, it was not uncommon for teachers to use physical punishment. A 2008 study in Afghanistan found that violence against children was widely used and socially accepted within Afghan society, families, and schools. Hitting with sticks or rulers, kicking, slapping, and foot whipping students were used as forms of discipline.

While corporal punishment has been a long-standing problem, students in various provinces and schools consistently reported a significant rise in this practice since the Taliban came back to power. Their descriptions of abuse echo a similar rise in corporal punishment for moral crimes that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented.

Zaman A., a student in Herat, said:

The Taliban's strict rules are suffocating. Currently, as a student, wearing anything colorful is treated like a sin. Wearing shirts, t-shirts, ties, suits are all treated like crimes. Having a smartphone at school can have serious consequences. Listening to music or having music on one's phone can lead to severe physical punishment. Every day, there are several cases where boys get punished during morning assembly or in classrooms for some of these reasons.

According to Muhammad R.:

School is not fun like it used to be before. The constant fear of a sudden visit from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has made it even more stressful. Some boys escape school and smoke cigarettes and hashish, or drink alcohol. They then get caught by the Taliban soldiers and brought back to school and get beaten.

Smartphones were not allowed in school under the previous government. However, the consequences now are more severe due to visits from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Zahir Q. said:

There is more focus on learning the Pashto language at our school. One new teacher asked my classmate to write a poem In Pashto, but my classmate was unable to do it. The teacher made him stand on one foot in front of the classroom, slapped him in face several times, and pulled his ears. My classmate felt humiliated.

He added, "Teachers didn't have the right to humiliate or beat students in the past. In some cases where this would happen, students had the right to complain."

Harmful Changes in the Curriculum

The Taliban are changing what is taught in both boys' schools and girls' primary schools. In early 2022, Human Rights Watch research found that teachers were already beginning to report sweeping changes to the curriculum and plans for additional changes.

Students and parents told Human Rights Watch that there have been significant changes to the curriculum since the Taliban regained power. The absence of female teachers-and the loss of their expertise--has contributed to some subjects not being taught, but the changes go beyond that. Subjects like sports, art, civics, and culture have often been replaced with additional hours dedicated to Quran and Islamic studies. Zahir Y. in Farah province in the southwest said, "I don't understand the difference between my school and our local mosque anymore. We are lacking professional teachers who taught us important subjects such as physics, computer science, and chemistry."

Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Afghanistan ratified in 1994, focuses on the aims of children's education. The convention does not attempt to prescribe the specific content of education, but the educational process should impart values that reinforce, not undermine, the enjoyment of human rights. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a general comment, stated that "the curriculum must be of direct relevance to the child's social, cultural, environmental and economic context and to his or her present and future needs and take full account of the child's evolving capacities." However, the aim of education "includes not only the content of the curriculum but also the educational processes, the pedagogical methods and the environment within which education takes place."

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has similarly stated that "the form and substance of education, including curricula and teaching methods, have to be acceptable (e.g. relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality) to students."

Two key documents, produced by the Taliban, appear to be the guiding the Taliban's approach to curriculum change. The first, produced in 2020, focuses on overall changes to the curriculum. The second document, dates April 2023, focuses specifically on Taliban plans regarding girls' education.

In December 2022, Hasht-e-Subh daily, a media outlet in Afghanistan, reported on the 2020 document, highlighting possible Taliban plans to modify school curriculums. The Taliban's Education and Higher Education Commission in December 2020 had established a committee to assess the curriculum, which recommended substantial changes. For instance, the committee proposed removing visual arts, civic education, and culture from the curriculum (discussed below). Hasht-e-Subh wrote that teachers had been instructed, pending finalization of a new curriculum, to continue with the old curriculum but to criticize non-Taliban values and concepts found in textbooks and promote the Taliban's preferred content.

