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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

[chottala.com] IEEE Region 6 Awards Program -2008


Dear IEEE Colleagues,
 
Please see the attached file for the IEEE Region 6 Awards and Recognition Program. This has been significantly updated for 2008, which now includes the additional 30 Awards for the 5 Areas of Region 6. The description of nomination process has also been simplified. Please forward it to your respective Section Awards Chairs, who can then forward it to all the respective Societies, Chapters, and Student Branches. The Award categories for the Region 6, and for the Areas are as follows:
 

Region 6 Awards:

 

      1.  Region 6 Outstanding Engineer Award

      2.  Region 6 Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award

      3.  Region 6 Outstanding  Section Award

      4.  Region 6 Outstanding Corporate Service to Engineering Community Award

      5.  Region 6 Outstanding Student Branch Award

      6.  Region 6 Director's Special Award (Maximum of 4 Awards per year)

 

Area Awards:

 

      1.  Area of Region 6 Outstanding Engineer Award

      2.  Area of Region 6 Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award

      3.  Area of Region 6 Outstanding  Section Award

      4.  Area of Region 6 Outstanding Corporate Service to Engineering Community Award

      5.  Area of Region 6 Outstanding Student Branch Award

      6.  Area Chair's Special Award in Region 6

 
 
The Award Schedules are as follows:
 
2008 Awards Schedule

 

      Area Call for Nominations:                                 February 15

      Area Nomination Submittal Deadline:                 April 30

      Area Recipients Selected                                   May 30

      Area Recipients Notified                                    June 15

      Area Winners Submitted to Region                     June 30

      Region Winners Selected                                    July 15

      Region Winners Notified                                    July 30

      Region Annual Awards Presentation             September, Region 6 OpCom Mtg

 
Please see the attached file for further details.
 
 
Scott, Please post it onto the R6 Website.
 
Regards,
 
Dr. Mahbub Khan
IEEE Awards and Advancement Chairman for Region 6 (Western USA of 12 States)
408-859-3566, mahbubkhan@ieee.org
__._,_.___

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[chottala.com] Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

Embargoed for: 8 February 2008

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and

Executioner

[

Contribution under the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council]

The Current Human Rights Situation

Following the suspension of the Constitution in November 2007, President Pervez

Musharaff moved to buttress the already excessive powers of the Army. The amendment

of the Army Act of 1952 (10 November 2007) awards powers to military courts to try

civilians on charges of terrorism, anti-national activities, sedition, attacks on Army

personnel and attacks on the President.

1 As in the past these new powers will be

interpreted loosely, abused, and the threat of their use will serve as a powerful tool to

stifle dissent. In addition to strengthening the institution of the Army, Musharaff

continued to disassemble Pakistan's other institutions. The recent suspension of the

Constitution, imposition of a State of Emergency, attacks on the rule of law, the judiciary,

lawyers, media, rights defenders, and democratic political opposition have removed

fundamental checks and balances on abuse of Executive power; most of which remain in

place under the "restored" Constitution. In an environment of already high levels of

impunity and systematic violation of human rights, removing further checks on abuse

would appear likely to provoke a severe downward momentum in the human rights

situation.

The President defends repression on the grounds of national security and the fight against

terror. This strategy is buttressed by international community's support for Pakistan's

'war on terror'. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they appear to accept

that these new powers will be used only to fight terror.

Pakistan has a very serious security problem that requires a security dimension, but the

current response is likely to provoke more rather than less instability. Human rights

violations and impunity are one of the central causes of Pakistan's acute security

1

. "Amendment to Army Act only to fight terrorism", The Hindu, India, 12 November 2007

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

[ACHR's contribution for examination of Pakistan's human rights obligations and commitments]

2

problems. As the State removes democratic means of dissent, and systematically violates

the rights of those who protest, its actions will only improve the prospects of those calling

for violence.

