E-Voting in Brazil - The Risks to Democracy

                    We human rights defenders must always keep our fighting for justice, democracy and human rights. The right to reparation when systematic violations of human rights is hapenning is essential part of the justice demanded by the world.  Since the creation of this blog in 2010, its counter of visualizations doesn't work and the same is happening with my YouTube channel since its creation in 2020. For no reason,  I'm being  harmed in so many ways and for so long. Why can I not have a YouTube channel and blog with their counter of visualizations working like everyone else? If you want to know my channel and see a small sample of the huge worldwide movement for justice, democracy and political rights, watch my videos, here is the link   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos.        This post is a summary of the report written after research by professors at the Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil and Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada.  The title of the report is above and was published at https://oro.open.ac.uk/12543/1/12543.pdf

                          Literature has shown that countries with strong democratic traditions are not yet using eletronic voting systems, given citizens and policy makers' concern about the security of such systems. To date, commercially available technology requires an infrastructure that poses complex technical challenges for reliability and security. E-voting technology does not yet provide a completely "secure e-transaction environment". Some authors claim that e-voting will never be error-free and that it is nice in theory, but that in practice, the risks are too large. Given the lack of security of e-voting systems, what are the risks of e-voting to democracy when the systems are introduced? Can less mature democracies such as those in Latin America, be reinforced with the adoption of e-voting systems? The contradictions are apparent: most countries in the developed world have held off adopting e-voting systems given their concerns about security and their knowledge of the implications of insecure systems for democracy. The controversis over e-voting are under way and e-voting technologies failures have been documented. Scientists started to worry about computer voting systems and numerous reports have found them vulnerable to "error" and tampering. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the introduction of e-voting in Brazil is highly risky to democracy due to the lack of emphasis on security and the lack of a socially-informed and socially driven approach to technological innovation. Brazil was the first country in the world to conduct its biggest election using e-voting tech. The e-voting technology deployed in Brazil is a direct recording eletronic voting system;--- it has been judged by Brazilian experts as being more vulnerable to tampering than any another voting system. For some eletronic voting experts, the Electoral Justice has opened the doors for new and sophisticated fraud, more serious than the traditional kind. Many reports in the U.S., articulate the risks of this technology, corroborating with what Brazilian academics and scientists say. In the U.S. the controversies over e-voting are not stifled, e-voting tech failures have been registered all over. A recent study carried out by the OECD confirms that, if governments do not learn how to manage the risks of information technology, the eletronic dreams will become global nightmares. In developed countries, resistance to e-voting has been consistent. Without a market for e-voting systems in the developed world, corporate actors have turned to developing countries. Just as pharmaceutical companies whose medicine do not pass the FDA's criteria push their market nets in the south hemisphere. While Diebold, the eletronic voting machine maker, is so questioned in the U.S., in Brazil it has the largest contract in its history by selling e-voting machines to the Brazilian government. If both e-voting and e-democracy are conceived and adopted based on popular demand, then the efficiency of traditional democratic electoral processes may be enhanced. However, if e-voting technology is introduced as a supply-driven operation, it is imperative to identify and assess the risks to democracy. It seems that the e-voting system in Brazil has been risky business. Democracy is at stake. Health and social welfare are on the line, subject to cutbacks despite growing needs. Technological hubris and market imperatives have driven the evolution of the digital society, with important democratic implications. Appropriate technological processes can reverse this trend in a way that ensures that we are not travelling along the path of least resistance.

Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders - Part II

             We human rights defenders can't let threats about the creation of lies stop us fighting for justice, democracy, political and civil rights. The right to reparation when violations of human rights hapenned is essential part of the justice demanded by the world.  Since the creation of this blog in 2010, its counter of visualizations doesn't work and the same is happening with my YouTube channel since its creation in 2020. For no reason,  I'm being  harmed in so many ways and for so long. Why can I not have a YouTube channel and blog with their counter of visualizations working like everyone else? If you want to know my channel and see a small sample of the huge worldwide movement for justice, democracy and political rights, watch my videos, here is the link   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos.    Carry on with the same book from last week. This post is a summary of the book with the title above published at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/criminalization2016.pdf

                The Commission has received information that many of the criminal proceedings that are initiated against human rights defenders are slow or accelerated, in an unreasonable manner in order to hinder their work at a crucial time for the causes they defend and to intimidate them personally, which also has an intimidating effect that extends to other human rights defenders that could instill fear of suffering the same fate if they continue their work in defense of human rights. For example, some organizations have expressed their concern before the Commission over the speed with which arrest warrants and other measures to the detriment of human rights defenders are issued. In contrast, the processes opened to investigate acts of harassment committed against defenders, are often undertaken without celerity and procedural efficiency. The misuse of the criminal law against human rights defenders generates among them a number of negative impacts at a personal and collective level, affecting their physical health and generating effects at the family and social level. The Commission believes the condition of being a human rights defnder is particularly important whether a process has respected the guarantee of a reasonable timeframe, given the affection that occurs over time in the legal situation of the defender. Furthermore, the Commission has learned that defenders not only have been subjected to lengthy criminal proceedings based on criminal offenses contrary to the standards of international law but, in some cases, have also been charged with crimes based on false and fabricated evidence without the defenders having engaged in unlawful conduct. The Commission has noted that initiation of criminal proceedings against defenders implies, in some cases, issuing preventive measures such as remand, bail, the obligation to appear periodically before a court, and/or a ban on leaving the country. The Commission has also been informed that some countries have issued measures such as the inability to attend certain meetings or places. The main impact of criminalization through the misuse of criminal law is on the right to defend human rights. Criminalization not only affects the criminally prosecuted defender, who must invest time and resources in his procedural defense, neglecting his work, but also generates an intimidating and chilling effect on other defenders who for fear retaliation may refrain from doing their work of promoting and protecting human rights. This affects society as a whole, given that the defenders promote complaints, present claims and make demands at the social and collective level that contribute to the realization of the rule of law and democracy by combating impunity. The Commission has identified that some States have issued directives to guide the actions of justice operators and considers this a good practice to avoid misuse of criminal law gaginst human rights defenders. For example, in Colombia various types of guidelines have been adopted to guide the action of the Attorney General Office, making it more efficient and providing security to victims and the accused. Based on the information and analysis conducted by the Commission throughout this report, and in order to promote the full use of international standards to guide States on lines of action to address criminalization through the misuse of criminal law, the IACHR recommends to the American States: 1) To ensure that the authorities do not use the punitive power of the States to harass human rights defenders. States must adopt all necessary measures, through judicial investigations, to prevent HR defenders from being subjected to unjust or unfounded trials.  