A 78-page document titled "Report of the Modern Curriculum Assessment Committee," which Human Rights Watch obtained in January 2022, appears to be an internal Taliban proposal for revising the curriculum. While it was not possible to confirm the authenticity of the document and whether its proposals would ultimately be accepted, the changes it suggests are similar to those reported by students and other sources. The document states that:

The current curriculum has been developed under the supervision of the Kabul puppet government's Education Directorate and its publication was funded by Jewish and non-religious countries. Therefore, it is highly likely that it adheres to un-Islamic and non-Afghan standards that resemble Western standards. However, these superstitions have been cleverly woven into it in such a skillful way that it appears Islamic on the surface, but from a linguistic perspective, the imagery and description reveal ugly intentions that require the skill and analysis of a master [to detect].

In its evaluation, the committee provided a long list of what were said to be problems with the textbooks in use under the previous government. They said that the curriculum:

Presented ethical and moral concerns;

Did not follow Afghan culture and Muslim faith;

Overemphasized Western "infidel" ideology;

Introduced students to and encouraged them to embrace foreign culture;

Presented democracy as a positive value;

Explained human rights using a Western definition and terms;

Promoted Western dress/clothing, i.e., ties and pants;

Mentioned the Zoroastrian religion through poems and stories;

Mentioned non-Muslim poets and scientists and praised them, including examples such as Victor Hugo and Shakespeare;

Mentioned female poets in Dari literature;

Mentioned the celebration of Norouz (Persian new year) and other non-Islamic events.

A few quotes illustrate the tone of the report:

"Many books have presented women's rights as human rights. The teachers must explain women's rights through the framework of Islam, not what the West calls women's rights."

"[The curriculum is] praising historical sites/monuments and statues like the Bamiyan [Buddha] statue that is not something to take pride in; it is a disgrace and source of shame."

"Natural disasters are only explained in terms of nature, not in terms of our faith and Allah's will and power."

"Women's right to education is propagated and justified through some Hadith [sayings of the Prophet Mohammed] that suggest women have full right to education and there should not be any conditions or limitations. On this issue, the relevant teachers must clarify what kind of knowledge women can access and under what conditions they must get an education."

"Equality: This is also one of those terms that enemies of Islam have defined based on their defiant infidel standards: Like all humans are equal, or [there is or should be] equality between men and women."

In addition to these comments, the assessment committee included the following recommendations regarding the elimination of certain subjects:

1. Art: Not a required subject; teaching and learning this subject is unnecessary. It can be removed from the curriculum. Instead, agriculture can be added/taught.

2. Civic education: From grades 7 to 12, harmful subjects exist as a useless result of democracy. The subject is unnecessary.

3. Culture: It is an unnecessary subject; it will be beneficial to substitute it with a useful subject.

Low Attendance: Impacts of Economic Crises and Low Quality of Education

Students and parents throughout the country told Human Rights Watch that following the Taliban takeover, there was a significant decline in boys' school attendance. While there is no reliable data available on the numbers, Human Rights Watch's research suggests that the worsening quality of boys' education, combined with the economic and humanitarian crises Afghanistan faces, has led to a significant downturn in attendance as students are discouraged from going to school and families struggle to meet basic needs, including affording school supplies, textbooks, and transportation.

They described several factors they believe contributed to declining school attendance by boys. These included the economic and humanitarian crises, displacement of teachers and students, low-quality education, Taliban restrictions, and a lack of motivation and hope for the future.

Sadiq T., a student in grade 11 in Kabul, said many of his classmates no longer came to school and that he had lost his motivation to study. "I have no interest in finishing high school," he said. "A person who has no knowledge and expertise is brought to teach us physics and chemistry. This is a crucial year for us, and we cannot prepare for university entrance exams with such illiterate teachers."

The economic and humanitarian crises have affected Afghanistan's entire population, but marginalized communities and provinces like Daikundi and Bamiyan have been particularly hard hit. These provinces are predominately populated by ethnic Hazara community, who have experienced discrimination in aid distribution. Families and students said that the economic crisis forced many boys between grades 9 and 12 to leave school and risk their lives illegally crossing the border into Iran to find work. Nazar Y., a student in grade 8 from Bamiyan, said that his 16-year-old brother, Jafar, joined a group of 20 boys between 14 and 19 who left school and went to Iran for job opportunities. "There are no jobs here, and families are struggling," he said. "Boys drop out of school because they have to take on [family] responsibilities."

