Democracy

10 January 2008 -- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 74 – and the only remaining female judge serving on the highest U.S. Court – has been a life-long champion of women’s and minority rights. Speaking with host Carol Castiel of VOA’s New’s Now’s Press Conference USA, Justice Ginsburg says she had the good fortune to grow up in an era when equality was the “prime concern” in the United States, which had to overcome a legacy of slavery and compensate for “losing the talent of half the population.”    » read more »

January 9, 2008 -- Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Indiana's undemocratic voter identification law. While there has never been a report of voter impersonation fraud in Indiana, real voters - seniors, students, veterans, minorities and low-income families -have been disenfranchised at the polls because of this restrictive requirement.    » read more »

December 20, 2007 -- “I applaud Congress for passing the Open Government Act of 2007. It represents the first change to federal Freedom of Information law in over a decade. The Act sets timelines for request responses; establishes a tracking system with penalties if agencies do not respond; and creates an Office of Open Government Services. These stipulations will allow more citizens to achieve wider access to federal government.    » read more »

18 December 2007 -- A new report says 2007 has been the deadliest year for journalists in more than a decade, with 64 members of the media killed in direct connection to their work.

The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released the figures Tuesday. It reported 56 killings of media workers last year.    » read more »

03 December 2007 -- The former head of Hong Kong's civil service, Anson Chan, has won a hotly contested by-election for a seat in the city's legislature, in a vote widely seen as a referendum on democratic reform.

In one of the most closely watched elections since the territory was returned to China a decade ago, Anson Chan secured nearly 55 percent of the vote. Her pro-Beijing opponent, Regina Ip, won 43-percent.

Eight candidates had been vying for a seat left vacant by the recent death of Ma Lik, chairman of Hong Kong's largest pro-Beijing political party.    » read more »

15 November 2007 -- A Russian opposition political party says it has asked the country's Supreme Court to disqualify Russian President Vladimir Putin as a candidate in next month's parliamentary elections.

A spokesman for the Union of Right Forces, Nikita Belykh, told reporters in Moscow the president's position as head of state gives his United Russia Party an unfair advantage in the December 2 vote. United Russia has put Mr. Putin at the top of its list of candidates in the parliamentary election.    » read more »

9 November 2007 -- "I am disturbed by the unprecedented restrictions to credible international election observation contained in the Russian Federation's invitation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) election observation body," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, founder of The Carter Center.    » read more »

Calls for Senate Appropriations Committee to suspend targeted assistance in light of state of emergency declaration

November 8, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today wrote to Senator Robert Byrd, Chairman and Senator Thad Cochran, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, urging Congress to set conditions on U.S. assistance to Pakistan in light of President Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency this weekend.    » read more »

United States Must Tie Aid to Restoration of Freedoms

7 November 2007 -- Atlanta -- The Carter Center condemns recent actions by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to suspend the country's Constitution and proclaim a state of emergency. In the process, members of the independent judiciary, news media, and human rights defenders have been abused and imprisoned. Many activist lawyers demanding restoration of the Pakistani Constitution and rule of law have also been arrested.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) called on his colleagues today to support his legislation, the National Security with Justice Act (S. 1876), which among other things prohibits all United States personnel from engaging in waterboarding or any other form of torture. The full text of the letter is below and it was sent to all 99 other Senators this morning:

Dear Colleague,    » read more »

10/29/2007:    » read more »

16 October 2007 -- A new survey on press freedom ranks the isolated nation of Eritrea worst among 169 countries. As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, the Horn of Africa country gained the dubious distinction after four reporters were said to have died in prison.

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders says President Isias Afewerki's government has outlawed the privately owned press and continues to jail reporters who speak out.    » read more »

G8 members, except Russia, recover lost ground; Bloggers now threatened as much as journalists in traditional media

October 16, 2007 -- Eritrea has replaced North Korea in last place in an index measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries throughout the world that is published today by Reporters Without Borders for the sixth year running.    » read more »

October 9, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) introduced The Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007 – the “RESTORE Act,” in an effort to address concerns about civil liberty protections in the hastily-enacted “Protect America Act” that was signed into law in early August.    » read more »

5 October 2007 -- The Carter Center is profoundly disappointed with the announcement of a second postponement of Nepal's constituent assembly election. The Center hopes that Nepal's political leadership will now use the time ahead of them wisely to reach reasonable compromises on key issues in dispute.    » read more »