On the morning of 6 March, the US Department of State released its annual report on human rights in countries around the world. The overview to that report is featured in Recommended Reading, below. The same afternoon, the Department of Defense announced the start of Combatant Status Review Tribunals, in which 14 "high value detainees" will be tried in secret. Other events from around the globe are also highlighted in this issue, ranging from climate change and its impact on natural disasters, to the latest H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks, and critical elections in Mauritania, Northern Ireland, and elsewhere.

4. Emerging Threat Monitor

Climate change, pandemics, and global economic imbalances are just a few of the threats emerging in this 21st century. Subscribers to the Emerging Threat Monitor stay a step ahead with monthly analysis of trends and responses worldwide. It offers executives a heads-up of new risks, and details of the policies and best practices gleaned from every country around the globe.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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ETM Corruption and Transnational Crime
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Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue has directed commercial banks to suspend transactions of accounts of the 53 politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen suspected of corruption.

Czech police have brought charges against eight former military officers involved in improperly awarding state contracts.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/37/czech_national_news/2494/

In what is emerging as South Africa's largest corporate fraud, Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and group accountant Graham Maddock have been arrested and denied bail for multiple contraventions of financial and business regulations and tax laws.
http://www.sabcnews.com/economy/business/0,2172,144941,00.html
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=301141

The UK's ongoing police investigation into the cash for honors scandal continues. This week, a judge denied attorney general Lord Goldsmith's attempt to prevent publication of a story about the investigation, including whether Labor Party fundraiser Lord Levy urged Prime Minister Blair's senior aide, Ruth Turner, to shape evidence. The Guardian reports: "It is this legal document and the exchange between Ms Turner and Lord Levy that has been at the heart of the inquiry in recent months, and which prompted the focus to shift from whether there was an effort to sell peerages to whether there has been a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice." Detectives have removed some of the prime minister's papers in connection with the inquiry.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/funding/story/0,,2027366,00.html
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/funding/story/0,,2027421,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1480246.ece
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/07/nlevy107.xml

The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland commissioned an independent study of fraud, which finds that if costs the UK economy a minimum of GBP13.9 billion a year.
http://www.acpo.police.uk/pressrelease.asp?PR_GUID={40F292C5-F97A-4A5B-BCC8-C579F140E01C}

The US House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, held a hearing on "The McNulty Memorandum's Effect on the Right to Counsel in Corporate Investigations". Testimony indicated a general belief that revised Justice Department guidelines on combating corporate fraud are insufficient to protect the right to legal counsel and confidentiality of communications. American Bar Association President Karen Mathis called the policy of pressuring corporate suspects inconsistent with the fundamental principle of presumed innocence.
http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=281
http://www.abanet.org/abanet/media/release/news_release.cfm?releaseid=98
http://www.usdoj.gov/dag/speech/2006/mcnulty_memo.pdf

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released new details that raise "further questions" about General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Lurita Alexis Doan's efforts to give award no-bid jobs to friends and colleagues, and to looking into ways to use GSA to help Republican candidates. The Committee will hold a hearing to question Doan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030602648.html
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ETM Economies and Financial Systems
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PriceWaterhouseCoopers latest UK Economic Outlook finds that at present the mega-cities of the major developed economies continue to lead the global GDP rankings, with the top six in 2005 being Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris and London. However, the emerging economies are the fastest growing.
http://www.pwc.com/extweb/ncpressrelease.nsf/docid/1C917B3A01FAE5558525729600708154

Forbes released its special report of the world's billionaires, which now number 946.
http://www.forbes.com/home/billionaires/2007/03/07/billionaires-worlds-richest_07billionaires_cz_lk_af_0308billie_land.html

The International Monetary Fund's monthly "Finance and Development" journal features "The Two Faces of Financial Globalization", which examines in a series of articles the phenomenon of rising cross-border financial flows-credited with boosting growth in developing countries but also blamed for the emerging market crises of the late 1980s and 1990s.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2007/03/index.htm

China is creating an investment company to improve returns on its $1 trillion foreign currency reserves.
http://english.people.com.cn/200703/09/eng20070309_355982.html

Three Italian mining companies have filed a complaint against South Africa's policy of Black Economic Empowerment, which the complainants say violate investment treaties. The case will be heard in the International Settlement of Investment Disputes,
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=102969
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d4e0c0a6-cde2-11db-839d-000b5df10621.html

In "World Trade Organization: Congress Faces Key Decisions as Efforts to Reach Doha Agreement Intensify", the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) explains that President Bush has identified the success of these global trade talks as a top trade priority. However, the talks, which were initiated in November 2001, collapsed in July 2006 primarily due to wide differences over the extent of agricultural reform and how to promote development. Congress has an important role in breaking the deadlock.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-379
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm
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ETM Environment and Climate Change
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The European Union has agreed to a binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent in relation to 1990 values and to increase by 20 percent the share of renewable energies. This greatly raises the bar and sets an example for other countries.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10110710.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433503.stm
http://www.eu2007.de/en/News/Press_Releases/March/0309BKER.html
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=AF64B05EE108FA0C8E4A93C17CD0F963

The Geneva Motor Show is featuring a strong of new energy-efficient models, as carmakers are urgently changing designs to address both regulatory pressure and consumer tastes.
http://www.salon-auto.ch/en/premieres/index.php
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,470093,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6421513.stm

The BBC investigative program Panorama broadcast "Go green or else!" This report followed a reporter and his family as they went green for a year. Although Panorama insists you watch the program to see how his efforts affected their carbon footprint, they do acknowledge that going green saved the family more than GBP 2,500.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/6411421.stm

Channel 4's Dispatches program features "Greenwash". They say that the UK government is set to achieve only a third to half of its overall policy target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
http://www.channel4.com/news/dispatches/article.jsp?id=470

The US record is far worse, with greenhouse gases expected to rise 20 percent, nearly the same rate this decade as in the previous.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2007/2007-03-05-03.asp
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/05/news/environ.php
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/

The Bush administration is also ordering Fish and Wildlife Service employees not to discuss how climate change and melting ice are affecting polar bears.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/306820_bears09.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/us/09polar.html
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ETM Human Rights
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International Women's Day was marked on 8 March.
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/event/women/2007/index.htm
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21794&Cr=women&Cr1=day

"Killing the Messenger" is a new International News Safety Institute report that describes how killings of journalists have escalated to record levels. In the past ten years, a thousand media personnel have been killed on assignment: nearly two deaths per week. In the past three consecutive years, casualties reached record levels, hitting 167 deaths in 2006.
http://www.newssafety.com/stories/insi/globalinquiry.htm

The federal appeals court for Washington DC has offered, in a two to one decision, a broad interpretation of the second amendment that overturns portions of a gun control law in the District of Columbia that bans handguns in the home. The District called it a threat to efforts to control crime and gun violence, while gun advocates praised it as opening a way for further firearms deregulation.
http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200703/04-7041a.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/10/washington/10gun.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070309-1504-dcgunban.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0924671720070309?pageNumber=1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/10/AR2007031001396.html

The US Equal Opportunity Commission has filed an employment discrimination class lawsuit against the largest drugstore chain, Walgreen, for allegedly discriminating against thousands of African American workers.
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/3-7-07.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0703080317mar08,0,3010927.story