Abdul G., 13, in Daikundi province, said, "Since the fall of the republic government, our schools are falling, too. At my school, you can only find three or four boys present at the secondary level." He added, "The boys are not coming to school because they need to work. No one feels motivated. Public schools are free, but food is not, buses are not, notebooks, textbooks, and our clothing are not free."

Sharifa A., a single mother of three boys and two girls in Bamiyan province who had worked for the previous government, said that in 2023 she had to send her eldest son, 15-year-old Qadir, to Iran with a group of boys for work. "My heart bleeds for Qadir, but I had no choice, and Qadir knows it. One should provide food so others can continue studying." Sharifa said that for mothers who previously provided for the family, sending their children illegally to another country would have been unthinkable-but now the situation is a "nightmare."

"Most boys are panicking about jobs and survival," said Abdul S., 15, in grade 10 in Bamiyan. "In my school, most boys in grades 10, 11, and 12 have either dropped out of school for work inside the country or crossed the border illegally to Iran or Pakistan for work. If it continues like this, our school will be shut down too."

He said that: "In the past, we would usually have 38 out of 42 students present in my class. Since the fall of the government, there are typically only 12 to 15 students present. There must be multiple reasons for such low attendance, but the Ministry of Education doesn't care."

Taqi B., 14, from Parwan, said, "The Taliban's Ministry of Education is solely concerned about our appearance, clothing, and phones. They don't seem to care that more than half of the students are absent in every classroom."

Human Rights Watch is not aware of Taliban efforts or plans to provide support for families in poverty or who face economic barriers to education so that they can attend school.

Mental Health Consequences: Anxiety, Distress, and Concern for the Future

The broad-based human rights, economic and humanitarian crises in Afghanistan have had profoundly negative effects on the mental health of many boys, interviewees said. Some boys lost access to education as their families were forced to flee their homes for other locations in Afghanistan or abroad. Many experienced the loss of relatives, friends and teachers. The enforcement of new school uniforms, the Taliban's restrictive attitudes, instances of corporal punishment and violence, as well as regular and irregular visits from the Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, further added to their distress.

The students with whom Human Rights Watch spoke all expressed their lack of hope for the future under Taliban rule.

To the Taliban:

Immediately end the prohibition on girls and women attending secondary school and higher education.

End the ban on women's employment, and rehire all female teachers and women dismissed from government positions.

Immediately order a ban on all forms of corporal punishment in schools.

Take steps to remove barriers to education for all students, such as the costs of uniforms, school supplies, and textbooks that families cannot afford.

Reverse harmful changes to the curriculum that lower the quality of education and promote discrimination.

To concerned governments and donors:

Press the Taliban to end the prohibition on girls and women attending secondary school and higher education, and the ban on women's employment.

Offer scholarships and grant visas to students from Afghanistan to pursue education abroad.

To the United Nations:

UNICEF, UNAMA, UN Women and the UN special rapporteur on the right to education should closely monitor the curriculum and education system to promote inclusive and quality education for girls and boys.

UNAMA and the UN special rapporteur on the right to education should report on boys' rights to education, including having access to including and quality education.

UNAMA and UNICEF should collect and make public reliable data on the education system, including the number, gender and qualifications of teachers, and student attendance and graduation.

UNICEF should help raise awareness and promote equal access to quality education for all children in Afghanistan by supporting independent research on the education sector under the Taliban, including the impact of denying girls and women education; the effect of curriculum changes; the extent, drivers, and consequences of declining attendance by boys; the prevalence, characteristics, and impact of corporal punishment; the professional and economic situation of teachers and former teachers, female and male; and the long-term implications of these changes for the country.

