Crisis in Bahrain

Political Unrest In Bahrain
April 25th 2011


As political protests become popular throughout the Middle East, many countries are joining the trend in eradicating their government or dictators.  We have recently seen huge change in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and many other countries as a result of public protest.  A country whose population is actively protesting government and is experiencing a lot of conflict is Bahrain.  Bahrain followed in the protest trend as thousands took to the streets Febuary 15th 2011.



Bahrain is situated east of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, in the Middle East.  It consists of several islands, the main and biggest one being Bahrain.  It has a population of 1,214,705.


The government type in Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy.  This means that it is run by a King, but there is also a Prime Minister and a cabinet that are both appointed by the monarch.  King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has been the King since march of 1999.  The Prime Minister, Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa has been in power since 1971.


The human rights abuses that we have seen are shocking:
On March 16th 2011, the government began sending military troops to stop protests in the Pearl Roundabout.  Since then there has been huge conflict in Bahrain and several human rights violations such as torture, mistreatment of prisoners, protesters, mysterious deaths of prisoners in custody and force that is being used to restrain demonstrations.  Among the prisoners are nurses and doctors who were detained for providing medical care to injured demonstrators.  The government insists that this is showing support for protests and uses this as justification as to why they are being arrested.


This is where Amnesty International has stepped in.


Over 500 people have been arrested over the past month, and four people were reported to have died in custody.


Amnesty International is actively urging countries that are tied to Bahrain to encourage the government to step down and create political reform to put an end to the rising conflict.


"The last month has seen a dramatic deterioration in human rights conditions in Bahrain," - Malcolm Smart,  director for the Middle East and North Africa of Amnesty International (Article - Bahrain: International pressure needed now to halt spiralling human rights crisis)
"Bahrainis need to see their government acting decisively and transparently to reverse this downward trend and begin a process of rebuilding trust and confidence in its institutions."


After reading about the human rights abuses in Bahrain, I was shocked.  Governments of all kind should not have any right to do such things to their people.  Civilians need to have the right of freedom of speech, and the power to change the governing in their country if it is unfair.  It is important that countries with alliances to Bahrain speak up now to help the innocent people of Bahrain.

Pearl Roundabout, Bahrain

Canada: A Leader in Human Rights?

Canada's International Participation in Question

With election day soon approaching, Canadians are questioning the actions and promises of their leaders. 

Federal leaders are under high scrutiny as people across the country decide who they want to put into power. An issue concerning many canadians today is Canada's role in international human rights issues.   Many canadians are criticizing Canada's global actions.  Can Canada be called an international leader for human rights?

Amnesty International, an independent organization that fights for human rights around the world, has been closely watching Canada's global involvement, and has come to the conclusion that Canada is showing a negative example in international participation.  However, Amnesty International requires that we solve issues that happen within our own country first.  Many of us do not realize the problems and inequality that fellow Canadians.  Amnesty International released a report on April 11th, 2011 that describes specifically what leaders must do in order for Canada to regain its status as international leader in human rights.  This report, titled "Getting Back on the Rights Track"   is pushing upcoming leaders to change their political actions.  It is mandatory that the winning party adheres to the report.  

The report states:

"Globally, Canada’s standing as a reliable human rights champion has dropped precipitously."

The report calls upon many international and local issues that need addressing.  

Local Issues include:

• Business and Human Rights
• Indigenous Rights
• The Rights of Refugees and Migrants
• Protecting Canadians abroad
• Women's Human Rights
• Dissent and Advocacy

The International Issues addressed are:

• Maternal Health Rights
• Economic, social and Cultrural Rights
• Rights in the Middle East
• Continued Leadership in the abolishment of the death penalty
• International Obligations
• Universal Human Rights

The report addresses the Indigenous People issue in Canada.  “It is Canada’s most serious and longstanding human rights failing that needs to be fixed.”  - Beatrice Vaugrante, Director General of the francophone branch of Amnesty International Canada.   The treatment of Indigenous People in Canada is a concern, while many Indigenous people do not have access to clean water and/or other necessities.  Many are experiencing violence and discrimination, especially women and girls.  Indigenous People have expressed what they want to see done by the government.   Federal Parties are urged to close equality gaps between Indigenous People and the rest of Canada's population.  This is a description of just one of the many issues addressed in the report.  


Canada is a peaceful country and should maintain its good reputation as leader by helping those who have inequal rights in our own country, and keeping an international voice.  The Human Rights issue is very much a global issue, and Canada's actions and decisions can greatly affect the rest of the world.  I think that it is very important that our elected federal government adheres to this report in order to create a peaceful global community.  This report is an informational and helpful read for Canadians who wish to make an educated vote. I believe that voters concerned about Canada's involvement in international Human Rights Issues should read the report: Getting Back on the Rights Track thoroughly and question the actions of their party leaders before making a decision. 

Population and the Environment

Rising population, rising environmental concerns Tuesday April 5th

In the past century, our global population has grown more quickly than ever before in history.  With improvements in technology, healthcare, education and development, human lives have been made easier, allowing us to live longer in general and support ourselves comfortably.  As a result, there were fewer deaths, causing the population to explode over the 20th century.  Should we be concerned about our current and future global population?

Many people believe that the large numbers we see todayare the cause of environmental destruction, and if our global population continues to grow at the rate it's going, there will be an environmental crisis that will greatly affect humans as a whole.  A large population needs a certain amount of support and resources in order to thrive.  In developed countries, many humans depend on certain services and industries to continue living the way they are now.  Developed countries tend to consume more than others as they have higher access to new technology.  This can pose threats to our ecosystems as large industries emit gases and waste during the process of production and transportation.  Environmentalists believe that deforestation, the emission of greenhouse gases and global warming are directly linked of affected by our large global population.  However, this may not be directly linked to population.  Many argue that single developed countries with smaller populations are more to blame for pollution from consumption than certain less developped countries that have massive populations.  America makes up 4% of the global population, but "for many resources is the world's largest consumer in absolute terms." -Population and Natural Resources, AAAS. See Link.

The map below displays countries' global consumption rates.  Countries coloured in red consume the most, and as the colour gets lighter, the consumption rates are smaller.  We can see that the United States has one of the highest rates of consumption, while countries with very large populations such as India have much lower rates of consumption.


Pollution due to great amounts of consumption may or may not be directly linked to global population issues, however, there is a definite solution to overpopulation.

This comes in the form of contraception.  Many women in developed countries have easy access to contraceptives, while some women in less developed countries are not as educated on contraceptive use, and may face moral, religious or cultural barriers regarding contraceptives.  Lack of information or access to contraceptives and family planning means that many women are having large families.  Social norms are also a factor in family size.  In our country, it is normal to have a small amount of children, about 2-5, while in many African countries, family sizes are considerably larger. 

Overpopulation is a definite cause of global warming, according to leaders at the Copenhagen Summit.