Americas account for highest human rights violations against MPs: IPU

By Raman Pandit

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has released its yearly figures on the human rights abuses experienced by parliamentarians around the world. The numbers confirm an upward trend of reported violations against parliamentarians. They also reveal an uptick in acts of intimidation and violence, with women MPs suffering more disproportionately, according to information received by the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.
In 2020 the IPU Committee examined the cases of 552 parliamentarians from 42 countries whose rights were allegedly violated. Eighty-three of them, from 13 countries, were new this year, with 43 reported from Venezuela alone. 
This compares with cases involving 533 MPs in 2019 and confirms an overall upward trend since the creation of the IPU Committee over 40 years ago. 
Opposition parliamentarians account for 85 per cent of the cases examined.

The most common human rights violations were:

1. Undue suspension and loss of parliamentary mandate

2. Lack of fair trial and other unfair proceedings

3. Threats, acts of intimidation

4. Violation of freedom of expression 

In 2020, threats and acts of intimidation moved up from fourth to third place of the most common human rights violations affecting MPs under IPU review.
The figures reveal that women MPs are significantly more exposed to torture, ill treatment and acts of violence, with 34 per cent of women parliamentarians considered by the IPU affected compared with 18 per cent of male colleagues.
In 2020, the IPU examined 98 cases concerning women parliamentarians, up from 85 in 2019. This represents 18 per cent of all cases before the Committee, almost three times higher than the figure from six years ago (34 women in 2014).

The Americas has the most cases

For the fifth year in a row, the Americas account for the greatest proportion of human rights violations against parliamentarians  - 32 per cent (178 cases out of 552) - driven by a large caseload from Venezuela. In Venezuela, the IPU continues to monitor closely allegations of human rights violations affecting 134 parliamentarians from the coalition of opposition parties, against the backdrop of parliamentary elections scheduled for 6 December. According to evidence available to the Committee, almost all the parliamentarians have been attacked, threatened, harassed or otherwise intimidated by pro-government supporters.

The Americas is the only region where the most frequent violation is: “Threats, acts of intimidation” which directly affects the physical integrity of MPs. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) reported the second highest proportion of cases (25 per cent).

The IPU Committee is seeing more cases from the same countries than it has in recent years, suggesting that the situation in these countries (Brazil, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and Yemen) is getting worse, particularly for opposition MPs.

Violations in a time of COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has provided an opportunity for some governments to act against opposition MPs using lockdown laws to detain or otherwise infringe upon the rights of opposition parliamentarians, notably in Venezuela, Uganda and Zimbabwe.      

As of December 2020, the IPU Committee was examining the cases of 30 MPs in detention from nine countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Gabon, Iraq, Mongolia, Niger, Palestine, Philippines, Turkey).

Some MPs released after IPU action

In some positive news, lobbying from the IPU and the global parliamentary community contributed to the release of some parliamentarians from detention. For example, four MPs in Côte d’Ivoire (Mr. Loukimane Camara, Mr. Kando Soumahoro, Mr. Yao Soumaïla and Mr. Soro Kanigui) were able to return home recently partly thanks to IPU follow-up actions with the national authorities.

The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians is the only international complaints mechanism with the mandate to defend the human rights of persecuted parliamentarians. Its work includes mobilizing the international parliamentary community to support threatened MPs, lobbying national authorities, visiting MPs in danger and sending trial observers. The Committee is made up of 10 parliamentarians from the various regions of the world who are elected by their peers for a mandate of five years. 

India warns TV channels not to promote online Gaming without 'mandatory warning message"

Fantasy and Gaming app to find it tough to promote in India

India has issued a warning to private TV channels not to violate any guidelines while displaying advertisements on online gaming and fantasy sports. It told them to carry 'mandatory warning message' failing which government would take strict action against them.

The advertisements must carry the warning disclaimer: 'This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk”.

The move will discourage people from using gaming applications and not making people addictive of such games. The decision is taken to curb the use of Chinese gaming app among youngsters.

In its advisory, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked all private television broadcasters to follow guidelines issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for advertisements relating to online gaming, fantasy sports etc. It further told them not to promote any activity prohibited by statute or law.

“It has come to the notice of Ministry of I&B that a large number of advertisements on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports, etc have been appearing on the television. Concerns were expressed that such advertisements appear to be misleading, do not correctly convey to the customers the financial and other risks associated thereof, are not in strict conformity with the Advertising Code laid down under Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019” the advisory said.

The advisory has been issued after a consultation meeting held by the I&B Ministry with the officials and representatives of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, ASCI, News Broadcasters Association, Indian Broadcasting Foundation, All India Gaming Federation, Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports, and the Online Rummy Federation.