The situation calls for serious scrutiny by the United Nations Human Rights Council

under the Universal Periodic Review. A failure to address human rights violations in

Pakistan will have serious consequences for domestic stability as well as regional and

wider international security.

I. Key Civil and Political Rights Issues

a. Political repression

Following the imposition of state of emergency on 3 November 2007, President

Musharraf launched a brutal crackdown against opposition political parties. Hundreds of

opposition leaders and activists have been arrested or put under house arrest. Further

from the media attention, in Balochistan, the Baloch nationalist leaders have faced

arbitrary arrest and detention. Many have been disappeared.

Prominent among the political leaders detained included Pakistan Muslim League

(Nawaz) Acting President, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Awami National Party chief,

Asfandyar Wali Khan.

2 On 3 November 2007, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the

Supreme Court Bar Association, and Ali Ahmed Kurd, a member of the Pakistan Bar

Council, and Justice (Retd) Tariq Mehmood, former president of the Supreme Court Bar

Association were served with illegal detention orders.

3 They were released on the night of

31 January 2008 after the expiry of 90-day detention period,

4 only to be re-arrested on 5

February 2008 with a detention order for 30 days.

5

b. Right to Life and other Grave Violations of Human Rights

The security forces are responsible for systematic and widespread human rights violations

including massive illegal arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings,

illegal detention and torture. These violations are perpetrated with impunity.

The use of torture and ill-treatment in custody is a systematic practice in Pakistan, often

resulting in custodial death. For example, on 23 January 2008, Allah Bakhsh was

allegedly tortured to death by the police at Nawan Shehar police station in Kabirwala

Tehsil near Khanewal in the Punjab after he was arrested for allegedly selling liquor.

6

2

. http://www.achrweb.org/Review/2007/192-07.html

3

. KARACHI: HRCP slams govt's 'vindictive policies', The Dawn, 3 January 2008

4

. Aitzaz Ahsan finally released, Daily Times, 1 February 2008

5

. Aitzaz, Tariq under detention, again, Dawn, 3 February 2008

6

. Police 'torture' man to death, Dawn, 25 January 2008

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

[ACHR's contribution for examination of Pakistan's human rights obligations and commitments]

3

c. Prisoners rights

The condition of prisoners in Pakistan is deplorable. Most jails in Pakistan are

overcrowded. The majority of the prisoners are pre-trial detainees. On 14 April 2006, the

Interior Ministry stated that there were about 90,258 prisoners in the 90 jails of the

country against the sanctioned capacity of 41,365 prisoners leading to 118 percent

overcrowding as of March 2006. Out of total 90,258 prisoners, 59 percent were under

trial prisoners (there were 53,609 under trial prisoners including 52,587 males and 1,022

females).

7 Juvenile offenders are routinely detained with adults placing them at high risk

of abuse. Torture is part of prison administration. For example, on 3 February 2007, Mr.

Ali Nawaz (33) was allegedly tortured to death in the Malir central jail in Karachi in

Sindh Province.

8

II. Violations of ESCR Rights

Minorities are victims of systematic denial of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Their lands and properties, including places of worship, have been forcibly taken by the

State.

9

III. Vulnerable Groups

a. Violence against Women and Children

The rights of women are systematically denied by the State. They have been victims of

sexual assault, domestic violence and "honour killing", among many other very grave

violations. Between January and December 2007, at least 792 women and 34 underage

girls were victims of honour killings.

10 Fuller coverage of this issue is covered by other

NGOs.

b. Religious Minorities

Religious minorities – Hindus, Christians and Ahmadis - face systematic discrimination

and persecution by the State. Religious minorities have been targeted and victimised

under blasphemy laws which, among others provides for punishments including death

penalty. Since July 2003, Ahmadis travelling to Mecca for the Hajj must officially

denounce in writing the founder of the Ahmadi faith.

11 The entire Ahmadi population of

Rabwah (the headquarters of Ahmadiya in Pakistan) has been prosecuted under Section

298C of Pakistan Penal Code since 15 December 1989.

