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	UN rights chief ‘alarmed’ at erosion of rights for terror suspects by Louise Arbour   June 2008   The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern about the treatment of people suspected of committing terrorist acts, and called for reform of legal procedures used in such cases.   “There are concerns regarding the transfer of suspects without due process, and the use of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, which are unacceptable practices,” Louise Arbour said in a statement read on her behalf today by an official to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.   “I am alarmed by the continuing erosion of the right to fair trial which occurs when suspects of terrorist acts are denied the right to obtain a judicial review of their case,” she added.   Ms. Arbour, who was commenting on her report, “The protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism,” which as been submitted to the HRC, also said there was a need to establish specific and effective legislation to avoid vague or overly broad definitions of terrorism.   “We know that such definitions have led to inappropriate restrictions of the legitimate exercise of rights, such as the rights of association, expression and assembly,” she said, while also calling for intelligence-gathering on terrorism to be regulated by law and monitored as much as possible by independent agencies.   Commenting on another UN report, on the “Question of the death penalty,” Ms. Arbour said that the number of countries that have a “completely abolitionist” policy toward the death penalty has increased from 85 to 93 since 2005.   She also noted that a General Assembly resolution in December 2007 calls on “all States that still maintain the death penalty… to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.”   The High Commissioner also noted that one of the most important recent developments following the Secretary General’s report on “Fundamental standards of humanity” has been the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which is now open for signature, ratification and accession. Ms. Arbour called on States to ratify the treaty.
	Burmese Regime condemned worldwide for witholding Relief Aid by Associated Press & agencies Burma   June 3, 2008 (AP)   More than a million cyclone survivors in Burma are still without basic relief a month after the deadly disaster, humanitarian groups say.   While students returning to school offered signs of hope, aid groups said they still faced government delays in sending disaster experts and vital equipment into the country.   The hurdles have resulted in only a trickle of the necessary aid reaching the storm"s estimated 2.4 million survivors, and left the relief efforts unable to move beyond providing the most immediate needs.   "People need basic relief, which is shocking after four weeks," said Sarah Ireland, the regional director of Oxfam, a UK-based humanitarian agency that is still trying to gain permission to work in Burma.   "If we were in a normal response by week four, those affected should be working toward recovery," she said. "They would be in a position perhaps to think about what they need to restart their lives. But we know people on the ground don"t have food to eat."   Soon after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2-3, it was clear the disaster would be one of the largest to hit Asia since the 2004 tsunami and would require a massive relief effort. But the relief has yet to match the scale of the disaster.   "For aid agencies it is very important that those affected receive a full complement of appropriate aid," said James East, a spokesman for World Vision, which had operations in Burma even before the disaster.   "To say that a certain percentage of people have received aid means little because some survivors may have received a tarpaulin but no food and vice versa."   "Clearly though, people are not getting enough and there are those living in the farther reaches of the Delta, away from roads and temporary shelters who have received very little," he said. "The challenge for agencies is to reach these out of the way communities with the aid that they need."   The junta"s response was in stark contrast to that of Indonesia during the 2004 tsunami and Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake. Both countries opened the doors to hundred of international aid groups and set aside their suspicions to allow the Americans troops to ferry aid and help evacuate survivors from remote areas.   A month on, most survivors in those disasters had been fed and sheltered in either camps or tents. Field hospitals were up and running and concerns about disease had dissipated. Talk was turning to rebuilding homes and getting the economy up and running.   Burma"s military regime left survivors to largely fend for themselves. It barred foreigners from the delta until last week and refused entry to US and French naval vessels which have been off the country"s coast, laden with aid.
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