Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 22 Aug 2014 08:10 AM PDT
Over 500 people gathered at Jarrow Town Hall on 16 August as campaigners set off on the People's March for the NHS – a 300-mile walk to London, and which is carrying a petition in support of saving a walk-in facility at Palmer Community Hospital, in Jarrow, from closure. Before they set off there were speeches from a platform set up on the spot from which the original Jarrow marchers left on the now famous march of 1936, which was sparked by poverty and unemployment in the area. The speeches were delivered from the same spot where Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson addressed the original marchers in 1936, and included one from the great-granddaughter of one of the 1936 marchers. A pub next to the site is proudly named Jarrow Crusaders, and two blocks of council-built flats overlooking the spot are named Ellen Court and Wilkinson Court after the MP, nicknamed ‘Red Ellen’ for her politics. Marcher Rehana Azam told the Socialist Worker, the march, organised by a group of mums from Darlington "is far exceeded our expectations already. "When we started off on Saturday, we had just over 1,000 people at the rally – and 400 marched with us from Jarrow to Chester Le Street," she said. The Keep Our NHS Public campaign (KONP) and the GMB union are among those backing the march. Azam, a GMB officer as well as one of marchers, said the “motive of profit” was coming before healthcare. “We don’t want to see private companies operating in the NHS under the heading of “efficiency” when we know they are accountable to their shareholders, who are only interested in maximum profit before patient healthcare.” About 40 protesters are expected to walk all the way from the rally in Jarrow to the Houses of Parliament. “We’re going to collect stories, we’re going through to 23 towns and cities,” Azam said. “It’s over three weeks, it’s nearly 300 miles. We will collect all those stories and we will deliver them to the politicians.” South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck joined the marchers on a section of the walk between Jarrow in South Tyneside and Chester-le-Street, County Durham, to show her support for the cause. The Government's Health and Social Care Act 2012 forced competition on parts of the NHS, despite opposition from doctors, patients and Labour MPs, she said. Since then millions of pounds have been wasted on legal fees and bureaucracy to satisfy the new competition laws, instead of being spent on patient care. Labour has pledged that it will repeal Section 75 of the Act and put an end to the Coalition's waste. This will allow money to be reinvested in front line services. For example, under Labour every person will be guaranteed an appointment with their GP within 48 hours. Debbie Abrahams, Shadow Cabinet member and Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth was also with them. Her feelings about the Coalition cuts are clear. "It is absolutely dire that seven out of 10 services are being put out to tender to the private sector," she told the Mirror. The most challenging stretch so far of the three-week trek was the 20-mile stretch from Friarage Hospital in Northallerton to Ripon Hospital. But co-ordinator Jo Land said: "We are still in William Hague's constituency and we are getting loads and loads of support as we march." The march is being lead by Darlomums, a diverse group of women from Darlington and comprise of Joanna Adams, Rehana Azam, Mel Wilson, Linda Hughes, Jo Lande, Cath McArdle, Hazel Commane, Wendy Parker, Rosie and Helen Webber and Emma Tyers. Between them they have 13 children and one on the way. Now using the hashtag #darlomums, they have a range of jobs including 3 working in a call centre, 1 union officer, 1 councillor, I cafe owner, 1 teacher, 1 just enrolled on a nursing course, 1 graphic designer and 1 beauty therapist. It is, they said, really hard to passively watch the rapid dismantling, privatisation and destruction of the NHS. First we had the Health and Social Care Act, then Section 75 and more recently Clause 119 of the Care Bill. ‘The government has legislated to open the NHS to the open market, and hospital services across the country are being shut down at an alarming rate. ‘We are not only marching to support a fair funding in the NHS budget, but to overturn the Health and Social Care Act which has enforced privatisation of profitable NHS services, and has allowed them to be axed elsewhere. ‘As mums with young kids we see it as our civic duty to try and save the NHS before our children grow up. ‘We don't want to see private companies operating in the NHS under the heading of ‘efficiency’ when we know they are accountable to their shareholders, who are only interested in maximum profit before patient health care. ‘We are asking the public to join us for a mile or two or join us for ten or any part of the 300 miles, or come to our rallies just be part of the fight back.’ Dates and more info on our site: Harrogate 22 August; Leeds 23 August; Wakefield 24 August; Barnsley 25 August; Sheffield 26 August; Chesterfield 27 August; Mansfield 28 August; Nottingham 29 August; Loughborough 30 August; Leicester 31 August; Market Harborough 1 September; Northampton 2 September; Bedford 3 September; Luton 4 September; St Albans 5 September; Edmonton 6 September; and Parliament Square, Westminster, London on 6 September. 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| Pillay: Security Council letting peoples down Posted: 22 Aug 2014 07:39 AM PDT
