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- Volume 2010, Issue 6, 2010
Freedom from Fear - Volume 2010, Issue 6, 2010
Volume 2010, Issue 6, 2010
This journal aims to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and awareness of the international community’s priority issues in the field of justice, crime prevention and human rights. The Magazine pursues the promotion of innovative dialogue by spreading awareness, creating consensus and a sense of shared responsibility of the problems that affect the global community. As a forum for long-term change, the Magazine endeavors to promote democratic values, civil stability, and aid the international community in developing actions towards greater peace, justice and security for all members of social, civil and political society.
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Who commits eco-crimes?
Author: Kristiina KangaspuntaA Greek-owned tanker flying a Panamanian flag and leased by the London branch of a Swiss trading corporation whose fiscal headquarters are in the Netherlands, dumped more than 500 tons of highly toxic industrial waste in the middle of a West African urban area. As a result, 100,000 residents had to seek medical help, 69 were hospitalized and 17 died.
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No time to put climate science on ice
Author: Achim SteinerNairobi, 5 February 2010 - The science of climate change has been on the defensive in recent weeks, owing to an error that dramatically overstated the rate at which the Himalayan glaciers could disappear.
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Reducing our ecological footprint
Author: United NationsOn June 5th of every year since 1972 the world celebrates World Environment Day (WED), an occasion for the UN and environmental organizations to spread awareness worldwide, celebrate positive environmental accomplishments, encourage political attention and stimulate green policies and action. Given that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, this year’s WED theme will be “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” Stressing the importance of conserving our planet’s precious biodiversity and the delicate interconnected “eco-librium” we all share.
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Climate change and access to justice
Author: Adriaan GrijnsThis article provides an introduction to the importance of climate change as a humanitarian and development issue, and an overview of current responses to climate change. It goes on to identify the potential of “access to justice” in addressing the perceived gap in these responses. It finds in particular that empowering the poor and disadvantaged in developing countries to adapt to climate change effects can help in delivering “climate justice.”
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Ecocide in the Iraqi marshes
Author: Daniel RuizAt the end of the first Gulf war, the Iraqi Government caused three major environmental disasters: the burning of the Kuwaiti oil fields, the deliberate spilling of oil into the Persian Gulf, and the destruction of the Southern Iraqi Marshes. The former two, which resulted in the imposition of compensation for the damages caused, have been widely studied. The fate of the Marsh Arabs or Maadan (which took place inside Iraqi territory and was not reported as much as the Kurdish issue in the North) is less renown.
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Environmental destruction and human rights in the Niger delta
Author: Anja RothThe Niger Delta region has a rich and diverse flora and fauna: there are vast mangrove forests and a wide variety of animals that are specifically native to the particular ecosystem prevalent in that area. The oil in the region is being extracted, mostly by international companies, by way of drilling, a technique involving unavoidable oil spills and uncontrolled gas flaring. This alone, however, could be manageable, since there are guidelines that the international oil extracting companies operating in Nigeria have to observe. The Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN), describe the rules to keep environmental pollution down to a minimum while extracting oil. However, in the past there have been several cases involving international corporations that did not observe those rules strictly enough, and situations in which environmental pollution was not cleaned up at all by the waste producer.2 Amnesty International describes © IRIN news FREEDOM FROM FEAR - March 2010 21 several examples in which international corporations have left oil spills unattended for weeks, even after the local population had made several complaints in that regard.3
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How serious is wildlife crime?
Author: John SellarWhilst there is little specific data demonstrating the involvement of organized crime groups in wildlife crime (i.e. known members of such groups who have been convicted of wildlife crime offences), there is a considerable number of indicators of such involvement. For example:
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Dirty collar crime in Naples
Author: Vincenzo RuggieroIt is true that “green criminology” should be grounded in the principles of environmental justice and help with the production of relevant legislative tools for the defence of the earth. However, there are conducts which violate even the limited and inconsistent existing norms. A variety of such conducts can be detected in the “rubbish crisis” experienced in Naples two years ago.
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An international response to a crime without borders
Author: David HigginsEnvironmental crime is an expanding crime area and a growing international problem. The significance of this kind of crime cannot be under-estimated when it has a direct impact on the economic, environmental and cultural lives of communities worldwide with serious impacts on human health, biodiversity and the environment.
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Understanding state capture
Author: Anne Lugon-MoulinIn the common understanding, corruption is often referred to either as bribery practice or as major embezzlement/ plundering of public monies. The former type of bribery is usually called administrative or petty corruption, and the latter is grand corruption (which also includes bribes paid at higher level within public tender, for example).
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Giant African pouched rats find landmines and much more
Authors: Alan Poling, Bart Weetjens, Christophe Cox, Andrew Sully and Negussi BeyeneLandmines have been used as weapons of war since 1277, when the Song Dynasty Chinese used them against Mongols who were besieging a city. Concerted efforts to put an end to their use are underway, galvanized by humanitarians such as Jody Williams and Rae McGrath, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for founding The International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Despite these efforts, landmines continue to be placed, adding onto the many remaining from the millions that have been planted since 1900. They cause great harm by denying civilians access to their homes and land, as well as by causing bodily harm, death, and psychological duress. According to a recent report,1 people in more than 70 countries are adversely affected by mined areas, and nearly 500,000 people live with injuries inflicted by mines. Many victims are both severely handicapped and unable to afford the rehabilitation and the other services that they need.
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In the spotlight. Applying restorative justice to the genocide in Rwanda
Author: Lisa ReaDan Van Ness is Executive Director of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, (www.restorativejusticeonline. org), a programme of Prison Fellowship International, PFI, (www.pfi.org), based in Virginia (USA). PFI is an association of national NGOS from 116 countries working in prisons and communities to reduce the damage caused by crime. Beginning in 2001, Mr. Van Ness assisted Prison Fellowship Rwanda in preparing genocide perpetrators to confront their victims, survivors and communities.
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