Yesterday a High-level Event was held at the UN General Assembly to assess the Millennium Development Goals. A number of people spoke, among them Bill Gates. 

The Prime Minister of Great Britain, Gordon Brown stated: “I believe our greatest enemy is not war or inequality or any single ideology or a financial crisis; it is too much indifference. Indifference in the face of soul  destroying poverty. Indifference in the face of catastrophic threats to our planet. A casual  uncaring corrosive pass by on the other side, walk by indifference as Elie Wiesel said “to be indifferent to suffering makes the human being inhuman”.

As no one other than H.M. Queen Rania of Jordan points out, the Millennium Development Goals are under threat. At the turn of the century, the Member States of the United Nations set themselves eight goals to be reached by 2015; they include halving poverty and ensuring primary education for all. Challenges in reaching the goals have recently increased, particularly due to the rise of food prices.

A major shortcoming of the goals is that they are not explicitly accessible: persons with disabilities are not mentioned in the targets and indicators that have been formulated to measure the success of the goals. Thus, the marginalization of persons with disabilities is perpetuated. At the same time, the exclusion of persons with disabilities would mean that the goals cannot be reached, given that some 10% of each country are not included. A number of initiatives is highlighting this shortcoming of the goals, the newest one is:www.IncludeEverybody.org.

This past weekend Finnish Sign-Rapper SIGNMARK performed at the Culture Festival of the Hungarian Deaf Association, SINOSZ. Marko Vuoriheimo raps in sign language while Heikki and Brandon do the Finnish and English vocals and Kim provides the beats.

Note that wikipedia lists SIGNMARK on a par with the likes of Ludwig van Beethoven – as deaf musician.

Today it was announced that SIGNMARK will take part in Finland’s Finals ahead of the 2009 Eurovision Songcontest!

Today is Equal Pay Day: due to the gender gap in income in Austria – women continue to earn significantly less in all sectors except the public sector – women are essentially working for free as of today until the end of the year. Although this fact would obviously be a significant contribution to public discourse, the ongoing election campaign is aparently standing in the way of adequate attention on Equal Pay Day. Note that according to the last census women do comprise half of the populace.

The Austrian Daily Der Standard reports on the positive effect of the Para-Olympics in creating awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities in China. In March the first report on the situation of persons with disabilities was discussed by the government. Interestingly the article quotes that 83 Millionen persons with disabilities live in China, a number that seems low given that the WHO – World Health Organization – estimates that at least 10% of every population have a disability and that poverty is a major source of disabilities. 

The government has also passed amendments to the Chinese Disability Act and adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A Professor at Renda University, Zheng Gongcheng is quoted as saying that these changes would not have been possible at this speed without the Para-Olympics.

Compare, however a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which documents the impossibility of interviewing persons with disabilities in rural China despite promises to grant full access for journalists.

The Para-Olympics are well underway, time to highlight the biography of the Executive President of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG),Deng Pufang. His family, most obviously his father, Deng Xiaoping, were targets of Mao’s cultural revolution. The Red Guards imprisoned Deng Pufang, tortured him and threw him out of the window of a multi-story building. Deng was rushed to a hospital but was denied helped because of being the son of a capitalist. Deng is a paraplegic since, he is a high-profile advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities in China and beyond, he is the President of the Federation of Persons with Disabilities in China and Chairman of the China Welfare Fund for the Handicapped.

The Washington Post reports on an Anti-Wedding. Two reporters set out to plan no-frills nuptials for a couple in Washington, D.C. Human rights are a prominent  and multiple wedding feature. The focus is not necessarily the woman’s equal right to enter into marriage, the right to freely choose a spouse, etc (Article 16 CEDAW) – that appears to have been upheld alright. The anti-wedding entails a protest in public space, which is okayed by the public authorities, exchanging vows as part thereof poses problems. “Let’s protest this wanton abridgement of basic human rights, the industry and the government that make it near impossible to be sensible and get married,” the authors – understandably – fume. They call on the American Civil Liberties Union and at long last: happily married forever after!

A colleague was kind enough to alert me to an in-depth look at Chinese perceptions of impairments/disability. The Irish Times reports: “China’s 83 million disabled people are a largely invisible presence in a country where disabilities are viewed as a source of shame in some families, particularly in urban areas, and where discrimination is widespread. But the Paralympics are being hailed as an opportunity for China to deal with deeply held prejudices, and to act as a catalyst for improving the situation for disabled people.”

One positive step toward a more inclusiveness has already been taken: tourist sites such as the Forbidden City and public transportation have been made accessible with ramps and elevators. Granted, it is only the center of the capital city but it is a leap (sic!) in the direction of inclusion.

Today the Para-Olympics start. While the participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream sport is now a recognized human right, societies are only starting to approach the starting line on equality. 