The North Carolina Department of Corrections has sued the state medical board over their policy against doctors participating in executions, which has prevented the state from having one present at lethal injection executions.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lethal7mar07,0,3135770.story
http://www.ncmedboard.org/

Refer to Recommended Reading, below, for the State Department's 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
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ETM Infectious Diseases
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University of California Irvine researchers report that genetic analysis reveals China's southern Guangdong Province as the source of the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/03/05/birdflu.origin.reut/index.html

World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) experts have arrived in Kuwait where the number of H5N1 cases has risen to 52, in 32 locations around the emirate. No human infections have been found.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80205

Laos has confirmed its first human H5N1 death. Through 8 March there have been a total of 277 laboratory infections, of which 168 were fatal.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_03_08/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2007_03_08/en/index.html

The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will complete testing this weekend and if no disease is detected will lift restrictions put in place following the H5N1 outbreak in Suffolk.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2007/animal-0309.htm

An ongoing livestock vaccination campaign against Rift Valley Fever has stemmed the spread of the disease in Kenya. It has killed 154 people since December 2006.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70528

In Paraguay, the health official responsible for combating a major outbreak of dengue fever has been dismissed, following the revelation that his department used expired fumigation chemicals, which could have contributed to increased resistance in the mosquitoes that transmit the disease. The Health Minister has refused to resign and says the outbreak is under control.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6422319.stm
http://www.pla.net.py/v4/news.asp?ID=10347 (in Spanish)

Extensively Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is the focus of the March issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm?s_cid=eidindex_e
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ETM Legal Systems
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Indonesia is constructing a new high security prison off the coast of Java.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK218536.htm

Pakistan lawyers are planning a national boycott on Monday to protest President Musharraf's suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=46326
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/03/11/top6.htm

The US House and Senate judiciary committees both heard testimony from six US attorneys that had been dismissed apparently for political reasons. Those affected has been the target of complaints, improper telephone calls and thinly veiled threats from a high-ranking Justice Department official or members of Congress, both before and after they were abruptly removed from their jobs. The committee inquiries are expanding, with requests for legal documents and testimony from White House officials.
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2588
http://judiciary.house.gov/
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usattys10mar10,0,6662014.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030600606.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08attorneys.html

Uganda's judges ended a weeklong strike in protest over a military raid of the High Court after President Museveni expressed regret.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news03091.php
http://www.monitor.co.ug/sunday/news/news03111.php
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ETM Natural Resources
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Guardian reporter Ian MacKinnon asks whether Cambodia's newfound oil wealth might do more harm than good.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,,2026497,00.html

Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Angelo Reyes spoke after more than 38 tons of mangrove were confiscated. He said that such activities would create food shortages and directly affect employment. He warned, "Destruction of natural resources is the biggest crime anybody can commit against humanity, especially the future generations".
http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p070309.htm&no=43
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ETM Populations
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Germany's parliament has taken steps to address the cost of its rising elderly population. They voted to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 and approved a bill to attract people born after 1945 back into the labor market. Previously, they approved financial and other incentives to encourage more new babies.

The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) announced that after nearly eight years in makeshift camps, a number of Roma families have begun to return to south Mitrovica.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news

Poland, which has the lowest fertility rate in the EU, has announced plans to invest up to $6 billion to support families.
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ETM Social Responsibility
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National Bank of Canada released its 2006 Social Responsibility Report.
http://www.nbc.ca/bnc/cda/newsdetail/0,1044,articleCode-14359_divId-2_langId-1_navCode-6100_viewFilter-2007,00.html

Indian finance minister P Chidambaram castigated corporate leaders for turning a deaf ear to the government's promise of 100,000 jobs to the physically challenged in exchange for government support.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200703090323.htm

UK Conservative leader David Cameron is leading his party into "uncharted waters of social responsibility".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/03/10/do1010.xml

Brand communications agency egg says, "7 percent of the population is socially responsible to the core. And 70 percent are socially responsible in some way, but to a lesser extent. In between, there’s a wide range of people who are motivated by aspects of social responsibility to different degrees". Their updated survey reveals a substantial discrepancy between what consumers say and what they do.
http://www.eggusa.net/

Dole Food Company has launched a new corporate social responsibility web site.
http://www.dole.com/CompanyInfo/PressRelease/PressReleaseDetail.jsp
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ETM Technology
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China has confirmed it will launch its first lunar probe this year, and plans to land a man on the moon within 15 years.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070309103114.htm

South Korea is developing an ethical code to prevent human-robot abuse. The European Robotics Research Network is considering similar issues.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6425927.stm
http://www.euron.org/

Sheffield University researchers have developed an innovative sensor using a polymer that gives a fluorescent signal when it encounters bacteria to "light up" infected wounds earlier than conventional methods of swapping and culturing.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/2007/755.html

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have developed a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) cell-stretcher that can measure the mechanical properties of a living cell, such as its ability to stick to a surface. The new device is expected to enable novel studies of cell mechanics, which influence basic cell functions such as growth and division, and diseases such as sickle cell anemia and asthma.
http://www.sciencenewsdaily.org/story-92062277.html
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ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
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UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei presented his latest report on Iran's nuclear program to the Board of Governors. He said that IAEA has verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material, but is unable to reconstruct fully the history of the program and some of its components because Iran has not provided the necessary level of transparency and cooperation. The situation amounts to a stalemate, and ElBaradei has again called for both sides to take a timeout on the issue.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2007/ebsp2007n004.html
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Treaties/npt.html
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/dg_iran-dprk.html

In "Pride Under Pressure", the Financial Times offers an assessment of the impact of President Ahmadinejad's defiance over its nuclear program.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/95c60204-cabe-11db-820b-000b5df10621.html

Discussions regarding possible additional sanctions continue among China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and US. China, and to a lesser extent Russia, have expressed the greatest concerns over additional sanctions. IAEA has cut technical aid to Iran in line with sanctions imposed last December.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iran-Nuclear.html
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml

In the case of North Korea, ElBaradei painted a more positive picture, following last month's agreement at diplomatic talks in Beijing to shut down and eventually abandon the Yongbyon nuclear facility. He has accepted North Korea's invitation to visit. North Korea says sanctions must be eliminated before its reactor is closed.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/dg_dprk.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900093_pf.html

Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) atomic energy center director Fortunat Lumu and an aide have been detained and questioned over allegations of uranium smuggling.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6430031.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/nuclear-chief-suspected-of-selling-uranium/2007/03/09/1173166991667.html
http://www.lepharerdc.com (in French)

Steven Coll says that it's thought there are some 54,000 licensed batches of radioactive materials in the US that could be used in a dirty bomb, and asks whether the US can be made safer from nuclear terrorism.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/12/070312fa_fact_coll

Chinese army officials countered criticism of increased defense spending, pointing out that it is far smaller than many other countries. China's defense expenditure in 2005 was $30.6 billion, or 1.35 percent of the country's GDP, while the US and UK spent 4.03 percent and 2.71 percent of their GDPs, respectively.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-03/06/content_820139.htm

Sixty-one percent of Czechs are opposed to a US missile defense radar base in the country, a measure strongly favored by the government.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/36/czech_national_news/2372/