To the UN Human Rights Council and Treaty Bodies:

Closely monitor the situation of children's rights in Afghanistan, with a specific focus on protecting Afghan girls' and boys' right to education, in the upcoming UPR and CEDAW reviews.

This report was researched and written by Sahar Fetrat, assistant women's rights researcher at Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. The report was reviewed by Macarena Saez, executive director at the Women's Rights Division, Heather Barr, associate director at the Women's Rights Division, Bill Van Esveld, associate director at Children's Rights Division, Patricia Gossman, associate director at Asia Division, Fereshta Abbassi, researcher at Asia Division, Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, acting deputy program director, James Ross, legal and policy director, and Hilary Power, UN Geneva director for Human Rights Watch. Special thanks to Susanné Bergsten Park, senior coordinator at the Women's Rights Division for her support, and to Shivani Mishra, senior associate at the Women's Rights Division, and Travis Carr, publications officer for their work on the production of the report.

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The 19-page report, "'Schools are Failing Boys Too': The Taliban's Impact on Boys' Education in Afghanistan," documents Taliban policies and practices since they took over the country in August 2021 that are jeopardizing education for Afghan boys. This includes the dismissal of female teachers, increased use of corporal punishment, and regressive changes to the curriculum.

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Italian author accuses state broadcaster of censorship of antifascist monologue

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“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Gemma

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A high-profile Italian author has accused Rai of censorship after his antifascist monologue was abruptly stopped from being aired, in what he called the "definitive demonstration" of alleged attempts by Giorgia Meloni's government to wield its power over the state broadcaster.

Antonio Scurati was due to read the monologue marking the 25 April national holiday, which celebrates Italy's liberation from fascism, on the Rai 3 talkshow Chesarà on Saturday night.

But as he prepared to travel to Rome, he received a note from Rai telling him his appearance had been cancelled "for editorial reasons".

Scurati is well known in Italy for his books about the dictator Benito Mussolini and the fascist period. The cancellation of his monologue provoked fierce reaction from Rai journalists, fellow authors and opposition leaders.

His speech referenced Giacomo Matteotti, a political opponent of Mussolini who was murdered by fascist hitmen in 1924, and other massacres of the regime. It also contained a paragraph criticising Italy's "post-fascist" leaders for not "repudiating their neo-fascist past".

"Undoubtedly, this is what infuriated them," Scurati told the Guardian. "And also because of what I represent and maintain in my books ... [that] there is a continuity between the fascism of Mussolini and the populist nationalists in Europe."

The Rai director Paolo Corsini denied that the monologue had been censored, telling the Italian media that an investigation "of an economic and contractual nature" was under way, while implying that the speech was cancelled because of the "higher-than-expected" fee sought by Scurati.

Scurati said his fee had been agreed and the contract signed before the monologue was due to be broadcast. "The fee was perfectly in line with those paid to authors ... It was the same as in the past, when there were no issues."

In solidarity, Serena Bortone, who presents Chesarà, read out the monologue on the show. It has also been published in full by several Italian newspapers and websites.

Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist origins, came to power in October 2022 with a coalition including the far-right League and the late Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

During the election campaign, Meloni said the rightwing parties had "handed fascism over to history for decades now". However, Scurati claimed in his monologue that when forced to address fascism at historical anniversaries, Meloni has "obstinately stuck to the ideological line of her neo-fascist culture of origin", for example by blaming the Mussolini regime's persecution of the Jews and other massacres on Nazi Germany alone.

Meloni responded by publishing the speech on her Facebook page, while attacking Scurati and accusing the left of "shouting at the regime".

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"Rai responded by simply refusing to pay €1,800 (the monthly salary of many employees) for a minute of monologue," she said. "I don't know what the truth is, but I will happily publish the text of the monologue (which I hope I don't have to pay for) for two reasons: 1) Those who have always been ostracised and censored by the public service will never ask for anyone to be censored. Not even those who think their propaganda against the government should be paid for with citizens' money. 2) Because Italians can freely judge its content."

