Human Rights Should be Mainstreamed in USA – ASEAN Engagement

Posted on by 施達基金會

On February 15-16, 2016, US President Obama hosted 10 government leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a summit in California.

For decades, the US has continued to forge closer ties with ASEAN.  However, most of ASEAN’s members have extraordinarily poor human rights records.  Problems include lack of basic freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, failures on women’s rights, the political use of courts, high-level corruption, lack of protection of refugees and asylum seekers, and human trafficking.

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President Election in Zimbabwe under Dispute

Posted on by 施達基金會

[ePrayer – President Election in Zimbabwe under Dispute]

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Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, was sworn in as president today on 22 August, extending his 33-year rule of the country after winning the 31 July election. Although Southern African leaders endorsed the re-election of Mugabe, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network said that before Election Day the voter registration process was systematically biased against urban voters, disenfranchising up to a million people out of 6.4 million registered voters (15%). Western nations also questioned the credibility of this election.

Mugabe will continue his ‘indigenisation’ policy, redistributing wealth by forcing foreign-owned firms to sell at least 51% to black Zimbabwe. Trust that US and EU will not loosen the sanctions against Mugabe’s government. [REUTERS(1), REUTERS(2)]

Pray for the development of Zimbabwe:

  • Pray for peace, justice and good governance in Zimbabwe;
  • Pray that the ‘new’ government will concern for the needs of Zimbabwean people.