2) To adopt all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure the effective guarantee of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the American Convention and in particular, the right to defend rights.  To achieve these objectives, the IACHR urges States to comply with the following specific recommendations:  3) Acknowledge publicly and unequivocally the fundamental role played by HR defenders to guarantee democracy and the rule of law in society, whose commitment is reflected in all levels of government. This can be achieved through special programs, the granting of awards, ceremonies, press releases or other measures that make visible the work of defenders and demonstrate their value and importance to society.  4) Undertake education and dissemination activities directed towards all States agents, society and the media, to sensitize them on the legitimacy of the work of promotion and defense of human rights, as well as the importance and value of the work of HR defenders and their organizations, as their actions do not weaken the States but strengthen it, taking into account for that the international instruments referred to this subject.  5) Instruct government authorities to ensure that, from the highest-level space for open dialogue with human rights organizations are created to receive their feedback regarding existing policies and the effect of such policies on their works, as well as on legislative gaps.  7) Refrain from making statements that stigmatize HR defenders and that suggest that defenders, as well as HR organizations, act illegally, merely for carrying out of their work to protect human rights. 8) Ensure that criminal offenses included in their legislation are formulated in a manner consistent with the principle of legality. That is, expressly, precisely, comprehensively with a clear definition of the criminalized conduct, establishing its elements and allowing it to be differentiated from behavior that are not punishable or punishable with non-penal measures. 10) Promote the modification of laws on criminal defamation to eliminate the use of criminal procedure to protect honor and reputation when information on matters of public interest, public officials, or candidates for public office is disseminated.  11) Decriminalize defamation and promote the modification of ambiguous or vague criminal laws disproportionately limiting freedom of expression, such as those designed to protect the honor of institutions, in order to eliminate the use of criminal proceedings yo inhibit the free democratic debate on all matters of public interest.  18) Ensure that any intelligence activity that is carried out, especially when a HR defender is involved or subject to the operation, has the proper prior authorization, with clear limits pre-established by law, and is performed under the supervision of other authorities who periodically issue reports on its activities.  22) To promote that judges strictly abide by the dispositions of criminal law, and observe the rigor in considering whether the behavior of the person incriminated falls within the description of the criminal offense, in order not to incur in the criminalization of the legitimate activities of HR defenders.  Guarantee the right access to justice, which implies that anyone who is subjected to a judicial proceeding must be able to obtain a final decision from the courts without undue delays arising from the lack of diligence and care.  24) Faced with an abusive and baseless criminal complaint, investigate the individual responsible for promoting such complaint, in order to clarify the facts.   29) Ensure that the detention of HR defenders be brought before a judicial review in order to avoid arbitrary or unlawful detention.  30) Adopt the necessary steps to stop all illegal detentions, as well as the isolation, ill-treatment and other violations of due process that may arise in the context of the detention of a HR defender.  41) Implement campaigns for public recognition of the important role that defenders exercise in guaranteeing democracy and the rule of law in society.  43) Strengthen the justice mechanisms and guarantee the independence and impartiality of the judicial operators, which are necessary conditions for the legitimate and nondiscriminatory application of the laws.

Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders

                   We human rights defenders can't let threats about the creation of lies stop us fighting for justice, democracy, political and civil rights. The right to reparation when violations of human rights hapenned is essential part of the justice demanded by the world.  Since the creation of this blog in 2010, its counter of visualizations doesn't work and the same is happening with my YouTube channel since its creation in 2020. For no reason,  I'm being  harmed in so many ways and for so long. Why can I not have a YouTube channel and blog with their counter of visualizations working like everyone else? If you want to know my channel and see a small sample of the huge worldwide movement for justice, democracy and political rights, watch my videos, here is the link   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. This post is a summary of the book with the title above published in December of 2015 at https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/criminalization2016.pdf

                      This report addresses the problem of the misuse of criminal law by State and non-state actors with the aim to criminalize the work of human rights defenders. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has continued to receive alarming reports of a trend indicating that human rights defenders in various contexts are systematically subjected to unfounded criminal proceedings in order to paralyze or delegitimize their causes. This report conceptualizes the phenomenon of criminalization and identifies the contexts and groups of defenders who are most affected by this practice, as well as the actors who usually participate in the processes of criminalization through the misuse of criminal law. Additionally, the IACHR identifies the main forms of criminalization against human rights defenders and the obligations that States must observe in criminal proceedings to prevent them from becoming tools to hinder the defense of human rights. According to information received, the misuse of criminal law most often occurs in contexts where there are tensions or conflicts of interest with the State and non-state actors. The IACHR has also noted that there are certain groups of defenders who have been more frequently the target of these forms of criminalization due to the causes they advance or the content of their demands. The Commission has found that criminalization processes usually begins with the filing of baseless allegations or complaints based on criminal offenses that do not conform to the principle of legality. In recent years, through its continuous monitoring work, the IACHR has noticed a growing actions taken to prevent, obstruct, and discourage the defense of human rights. One of the actions frequently reported to the IACHR is the adoption and misapplication of the law to the detriment of human rights defenders in order to obstruct their activities. Based on these considerations, given that criminal law is the means available to the state for establishing liability for unlawful conduct, this report will focus on the various forms of manipulation of the punitive power, and what the IACHR refers to as the criminalization and misuse of criminal law. Human Rights Defenders are individuals who any way promote the realization of human rights. This concept also covers justice operators as defenders of the access to justice for victims of violations of their rights. The recognition of the right to defend rights has expanded. For its part, the IACHR has emphasized that "the defense of human rights not only serves civil and political rights, but covers the monitoring, reporting, and education of economic and social rights. The IACHR has emphasized that the work of human rights defenders is fundamental for the universal implementation of human rights and for the full existence of democracy and the rule of law. In this regard, the IACHR has recommended that States publicly recognize that the promotion of human rights are legitimate actions and foster a human rights culture in which the role played by human rights defenders in guaranteeing democracy is recognized publicly. Human Rights (HR) defenders have also been victims of criminalization after filing complaints against public officials for alleged corruption or in the pursuit of the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of cases of grave human rights violations and breaches of humanitarian law by State. In this regard, the IACHR has recognized the efforts of the victims, family members, H.R. defenders and civil society organizations and their contribution to the right to the truth regarding human rights violations, as their activity is essential in the search for the right to the truth. The Commission has observed that defenders are often criminalized for the activities they carry out in the defense of human rights and are subject to criminal proceedings that are initiated against them following complaints that come from both State officials and private individuals. They are often accused of crimes defined in a broad or ambiguos manner, contrary to the principle of legality. Judges also participate in criminalizing defenders when they accept processes without evidence or with claims from false witnesses, accelerate processes with the goal to repress the accused defender, issue arrest warrants without sufficient basis, do not respect the guarantee of reasonable time and subject defenders to lengthy proceedings. In any criminal proceeding, clear proof of the guilt is a prerequisite for the criminal sanction, and the burden of proof should lie with the accusing part and not the accused. When justice operators are confronted with accusations and criminal charges that are clearly unfounded, they are obligated to investigate the source of these arbitrary complaints and impose an appropriate sanction. Doing so will also serve to discourage future abuse of the judicial process and waste of judicial resources. The Commission is aware of statements and assertions issued by authorities seeking to delegitimize the work of H.R. defenders, stigmatizing them before society. The IACHR has noted that States have a position as guarantors of the fundamental rights, and therefore the exercise of freedom of expression by public officials is subject to special duties, including the duty to reasonably verify the facts on which their statements are based. Public officials, especially those in the highest positions, have the duty to respect opinions, even when these are contrary to their interests. In this sense, they should actively promote pluralism and tolerance, inherent in a democratic society. This derives from the obligation to protect the human rights of all people and in particular those in situations of risk, as in the case of H.R. defenders who have been threatened. In several countries in the region, H.R. defenders have faced criminal prosecution for exercising their right of free expression after making complaints alleging human rights violations. The Commission has noted with concern that in some countries of the region, criminal offenses of defamation continue to be used to criminalize and punish statements concerning public officials, which has disproportionately affected the work of human rights defenders. In a State in which the reporting of human rights violations is criminalized in order to protect the honor of public officials, citizens lose an essential tool in the fight for the protection of rights, thus greatly affecting the democratic system.