Somehow, the Para-Olympics seem like a twist on the notion of “separate but equal”, which is a prevailing description of racial segregation. Equal but separate appears a fitting description. The NYTimes reports on athletes adding equality as one of their goals.

In a somewhat flippant remark, Australia’s out-going Governor General Michael Jeffery, tried to limit the indigenous people still feeling the consequences of exclusion to 100.000. Jeff McMullen responds very plainly via the Op-Ed pages of the Age: 

“If you walk in the shoes of an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander, you know that whether you live in the city, regional Australia or a remote community your life expectancy is 17 years less than the rest of Australians. Your health, housing, education and employment opportunities are also far worse. Your social stress and the racism and discrimination you endure occur in most parts of Australia. You belong to an underclass of disadvantage that allows escape only by the most extraordinary or fortunate minority, who against so many odds are able to fight for and achieve that elusive equality.”

Recently, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva agreed on a special session to discuss the food crisis. Olivier De Schutter, the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, called the crisis “a human rights emergency”, which affects at least 100 million people, whose right to adequate food is being violated. 

Here is the resolution on the negative impact of the worsening of the world food crisis on the realization of the right to adequate food for all. 

As the Daily Mail reports, the world’s leaders had to “swallow” an 18 course-meal to discuss the current food crisis only days after the adoption of said resolution:

The European Parliament just came up with required reading for the BIPA’s and Tele2’s of this world: the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equality has produced a Report on how marketing and advertising affect equality between women and men; English & German versions are available.

The Austrian Red Cross earlier this month called on people to donate blood, also in light of the increased demand during the EURO 2008^TM. Note however that there are guidelines on who may donate. Gay persons are excluded because of their alleged “risk behaviour.” 

The Austrian Red Cross’ assessment may be called what it is: discrimination.

The United Nations has a special Convention on the Rights of Women. It is applicable in most countries around the world. One of its many important provisions states that “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.” 

Basic information on the Convention’s features has now been made available by the Austrian Ministry for Women’s Affairs, in German, Turkish, Bosnian, Serbian & Croatian. The booklet may be ordered here.

One of the many potential readers is the marketing department of Austrian telecommunication provider Tele2. In response to criticism of their overtly sexist EURO 2008^TM campaign, which may be found here, the marketing department declared inter alia that because they are all women it could not be sexist and undignified. Go figure!

BIPA, a cosmetic and household goods chain – BIPA is short for BIllige PArfümerie, literally: cheap perfumer – celebrated father’s day during the ongoing soccer frenzy. Customers received a set of cards plus whistle. To play “the” game. At home. 

The equivalent of soccer’s red says on the front “quiet!” and on the back “DARLING! Your lips are so sensual and beautiful. But did you know that they are most beautiful when you keep them closed?” A pink card reads “sex” on one side and on the other: “DARLING! You have distracted me for 90 minutes with your good looks. I’d be happy if we could declare the soccer game as foreplay and could get to it straight.” Finally, a yellow card with “beer!” on the front, states on the backside: “You have beautifully soigné legs: be so kind and fetch me a cool drink from the fridge, so I can see your elegant running style.” 

BIPA dubbed the package “Championship-Anti-Misunderstanding-Set.” 

Critical commentary by Austrian journalists Sibylle Hamann & Doris Knecht has apparently already yielded regret by BIPA’s all female marketing departmenton over possible “misunderstandings.”

Soccer or football? I was socialized with Aussie-ruled football and I am a graduate of the home of the Fighting Irish, a famous college football team at  the University of Notre Dame du Lac. Soccer seems to be the game but football appears to be the name. Be that as it may, just like any other aspect of life, soccer/football and the Championships warrant a human rights perspective. 

Sport is a human right. It is covered by a number of human rights treaties – both overtly and covertly; the more prominent examples are the “right to play” enshrined for children (CRC, Article 31) as well as the right to sport in the recently entered into force Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, Article 30.5). In some countries it no doubt is such an intrinsic part of national tradition that one could rightly assert that it comes under protection through the right to culture (CESCR, Article 15).

Ersatz-religion 

In Central Europe the saying goes that soccer/football is an Ersatz-religion. That said, the freedom of religion or belief is a classic relative human right – it comes with caveats that ensure that concerns and rights of the public at large are not violated. Compare for an absolute human right the right to life, which may not be limited in any way.

The depth of soccer/football belief is poignantly reflected in a case pending before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. In Maslova and Nalbandov versus Russia, the first applicant sustained several blows to her face, administered with her CSKA Moscow soccer scarf, she was subjected to physical and psychological coercion and raped, among others. The interrogator subsequently insulted her with the second applicant’s scarf and interrogators forced her to curse this soccer club. Later, the second applicant was also forced to curse his favorite team, the CSKA Moscow soccer club. This case of – presumably – inhuman and degrading treatment shows the depth of emotional attachment that this sport can have and makes the potential for commensurate rage obvious. 