Navi Pillay, whose term as UN Human Rights Commissioner is ending this month, has criticised the United Nations Security Council for its ineffectiveness on Syria and other intractable conflicts, saying its members have often put national interests ahead of stopping mass atrocities. In her last address to the Security Council, at the Security Council’s Open Debate on Maintenance of International Peace and Security earlier this week, Pillay said: ‘Conflict prevention is complex, but it can be achieved. ‘In many States, democratic institutions de-escalate disputes long before they reach boiling point. ‘Even after violence has broken out, international actors can help broker and enforce peace. ‘In my own country, South Africa, the United Nations helped end 300 years of injustice when it declared apartheid a crime against humanity and imposed sanctions; and democratic institutions were installed to resolve future disputes. ‘In Nepal, following almost a decade of armed conflict, my Office’s efforts included, deployment of both short- and long-term strategies. ‘They included support for Constituent Assembly elections; and capacity-building for police, civil society, and important government initiatives such as addressing caste based discrimination. Following the 2007 massacres in Guinea – a country at high risk of violence and civil war – OHCHR‘s work demonstrated the criticality of early engagement, notably in building civil society's capacity to investigate and document human rights violations. ‘There was coherent action by national, regional and international actors; and this Council established a Commission of Inquiry. ‘Today OHCHR's country office continues to support stronger institutions, transitional justice and reconciliation. ‘None of these crises erupted without warning,’ she continued. ‘They built up over years – and sometimes decades – of human rights grievances: deficient or corrupt governance and judicial institutions; discrimination and exclusion; inequities in development; exploitation and denial of economic and social rights; and repression of civil society and public freedoms. ‘The Council's interest in human rights has increased markedly during my tenure. But despite repeated briefings regarding escalating violations in multiple crises – by OHCHR and other human rights mechanisms – there has not always been a firm and principled decision by Members to put an end to crises. ‘Short-term geopolitical considerations and national interest, narrowly defined, have repeatedly taken precedence over intolerable human suffering and grave breaches of – and long-term threats to – international peace and security. ‘I firmly believe that greater responsiveness by this Council would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.’ And she had recommendations. ‘State sovereignty is often invoked to deflect UN action to prevent serious human rights violations. But as I have often said to the representatives of Governments, “You made the law; now you must observe it”. ‘Sovereign states established the UN, and built the international human rights framework, precisely because they knew that human rights violations cause conflict and undermine sovereignty. ‘Early UN action to address human rights protects States, by warding off the threat of devastating violence. ‘This Council can take a number of innovative approaches to prevent threats to international peace and security. ‘Within Rights Up Front, the Secretary-General can be even more proactive in alerting to potential crises, including situations that are not formally on the Council's agenda. ‘To further strengthen early warning, the Council could also ask for more regular and comprehensive human rights reporting by protection actors; for example my successor as the High Commissioner could provide an informal monthly briefing. ‘The work done by Commissions of Inquiry to establish clarity, and prepare accountability, should be followed by implementation by this Council of many more of their recommendations for follow-up. ‘And I trust that in the future they too will benefit from regular, official channels of communications to this Council. ‘Finally,’ she said, ‘the Council could adopt a standing consensus on a menu of possible new responses to such alerts violations, such as rapid, flexible and resource-efficient human rights monitoring missions, limited in time and scope. ‘Another innovative option could build on the new Arms Trade Treaty, which requires arms exporters and importers to confirm that weapons will not be used to commit violations. ‘States Parties could agree that where there are concerns about human rights in States that purchase arms, one condition of sale would be that they accept a small human rights monitoring team, with deployment funded by the Treaty’s Trust Fund.’ In his address to the Council, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, was milder, but he did say it was the time for a new era of collaboration, cooperation and action from the Security Council. He cited the consensus on removing chemical weapons from Syria as a success case for the Security Council. But, he said, when "our actions come late and address only the lowest common denominator, the consequences can be measured in terrible loss of life, grave human suffering and tremendous loss of credibility of this council and our institution."  |
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