"Intercept or interfere? How missile defense pits the Pentagon against allies" describes US efforts to convince both Russia and western countries that its anti-ballistic program needs European sites.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4fb585a6-cc52-11db-a661-000b5df10621.html

The UK Commons Committee on Defense released a report analyzing the government's white paper on the future of the UK nuclear deterrent. The review makes no recommendation, but a recent survey finds significant ruling Labor party opposition to government plans.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmdfence/225/22502.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6439903.stm

5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor

The 21st century is the interdependent century. Understanding the implicit and explicit networks on which we rely, and the interdependencies among the sectors of the critical infrastructure is essential for business continuity, economic success, and our very survival. The Critical Infrastructure Monitor, published monthly, analyzes these sectors, regulatory frameworks, and issues of enterprise risk management in global supply chains.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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CIM Agriculture and Food
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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released "State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture". The report warns that although he proportion of the world’s marine fish stocks rated by FAO as overexploited or depleted has remained stable over the past 15 years, the status of certain highly migratory and high-seas species is cause for serious concern.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000505/index.html

Demand for biofuels will continue to increase food prices.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/03/0051.xml
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/ethanol-to-fuel-record-corn-price/2007/03/11/1173548021489.html

Biofuels are also raising questions over their actual environmental benefits.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2940742
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CIM Banking and Finance
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China has issued restrictions on "virtual money" used online for fear that it could threaten the stability of markets in the real world.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21342528-36375,00.html

Somalia's Central Bank has been in ruins for the last 16 years of war. This article describes how people have filled in for their missing banking system.
http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Features_34/Somalia_s_money_for_nothing.shtml

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has set up a new reporting system to help reduce financial crimes in the insurance industry.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2007/030.shtml

FSA also reported that analysis of merger and acquisition deals on the London stock market in 2005 revealed that nearly a quarter of deals suggested possible insider trading.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2007/031.shtml

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspended trading in the securities of 35 companies subject of recent and repeated spam email campaigns: pump and dump scams.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-34.htm
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CIM Chemical
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The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued its final report on the explosion and fire that destroyed the Formosa Plastics plant in Illiopolis, Illinois, on April 23, 2004. They concluded that the accident occurred when an operator overrode a critical valve safety interlock on a pressurized vessel making polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride liquid and vapor discharged into the plant and was ignited, resulting in a massive explosion. The investigation found that systems and procedures put in place by both Borden Chemical and Formosa were insufficient to minimize the potential for human error. In addition, Formosa did not adequately train and drill its employees to immediately evacuate in case of a major release of hazardous chemicals. Such an evacuation would have saved lives. Additional safeguards such as locks or other devices to secure the interlock system could have prevented critical valves from being opened when the reactor was pressurized. Investigators also noted the reactors were grouped into similar sets of four, increasing the possibility of human error, but there were no gauges, indicators or warning lights to inform operators on the lower level of a reactor's operating status. Operators on the lower level, where the valves were, did not carry radios or have intercoms to communicate with the upper level panel operators. CSB released a safety video detailing key findings and recommendations and a computerized animation of the likely scenario of events leading to the explosion
http://www.csb.gov

Union Pacific and Dow chemical released a plan focused on improving safety and security during chemical transport.
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/safety/2007/0306_updow.shtml
http://news.dow.com/dow_news/corporate/2007/20070307a.htm
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CIM Commercial Facilities
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Unsecured open landfills can be a source of exposure for personal information.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-cttrash0310.artmar10,0,133480.story

Security trials for the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics will be tested this year.
http://english.people.com.cn/200703/11/eng20070311_356380.html
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CIM Cybersecurity
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An advanced Trojan that implements a proxy to redirect eBay traffic to a site controlled by the attacker is targeting eBay users.
http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_response/weblog/2007/03/ebay_motors_scam.html
http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_response/weblog/upload/2007/03/ebaymotors1-lg.html

Mozilla has issued a patch for a faulty patch in Firefox and SeaMonkey.
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2007/mfsa2007-09.html

Microsoft will not be issuing security updates normally scheduled in a Patch Tuesday cycle.
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2007/03/08/march-2007-advance-notification.aspx
http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=2379

A computer virus spread through a local government office in the state of Maryland, shutting down more than 2,500 computers and disrupting services for the day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030802012.html

In Ohio, sensitive personal records have been blown from a landfill.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-cttrash0310.artmar10,0,133480.story

A Daily Mail investigation demonstrates how Britain's new biometric passport can be cloned from inside its delivery envelope.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=440069&in_page_id=1770

The UK Interception of Communications Commissioner reports that UK aw enforcement agencies and other government bodies made 439,000 requests to monitor telephones and email addresses in a 15-month period between 2005 and 2006. During this period, 4,000 errors were made.
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0607/hc03/0315/0315.pdf

Although the UK has more CCTV cameras per head than anywhere else in the world, the Max Planck Society reports that Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden conduct more electronic surveillance.
http://www.mpg.de/english/portal/index.html

The US House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on Combating Pretexting: HR936, the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) testified that aggressive law enforcement was at the center of its efforts to protect consumer telephone call records from pretexting, such as a settlement with a telephone record seller reached this week.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ctcp_hrg.030907.HR_936.Pretexting.shtml
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/03/infosearch.htm

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released Information Security Guide for Government Executives and also the Program Review for Information Security Management Assistance.
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/index.html
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CIM Dams and Bridges
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The Wolf Creek Dam in southern Kentucky is leaking, raising fears for the tourist area.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/us/04dam.html

Hydropower is prompting controversy again in Sudan, where a government attracting world opprobrium over Darfur atrocities intends to displace 50,000 other citizens, and their archaeological heritage.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/216d6532-cde3-11db-839d-000b5df10621,_i_rssPage=415f2042-300f-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html

Another endangered area is the La Mesa Dam watershed in the Philippines.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=69629
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CIM Defense Industrial Base
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The UK Select Committee on Public Accounts released a report on delivering digital tactical communications through the Bowman CIP program, which the committee determines was poorly handled. The replacement for the replacement to old battlefield radios has been delayed, costs are rising, and the new digital equipment weighs too much and is not interoperable with allied communications.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmpubacc/358/35802.htm

Tens of thousands of civilian contractors hired to work in war zones have sparked heated debate over their roles, responsibilities, and how their companies are exposed in terms of liability claims.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/200-1812r.htm
http://www.comebackalive.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=241150&highlight=&sid=c94eb12930aeb228bb2e78d5601a4b28
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CIM Emergency Services
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The US Health and Human Services Department has launched the Radiation Event Medical Management web site, to help medical providers diagnose and manage radiation contamination, and provide guidance on treatment with anti-radiation drugs.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007pres/20070308.html

Sensor robots are vital in search and rescue missions at disaster sites, but field trials have found that ten of 14 robots tested experienced communication problems due to radio interference from other systems.
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/NISTRobotCommStds1.pdf

Information about chemical storage, transportation, and incident response is often not disclosed to prevent the same information necessary for emergency response from falling into terrorist hands.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.sunshine11mar11,0,511757.story http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/03/11/20070311-A1-02.html

First the New York police and now the fire department has refused to use a new subway radio system, which has dead spots where radio signals cannot reach.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/nyregion/07mta.html
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CIM Energy
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Brazil has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US to expand ethanol production.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6430563.stm

Canada-based Artumas Group has called on Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to pool their resources to develop a power and pipeline transmission network that individually they would have insufficient resources to build.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=3&newsid=93401

Iran, India, and Pakistan are ready to start construction of a common natural gas pipeline.

