US court dismisses child slavery case against Dubai ruler
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 08:47am (Mla time) 07/31/2007

MIAMI -- A judge in Miami on Monday dismissed a lawsuit alleging the ruler of Dubai enslaved thousands of children and forced them to work as camel jockeys, saying the suit fell outside the court's jurisdiction.

Judge Cecilia Altanoga ruled in favor of the defense, which argued that Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum did not have sufficient contacts in Florida to justify trying the suit in the southeastern US state.

"We've said from the beginning that this case doesn't belong in US Courts and we're gratified by Judge Altonaga's careful legal analysis and ruling," said Habib Al-Mulla, a spokesman for the Dubai ruler.

The class-action lawsuit filed by parents of child jockeys alleged Sheikh Mohammad, his brother Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashed al-Maktoum and other unnamed defendants kidnapped and enslaved children, in some cases as young as two, to be used on the camel racing circuit.

The plaintiffs argued the two defendants could be tried in Florida because corporations they own do business in that state, but the judge said this ran "contrary to well-settled principles of corporate law."

"Because the court concludes that it lacks personal jurisdiction over the identified defendants, it does not reach or address the merits of the other arguments raised," Altanoga said in the ruling.

The defense had argued the interests of former child jockeys are best served through an existing program to send them back to their home countries and compensate them there.

Sheikh Mohammad is also the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Hamdan serves as UAE finance and industry minister.

US House wants Japanese sex slaves apology
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 08:20am (Mla time) 07/31/2007

WASHINGTON -- The US House of Representatives Monday demanded an apology from US ally Japan for the sexual slavery inflicted by its wartime military on 200,000 Asian women.

In a resolution passed by a voice vote, lawmakers called on the Tokyo government to make an "unambiguous apology" for the coercion of women into army brothels during the 1930s and World War II.

The Japanese government has insisted it has already apologized for the treatment of the so-called "comfort women" and has given no sign that it intends to do so again.

Backers of the resolution immediately hailed it as sending an important message to Japan.

"The US House of Representatives resolution sends an unambiguous signal to the Japanese government that justice is long overdue to the victims forced into prostitution by the Japanese military during World War II," said Dr. Purna Sen, Asia-Pacific Program Director with Amnesty International.

"This resolution also sends a powerful message to the survivors, who have combated a lifetime of hardship and stigma, and who still bear the terrible scars from the sexual slavery -- that their plight is not forgotten."

The measure says the "government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as 'comfort women.'"

It calls on the Japanese prime minister to make a public apology, urges the government to refute any claims that the episode never happened and wants future generations to be told of "this horrible crime. 

UN body criticises Sudan abuses
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6919334.stm
Published: 2007/07/27 13:47:54 GMT
© BBC MMVII

The UN Human Rights Committee has criticised Sudan for what it says are widespread and systematic abuses.

The HRC expressed concern over reports of torture, discrimination against women and the use of child soldiers.

It also condemned violations in Darfur, including murder, rape, evictions and attacks on civilians.

In a separate development, the French foreign minister called for quicker deployment of a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force to Darfur.

In its first overall review of Sudan's record for more than a decade, the HRC said "widespread and systematic serious human rights violations, including murder, rape, forced displacement and attacks against the civil population, have been and continue to be committed with total impunity throughout Sudan and particularly in Darfur". 

The HRC, which comprises 18 independent experts, called on Khartoum to "ensure that no financial support or materiel is channelled to militias that engage in ethnic cleansing or the deliberate targeting of civilians".

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