The plurality of media outlets is under scrutiny these days. The UN Committee on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its discussion in 1983 of the implications of Article 19 CCPR (Freedom of Opinion) has stated:

“little attention has so far been given to the fact that, because of the development of modern mass media, effective measures are necessary to prevent such control of the media interfering with the right of everyone to freedom of expression,”

One of the Committee’s experts said:

“By this sentence, the Committee managed to come to unite these kinds of worries by careful wording, but what it means is that any kind of concentration, any kind of control of the media, is harmful to the enjoyment of this freedom. Sometimes the Committee acts in a very “superstitious” way. It does not mention things that should be mentioned.”

Now the Committee is working on a new statement, which shall also be more specific on the issue of diversity of ownership:

“States parties should take appropriate action, consistent with the Covenant, to prevent undue media dominance or concentration by privately controlled media groups in monopolistic situations that may be harmful to a diversity of sources and views.”

A recurring human rights violation, this time in Brazil: preparing for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, Brazil may be violating human rights, particularly the right to housing following evictions of those living in areas selected for construction, says the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik. “I am particularly worried about what seems to be a pattern that’s lacking transparency, consultation, dialogue, fair negotiation, and participation of the affected communities in processes concerning evictions undertaken or planned in connection with the World Cup and Olympics,” Rolnick said in an interview with Bloomberg.

ISDE Bangladesh highlights the results of excluding minorities from census data. During the 2001 census, “a large number of minorities from Hindu and Christian were excluded from counting. In an Upazila, Mohammadpur of Magura the 2001 census shown that the Hindu Population was 21,808 where the number of Hindu voters was 35,503,” in the 2008 voter list. Also, people of Christian faith were grossly underrepresented in census data. ISDE calls for inclusion, also of Dalit people in the upcoming 2011 census.

An important Op-Ed by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus in the NYTimes on sticking to the principles of the brilliant idea to provide microfinance to those in need of (economic) empowerment and criticizing those who loose sight of the intentions and focus on the potential profits.

Eighty percent of the world’s governments fail to provide adequate information for the public to hold them accountable as reported by the International Budget Partnership (IBP). Almost half of 85 countries whose budget accessibility was reviewed by the IBP are able to hide unpopular, wasteful, and corrupt spending.

A country that will be high up on the political agenda over the next year(s), Afghanistan, has an independent human rights commission, which just published a series of caustic reports.

Scathing criticism by the Council of Europe’s GRECO on corruption patterns in Austria.

As Jonathan Freedland reflects on the death of “Deep Throat”, Mark Felt, who was the major piece in a puzzle that has become known as “Watergate”, “it was thanks to Felt that America finally reasserted, with Nixon’s forced resignation, that no one – not even the president – is above the law.”

The methods of whistleblowers have evolved since the early 70ies and internet fora such as wikileaks – compare blog post 8 July 2008 – are facing criticism, mainly for the speed they can provide.

In an Editorial the NYTimes responds to the Report by the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee and calls for an independent panel to look at the egregious violations of both national and international law to restore the rule of law to adequate levels: “It said these top officials, charged with defending the Constitution and America’s standing in the world, methodically introduced interrogation practices based on illegal tortures devised by Chinese agents during the Korean War.” The officials “issued legally and morally bankrupt documents to justify their actions, starting with a presidential order saying that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to prisoners of the “war on terror” — the first time any democratic nation had unilaterally reinterpreted the conventions.”

A friend of mine recently made the observation that there is no German word for the English term “whistleblower.” Curious that. 

Under the leadership of Julian Assange, a web activist, who grew up in Australia and now resides in Africa, Wikileaks provides a safe haven for those who have information, which is crucial for the public but fear being exposed. The Age reports that documents filed on Wikileaks were used in questioning the record of  former Kenyan leader Daniel Arap Moi, adding crucial momentum to the election campaign of the opposition.