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	One year old suffers racist abuse by ICARE / The Scotsman Scotland   Children as young as one have been the victims of racist abuse, new figures indicate.   Police investigated 31 reports of hate crime targeted at youngsters aged under 11 in the Lothians last year, according to figures obtained by the Evening News under freedom of information.   Experts have said abuse or attacks at such a young age could cause psychological damage, while politicians have urged the Government to clamp down on racist thugs.   The reports detail one investigation into an incident in north Edinburgh, the worst area in the Lothians for hate crime against under 11s, where a 12-month-old child was listed as the victim.   Police also probed a race hate crime against a two-year-old in south Edinburgh, and a seven- year-old in the same area. The figures also reveal that a ten-year-old child in Bathgate was targeted because the offenders thought the victim was homosexual.   Overall, hate crimes investigated in Lothian and Borders rose by 8.4 per cent from 1604 in 2008/09 to 1739 in 2009/10.   Labour"s justice spokesman, Richard Baker MSP, said the rise was "deeply worrying". He said that stricter sentences and robust policing in recent years may not have had the desired impact.   He said: "It"s appalling that children have been subject to hate crimes and I"m sure this will be met with a huge amount of concern throughout the community. "If it"s adults committing these crimes against children, that is deeply worrying."   They should be subject to the full force of the law and the courts should deal with them in an appropriately severe manner. "However, if it is other children that are responsible for racist and homophobic crimes, that suggests deep-seated social problems that we need to deal with.   "We have to ask why these attacks have taken place. If it"s other children we have to ask how they would come to be driven by race and homophobia.   He added: "The trends overall are also concerning. We have taken action in parliament in terms of introducing legislation and stiffer penalties on hate crimes, so if despite that we are seeing an increase, then we need to see an appropriate response from the relevant agencies."   A police spokesman said: "Lothian and Borders Police will not tolerate hate crime of any nature and will robustly deal with anyone found to be responsible."   http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/scottish-news/   * Below is a link to ICARE Hate Crime News: a service containing articles (English only) about hate-motivated incidents and crimes in the 56 OSCE participating States. The project is supported by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Visit the related web page
	Not everyone is benefitting from Mining, Oil & Gas Developments by Oxfam Australia   More than half of the world’s poorest people live in countries rich in natural resources – but they rarely share in the wealth.   Too often, communities have no say in the extraction of resources from their land and receive little information about how much money their governments receive. But oil, gas, and mining projects don’t have to add to poverty and powerlessness; in fact, they can help communities overcome these challenges.   The Publish What You Pay campaign aims to help citizens of resource-rich developing countries hold their governments accountable for the management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries.   The campaign is supported by a coalition of more than 300 non-government organisations – including us – which is calling for the mandatory disclosure of payments made by oil, gas and mining companies to all governments for the extraction of natural resources.   We''re also calling on governments to publish full details on natural resource revenues. It''s a necessary first step towards a more accountable system of management. And with access to information on oil, gas and mining revenue, citizens are better informed and able to debate how these revenues should be used.   Many of the world’s mining giants call Australia home. In recent years, Australia has profited from a global mining boom which has seen the industry grow at a rate of 50% a year until the recent financial crisis.   It’s been a modern-day gold rush and great for our economy, but scratch the gleaming surface and you’ll see that not everyone is benefitting.   Mining companies that don’t respect human rights may cause harm to the communities living around their operations. And it’s the most vulnerable – women and indigenous people – who are worst affected.   Our work in Fiji, the Philippines (Didipio, Marinduque, Rapu Rapu), Papua New Guinea shows that the operations of some Australian mining companies may have contributed to human rights abuses and environmental destruction.   Sure, mining companies can stimulate economic growth and bring prosperity – we welcome that – but without a commitment to respecting human rights and protecting the environment they can also cause people to lose their land and way of life and irreparably damage the environment. It doesn"t have to be this way.   We"re lobbying Australian mining companies and governments to make sure people come before profits. And we"re helping affected communities to tell their side of the story. Visit the related web page
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