Human Rights Discourse

At the level of general human rights discourse, the comparison with this year’s other large-scale sport-event, the summer Olympic games in the People’s Republic of China, is baffling. Whilst commentators are outdoing each other in assessing the permissibility of athletes attending the Games in Beijing, there is no reference to human rights when it comes to the Euro 2008^TM Championships. What is also striking is that in the case of the former the spirit of participation and peace trumps almost everything whereas the coverage of the European event – at least from an Austrian media perspective – seems far more nationalistic and less brotherly – and sisterly for that matter! 

Security 

As is to be expected of a magnanimous sports event, a lot of effort has gone into planning and – as I type – implementation. One of the more intriguing preparatory documents is the National Security Plan, which was prepared by Switzerland as the main host. It describes, among others, the “tendencies” of Hooliganism enumerating six characteristics, which include public criticism of police work and utilizing legal remedies against restrictions in accessing game venues. In human rights terms the former is protected by freedom of speech and the latter by a right to a legal remedy; in Europe that would be Article 13 of the European Human Rights Convention. 
 
Generally, it seems that both public discourse and ensuing measures taken are hugely impacted by a post-9-11 paradigm. Security trumps almost anything else. The “evils” of this world are projected onto Hooligans. Not wanting to diminish the severity of the harm that Hooligans have done in the past it is striking how high the public’s alleged need for a “demon” has soared within the last few years. Simply posing the question, whether the course of action taken “against” so-called Hooligans – including a special data base, the possibility of preventive confinement and the re-imposition of border checks – seems to be touching the public nerve beyond tolerability. 

Hooliganism

The Austrian police has an unofficial motto for the Championships: “Herzlich willkommen Fußball-Fans, keine Chance den Hooligans.” (“A warm welcome to soccer/football fans, no leverage for hooligans.”) The targeting of allegedly violence-prone persons is built on three pillars. The first is a special database with the names of persons who have previously been engaged in Holliganism, including violent attacks on property both in Austria and abroad – the databases of other countries are obviously inter-connected – combined with “evidence” that similar attacks on property or the physical integrity of others may be expected during the Championships. Based on a restraining order these persons may not access the stadium(s) during games and may receive an order to report to a specified police office during a game. There, allegedly violence-prone persons will receive a police instruction about being compliant with the laws – Gefährdeansprache, Section 49.c SPG. 

Not only does the restriction of the freedom of movement contradict the postulate of the Austrian Constitutional Act on Personal Freedom (PersFrBV-G) but somewhere in all this the presumption of innocence gets trampled on, too. Ahead of the Championships, the Austrian government contemplated preventive detention – Präventivhaft. While adjustments were made to the original draft, the pertinent Section of the Security Police Act (SPG, Section 49.c) is still entitled preventive detention in the Act’s table of content and the regulation is not that far off from the original. The police instruction might still be specified by a Ministerial decree in the coming days and weeks to set a minimum time to ensure that allegedly violence-prone persons cannot go near a game venue. 

A noteworthy fact in all this is that formerly categories were used for soccer/football fans generally, such as Type A – soccer/football enthusiast but not ostentatious, Type B – generally not violence-prone but increased likelihood in certain circumstances such as alcohol consumption and Type C – no interest in the game, just wants to create an uproar. In times of green, yellow and red security alerts and a division of the world by way of an axis that is good-non-terrorist and bad-terrorist it is noticeable how big a need to categorize people and single-out of apparently “bad” people we have become. 

Terrorism

Just to flag the issue, the chapter on terrorism in the National Security Plan would merit substantial critical review. 

The general tendencies in security policies, particularly data & video surveillance echo throughout the Championship’s security measures. The amendments to the Austrian Security Police Act are not temporary but potentially apply to all major “events.” You define “major event” and I will guess which data will be connected to find potentially violence-prone persons. Not only is it possible to utilize now existing legislation for a plethora of other occasions, it is also comparatively easy to have Parliament slightly amend these provisions to serve other security purposes. (Granted, legislative amendments are generally not a big deal, it just seems that the ground in the Austrian Security Police Act has been especially well prepared.)  

Back to the database: Germany built a similar one ahead of the World Championships in 2006. Entitled criminal violent persons sport File (Datei Gewalttäter Sport). Taking the title literally, I would assume that boxers and others would have to automatically be included in this database. But possibly I am stretching it. In any event, recently the Administrative Court in Hannover ruled that the database was illegal. 

Cross-border Cooperation 

European integration is progressing and efforts obviously include increased police cooperation, too. The Prüm Convention is just one of a plethora of treaties, which basically permit foreign police personnel to act on Austrian territory – and vice-versa. What happens if one uses excessive force or a weapon? Do they all speak German, it is after all the Amtssprache according to the Constitutional Act. 