International Anti-Corruption Day - 2024

               A little more than two weeks ago, precisely on 9th December, the whole world celebrated the importance to fight corruption. We have always to see what the politicians are doing to help us in this important fight, ask them about it. The public money must be very well used, so that we can have better schools, better hospitals, better security, better streets and roads, better jobs, greater development, less inequality, less injustice. To sum things up a more functional government and consequently a better country for all of us. The fight against corruption is so important that we all should be involved in this fight, because the theft of public resources harm us all. But we all should know that this fight is not easy, activists for this important ethical cause can suffer persecution, including having their political rights systematically disrespected. The people should not be naive, there are many people that are not interested in this activism, in this figh   This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/anticorruptionday/index.html. The second was published at https://www.iri.org/news/international-anti-corruption-day-2024-reaffirming-iris-commitment-to-anti-corruption/

                   The theme for this year, "Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity." Young people have dreams and aspirations, but corruption erodes the fabric of society, stifles progress and deprives them of educational opportunities, job prospects, engagement in public life, success in sports and access to healthcare. Our world confronts numerous challenges, tragedies, inequalities and injustices, many of which are tied to corruption. While young people are significantly affected by corruption, they also have the potential to become powerful agents in the fight for a future rooted in integrity. Young people must demand accountability and participate in anti-corruption efforts. To promote a culture of integrity across the public and private sectors and built a generation that stands up to corruption, education is key. It teaches values of transparency, accountability and integrity from an early age. By promoting integrity and ethical behaviour and challenging corruption, young people can drive change. Additionally, they can develop solutions to address corruption. Tech-savvy youth can leverage technologies such as A.I. online platforms, social media and apps to enhance government transparency, increase access to information and create tools that facilitate anonymous reporting of corrupt practices. Addressing corruption leads to a fairer, more transparent institutions. This effort builds trust in institutions and inspires the next generation to actively contribute to creating a better future. The campaign for International Anti-Corruption Day 2024 focuses on the role young guardians of integrity play as advocates, raising awareness about corruption and its impacts. The campaign will amplify voices of integrity, allowing them to express their concerns and aspirations, with hope that their appeals will be heard and acted upon. Building a just world is only possible if corruption doesn't stand in the way. United, we can combat corruption.                                                                                                                                   Corruption is a major crippling affliction of democracy, even decades after the international community recognized it as a threat and has taken steps to counter it. The challenge lies in corruption's multifaceted nature and ability to continuously evolve and adapt to a new circumstances. Thankfully, defenders of democracy recognize this challenge and are tirelessly working on multiple fronts to counter it. The U.S. Government labels corruption as a grave and enduring threat to its security and to its democratic partners. The International Republican Institute (IRI) understands the gravity of this challenge and works with its partners using a multi-pronged approach to counter corruption and kleptocracy around the world. IRI conducts research and produces tools and resources to equip development practitioners and stakeholders working to combat corruption on the ground with relevant skills. IRI also works closely with local partners and supports public officials and civil society in the design and implementation of context-specific responses to improve transparency and accountability, leveraging its extensive networks to build trust and receptiveness to anti-corruption reforms. Supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, IRI published a report that highlights factors that contribute to the successes and failures of collective action movements against kleptocracy, and offers recommendations for policymakers and the business community. On the ground, IRI supported civil society organizations to promote evidence-based approaches to countering transnational kleptocratic networks and generate political incentives for engagement campaigns targeting key political actors. Aligning with the theme of this year, IRI has continued its engagement with youth on anti-corruption issues. In Mexico, funded by the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, IRI worked with two youth-led networks to counter corruption: REJA (State Youth Anticorruption Network) and CICA (Center for Innovation and Environmental Culture). Together, they brought. "Youth Challenging Corruption" workshops to over 20 universities, reaching almost 1,500 college students. However, IRI's fight against global corruption and kleptocracy is far from over. Today, marking International Anti-Corruption Day, IRI reaffirms its commitment to Anti-Corruption as it presses on with its mission to support democracy worldwide.                 