India plans to institute an energy panel on the lines of the cabinet committee on security to see how it can counter China's policy of using financial and military aid to secure oilfields in Latin America and Africa, where countries are emerging as oil suppliers of the future and are mostly outside the US influence.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_to_set_up_energy_security_panel_to_counter_China/articleshow/1729102.cms

Poland and Ukraine plan to build a pipeline to reduce dependency on Russian oil.

An environmental review of the impact of a proposed liquefied natural gas facility offshore on California's Malibu coast reveals concerns of the impact on air quality and marine life, and the dangers from explosion and fire.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lng10mar10,0,4417236.story
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CIM Information Technology
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The UN has launched a global initiative to tackle growing mountains of electronic waste: StEP, Solving the E-Waste Problem.
http://www.step-initiative.org/
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CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
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The Czech Republic is planning to open new uranium mines.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/37/czech_business/2460/

The Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic leaked 1,100 liters of radioactive coolant during a pressure test, the second leak in less than a week. Austria plans legal action over the repeated accidents.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/39/czech_national_news/2600/

In this interview, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen explains why nuclear is not a renewable energy.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,470841,00.html

There have been two equipment failures at the North Anna nuclear power plant near Washington DC in little more than a week.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030901778.html

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its annual assessment letters to the 103 operating commercial nuclear power plants.
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html
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CIM Public Health and Healthcare
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The World Health Organization has launched a program to end impunity for violence against women and girls, as part of an initiative to pay more attention to women's health.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s05/en/index.html

The International Narcotics Control Board has warned that unregulated sales of pharmaceutical drugs, including counterfeit medicines, are undermining national drug laws and regulatory authorities while threatening the lives of patients taking them due to lack of safety or efficacy.
http://www.incb.org/incb/en/annual_report_2006.html

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has reached agreement with publisher Elsevier under which articles will be open to public access six months after final publication.
http://www.hhmi.org/news/hhmielsevier20070308.html

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Effective Communication in Hospitals. The new program will assist hospitals in meeting the communication needs of individuals who do not speak English as their primary language (i.e. are limited English proficient) or who are deaf or hard of hearing.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007pres/20070305.html
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CIM Telecommunications
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Chinese telecom association official Shi Jixing has criticized the government's introduction of 3G services as slow, opaque, and ineffective.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3387d994-cd8b-11db-839d-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html

Sweden's government has submitted a bill that would give its defense intelligence agency to monitor email or phone communications into or out of the country.

Internet phone company Vonage has lost a patent case that could threaten service for its 2.2 million customers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6433525.stm
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CIM Transportation
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The EU has updated its airlines black list of airlines banned for inadequate safety. Phuket Air (Thailand) and DAS Air Cargo / Dairo Air Services (Uganda/Kenya) have corrected their safety deficiencies and were removed from the list. However, the European Commission banned 35 of the 42 aircraft in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) fleet, and added restrictions on dozens of other carriers.
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/278

The US Transportation Security Administration will no longer transport large shipments of lithium batteries.
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm

Airports remain vulnerable to insider threats.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-fsecure11mar11,0,5837662.story
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-gunscongress0807mar08,0,5432950.story

The Philippines are taking steps to secure ports and cargo.
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200703060402.htm

Maritime Security is a key issue for Sri Lanka's national defense.
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070310_02

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held another hearing on the coast guard, including details of efforts to improve the Deepwater modernization program.
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=76
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-575T

Their hearing on rail security focused on the need for rail worker security training.
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=85
http://www.teamster.org/07news/nr_070308_2.asp

Note responses to the "Terror on the Tracks" report on security problems at railroads and chemical plants.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/letters/send/s_497035.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/s_487117.html
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CIM Water
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The World Bank Middle East and North Africa Region launched the fifth Regional Report on Water: "Making the Most of Scarcity". The report discusses how water management solutions need to be considered as part of the wider economic policies of the countries of the region, which is the most water scarce in the world.
http://www.worldbank.org/mna

The water war between Punjab and Haryana has suddenly flared up with a threat to deny the any sharing.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Water_war_Haryana_seeks_Centres_help/articleshow/1729069.cms

6. Disaster Reduction Monitor

Natural and manmade events are inevitable, but they need not become disasters. Subscribers to the monthly Disaster Reduction Monitor learn from past incidents to prevent future disasters. It includes analysis of historical events, emerging risks and risk mitigation, and features new techniques to address disaster reduction, ranging from technical advances to regulatory best practices and micro-finance.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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DRM Incidents
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A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing at least 52 people and causing widespread damage and disruption.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/sumatra-earthquakes-kill-82/2007/03/06/1173166696144.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6422945.stm

An Indonesian state airline Garuda flight burst into flames on landing in Yogyakarta. There were 118 survivors, but 23 people died. Many of the casualties were part of an Australian diplomatic delegation. An investigation is under way to establish the cause.

During rush hour in Zimbabwe's capital Harare, a commuter bus driver apparently ignored a freight train's siren. The bus collided with a train, killing the driver and at least 33 passengers.

A fire swept through a slum in Chittagong, the main port city in Bangladesh. More than 20 people are dead, including ten children, and at least ten were injured. The cause is being injured.

Eight young children and an adult were killed in a devastating New York City fire that destroyed a 3-story building, and 19 people were injured. Several are in critical condition and the death toll is likely to rise.

In central Austria, a collision between a cargo helicopter and a light plane killed eight people. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

China's strongest storm tide to hit the northeast since 1969 has left three dead, seven missing, and affected 640,000.

Cyclone George struck northwest Australia, killing two and injuring 20.
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DRM Response and Recovery
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The US Chemical Safety Board issued its final report on the explosion and fire that destroyed the Formosa Plastics plant in Illiopolis, Illinois, on April 23, 2004, concluding that the accident occurred when an operator overrode a critical valve safety interlock on a pressurized vessel making polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride liquid and vapor discharged into the plant and was ignited, resulting in a massive explosion. The accident resulted in the deaths of five workers and serious injuries to three others.
http://www.csb.gov
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DRM Risks
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Erratic weather patterns in southern Africa, from searing droughts to raging floods, have devastated harvest prospects for millions of people and could spell yet another year of widespread food shortages.
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2393

SwissRe reports that losses due to natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were below the long-term trend in 2006. Of the $48 billion in catastrophe-related economic losses, $15.9 billion was covered by insurance. Insurers have modified their catastrophe simulation models, where appropriate, to bring them into line with higher expected damage – especially in the light of the record loss years 2004/05 and an increasingly volatile climate.
http://www.swissre.com/

"Topics Geo - Natural catastrophes 2006" is a new Munich Re report that finds global warming and the natural climate cycle will increase hurricane risks.
http://www.munichre.com/
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DRM Mitigation
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The US House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, held a hearing on Preparing for Disasters, Natural or Otherwise. Included in the testimony was a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of problems that continue to plague the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) integration into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-395T
http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_dhs.shtml

7. Recommended Reading

The following is the introduction to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006, which summarizes their findings.

