Human rights groups urge North Korea investigation

Human rights groups have called on the United Nations to launch an investigation into crimes against humanity in North Korea.
Around 40 human rights groups have collaborated in a sustained call for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate systematic abuses in the reclusive communist country.

The International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK), was launched in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Three of the world’s largest human rights organisations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights, are all involved in this new project.



“The time has come for the UN to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity that characterise North Korea today,” insisted Phil Robertson, Deputy Director of Asia Division at Human Rights Watch.

“We demand the world pull back the curtain on the egregious human rights violations that make the North Korean Government one of the most brutal regimes on earth.”

The announcement of the campaign was made at the end of a two-day conference in Tokyo on crimes against humanity in North Korea. Delegates included survivors of North Korean prison camps and family members of Japanese abductees.

It draws on the final report to the UN last year by UN Special Rapporteur, Vitit Muntarbhorn, in which he told of "harrowing and horrific" human rights violations and called upon the UN to protect human rights in the country. 



Ha Tae Keung, President of Open North Korea, said: “Establishment of this important coalition will help move human rights to centre stage in all of the international community’s interactions with North Korea.

“It’s critical that UN member states take up this call and include language to establish a Commission of Inquiry in the coming annual UN resolution on North Korea.”

Study finds the Internet has increased plagiarism

The Pew Research Center has found that tertiary students are increasingly plagiarizing others’ work and that the Internet plays a significant role in this.

The study, entitled “The Digital Revolution and Higher Eduction,” found that 55% of the heads of tertiary institutions believed they had seen a rise in plagiarism over the past decade with just 2% saying it has decreased, with most of them crediting technology with the rise.

Of those who say plagiarism is on the rise, the overwhelming majority – 89% – believe that computers and the Internet have played a major role in this rise.

The Pew Research Center conducted this study alongside the Chronicle of Higher Education between March 15 and April 24, 2011, among 1,055 tertiary study institution leaders.

Emotional wellbeing of parents linked to unhappiest child

A new study has proven something that has long been widely acknowledged - that the emotional well-being of parents is linked to the successes and struggles of their children, even if they are grown up. Yet researchers also found that the link between the emotional wellbeing of parents and their children is even deeper than ever suspected.

While researchers expected parents to suffer if their grown children struggled through crises such as divorce or unemployment, they believed that having children who were successful would bring parents’ joy and improved emotional well-being. However, it seems that the effects of successful children are not enough to mitigate the effects of problem children. Just one unhappy child among other successful children is enough to lead to symptoms of worry and depression in parents.

The researchers were surprised to find mothers and fathers were only as happy as their least happy child, said study leader Karen Fingerman, a professor in human development and family sciences at the University of Texas in Austin.

The study was published in the ‘Journals of Gerontology: Psycological Sciences,’ and stated that:

“We had expected that a successful child might mitigate the negative impact of having a child who suffers problems. The successful child might give the parent something positive to focus on. But parents still seem to suffer even when one of their grown children does.

“It could be the case that parents empathize with their children’s distress, they are embarrassed that their relationships with these grown children suffer, or that grown children who have problems may place excessive demands on the parents,” she said.

“Any one or all of these factors may contribute to parental worry and depression.”

Fingerman believes that parents are sensitive to positive and negative events in their children’s lives because it reflects on their own achievements in parenting.

“Parents have a distinct investment in grown children reflecting decades of child-rearing,” she said.

Taylor Lautner and Dwayne Johnson in ‘Goliath' movie

Two of Hollywood’s more popular actors in Dwayne Johnson and Taylor Rautner have been offered roles in a new movie entitled ‘Goliath’.

Johnson is an ex-pro wrestler and has acted in movies like ‘Fast Five’ and ‘The Scorpion King.’ He has been asked to portray the infamous giant Goliath, with ‘Twilight’ star Taylor Lautner as the shepherd boy David.

The movie will be directed by Scott Derrickson who has previously directed ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ and ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’. ‘Goliath’ has been described as a period action movie and is said to resemble the Greek epic ‘300’.

The Hollywood Reporter says the film will portray Goliath as a fierce warrior sent to assassinate a foretold king of the Israelites. The shepherd boy David is thrust into the chase and finds himself fighting for his life and for his people.

It is not yet known whether Johnson and Lautner have accepted the roles.

Nigeria's religious leaders call for peace

After another weekend of sectarian violence in Jos, Nigeria, both Christian and Muslim leaders have urged communities to work towards peace.

Approximately 42 people were killed in these latest clashes after years of violence between the two religions in the area that has resulted in hundreds of deaths, and the displacement of thousands.

The Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, and a local Muslim leader, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, called for a Christian-Muslim dialogue to ease tensions, reports the BBC.