ASCI guidelines require that every such gaming advertisement must carry the following disclaimer: 'This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk”. Such a disclaimer should occupy at least 20% of the advertisement space.

The guidelines also state that gaming advertisements cannot depict users under the age of 18 years as engaged in playing a game of “online gaming for real money winnings” or suggest that such users can play these games.

The advertisements should neither suggest that online gaming presents an income-generating opportunity as an alternative to employment nor depict a person playing such games is more successful than others.

The Advertising Standards Council of India, established in 1985, is a Mumbai based self-regulatory voluntary organization of the advertising industry in India. It seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-Regulation.  Under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 it is mandatory for television networks to follow the advertising code laid down by ASCI.

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‘Vaccine warriors’ brave tough terrain to ensure routine immunization in remote areas

by Ishwar Nath Jha & Raman Pandit

Najeeta Begum, an ANM worker in Karnataka’s Lingsugur taluk, walked home to home post lockdown to ensure that children who were not vaccinate for preventable infections due to the COVID-19 lockdown, are covered under routine immunization services while  60-year-old Rameshwar Prasad, an alternate vaccine delivery person in Bihar’s Gaya District, had to wade across the river during monsoon to ensure that vaccines reach their destination on time.

 Both Begum and Prasad are among around two lakh vaccine warriors who travel several kilometres to deliver life saving vaccine doses to children and pregnant women at reach remote immunization sites. They brave tough terrain and hard-to-reach areas, often by cycling or motor bike and then walking, to prevent the vaccines from falling through the cracks.

 “We have been asked by villagers not to venture. I had to answer and convince them to vaccinate their children and pregnant women,” said Begum. Begum traveled to remote villages and visited the homes on foot to request families to not to miss their child vaccination schedule and visit the sub-centre to get vaccinated. 26-year-old Begum said that she managed to cover every child and mother who could have missed their vaccination schedule.

 Prasad on the other hand, cycled, walked and even waded through rivers to deliver vaccines to remote villages of his district. “When I have to go to Bentanawadhi village, I have to park my cycle in a neighbouring village. Then I had to walk two kilometres during the lockdown period to reach there as there is no proper road. During rainy season, I wade across the river to ensure that vaccines reach on time," he said. "If I don’t go, it will affect so many women and children. So, I have continued to do it with all precautions like wearing a face mask, washing my hands regularly and maintaining physical distance during collection and distribution of vaccine carrier,” he said.

 Since vaccines need to be stored and transported at a certain temperature (+2 to +8 degrees Celsius) to ensure their potency and efficacy, women and men spearheading the Alternate Vaccine Delivery system, are given specific training. The UNICEF supported training of 674 cold chain handlers, 36 cold chain technicians and almost 45,000 AVD personnel before the re-introduction of outreach immunization sessions as soon immunization was put under essential services during covid lockdown. .

A senior government official from the ministry of health said:  "There were some gaps in coverage because of  the pandemic due to restriction in movement of man and material to contain the spread. However, the government came up with  guidelines to ensure access to essential services in mid April that resulted in guiding the states on how to conduct vaccination sessions by taking due precautions. The states too worked on innovative ideas and the services have now been restored," 

 Elaborating on the process of alternate vaccine delivery systems, UNICEF said the states have different vaccine delivery mechanisms depending on the topography of the state ranging from motocycle, cycle, boats and by foot.

 "During and after the lockdown; when the regular road transport mechanism was affected, the AVD system was functional and it supported in vaccine delivery and resumption of Routine Immunization services. The AVDs are based on local need and depending upon local support and means for transport," the official said. The government along with partners ensured supportive supervision visits to the outreach sessions and hand holding of the ANM and ASHA workers for house to house surveys to identify children who may have missed routine immunization.

 Luigi d’Aquino, Chief of Health, UNICEF India, said vaccination is one of the most effective and cost-effective ways to protect children’s lives and futures, and for building healthier and safer communities.

 Till August 2020, over 12 million children were vaccinated, a coverage of 68.5% in eight months, according to data from the Union health ministry.

 

Sputnik V: ‘Over 95% effective and affordable vaccine’

Raman Pandit

Russia on Tuesday claimed that its Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus has been found to be over 95 per cent effective and one among the most affordable vaccine in term of price, distribution, logistics, and everything else in the world. The second interim analysis of clinical trial data showed a 91.4 per cent efficacy for vaccine on day 28 after the first dose and over 95 per cent 42 after the first dose, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement. 