INTRODUCTION

COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES - 2006
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 6, 2007

These reports describe the performance of governments in putting into practice their international commitments on human rights. These fundamental rights, reflected in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, constitute what President Bush calls the "non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As Secretary Rice has said, the full promise of the UN Universal Declaration cannot be realized overnight, but it is urgent work that cannot be delayed.

The Universal Declaration calls upon "every individual and every organ of society … to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance..."

The United States takes its human rights commitments seriously. We recognize that we are writing this report at a time when our own record, and actions we have taken to respond to the terrorist attacks against us, have been questioned. The United States will continue to respond forthrightly to the good faith concerns of others, including by means of the reports we submit periodically in accordance with our obligations under various human rights treaties to which we are a party. We are also committed to continual improvement. US laws, policies, and practices governing the detention, treatment, and trial of terrorist suspects have evolved considerably over the last five years. Our democratic system of government is not infallible, but it is accountable--our robust civil society, our vibrant free media, our independent branches of government, and a well established rule of law work as correctives.

The congressionally mandated country reports on human rights practices that follow are an essential element of the United States' effort to promote respect for human rights worldwide. For three decades, these annual reports have been used widely here and abroad as a reference document for assessing the progress made and the challenges that remain. They also have served as a foundation for cooperative action among governments, organizations, and individuals seeking to end abuses and strengthen the capacity of countries to protect the fundamental rights of all.

The reports review each country's performance in 2006. Each report speaks for itself. Yet, broad patterns are discernible and are described below, supported by country-specific examples. The examples we cite are illustrative, not exhaustive.

Hopeful Trends, Yet Sobering Realities

As a review of these reports shows, across the globe in 2006, men and women continued to press for their rights to be respected and their governments to be responsive, for their voices to be heard and their votes to count, for just laws and justice for all. There also was a growing recognition that democracy is the form of government that can best meet the demands of citizens for dignity, liberty, and equality. These are hopeful trends indeed, yet the reports also reflect sobering realities:

First, the advances made in human rights and democracy were hard won and challenging to sustain. While some countries made significant progress, some lagged and others regressed.

As the range of examples below demonstrates, the performance of countries varied greatly, depending on factors such as the degree of governmental commitment, institutional capacity, the extent of corruption, and the strength of civil society.

In January 2006 Liberia's democratically elected Unity Party government, led by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first female head of state in Africa, replaced the National Transitional Government of Liberia, which had served as the interim government since the end of a ruinous 14-year civil war in 2003. The government took significant steps to correct past human rights deficiencies, including working with international partners to rehabilitate the country's justice sector and establishing a public defender's office in the capital. The president dismissed or suspended a number of corrupt government officials. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in 2005 to investigate human rights violations and war crimes committed during the civil war, began taking statements from witnesses. Despite this progress, Liberia continued to face serious human rights challenges, including a still weak judiciary, official corruption and impunity, gender-based violence, and extreme poverty that led to child labor.

Substantial reductions in killings by the armed forces and the police in politically sensitive areas of Indonesia continued during the year. Fifty-four generally free and fair elections were held at the provincial, regency, district, and municipal levels, most notably in December in Aceh, where a former rebel field commander won the governorship. Although inter-communal religious violence generally abated, it nonetheless persisted in some areas. The government and the courts were unable to confront past human rights abuses and atrocities both in Indonesia and in East Timor.

Morocco's human rights record showed notable progress, although problems remained. The government began to address past human rights abuses by providing compensation through the Consultative Council on Human Rights for specific cases of arrest, disappearance, and abuse during the period between 1956 and 1999. In March the government enacted an antitorture law, although reports of torture by various branches of the security forces persisted. There was extensive and largely open debate in public and in the press, despite continuing restrictions on freedom of the press and speech. During the year the government punished some journalists who violated limitations on free speech, and many journalists practiced self-censorship. Trafficking in persons, particularly for sexual exploitation, and child labor remained issues of concern; however, both the government and civil society were increasingly active in addressing them.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo held its first democratic presidential and legislative elections in more than 45 years, putting an end to a three-year post-civil war transitional period. A new constitution went into force. Yet, the human rights record remained poor. In addition to simmering conflict in the east, where government control remained weak and armed groups continued to commit serious abuses, government security forces across the country also committed serious abuses with impunity.

In Haiti, citizens demonstrated their commitment to democracy by going to the polls three times in 2006. More than 3.5 million citizens registered to vote, and an impressive turnout estimated at more than 70 percent of registered voters participated in the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections in February. After a relatively stable and violence-free election process, voters selected President Rene Preval and filled 129 parliamentary seats. In December, Haiti held its first municipal elections in more than a decade. Yet much remains to be done to restore fully the rule of law, including an overhaul of Haiti's dysfunctional judicial system and the continued retraining and vetting of the Haitian National Police.

In Ukraine, notable post-Orange Revolution progress in human rights performance continued to be made. The March 2006 parliamentary elections were the freest in 15 years of independence. The country continued to make improvements in press freedom, freedom of association, and the development of civil society. Despite these gains, a number of serious problems remained, including corruption in all branches of government.

Although Kyrgyzstan's human rights record had improved considerably following the change to democratically elected leadership in 2005, during 2006 a week of mass yet peaceful protests culminated in the hasty adoption of an amended constitution that offered the possibility for genuine checks and balances. At the end of December, however, parliament passed another constitution negating many key checks and balances. The government also harassed foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Despite President Musharraf's stated commitment to democratic transition and "enlightened moderation," Pakistan's human rights record continued to be poor. Restrictions remained on freedom of movement, expression, association, and religion. Disappearances of provincial activists and political opponents continued, especially in provinces experiencing internal turmoil and insurgencies. The security forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings. Arbitrary arrest and torture remained common. Corruption was pervasive throughout the government and police forces. On a positive note, in December the National Assembly passed and President Musharraf signed the Women's Protection Bill - marking the first time in three decades that a Pakistan government successfully rolled back laws detrimental to women's rights. The law amends the 1979 rape and adultery provision of the Hudood Ordinance by transferring the offense of rape from Pakistan Sharia law to the Pakistan Penal Code. The law also eliminates the requirement for rape victims to present four male witnesses to press charges.

Though Egypt held a first-ever, multi-party presidential election in 2005, in 2006 public calls for greater democratization and accountability sometimes met with strong government reaction. The continued imprisonment of former presidential candidate Ayman Nour raised serious concerns about the path of political reform and democracy in the country. Continuing a trend begun in 2005, the government arrested and detained hundreds of activists affiliated with the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, generally for periods lasting several weeks. Two senior judges were brought in for questioning in February for publicly calling for an independent judiciary. Egyptian police arrested and detained over 500 activists for participating in demonstrations in support of judicial independence. In addition, severe cases of torture by authorities were documented. The government also arrested, detained, and abused several Internet bloggers.

In Kazakhstan, the government restricted the functioning of the political opposition by enforcing onerous registration requirements and hindering or denying political party registration. The merging of pro government parties consolidated the firm leadership of President Nazarbayev's Otan Party and left less political space to express alternative views and advocate for reform. The government harassed the political opposition via politically motivated charges and restrictions on freedom of assembly, passed laws restricting press freedom, and harassed NGOs.