Nigeria’s army have threatened to use force to prevent further violence. Captain Charles Ekeocha of the government’s special task force confirmed that troops were now mandated to use all the necessary force within its powers on anybody carrying or using weapons.

Ekeocha asked those “having the false confidence of trying their hands on the might of the Nigerian military to retrace their steps, as the special task force will bring her might to bear on any persons or groups of persons.”

Three soldiers were also in the latest round of violence.

Experts believe that the violence is about more than religion, however, as ethnic, economic and political factors all feed the tension.

The Anglican Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin A. Kwashi, said in March 2010 that “those who have in the past used violence to settle political issues, economic issues, social matters, inter tribal disagreements, or any issue for that matter, now continue to use that same path of violence and cover it up with religion.”

The Launch of Mpower

One of the most difficult social challenges South Africa faces is the high number of child and youth-headed homes. Children are forced to become adults far too soon as they take on the responsibility of running homes (and looking after younger siblings) because they have lost their parents or guardians. It is estimated that by 2015 almost 12% of South African children will be orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS.

It is difficult enough for the estimated 60% of South African children who live in poverty to progress through school and find work, but this becomes almost impossible without responsible and loving adult care. Many of these children are forced to give up schooling early to find work so they might provide for younger siblings. They also struggle through other adult-sized pressures of running a home and making important decisions.

This is where Mpower comes in. Mpower is a non-profit organisation that has been working in the Cato Manor area of Durban for the last 18 months. Mpower seeks to build community amongst these youth-headed homes and to support the various members of the families in taking hold of their own futures through co-creating personalised life-growth paths. Mpower strives to connect these young people to the opportunities that undoubtedly do exist in South Africa through providing support, guidance, encouragement and skills-training.

Speaking at the recent launch of Mpower, one of it’s directors, Jeanne Haley summed up the problem of youth-headed homes perfectly.

"The most striking aspect of these young peoples’ stories is their sense of being alone in carrying the full burden of responsibility for their family’s survival. Their circumstances mean that they are forced to act as adults despite their positioning within society as children. This makes them particularly vulnerable. The power differential between adults and children means that they are often taken advantage of or not taken seriously. Through our mentorship programme, Mpower aims to empower these young people to recognize their strengths, value themselves, speak out, and identify new possibilities for their lives. Our focus is to come alongside the young people we support and to listen to and collaborate with them so as not to become yet another force that overpowers them."

Programmes Coordinator, Phelo Muyanga, told the audience of 115 people that she has been struck by the frightening vulnerability of these homes.

“The homes we work with are so vulnerable. For example, recently one of the families we work with was attacked. Someone came into their house and raped the three girls and took everything they had. Afterwards, instead of being supported by members of their community, they were treated with hostility because they reported the incident to the police.”

While Mpower can never properly replace the role of responsible full-time care-givers, it can certainly strive to fill the gap by any means possible in assisting children to cope with schooling, providing skills-training for employment opportunities, and mentoring their emotional and social growth.

(To find out more about Mpower, please visit www.mpowersa.org. You can also find them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Mpowersa), or follow them on Twitter (@mpowersa).

Archbishop of Canterbury hopes to solve Zimbabwe church violence

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, is hoping to ease the upheaval and violence in the Zimbabwean church in his upcoming visit there.

According to Marie Papworth, media director at the Archbishop’s office, it will be “a pastoral visit to show support for the Anglican Church there.”

The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has been in a state of conflict since 2007 when Bishop Nolbert Kunonga attempted to remove the head of the Diocese of Harare in the country due to theological differences.

Kunonga was eventually excommunicated from the communion, but his close relationship with President Robert Mugabe allowed him to take control of various church properties.

A court ruling recently granted Kunonga authority over various Anglican church properties, but he has apparently chosen violent methods to remove priests and worshippers from the properties, according to The Anglican Journal.

In a press release from the Diocese, the violence was detailed.

"Clergy and members of the laity belonging to the Anglican Diocese of Harare (CPCA) across Harare, Mashonaland West, East and Central have been receiving threats, constant harassment and lately severe beatings from Kunonga's hooligans, masquerading as clergy, accompanied by 'certainly hired thugs,’” the press release stated.

"The latest casualty is Reverend Jonah Mudowaya who was severely assaulted in Chinhoyi on Wednesday 24 August."

The current bishop in charge of the Zimbabwean Anglican Communion, Chad Gandiya, said police in the country have been aiding Kunonga and leaving some with no place to worship.

"There are parishioners being banned from church buildings by Kunonga with help of the police,” Gandiya informed the Harare Daily News. “They are worshipping in open spaces, under trees or booking other church buildings."