In a virtual conference from Moscow, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said Sputnik V is not only one of the most effective but also among the affordable vaccines in the world. The Sputnik V vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and RDIF.

The RDIF CEO said the vaccine can be stored in temperatures ranging from 2-8 degrees Celsius which is a very important factor in facilitating easy distribution. The efficacy of the vaccine is over 95 per cent which is great news not only for Rusia but (also) for the world, Dmitriev said.

The news augurs well for India as pharma giant Dr Reddy's Laboratories is conducting clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine as well as its distribution.

Dmitriev said talks are on with regulators in countries where clinical trials are being done. He said the trials are being done on 42,000 volunteers in Russia and other countries. Dmitriev said the clinical trial data will be also published in international journals and peer-reviewed by the international community.

The price of one dose of Sputnik V will amount to less than USD10 in the international market. The vaccine will require a primer booster shot and the price will be less than USD20. This is half the cost for vaccines with similar efficacy, he said. The RDIF CEO also said this vaccine can be stored in temperatures ranging from 2-8 degrees Celsius.

We have achieved the industrial production of the dry form of the vaccine that will allow us to distribute it and use it at temperatures of plus 2 to plus 8 degrees Celsius.

This will also be one of the most affordable vaccines in terms of distribution, logistics, and everything else. “As you know there are many colleagues with us Latin America, Asia, Africa and for all these countries, the dry form could be installed at 2-8 degrees Celsius. It is an important factor in saving lives and logistics, he said.

Amid a global race to come out with an effective vaccine to check the pandemic that had ravaged the world, Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech too had announced that their vaccine appears 95 percent effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large, ongoing study.

US-based biotechnology giant Moderna also announced that its COVID-19 vaccine has shown to be 94.5 percent effective in preventing the deadly disease.

Indian Navy to Host Exercise SIMBEX-20 in Andaman Sea

Indian Navy (IN) is scheduled to host the 27th edition of India - Singapore Bilateral Maritime Exercise SIMBEX-20 from 23 to 25 November 2020 in Andaman Sea.

The SIMBEX series of exercises between IN and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), being conducted annually since 1994, are aimed at enhancing mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices from each other. The scope and complexity of these exercises has increased steadily over the past two decades to include advanced naval drills covering a wide spectrum of maritime operations.

The 2020 edition of SIMBEX will witness participation by Indian Navy ships including destroyer Rana with integral Chetak helicopter and indigenously built corvettes Kamorta and Karmuk. In addition, IN submarine Sindhuraj and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft will also participate in the exercise.

RSN will be represented by the ‘Formidable’ Class frigates ‘Intrepid’ and ‘Steadfast’ with integral S70B helicopter and ‘Endurance’ Class Landing Ship Tank ‘Endeavour’ in the exercise.

The exercise, being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the high degree of mutual trust and confidence, synergy and cooperation in the maritime domain between the two friendly navies and maritime neighbours. SIMBEX-20 will witness the two friendly navies participate in advanced surface, anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare exercises including weapon firings, over three days of intensive joint operations at sea.

SIMBEX series of exercises exemplify the high level of coordination and convergence of views between India and Singapore, particularly in the maritime domain, towards enhancing the overall maritime security in the region and highlight their commitment to a rules-based international order.

Indian scientists help Nobel Laureate to develop the Thirty Meter Telescope, a Next-Generation space observatory

Indian scientists collaborate with Nobel Laureate to develop the Thirty Meter Telescope, a Next-Generation space observatory

 

Indian scientists have collaborated with the 2020 Physics Nobel Laureate Prof. Andrea Ghez to develop a thirty-meter telescope (TMT), considered t to be a Next-Generation space observatory, being installed at Maunakea in Hawaii—that would revolutionize the understanding of the universe and the enigmas in it.

The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow us to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity. The 30 m prime mirror diameter will three times as wide, with nine times more area, than the largest currently existing visible-light telescope in the world.

 

The Indian astronomers mainly Dr. Annapurni Subramanium, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and Dr Shashi Bhushan Pandey, a scientist at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) worked on the design of back-end instruments and possible science prospects of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

Besides, Prof. Ghez’s remarkable contribution to the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our Galaxy along with Prof. Roger Penrose and Prof. Reinhard Genzel for which they shared the Nobel prize in physics, Prof. Ghez was deeply involved in the development of the related instrumentation and possible science prospects for the TMT, the next-generation observatory.

She was part of the team working towards evaluating possible front-line science cases and instrumentation for TMT utilizing associated front-line cutting edge technologies like adaptive optics.