Human Rights Day 2024

               Since the creation of this blog in 2010, its counter of visualizations doesn't work and the same is happening with my YouTube channel since its creation in 2020. For no reason,  I'm being  harmed in so many ways and for so long. Why can I not have a YouTube channel and blog with their counter of visualizations working like everyone else? However, all the world is demanding justice and equality. The Brazilian institutions including from the government must do more to reinforce human rights. Including demanding justice and fighting the daily bullying on TV. The cowardice and injustices can't carry on. The good people of the world is demanding a fairer and inclusive  Brazil, because they know about what is happening here and their demand must be heard for all.  If you want to know my channel and see a small sample of the huge worldwide movement for justice, democracy and political rights, watch my videos, here is the link   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. Last Tuesday all over the world was celebrated the human rights, a day to remember its importance to everyone.  This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published athttps://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day. The second was published at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/09/a-proclamation-on-human-rights-day-and-human-rights-week-2024/. The third was published at https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/12/09/human-rights-day-statement-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-european-union/

                  Human Rights Day is observed annually around the world on 10 December. It commemorates the anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being. The Declaration was proclaimed by the U.N. General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. As a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations", the UDHR is a global blueprint for international, national and local laws and policies and a bedrock of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Human Rights Day 2024 theme: Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now. Human rights can empower individuals and communities to forge a better tomorrow. By embracing and trusting the full power of human rights as the path to the world we want, we can become more peaceful, equal and sustainable. This year we focus on how human rights are a pathway to solutions, playing a critical role as a preventive, protective and transformative force for good. As U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez has said, "Human Rights are the foundation for peaceful, just and inclusive societies." This year's theme is a call to acknowledge the importance and relevance of human rights in our lives. We have an opportunity to change perceptions by speaking up against hate speech, correcting misinformation and countering disinformation. This is the time to mobilize action to reinvigorate a global movement for human rights.                                                                             America was founded on an idea - that every person is created equal and deserves to be treated equally throughout their lives. We helped establish the United Nations, upholding the inherent dignity of every person on the world stage and establishing a rules-based international order. Today our country continues to stand with our partners and allies to defend human rights around the world, from combatting threats to silence and intimidate human rights defenders to championing democracy, fair election and the universal rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly, religion and expression. We also help to promote accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, seek to free political prisoners, and create space for civilian dialogue. And we continue to stand with free people everywhere who are bravely fighting for justice and defending life and liberty at home and around the  world. And we have worked to advance technology in support of democracy and internet freedom, while leading efforts to stop the expansion and misuse of comercial spyware, which has enabled human rights abuses around the world. Today and this week, may we reaffirm our commitment to standing up for human rights at home and around the world. The future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people to live with dignity, prosper, think freely, innovate, and exist and love openly without fear. Together, nothing is beyond our capacity.                                                                                                                                                                          On Human Rights Day, the European Union reaffirm its unwavering commitment to the universal respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights for everyone, everywhere. This year's theme, Our rights, Our Future, Right Now, underscores the necessity of safeguarding rights and freedoms for a just, resilient, and sustainable future. Human rights are legal, moral and actionable guarantees universal to humankind. They are essential for human dignity, equality, democracy, peace and sustainable development. Now, more than ever, we are confronted with armed conflicts, humanitarian crises, impunity, and growing inequalities. The international rules-based order, with human rights its core, remains irreplaceable.  Peace is not merely the absence of war, it requires daily work, continous commitment, and advocating for human rights, equality, non-discrimination, justice and democracy. The E.U. steadfastly supports human rights defenders, journalists, and media workers as well as all those calling for peace, truth, justice and accountability.                                                 

Reparations for Victims of Systematic Human Rights Violations

          Since the creation of this blog in 2010, its counter of visualizations doesn't work and the same is happening with my YouTube channel since its creation in 2020. For no reason,  I'm being  harmed in so many ways and for so long. Why can I not have a YouTube channel and blog with their counter of visualizations working like everyone else? However, all the world is demanding justice and equality. The Brazilian institutions including from the government must do more to increase political inclusion, justice and reinforce human rights. The world is demanding a fairer, inclusive and better Brazil, because they know about our huge potential and their demand must be heard for all.  If you want to know my channel here is the link   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos.   This post is a summary of the report with the incomplete title above, published at https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=twls