Since coming to power, the Meloni government has been accused of increasingly exerting its power over Rai while edging out managers or TV hosts with leftwing views. The European Commission was last week urged to investigate the government's alleged attempts to turn the broadcaster into a "megaphone" for the ruling parties before the European elections.

Meloni's administration has also been accused of trying to influence other areas of the press and targeting journalists with legal action who criticise the government. A Brothers of Italy politician recently proposed toughening penalties for defamation, including jail terms of two to three years.

Elly Schlein, the leader of the centre-left Democratic party, said: "The Scurati case is serious; Rai is the megaphone for the government." Carlo Calenda, the leader of the centrist Azione party, said: "Silencing a writer for saying unpleasant things about the government is simply unacceptable."

Scurati said he has received solidarity from many authors and journalists who were otherwise afraid to speak out against the government.

"This episode is the definitive demonstration, as it has finally aroused the revolt of other writers, intellectuals and journalists who until now kept quiet," he said. "This government launches violent personal attacks against you for speaking out, in my case [that] I asked for too much money."

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Italian author accuses state broadcaster of censorship of antifascist monologue

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Outcry over cancellation of Antonio Scurati's Rai talkshow appearance as note says move was taken 'for editorial reasons'

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Everyone has the right to enjoy asylum from persecutions

Elisa

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Every year, thousands of asylum seekers from diverse corners of the world seek refuge in the United States. Many - like Indigenous people from Latin America and Africa - are fleeing persecution based on the languages they speak and their cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. Their ability to access the asylum system has life-or-death consequences. Yet our government cuts off access to asylum and other fundamental rights based on language barriers alone.

The federal government has a responsibility to ensure people with limited English proficiency (LEP) can reasonably access its services. Failure to do so discriminates by excluding LEP people from federal programs. This infringes on LEP individuals' constitutional due process and equal protection rights, as well as well-established language rights enshrined in federal law. Nevertheless, the government routinely denies asylum seekers critical language access throughout the asylum process.

Starting even outside the United States, anyone seeking asylum at the border generally must use the CBPOne app to obtain an elusive appointment. Beyond well-documented problems with accessibility, appointment shortages, racist facial recognition bugs, and other technical issues, the app is only available in English, Spanish, or Haitian Creole, with limited Russian and Portuguese features. Thousands of asylum seekers who speak other languages are left out, with dangerous consequences for those stranded in waiting.

Language access problems continue once LEP individuals finally enter the United States for asylum screening. The government admits that it struggles to provide interpreters for certain languages, especially rare or Indigenous languages, during screening interviews. As a result, asylum seekers often feel pressured to undergo interviews - which determine whether they can even pursue an asylum claim - in a more common language, even if they don't speak it proficiently enough to communicate sensitive details of their claim.

Those who finally get an opportunity to apply for asylum must complete their application - a complicated legal document - entirely in English. For LEP asylum seekers in government detention facilities without translation or interpretation services, that's impossible. Appallingly, immigration judges have ordered LEP asylum seekers to be returned to the countries they fled, simply because they could not fill out their asylum application in English, even when no language services were available. Moreover, immigration courts can't find adequate interpreters for certain languages, leading to unnecessary and prolonged detention. Often, people are faced with an impossible choice: proceed in languages they don't fully understand (and risk being denied protection) or give up. Effectively, the government blocks LEP people from presenting their asylum claims merely because of the language they speak - not because they lack a meritorious claim.

Affirmative asylum interviews are another glaring example of the government's discrimination against LEP asylum seekers. Affirmative asylum interviews are a critical step in the asylum process - they are the only opportunity for someone to sit down with an asylum officer and explain their fear of persecution outside of the removal process. But for decades, the government has required LEP applicants to provide their own interpreters during these interviews. This puts a substantial logistical and financial burden on LEP asylum seekers, many of whom have limited financial means, and imposes an even greater burden on those who speak rare languages with only a handful of interpreters available across the country. LEP applicants who can't find interpreters face delays or, worse, referral to removal proceedings.

