Moazzam Begg’s and Maher Arar’s lives were turned upside down when the U.S. military falsely accused them of having ties to terrorists and imprisoned them. Begg has written a book about his detention at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay Prison and Arar was given and international human rights award.
On October 17 President Bush signed a new law called the Military Commissions Act. The law allows the government to put people who are not U.S. citizens in prison without a court hearing. The new law also expands the president’s powers and allows him to determine what is considered torture.
Read about International Human Rights Day and what you can do, on your own or with a school group, to defend human rights.
These important terms in understanding international human rights law are explained…
Learn about this U.S. military prison where people from other countries are held without a court hearing, and about the human rights situation inside the prison.
After many years under Republican control, the Democratic Party will now make up the majority of Congress, which means Democrats will be better equipped to challenge Bush’s policies.
300 million people now live in the U.S., but it was only in 1915 when the counter ticked to 100 million. For many years the percentage of people who were immigrants hovered in the single digits. Today, at the
300 million mark, the immigration population is at about 12 percent, close to where it was back in 1915.
An immigrants’ rights rally in New York City on October 21 was a response to Congress’ failure to propose and pass a fair and humane bill for immigrants. Marchers demanded that legal status be given to all undocumented immigrants and that the deportation and detention of immigrants be ended.
October was a noisy month at Gallaudet University, a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Washington, DC. A few months after new president Dr. Jane K. Fernandes was appointed she was voted out of the position by the board of trustees, in response to student protests.
Try making this dog puppet at home. Here’s all you need to know to complete the task.