           Through a combined legal and social analysis, this paper reflects on one of the root concepts of reparation. As reparation occurs in response to victimization, this paper concentrates on the notion of victim. The notion of victim will be explored from a socio-political perspective and from an international legal perspective. By way of conclusion, these two approaches will be interwoven in order to consider a more compreensive definition of victim. "Victim is often used in every day life but also in science. The word victim is used in almost every possible context to designate anyone who suffers a negative outcome or any kind of loss, harm, injury, whether the harm is material, physical or psychological. There are victims of crime, war, accident, diseases, poverty, injustice, oppression, discrimination, natural diasters, etc. An individual's identity consists of many spheres or systems, for example, physical, inter-personal, familiar, social, religious, ethnic, cultural, material, economic and political. Ideally the individual should simultaneously have free access and be able to move freely within all these dimensions. Once the individual is described in this way, victimisation causes a rupture and a state of being stuck or frozen in this free flow. From this follows that an individual whose balance between the different identity dimensions is disturbed or broken could be called a victim. An important aspect of this approach is to look at the individual as an integrated system of many different dimensions. Victim means persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member states, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power. "A person may be considered a victim, regardless of whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted. The term "victim" also includes the immediate family or dependants of the direct victim and persons who have suffered harm in intervening to assist victims in distress or to prevent victimisation. In regard to the extent of harm, a static approach might not take the further evolution of a person into account and therefore a more dynamic approach does take the evolution of a person into consideration in defining the extent of harm. The evolution taken into account by the subjective dynamic approach is the "subjective" evolution. The latter refers to what the person believes he would have achieved if the harming event would not have occurred. This structure of harm is not just a theoretical scientific conceptualisation, it is reflected in much of jurisprudence. We explored this notion in order to define victim more clearly. The advantage of describing individuals by the same principle of an integrated system of several dimensions is that it is easy to see that societies and groups of individuals can be victims in a similar way. This is important in the context of systematic violations of human rights dealing with victims of political repression. Political repression creates problems for its direct victims , but also affects a whole society socially and politically. When one considers the psychological dimension of a person it is indeed difficult to measure the harm done, because this is such a subjective question. Each person whose psychological situation has deteriorated can be considered a victim. The lack of information and investigation on behalf of the authorities into an alleged violation may amount to another violation. If a violation is found, the Court rule that fair compensatio be paid to the injury party. Standing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is not subject to any major limitation. Any person or an NGO may lodge a petition without necessarily being the victim of the alleged violation. The Commission can also act proprio motu. The Commission will place itself at the disposal of the parties concerned with a view to reaching a friendly settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for the human rights. These friendly settlements may include wide-raging remedies and compensatory damages. When the Commission brings a case to the court that it specifies the theory and measure of damages it is urging. As far as reparations measures for the victims are concerned, the Commission issued recommendations for the court system, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators. The legal and social science analysis indicates that under any human rights mechanism, the notion of victim should be defined as broadly as possible. Anyone who has been sufficiently directly affected by a human rights violation should be considered a victim. The broad approach to the notion should apply to both direct and indirect victims. Appropriate reparation could be made up of a combination of individual and collective oriented measures of a financial, moral and political nature. Will the legal approach to the reparations issue be able to incorporate these socio-political considerations? One possible way-out is to conceive of reparations as an obligation on behalf of the responsible state rathe than a s a subjective right of the victims. The responsible state can then meet its obligation through a combination of reparation measures. A second socio-political factor which might have an impact on who among the group of victims will receive reparation is related to what we call "public recognition selection processes". These are the mechanisms according to which some victims have the power to enforce recognition and other do not. Are victims organized in groups? Do they receive support? These socio-political mechanisms will influence the access to court ( or other official mechanisms). 