Financial constraints force many applicants to use friends or family members to interpret. Serious ethical and practical concerns follow. Applicants may hesitate to share the full scope of their trauma or asylum claim with loved ones; untrained interpreters may lack an understanding of professional norms of confidentiality and conduct for interpretation or may struggle to accurately translate technical legal terminology. Inaccurate interpretation prevents applicants from fully presenting their claims, and can cause erroneous credibility findings.

The interpreter requirement is also inefficient and illogical. The government already contracts professional interpreters who monitor the quality of applicant-provided interpreters during interviews. That's right: the government already pays for interpreters to participate in these interviews. It has stated on multiple occasions that these contract monitors can provide more efficient interpretation at no additional cost. But asylum officers regularly reschedule interviews when applicants fail to bring an interpreter, even though the government's interpreter is already present.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government temporarily permitted applicants to use contract monitors as interpreters during asylum interviews. But the government recently and abruptly ended this policy without explanation, once again requiring applicants to bring their own interpreters. Now, more than ever, the government faces an unprecedented backlog of affirmative asylum cases with an outdated, inefficient, and discriminatory interpreter rule.

The ACLU is fighting back. Along with 52 organizations from across the country, we are petitioning the government to abandon its illogical and discriminatory rule requiring applicants to bring their own interpreters. Our ask is simple and common sense: change the regulation and permit asylum applicants to use the government-funded interpreters already present during asylum interviews at the applicant's discretion. This will ensure that LEP asylum seekers have a meaningful opportunity to present their asylum claims and make one small but significant step toward bridging the gaps in language access in our asylum system.

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The Government Denies People Access to Asylum Because of Language Barriers. We're Fighting Back. | ACLU

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Language access problems plague every step of the asylum process, denying people with limited English proficiency their right to seek asylum.

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“Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/north-korea#3cd65b

https://www.btselem.org/freedom_of_movement

Emma

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Brainstorming... before our journey of discovery ...

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Brainstorming... before our journey of discovery ...

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2. Do you really know what "Human Rights" are? Do you know how they evolved and developed?

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2. Do you really know what "Human Rights" are? Do you know how they evolved and developed?

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WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS? Video - Human Rights Definition : Youth For Human Rights Video

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Watch Video & Learn What Are ? and How Human Rights Are Defined, As Fundamental Rights For Protection From Harm, Help Us Get Along And Live In Peace. Learn More About United Nations Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, The Basis For A World Built On Freedom, Justice And Peace.

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“Everyone has the right to a nationality.

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statelessness

https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/about-statelessness/

https://reporting.unhcr.org/spotlight/statelessness#:~:text=A%20stateless%20person%20is%20someone,individuals%20to%20exploitation%20and%20abuse.

Beatrice

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Every individual is entitled to possess a nationality, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, for millions of individuals, this entitlement remains elusive.

A stateless person is someone who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law. Statelessness can lead to a devastating cycle of deprivation and vulnerability, exposing individuals to exploitation and abuse. A person who is denied a nationality is often denied other basic rights such as going to school, seeing a doctor, opening a bank account or moving around freely.

UNHCR is working to resolve existing situations of statelessness, prevent new cases from emerging, and better identify and protect stateless persons.

For more information on UNHCR's work to end statelessness, news and stories please refer to the Ending Statelessness page on UNHCR.org.

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Every individual is entitled to possess a nationality, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, for millions of individuals, this entitlement remains elusive.

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3. "Why dealing with 'Human Rights"? 'Research Community' in action!

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3. "Why dealing with 'Human Rights"? 'Research Community' in action!

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https://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/dec/04/-sp-case-against-human-rights

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Let's start with some basic human rights definitions:

noun
A member of the Homo sapiens species; a man, woman or child; a person.

noun
Things to which you are entitled or allowed; freedoms that are guaranteed.

Human Rights: noun
The rights you have simply because you are human.