12 They are prohibited from

7

. Pakistani prisons overcrowded by 118 percent, The Daily Times, 15 April 2006

8

. Available at: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2007/2214/

9

. No construction on temple site: Pak court, Times of India, 18 June 2006,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1656554.cms

10

. Honour killings show no sign of decline, The Dawn, 13 April 2007

11

. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71443.htm

12

. http://www.thepersecution.org/nr/2006/y2006.html#1

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

[ACHR's contribution for examination of Pakistan's human rights obligations and commitments]

4

holding any public conference or gathering. Ahmadi publications are banned from public

sale.

Many members of minority communities have been kidnapped and murdered because of

their faith. There are regular credible reports of forcible conversion. Abduction, rape and

forcible marriage of Hindu minority females by Muslim men are common in Pakistan.

When the police arrest the accused, the accused produce certificates issued by any

Muslim seminary certifying that the Hindu women voluntarily converted to Islam and the

police release the accused.

Religious minorities have been systematically excluded from the new voters list released

by the Election Commission of Pakistan on 12 June 2007.

13 The list placed Ahmadis on a

separate discriminatory list.

14 In July 2007, the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance claimed

that 20 per cent of non-Muslim voters had been excluded from the new voters' list.

15

About 18 per cent of eligible voters belonging to a minority group have been struck off

the new voters' list in North West Frontier Province.

16

c. Ethnic minorities

The insurgency in Balochistan province has escalated since early 2005. Instead of

addressing the genuine political and economic grievances of the Balochis, the Military is

attempting to impose state control through force. There are credible concerns over the use

of systematic disappearance, indiscriminate use of fire-arms and aerial bombings

resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Increasing disappearances of the Baloch nationalists forced the then Chief Justice of

Pakistan to issue

suo motu notices to the provincial government of Balochistan on 1

August 2007.

17 The Balochi insurgents have targeted civilians in retaliation.

Similarly, the people living in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region

have been excluded from Pakistan's mainstream. Under Article 247(3) of the

Constitution of Pakistan, no act of the Parliament applies to FATA unless the President so

directs.

13

. Disenfranchise no eligible voters, SC tells ECP, Daily Times, 27 July 2007,

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\07\27\story_27-7-

2007_pg1_1

14

. Ahmadis set to boycott general elections again, The Daily Times, 29 June

2007

15

. Questionable voters' lists, Dawn, 28 July 2007, http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/28/ed.htm

16

. 18 per cent minority voters' name missing from NWFP electoral list, Malaysia

Sun 27 July 2007, available at

http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/303b19022816233b/id/268625/

cs/1/

17

. CJP takes notice of disappearances in Balochistan, The Daily Times, 2 August

2007, available at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\02\story_2-8-

2007_pg7_23

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

[ACHR's contribution for examination of Pakistan's human rights obligations and commitments]

5

IV. Structural Issues

a. Impunity

Impunity is a primary cause of Pakistan's downward human rights cycle and contributes

to increasing instability. The government of Pakistan has provided absolute impunity for

the abuses committed by the security forces including extrajudicial killings, illegal

detention, torture and enforced disappearances. On 4 September 2007, a bench of the

Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ordered the

government to release all missing persons stating that there were strong reasons to believe

that the missing persons were in the custody of intelligence agencies following the release

of Hafiz Abdul Basit, Aleem Nasir and Hafiz Mohammad Tahir from government

custody.

18 On 21 September 2007, Deputy Attorney-General Naheeda Mehboob Elahi

submitted a report to the Supreme Court reportedly stating that 145 missing persons out

of total 416 persons had been traced and efforts were being made to trace the others.