Trauma and Self-Care

                     This post is a summary of the chapter 12 with the title above, of the book with the title of, "Manual on Human Rights Monitoring." It was published in 2011  at .https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/Chapter12-MHRM.pdf

                        Effective human rights monitoring requires understanding and consideration of the impact that trauma can have on those who survived it. By their very nature, human rights violations are often traumatizing. In some cases, traumatic events can take the form of psychological humiliation and degrading treatment that serve to dehumanize and leave the survivors feeling powerless. Traumatic reactions may also arise when people are faced with situations in which they are or feel powerless, and fear for their safety, such as forced displacement. The terms "survivor of trauma" and "victim of human rights violations" often refer to the same individual, who has both survived a trauma and is a victim of one or more violations. From a psychological and sociological perspective, the term "survivor" is preferable because emphasizes strength and resilience. From a psychosocial angle, the term "victim" conveys a more passive reaction that gives more emphasis to the sufering of the individual. However, "victim of human rights violations" is the legal term designating the individual who has suffered a human rights violation and is entitled to protection from further violations and compensation for the past violations. Resilient survivors take longer to process the traumatic event but eventually return to baseline levels of functioning. Similarly, survivors are considered to be resistant to trauma when they experience almost no reaction even in the aftermath at the event. Resistant survivors return to their baseline levels of functioning within a very short period of time. While they recognize the traumatic event as dangerous and frightening, they are able to cope relatively quickly with the stress. In fact, many survivors of traumatic events regain their emotional control relatively quickly. Credibility shouldn't be based on assumptions about how trauma survivors should feel or behave. Problems in coping with a traumatic event can take many forms. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often the most frequent health consequence, however, other forms of distress also occur. Survivors may develop other anxiety disorders, including panic attacks, phobias and general anxiety. Major depression occurs as frequently as PTSD in trauma survivors, particularly survivors of torture. Survivors who develop PTSD may be guarded and suspicious. As a result of their experiences, they may have difficulty trusting. Survivors who have been traumatized by State may be very reluctant to trust anyone in a position of authority. When investigating human rights violations, H.R. Organizations must look beyond initial impressions and consider this range of possible reactions, not only PTSD, but also depression, anxiety, insomnia and phobias. H.R.Organizations should keep in mind that reactions to past traumas can arise even after a period of normal functioning. Traumatic events are usually chaotic and emotionally overwhelming. H.R. Organizations should adopt a trauma-sensitive approach that considers the impact of trauma and respects individual differences. Interviews with survivors of trauma must be conducted in a respectful and empathic manner, particularly when asking for details of the traumatic event. H.R.Organizations should not assume that they understand what the traumatic event has meant to the person, or how he thinks about it. In advocating redress for human rights violations, HROs should consider the needs of survivors for different types of care and support. Chronic stress refers to the build-up of cumulative stressors without an adequate period of rest and recuperation. Chronic stress can cause a multitude of medical and mental health conditions, ranging from high blood pressure to gastrointestinal illnesses to anxiety and depression. Adopting a healthy lifestyle can greatly improve one's ability to tolerate stress and to recover from stressful periods. It is important to remember, however, that no stress management strategy is so effective as to eliminate stress altogether. The next step in building resilience to stress and burnout is to develop awareness of how one responds to stress. Skills that bolster tolerance to stressors help by reducing the likelihood that stress reaches levels affecting one's health. Skills that induce relaxation help the body recover and recuperate and therefore minimize the likehood of chronic stress and burnout. Ideally, periods of relaxation should be interspersed throughout the day. These do not have to be long, breathing for a few minutes two or three times a day will give the body and mind brief periods of rest. Skills that provide an outlet for energy help to deal with the excess energy that is generated by stress. Activities that help to use up that energy in a positive way can reduce feeling of stress. During stress, there is also a tendency to focus exclusively on the source of stress, making it hard to pay attention to other things and slow the mind down. Stress management can take the form of engaging activities that take the mind away from the source of stress.