Russia experienced continuing centralization of power in the executive branch, including amendments to election laws and new legislation for political parties that grants the government broad powers to regulate, investigate, limit, and even close down parties. Taken together with a compliant State Duma, corruption and selectivity in law enforcement, political pressure on the judiciary, and restrictions on the NGOs and the media, these trends resulted in the further erosion of government accountability. In Chechnya and other areas of the North Caucasus, serious human rights violations continued, including unlawful killings and abuses of civilians by both federal and Chechen Republic security forces. Rebel fighters committed terrorist bombings and politically motivated disappearances in the region. In a growing number of cases, the European Court of Human Rights held Russia responsible for these abuses.

In Venezuela, the Chavez government continued to consolidate power in the executive branch. The government continued to harass the opposition and NGOs and to weaken judicial independence. International observers judged generally free and fair the December presidential elections, in which President Chavez won re-election with 63 percent of the vote. In his inaugural address, President Chavez asked the National Assembly, in which his parties control 100 percent of the seats, to grant him power to rule by executive decree.

In Fiji and Thailand, militaries overthrew democratically elected governments.

A second sobering reality is that insecurity due to internal and/or cross-border conflict can threaten or thwart advancements in human rights and democratic government.

Despite the Iraqi government's continuing commitment to foster national reconciliation and reconstruction, keep to an electoral course, and establish the rule of law, both deepening sectarian violence and acts of terrorism seriously undercut human rights and democratic progress during 2006. Although the Iraqi constitution and law provide a strong framework for the protection of human rights, armed groups attacked human rights from two different directions: those proclaiming their hostility to the government--Al-Qa'ida terrorists, irreconcilable remnants of the Ba'athist regime, and insurgents waging guerrilla warfare; and members of Shi'a militias and individual ministries' security forces--nominally allied with the government--who committed torture and other abuses.

Although Afghanistan made important human rights progress since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, its human rights record remained poor. This was mainly due to weak central institutions and a deadly insurgency: the Taliban, Al-Qa'ida, and other extremist groups stepped up attacks against government officials, security forces, NGOs and other aid personnel, and unarmed civilians; and the number of suicide bombings rose dramatically during the year, as did attacks on schools and teachers. There were continued reports of cases of arbitrary arrests and detention, extrajudicial killings, torture, and poor prison conditions. In December President Karzai launched a Transitional Justice Action Plan designed to address past violations of human rights and improve the institutional capacity of the justice system.

Lebanon's significant steps toward reform following the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops after nearly three decades of occupation have been hampered since the July-August 2006 conflict between Hizballah and Israel. Before the conflict, the Lebanese government had started to remove many of the obstacles that barred political associations and parties. After Hizballah entered Israel from Lebanese territory and kidnapped and killed several Israeli soldiers, Israeli military forces responded by entering Lebanese territory. The conflict ended with an UN-sponsored cessation of hostilities. Despite the cessation of hostilities and the deployment of the Lebanon Armed Forces and UN Interim Forces in the south, Lebanese militias and Hizballah retained significant influence over parts of the country.

In East Timor, a series of deadly clashes between the national defense force and a variety of dissident military, police, and civilian forces led to widespread mob and gang violence in the capital. At the request of the government, forces from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Portugal assumed responsibility for security in the capital. On August 25, the UN Integrated Mission for East Timor took over policing responsibilities. This internal conflict resulted in the displacement of approximately 150,000 people, more than 15 percent of the country's population.

Third, despite gains for human rights and democratic principles in every region of the world, much of humanity still lives in fear yet dreams of freedom.

Countries in which power remained concentrated in the hands of unaccountable rulers--whether totalitarian or authoritarian--continued to be the world's most systematic human rights violators.

In 2006 North Korea remained one of the world's most isolated and repressive regimes. The regime controls almost all aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and restricts freedom of movement and worker rights. The constitution provides for "freedom of religious belief," but genuine religious freedom does not exist. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people, including political prisoners, were held in detention camps, and many prisoners died from torture, starvation, disease, and exposure.

The military government in Burma extensively used executions, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and forced relocation of entire villages, particularly of ethnic minorities, to maintain its grip on power. Prisoners and detainees were subjected to abuse and held in harsh, life-threatening conditions. Surveillance, harassment, and imprisonment of political activists continued; Nobel Laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remained incommunicado under house arrest, and over 1,100 political prisoners languished in prison. The use of forced labor, trafficking in persons, conscription of child soldiers, and religious discrimination remained widespread. The government reconvened the sham National Convention, handpicking delegates and prohibiting free debate. Touted as part of a "democracy road map", the convention was designed to nullify the results of the 1990 election and adopt a new, regime-friendly constitution. The regime's cruel and destructive misrule also resulted in refugee outflows, the spread of infectious diseases, and the trafficking of drugs and human beings into neighboring countries.

The Iranian government flagrantly violated freedom of speech and assembly, intensifying its crackdown against dissidents, journalists, and reformers - a crackdown characterized by arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, disappearances, the use of excessive force, and the widespread denial of fair public trials. The government continued to detain and abuse Baha'is and other religious minorities and hosted a widely condemned conference denying the existence of the Holocaust. In the lead-up to the December 15 Assembly of Experts elections in Iran, more than two-thirds of those who had applied to run - including all female candidates - were disqualified, leaving many seats uncontested. Hundreds of candidates in nationwide municipal elections also were disqualified. The government continued to flout domestic and international calls for responsible government in 2006 by supporting terrorist movements in Syria and Lebanon as well as calling for the destruction of a UN member state.

In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe government continued across-the-board violations of human rights. Official corruption and impunity were widespread. The 2002 Official Secrets Act and Public Order and Security Act remained in effect, severely restricting civil liberties. In the 2006 parliamentary by-elections and rural district council elections, the government's manipulation of the electoral process disenfranchised voters and skewed elections in favor of ruling party candidates. The ruling party's dominance permitted constitutional changes without wide consultation. Security forces harassed, beat, and arbitrarily arrested critics and opposition supporters. Disruptions at farms and seizures of property continued and were sometimes violent. The campaign of forced evictions, which left 700,000 people homeless during Operation Restore Order in 2005, continued on a lesser scale. The government interfered with humanitarian organizations' efforts to provide assistance. In December Mugabe and his loyalists proposed extending his term for two years by deferring presidential elections to 2010.

In Cuba, the government, temporarily headed by Raul Castro due to Fidel Castro's illness, continued to violate virtually all the rights of its citizens, including the fundamental right to change their government peacefully or criticize the revolution or its leaders. In 2006 the government increased its harassment of dissidents and other citizens viewed as threats to the government, often through mob actions called "acts of repudiation" involving verbal abuse and physical attacks. Beatings and abuse of detainees and prisoners also were carried out with impunity. Although token releases of prisoners occurred during the year, at least 283 political prisoners and detainees were held at year's end, including 59 of 75 prodemocracy and human rights activists imprisoned in a March 2003 crackdown.