In addition to Prüm, Austria has signed a bilateral agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany a while back. It specifies and slightly broadens the Prüm Convention. Again, measures were put in place – well before the Championships but conveniently utilized for the first time now – that will remain applicable well after and provide considerable latitude to the State under the security paradigm.

A sore side effect of the Championships seems to be receiving adequate media attention: Austrian border control is temporarily in place again even at Schengen borders. Apparently it is possible to detect “Hooligans” as they enter into the country. Immigration officers have the leverage to deny them access. Obviously, in addition to the sharing of personal information, police and other authorities are also sharing data of number plates of notorious drivers. 

Private Security Firms & Security Standards 

The State’s monopoly of power is somewhat limited when private security entities take on parts of the authorized personnel. Private security firm personnel received a two-day training to become “qualified security guards.” Any expert – including the Council of Europe’s Committee on the Prevention of Torture – stresses that quality training and learning on the job are critically necessary to ensure high security standards. With all due respect: how does one expect people with two-day training to respond to a crowd of unruly soccer/football fans?

The police strategy – mission philosophy – is DDD: dialogue – de-escalation – enforcement (in German: Dialog – Deeskalation – Durchsetzung). All fair and well. Just not sure how all this will work based on two-day training and with regard to dialogue: not sure that everyone speaks German … 

Violence, generally  

With all the focus on allegedly violence-prone persons called Hooligans one is made to believe that all other forms of violence disappear during major events such as Championships. Sadly, quite the opposite is happening. Domestic violence rates soar during times of soccer/football events. At the last minute, the Vienna City Council announced last week that it would increase the service for victims of violence. In a human rights based approach the emphasis would have been on prevention and should have started months ago. Another human rights concern that is sorely absent from public discourse is substance abuse. Austria was reprimanded by the pertinent UN expert body a little while back that alcohol consumption is too high, as are other substance abuses – including nicotine. 

Discrimination 

The victims of domestic violence are predominantly women and children. So: what about women and soccer/football? Under equality rules, which include the obligation of the State to actively contest stereotypes, women should be able to access soccer/football games as players on the field.
 
On another front, it appears that the issue of sex workers and trafficking is comparatively well recognized in the realm of soccer/football events. However, while these human rights violations are a constant occurrence, it does not appear that trafficking has to per se increase during major events. Even so, increased police surveillance will likely increase the victimization of trafficked women rather than target the traffickers. 

Yet another aspect is the involvement of women in media coverage of soccer/football. The Austrian daily Kurier had one of its main – male – reports write up that fact the other day. Not surprisingly but nevertheless a discrimination, the piece focused on the looks of the female journalists and then added their “unquestionable” competence. Also, the head coach of the Austrian team who is usually referred to as “Hicke” – short for his surname Hickersberger – or Pepi – short for his first name Josef, all of a sudden turned into “Sir Josef.” Apparently men have a need to separate women by at least one level to maintain security. 

UEFA^TM is providing anti-racism training as part of the Championship. Great. Austria could have added to that in the preparatory phase, there is ample work to do. 

Vienna prides itself in hosting the life ball annually. It also celebrates a Christopher-Street-Parade equivalent once a year. However, the need to promote anti-discrimination and the inclusion of gays in mainstream soccer/football was not covered in the period leading up to the Championships. 

Third to last point of discrimination: in yet another piece, the Kurier sounded the “alarm” over a potential onslaught of beggars during the tournament. While groups of people are forced to come to Austria to beg, having to pass on all their pittance to a “gang” boss, it seems unlikely that individuals on the margins of society would know of the Championships, let alone make their way to Austria because of that. Again, media coverage fails to target the culprit: gangs organizing the trafficking of human beings for the purpose of begging on the gangs’ behalf.  

With mainstreaming issues pushed to the sidelines, it is no wonder that persons with disabilities will be largely absent from the Championships. Two easy-does-it possibilities for inclusion come to mind: the Austrian team will be accompanied by children as it will make its way into the stadium, including a child with disabilities should have been easy. Also, sign language is recognized in the Austrian Constitutional Act, there are ways to include that in the theme song or in the singing of the anthem. 

Finally, an obvious point: children will be part and parcel of the Championships. A plethora of possibilities to create inclusive and human rights based role-models could have been created and were not. 

Human Rights “Goal” 

Let’s just hope that the playing to fears will be limited while the ball is rolling! A unique opportunity to create a human rights based mega-event was missed, which is particularly demoralizing in light of the upcoming Olympic games and the human rights discourse that started well before the Olympic torch was lit.

A little while back the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, came out with a statementabout “missing women”. He condoned the aborting of female fetuses as “shameful.” Mr. Singh said: “No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women.”

Part of the statement by Australiam Prime Minister Kevin Rudd:

“The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.”