BODHI's Human Rights Committee
'I'm hugely pro BODHI's role in defending Human Rights.'
Prof John Guillebaud
WHAT'S NEW
27 July 2008
Scott Trimingham is arranging to speak to gay groups in Southern California about Mitini Nepal. We’re looking for funding of $2,000 per/year for Years 2 and 3 of the Skills Training project, which will help an outcast group of Nepalese women to learn English and improve their computer skills.
26 July 2008
Marty Rubin has organised for Nonie Darwish to speak at the University of California Davis campus in October. Journalist Nonie Darwish was born in Egypt and is now a U.S. citizen. Her father was sent by Gamel Adbel Nasser to serve as a commander of Egyptian Army Intelligence in Gaza in the 1950s. He was killed by Israeli commandoes after instigating terrorist attacks. Her mission is to ‘promote reconciliation, acceptance and understanding’ between Israelis and Arabs.
We’ll post more details as the time approaches.
27 May 2008
Mr Kulottam Chakma has updated the report of his trip to Tripura, India. Please click here for the report or visit Kulottam's website at http://kchakma.angelfire.com/tripura.
13 May 2008
BODHI Community Adviser Mr Kulottam Chakma visited Tripura in northeast India, Kolkata, India and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh in his continuing humanitarian efforts for the Jumma community. Please visit his website at http://kchakma.angelfire.com/tripura or click here for Kulottam's report and selected photographs of the Tripura part of his journey.
22 April 2008: BODHI welcomes new member Mr Dilip Chakma to the Human Rights Committee. Please see below.
BODHI's Human Rights Committee was formed in late 2007 to write and present a position paper to the International Commission of Jurists.
We don't know quite how this committee and its work will evolve. Some interesting responses are coming in. We'll keep you posted.
Activities of BODHI's Human Rights Committee
The CHT Position Paper entitled, 'The Human Rights Situation of the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh’
was submitted 14th March, 2008 to the International Commission of Jurists.
For more information:
Map of Bangladesh
Silent genocide in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
Talk cancelled due to security fears
The talk by Dr Wafa Sultan, Syrian psychiatrist and human rights activist, at the Davis campus of the University of California on April 9, 2008 has been cancelled. Dr Sultan is concerned about security in so large a venue.
Dr Martin Rubin, Human Rights Committee member and BODHI US director, hopes to organise another speaker.
For more information:
Reader's Digest, December, 2006
UCD flyer
Watch this space
for Marty's post-talk commentary and photographs.
Articles by Medical Director
Please see Hot Topics and From the Medical Director's Desk for Dr Colin Butler's relevant articles and columns about human rights.
We hope to expand into other areas and welcome your input and involvement.
Websites of interest:
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Archive at the Center for World Indigenous Studies' Fourth World Documentation Project
The U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Bangladesh, 2007
Members, Human Rights Committee
Susan Woldenberg Butler
Dilip Chakma
Kabita Chakma
Emilia Della Torre
Marty Rubin
Scott Trimingham
Susan Woldenberg Butler
Susan has long been interested in the human rights aspect of BODHI's work.
She welcomes this opprtunity for BODHI to expand in new ways to meet the escalating challenges of our times.
Dilip Chakma
Dilip Chakma is a student at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bangalore, India. On 10 November, 2005, he and a small group of socially-conscious NLSIU freshmen formed Friends of the Chakmas (FOTC), a 'global initiative to campaign for support and solidarity of the Chakma people.'
Dilip says, 'I have worked on papers related to ‘third generation’ rights with the main focus being the indigenous people of the northeast [India], a paper on law, poverty, and development, and another on the movements for autonomy in north-east India which is a hub of multiple ethnic diversities.
Among other fields of law, my primary interest lies in areas like human rights and those that relate to law, poverty and development.'
Kabita Chakma
Kabita Chakma presented the first project of BODHI's Human Rights Committee: preparation of a portfolio on the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in Geneva. See Community Advisorsory Board for more information.
We are hopeful about a possible ICJ mission to Bangladesh and are working on the final draft of the submission.
Emilia Della Torre
Miss Emilia Della Torre is a human rights lawyer with over fifteen years experience in the field. Emilia has worked with the United Nations, government and non-government organisations on many human rights issues. These include the rights of indigenous peoples, women, refugees, religious minorities and others. Her publications in the field include a manual, How to Make a Complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (White Possum Press). This is used by government and non-government organisations in over thirteen nations.
Emilia divides her time between pro bono legal work, consultant activities and travel. ‘I am really looking forward to working with the Jumma people in Asia and in Australia,’ Emilia says. ‘I hope I can make a contribution in this area. I am certain that my life is about to become enriched through this new and exciting experience.’
Marty Rubin
Dr Martin Rubin has a long interest in human rights. 'My personal agenda is to stop hate speech on campuses,' he says.
Marty helped to keep BODHI afloat in the beginning and funded the first few newsletters and mailings. He has been consistently generous and reliable ever since, for instance by helping to keep the Revolving Sheep Bank going in the early days.
Scott Trimingham
Scott Trimingham is a registered Environmental Assessor and Director and Founder of the Indoor Air Project, which studies indoor air quality issues, determines successful remediation/mitigation strategies and provides educational support to local and national health organisations.
Scott is Past Chair of the Air Quality Subcommittee, American Lung Association of Los Angeles. He published articles and editorials on health and environmental issues and provides broadcast commentary on CNN Television and American Public Radio in the United States, as well as internationally.
‘I've been active in issues of health, the environment and animal rights - and now human rights,’ Scott says.