If you were to ask people in the street, " What are human rights? " you would get many different answers. They would tell you the rights they know about, but very few people know all their rights.

As covered in the definitions above, a right is a freedom of some kind. It is something to which you are entitled by virtue of being human.

Human rights are based on the principle of respect for the individual. Their fundamental assumption is that each person is a moral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity. They are called human rights because they are universal. Whereas nations or specialized groups enjoy specific rights that apply only to them, human rights are the rights to which everyone is entitled-no matter who they are or where they live-simply because they are alive.

Yet many people, when asked to name their rights, will list only freedom of speech and belief and perhaps one or two others. There is no question these are important rights, but the full scope of human rights is very broad. They mean choice and opportunity. They mean the freedom to obtain a job, adopt a career, select a partner of one's choice and raise children. They include the right to travel widely and the right to work gainfully without harassment, abuse and threat of arbitrary dismissal. They even embrace the right to leisure.

In ages past, there were no human rights. Then the idea emerged that people should have certain freedoms. And that idea, in the wake of World War II, resulted finally in the document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the thirty rights to which all people are entitled.

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Definition of Human Rights Video | What Are Human Rights? : United for Human Rights

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Let's start with some basic human rights definitions: noun A member of the Homo sapiens species; a man, woman or child; a person. noun Things to which you are entitled or allowed; freedoms that are guaranteed. Human Rights: noun The rights you have simply because you are human.

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"Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. Violations exist in every part of the world. For example, Amnesty International’s 2009 World Report and other sources show that individuals are:

Tortured or abused in at least 81 countries

Face unfair trials in at least 54 countries

Restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries

Not only that, but women and children in particular are marginalized in numerous ways, the press is not free in many countries, and dissenters are silenced, too often permanently. While some gains have been made over the course of the last six decades, human rights violations still plague the world today..."

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Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. Violations exist in every part of the world. For example, Amnesty International's 2009 World Report and other sources show that individuals are:

Tortured or abused in at least 81 countries

Face unfair trials in at least 54 countries

Restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries

Not only that, but women and children in particular are marginalized in numerous ways, the press is not free in many countries, and dissenters are silenced, too often permanently. While some gains have been made over the course of the last six decades, human rights violations still plague the world today.

To help inform you of the true situation throughout the world, this section provides examples of violations of six Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):
ARTICLE 3 - THE RIGHT TO LIVE FREE
"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."

An estimated 6,500 people were killed in 2007 in armed conflict in Afghanistan-nearly half being noncombatant civilian deaths at the hands of insurgents. Hundreds of civilians were also killed in suicide attacks by armed groups.

In Brazil in 2007, according to official figures, police killed at least 1,260 individuals-the highest total to date. All incidents were officially labeled "acts of resistance" and received little or no investigation.

In Uganda, 1,500 people die each week in the internally displaced person camps. According to the World Health Organization, 500,000 have died in these camps.

Vietnamese authorities forced at least 75,000 drug addicts and prostitutes into 71 overpopulated "rehab" camps, labeling the detainees at "high risk" of contracting HIV/AIDS but providing no treatment.

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United for Human Rights: Right to Exist, Humanitarian Groups, Universal UN Declaration

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Find info on the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights including the right to exist, personal liberty and freedom from abuse and violation of individual, group and ethnic safety such as genocide. Learn more humanitarian groups like United for Human Rights defending right worldwide.

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5. PRODUCTION - Students' analysis, synthesis and evaluation of Articles and Principles  in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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5. PRODUCTION - Students' analysis, synthesis and evaluation of Articles and Principles  in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Students' analysis , synthesis and personal reflection on the Article they've chosen:

What is the real issue the article deals with? Is the Article really necessary (identify the NECESSITY)? Is it relevant to nowadays' society? Why is the Article important in your view?

Is the Article well structured, clear and understandable?
What types of violation have you identified - in your research work?

What possible solutions would you propose? (identify the JUSTIFICATION and the LEGITIMACY of the solutions you propose)