19 No

action has been taken to establish accountability by punishing those found guilty. The

culture of impunity has been particularly strengthened by the subsequent attacks on the

judiciary (see below). With the removal of this fundamental check it is likely that

violations will increase.

b. The Judiciary

The independence of the judiciary has been removed. On 3 November 2007, President

Musharraf removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhury and handpicked his

own Justices in the Supreme Court and the High Courts. Many judges, including Chief

Justice Chaudhury who refused to take an oath under the new Provisional Constitutional

Order have been placed under house arrest.

c. Human Rights Defenders

Human rights defenders work under very hostile conditions in Pakistan and are regularly

subject to threat and violence from the state, insurgents and violent political opposition

groups. Following the declaration of Emergency on 3 November 2007 prominent human

rights activists including Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

(HRCP) Asma Jahangir were arrested.

d. The Media

Journalists work under constant threat of attack both from the security forces and

militants. Journalists faced persistent pressure and threats from the government to censor

anti-government protests. Media offices were attacked and put under surveillance by the

security forces. Journalists are regularly subjected to torture, kidnapping, illegal

18

. Apex court orders release of the missing, The Dawn, 5 September 2007

19

. 13 more 'missing' traced, SC told, The Dawn, 22 September 2007

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

[ACHR's contribution for examination of Pakistan's human rights obligations and commitments]

6

detention, beatings, and death threat from the state, insurgents and violent opposition

political parties.

On 4 June 2007, the legal environment deteriorated when the State introduced oppressive

new legislation the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2007. It empowers the authorities to confiscate the equipment of broadcasters

and seal the premises without consulting a council of complaints.

20 Immediately after the

declaration of emergency on 3 November 2007 all the private local and foreign news

channels were taken off the air.

V. State Obligations

The government of Pakistan should take following measures:

Take the necessary steps to end grave violations of human rights;

Revise the draft National Commission for Human Rights Bill in bring it into

conformity with the United Nations Paris Principles;

Immediately release all the judges, political leaders, human rights activists and

journalists in the absence of valid charges;

Reinstate all suspended judges;

Repeal the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2007;

Repeal the Frontier Crime Regulation of 1901;

Ensure that Pakistan's laws permit freedom of expression ;

Take appropriate steps to end the practice of "honour killing" ;

Release juvenile offenders from prisons and provide rehabilitation in juvenile

homes.

VI. International Obligations

The government of Pakistan failed to ratify the following main international human rights

instruments: the UNCAT and its Optional Protocol; the ICCPR and its two Optional

Protocols; Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

CEDAW and its Optional Protocol; ECHR; International Convention on the Protection of

the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; Convention on the

Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and its Optional Protocol; Optional Protocol to the

Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict

and Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children

child prostitution and child pornography.

Considering that international laws are not self-executing, the government of Pakistan has

failed to bring conformity with the ratified treaties at domestic level.

20

. Sweeping curbs on media: •Amended ordinance empowers Pemra to seal premises, seize equipment

•Protests by journalists, rights activists, The Dawn, 5 June 2007; available at:

http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/05/top1.htm

Pakistan: Army as the Judge, Jury and Executioner

[ACHR's contribution for examination of Pakistan's human rights obligations and commitments]

7

VII Enhancement of the State's Capacity/Technical Cooperation

Given the failure of domestic remedies the HRC should consider the

establishment of a significant OHCHR presence in Pakistan; and

Provide significant technical assistance to set up a strong and effective National

Human Rights Commission to protect and promote human rights;

VIII. Cooperation with HRC, Treaty Bodies and OHCHR

The government of Pakistan has failed to cooperate with the UN bodies. Pakistan's 15

th

to 19

th periodic reports under the International Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Racial Discrimination have been pending since 1998 and 3

rd to 4th period

reports under Convention on the Rights of the Child have been pending since December

2007. In addition, the government has failed to withdraw its reservations and objections

to the Treaties ratified by it including the CRC
.
 
 
 

[ACHR has Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC]

C-3/441-C, Janakpuri, New Delhi - 110058, INDIA

Tel/Fax: +91-11-25620583, 25503624

 
__._,_.___

[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




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