The Chinese government's human rights record deteriorated in some areas in 2006. There was an increased number of high-profile cases involving the monitoring, harassment, detention, and imprisonment of political and religious activists, journalists, and writers as well as defense lawyers seeking to exercise their rights under the law. Some of their family members also were harassed and detained. Large numbers of mass demonstrations and protests calling for redress of grievances continued and in some cases were violently suppressed. New government controls were imposed on: NGOs; the media, including the Internet; and courts and judges. Repression of unregistered religious groups and of minority groups, in particular Uighurs and Tibetans, remained a serious concern.

In Belarus, the Lukashenko government continued and intensified its repressive policies. The March presidential election was severely flawed. Up to 1,000 people were arrested in an ensuing crackdown on public protests against the results and many were sentenced to short jail terms. More activists and opposition members, including Aleksander Kozulin, who ran against Lukashenko in the presidential race, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 2 to 5 1⁄2 years.

The Eritrean government continued to be one of the most repressive in Sub-Saharan Africa, and its human rights record worsened in 2006. Government security forces committed extrajudicial killings; there were credible reports that security forces shot on sight individuals trying to cross the border into Ethiopia. The government escalated its campaign of arresting national service evaders as well as their relatives, and there also were credible reports indicating that some of those arrested were tortured. As it did in 2005, the government ordered several international humanitarian NGOs to leave the country, despite a severe drought in the Horn of Africa. There were continued severe restrictions on religious freedom.

The fourth sobering reality is that as the worldwide push for greater personal and political freedom grows stronger, it is being met with increasing resistance from those who feel threatened by political and societal change.

Human rights defenders and nongovernmental organizations are essential to a nation's success. In today's world, the problems confronting states are too complex even for the most powerful to tackle alone. The contributions of civil society and the free flow of ideas and information are crucial in addressing a host of domestic and international challenges. Restricting the political space of NGOs and public debate only limits a society's own growth.

In every region of the globe in 2006, there were governments that responded to the growing demands for personal and political freedom not by accepting their obligations to their people but by oppressing those who advocated for human rights and who exposed abuses, such as nongovernmental organizations and independent media, including the Internet. A disturbing number of countries passed or selectively applied laws and regulations against NGOs and journalists. NGOs and journalists also were subjected to extralegal measures, often by unknown assailants. For example:

In Russia in 2006, a new NGO law entered into force in April imposing more stringent registration requirements for NGOs, strict monitoring of organizations, extensive and onerous reporting requirements on programming and activities, and empowering the Federal Registration Service to deny registration or to shut down an organization based on vague and subjective criteria. Freedom of expression and media independence declined due to government pressure and restrictions. In October unknown persons murdered human rights defender Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent journalist known for her critical writing on human rights abuses in Chechnya. The government used its controlling ownership of all national television and radio stations, as well as of the majority of influential regional ones, to restrict access to information deemed sensitive.

In Belarus, onerous tax inspections and NGO registration requirements made it difficult for civil society organizations to operate, and attacks against members of the independent media continued. In November prodemocracy activist Dmitriy Dashkevich was sentenced to 18 months in prison for operating an unregistered NGO.

The government of Kazakhstan registered the opposition True Ak Zhol party after one of its co-chairmen, Sarsenbaiuly, was killed and restrictively interpreted Article 5 of the constitution to suspend foreign-funded, nonpartisan political party training activities, asserting that providing information is tantamount to financing political parties. In July President Nazarbayev signed into law restrictive media amendments deemed a step backward by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Freedom of Media Representative. The government continued to use restrictive libel laws to fine, convict, and suspend media outlets, journalists, and critics. In April a member of a suspended media outlet was brutally beaten.

Freedom of expression, association and assembly are tightly restricted in Turkmenistan, and the government sought to control all NGO activity. Foreign-origin satellite television is accessible throughout the country, but the government controlled all domestic media, and local journalists were prohibited from all contact with foreigners unless specifically permitted. Very limited Internet access was provided through government-owned Turkmen Telecom; no new accounts were allowed in the capital since September 2002. In August the government arrested journalists Ogulspapar Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy Hajiyev and sentenced them to six to seven years of imprisonment for weapons possession in a closed, summary trial. In September Myradova, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent, died in prison under suspicious circumstances. NGOs have reported that she and her two colleagues were tortured during detention in the summer to extract confessions of weapons possession. On December 21, President Saparmurat Niyazov died.

The Government of Uzbekistan sought to control most NGO activity and closed down over 200 civil society organizations, including international NGOs operating in the country, citing alleged violations of the law. Independent journalists and human rights activists continued to be persecuted.

The Syrian government strictly controlled the dissemination of information and prohibited criticism of the government and discussion of sectarian issues, including religious and minority rights. There were detentions and beatings for individual expressions of opinion that violated these restrictions, for example the February arrest of journalist Adel Mahfouz after he called for interfaith dialogue following the controversy surrounding the depiction of the Prophet Muhammed in cartoons. The government relied on its press and publication laws, the penal code, and the Emergency Law to censor access to the Internet, and it restricted electronic media. Harassment of domestic human rights activists also occurred, including regular close surveillance and the imposition of travel bans when they sought to attend workshops and conferences outside the country.

Press freedom was at an all-time low in Iran, as the government closed independent newspapers Shargh and Iran, blocked access to Internet news sites--including the New York Times and BBC Farsi--and jailed journalists and bloggers. The authorities used bans against leaving the country as a weapon against journalists.

In Burundi, there was an increase in the arrest, detention, and intimidation of journalists and human rights activists by the government; among many other individuals, police arrested and detained for several months the president of the country's leading anticorruption NGO. A governor of one province reportedly called the country's leading human rights NGO, League Iteka, an enemy of peace, and in November a government official announced that 32 registered international NGOs in the country could face expulsion for failure to submit mandatory annual reports to the government.

In Rwanda, there was a restrictive atmosphere for the functioning of civil society. Domestic and international NGOs are required by law to register each year and to provide reports to the government on their activities. Authorities reportedly required some NGOs to obtain government authorization for some projects before being allowed to access international donor funds. In addition, all NGOs were expected to join a collective intended to manage their activities.

The Venezuelan government continued to harass and intimidate civil society groups, most notably the leaders of the electoral watchdog NGO Sumate, whose trial for conspiracy and treason for accepting a foreign grant was indefinitely postponed but continues to hang over their heads. At year's end a draft law was under consideration in the National Assembly which, if implemented, would increase government control over NGOs' financing and restrict NGOs from working in the areas of human rights or democracy promotion. Amendments to the penal code that impose prison sentences for insulting public officials and violent attacks on journalists contributed to a climate of self-censorship. The government stepped up its harassment of independent and opposition news outlets. In December President Chavez announced that the government would not renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television, the country's oldest commercial television network. The government accused the network owners of being "coup-mongers" and of violating the public trust.

In China, NGOs, both domestic and international, continued to face increased scrutiny and restrictions. By the end of 2006, Reporters without Borders reported that 31 journalists and 52 Internet writers were in jail. While the government encouraged use of the Internet, it also took steps to monitor its use, control content, restrict information, and punish those who violated regulations. The government imposed stricter website registration requirements, enhanced official control of online content, and expanded the definition of illegal online content. The government consistently blocked access to sites it deemed controversial, and the authorities reportedly began to employ more sophisticated technology enabling the selective blocking of specific content rather than entire websites.