The Thirty-meter telescope (TMT) project is an international partnership between CalTech, Universities of California, Canada, Japan, China, and India; through the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Some of the Indian astronomers like Dr. Annapurni Subramanium, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and Dr Shashi Bhushan Pandey, a scientist at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) along with many others collaborated with Prof. Ghez in the ongoing research and developmental activities of the TMT project.

It had resulted in two significant papers, among many others. The scientific prospects and simulations by the first generation instrument for the TMT called the Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), was described in one of the SPIE proceedings in 2016.

The latest end-to-end data simulator on Solar System bodies, the Galactic centre, energetic transient objects, active galactic nuclei, and distant gravitationally-lensed galaxies were used. It showed the capabilities of IRIS/TMT to continue front-line scientific research in the near future to understand the nature of the supermassive compact object at the centre of our Galaxy and much more new aspects to discover "unknown-unknowns".

The scientists highlighted the necessity of an advanced data management system and data reduction pipeline.

Another such collaborative publication in the journal Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 2015 has underlined versatile usage for future multi-messenger astronomy for various Galactic and extra-galactic objects using TMT includes many other Indian astronomers as a part of a larger team along with Prof. Ghez.

The Thirty Meter Telescope, which seeks to advance scientific knowledge while fostering connection among the partner countries and their citizens, and in which Indian astronomers worked closely with Prof. Andrez Ghez, is expected to provide facilities with even greater capabilities to gather the observations needed to answer new and emerging questions in astronomy and physics in general.

TMT: the next generation telescope

The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow us to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity. With its 30 m prime mirror diameter, TMT will be three times as wide, with nine times more area, than the largest currently existing visible-light telescope in the world.

This will provide unparalleled resolution with TMT images more than 12 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope. When operational, TMT will provide new observational opportunities in essentially every field of astronomy and astrophysics.

Observing in wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared, this unique instrument will allow astronomers to address fundamental questions in astronomy ranging from understanding star and planet formation to unravelling the history of galaxies and the development of large-scale structure in the universe.

Vijay Thakur, The Stateman

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L K Advani next in line to get Bharat Ratna ?

L K Advani next in line to get Bharat Ratna? 

Five years after late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, one of the two founding members of BJP including L K Advani, was conferred the coveted Bharat Ratna award there has been a rising demand within the ruling BJP for a similar gesture towards nonagenarian Advani who celebrated his 93^rd birthday at his residence on Sunday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others.

One to raise such a demand is senior BJP leader from Karnataka D H Shankaramurthy and scores of party workers from the State. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Shankaramurthy has urged him to bestow the prestigious award on L K Advani in view of his contribution to the party and the nation.

“As you are aware, Lal Krishna Advani has been in public life for over seven decades. His service, sacrifice and contribution to the cause of motherland through RS, Bharatiya Jana Sangh and BJP are something phenomenal. Impeccably clean and honest in his personal life, a leader with utmost credibility and a man with abundant knowledge and experience on national and international affairs, Advani is one such person of whom every one of us feels proud,” Shankaramurthy wrote.

Senior BJP leader from Karnataka further said in his letter to PM Modi that it was the desire of thousands of party workers to give away the award to L K Advani.

“It is the ardent desire of thousands of party workers in particular and people in general that Advani should be conferred with Bharat Ratna which he richly, rightly and eminently deserves in all respects…,” he said.

“I, on behalf of thousands of party workers in Karnataka request you to kindly confer Bharat Ratna on Advani,” Shankaramurthy added.

Shankaramurthy, in fact, is not the only leader to make a pitch for Bharat Ratna to L K Advani. In 2019, former BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, in a series of tweets had sought to pitch for Advani.   

Sinha had then referred to PM Modi’s first Mann ki Baat address of 2018 in which Modi credited his government for ensuring the prestigious award went to common people who “may not be seen in big cities but have done transformative work for society.”

Addressing Modi he tweeted, “Sir. You said that the Padma Awards are now given on merit. Is it like the cabinet positions? Where meritorious worthies like LK Advani, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, Murli Manohar Joshi, yours truly & many others are left out in the cold. Any remedies?”

“I dare not speak my Mann Ki Baat. That brand name belongs exclusively to one person. So I can only indulge in Dil Ki Baat Sir & my heart says - LK Advani couldn’t be made PM, for reasons most of us know. He couldn't be made Home Minister, for reasons a few of us know,” Sinha tweeted.

“He (Advani) could not be made President - for reasons that you and I know very well. But Sir, surely he could have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna in this year’s Padma Awards. I do hope that my Dil ki Baat hasn't hurt anybody like Mann Ki Baat sometimes does,” Shatrughan Sinha had then tweeted.