Vietnam continued to monitor and restrict the Internet, blocking international human rights and news websites. Laws allow citizens to complain openly about inefficient government and corruption, but the government continued to prohibit the press from drafting articles that questioned the role of the Communist Party, promoted pluralism or multiparty democracy, or questioned human rights policy. The government forbids direct access to the Internet through Independent Service Providers and requires cybercafé owners to register the personal information of their customers and the sites visited. The government released several high-profile political and religious dissidents, including Dr. Pham Hong Son, who was imprisoned for translating articles on democracy and disseminating them over the Internet.

Genocide was the most sobering reality of all.

Almost 60 years after the adoption of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights--an expression of the outraged conscience of mankind to the enormity of the Holocaust and the cataclysm of the Second World War--genocide continued to ravage the Darfur region of Sudan.

Despite the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending the 22-year civil war between the north and south, and the establishment of a unity government that year, ethnic conflict continued in Sudan, most catastrophically in Darfur. The Sudanese government and government-backed janjaweed militia bear responsibility for the genocide in Darfur, and all parties to the conflagration committed serious abuses, including the widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of war, systematic torture, robbery, and recruitment of child soldiers. By the end of 2006, the Darfur conflict had resulted in at least 200,000 civilian deaths and two million displaced by the fighting. Over 234,000 refugees had fled to neighboring Chad, and both Chad and the Central African Republic experienced violent ethnic conflict along their borders with Sudan.

In spite of indicating its support for the Addis Ababa framework, the Sudanese government publicly rejected international forces for Darfur and renewed its military offensive during the latter half of 2006. The deteriorating security conditions forced some international NGOs and humanitarian organizations to scale back or suspend operations.

Defend the Defenders

If the great promise of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is to be fulfilled, the international community--and especially the world's democracies--cannot accept that today's sobering realities are impervious to change. Indeed, they compel us to align ourselves with those who work for human dignity and political reform.

In 2006 the courageous efforts of human rights defenders were highlighted by democratic governments:

Country resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 emphasized the need to protect human rights defenders in Iran, Belarus, North Korea, and Burma.

The UN Democracy Fund, growing out of an idea presented to the General Assembly by President Bush in 2004 and established in 2005, completed its first year successfully. Its board agreed to fund 125 projects out of more than 1,300 proposals submitted by over 100 countries--a disbursal of more than $35 million in grants mostly to prodemocracy civil society organizations.

At the regional level, in June 2006 the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Declaration of Santo Domingo, a groundbreaking multilateral commitment by the countries of the region to "guarantee the liberty of every person to enjoy freedom of expression, including access to uncensored political debate and the free exchange of ideas through all forms of mass media, including the Internet." The Foreign Ministers also declared their resolve to develop and encourage strategies and best practices to that effect.

The OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' Unit for Human Rights Defenders issued a report on the serious problems they face in some countries, emphasizing the need for governments to support their work.

In advance of the July African Union Assembly of the Heads of State, civil society organizations from 19 African countries met in Banjul, The Gambia, to develop recommendations for summit leaders regarding civil society's role in the African Peer Review Mechanism on countries' compliance with treaty obligations, ways to improve access to information by civil society, and citizenship laws that entrench discrimination. These recommendations were adopted at the summit.

In the Broader Middle East and North Africa region the Forum for the Future brought together government officials and civil society representatives from the region, along with G-8 partners, at the Dead Sea in Jordan. Nearly 50 civil society leaders representing hundreds of organizations from 16 countries of the region participated in discussions on the rule of law, transparency, women's and youth empowerment, and the legal environment for civil society organizations. They also discussed how to strengthen reform by establishing mechanisms to follow up on recommendations. Though the hardest part lies ahead--adoption and implementation of recommendations put forward by civil society--the Forum helped to open political space that did not before exist for civil society organizations to form and interact with governments in the region.

Marking International Human Rights Day in December 2006, Secretary Rice launched two important U.S. initiatives in support of human rights and democracy defenders:

She announced the creation of a Human Rights Defenders Fund to be administered by the State Department that will quickly disburse small grants to help human rights defenders facing extraordinary needs as a result of government repression. This funding could go to cover legal defense, medical costs, or the pressing needs of activists' families.

Secretary Rice also issued ten guiding NGO Principles regarding the treatment by governments of nongovernmental organizations. These core principles will guide U.S. treatment of NGOs, and we also will use them to assess the actions of other governments. The principles are meant to complement lengthier, more detailed United Nations and other international documents addressing human rights defenders and can help to rally worldwide support for embattled NGOs by serving as a handy resource for governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and journalists.

When democracies support the work of human rights advocates and civil society organizations, we are helping men and women in countries across the globe shape their own destinies in freedom. And by so doing, we are helping to build a safer, better world for all.

We must defend the defenders, for they are the agents of peaceful, democratic change.

SOURCE:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/

This report does not address the US record, but please refer to China's annual report. "The Human Rights Record of the US in 2006" is available here:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/08/content_5825477.htm

Reports of US abuses can also be found through:
Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org

Also note these additional responses:
"Armenia fixed improvements in human rights practices in 2006" (Armenia)
http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?sub=news_arm&id=29500
"Bangladesh's human rights record remains poor with serious abuses" (Bangladesh)
http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=3/9/2007&section_id=2&newsid=54890&spcl=no
"Condi blasts Kazakhs for Borat blitz" (Kazakhstan)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/condi-backs-borat/2007/03/08/1173166848001.html
"Darfur tops US list for abuse of human rights" (Sudan)
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=301173
"Defense hits US report on 'climate of impunity' in RP" (Philippines)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2007/03/09/news/defense.hits.us.report.on.climate.of.impunity.in.rp.html
"Editorial" Korea Herald (South Korea)
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20070309/560000000020070309073204E3.html
"Human rights: US criticizes Govt., LTTE" (Sri Lanka)
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/03/08/front/1.asp
"Foreign Ministry blasts U.S. human rights report on Russia" (Russia)
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070309/61760914.html
"The government must not put its head in the sand on human rights" (Georgia)
http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/1312_march_9_2007/opi_1312.htm
"India suffers from extra-judicial killings of persons in custody"
http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/15944.asp
"Nepal's Rights Situation Improving, Says US Report"
http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=782
"Our human rights hypocrisy" (US)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/la-oe-brooks9mar09,0,5706543.column
"PGMA working hard to end extrajudicial killings" (Philippines)
http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p070308.htm&no=71
"Religious Politics: The other side of US Administration's ploys"
http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_006255.html
"Russia Rejects U.S. Accusations of Human Rights Backslide" (Russia)
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2007/03/09/rejects.shtml
"Serious Problems Remain, Despite Progress" (Georgia)
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=14737
"Single day, double standards" (US)
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGAMR510392007
"US Finds Flaws in Lebanon Human Rights Situation" (Lebanon)
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf/0/174C3C4AB8AE9C16C2257297003286F5?OpenDocument
"US report: Syria, Egypt guilty of rights abuses" (Egypt, Syria)
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80245
"US report recognizes Taiwan's respect for human rights" (Taiwan)
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/taiwan/200738/104091.htm
"VN defends human rights record amid US criticism" (Vietnam)
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01SOC080307

8. Asset Management Network News

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