WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
The Justice Department announced on Sept. 9 that it has published a new guidance addressing limits on when and how jurisdictions may remove voters from their voter lists. The guidance document reflects the department’s commitment to ensuring that every eligible voter can exercise their right to vote free of discrimination or voter intimidation.
“Ensuring that every eligible voter is able to vote and have that vote counted is a critical aspect of sustaining a robust democracy, and it is a top priority for the Justice Department,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we approach Election Day, it is important that states adhere to all aspects of federal law that safeguard the rights of eligible voters to remain on the active voter lists and to vote free from discrimination and intimidation.”
In its guidance, the department reminds states that efforts to ensure accurate and current voting rolls must be accomplished in compliance with federal law and in a nondiscriminatory manner. Specifically, the department explains important limits imposed by federal law on the rules and procedures states may adopt regarding their voter registration lists.
For example, list maintenance efforts must be uniform and nondiscriminatory, and a program to systematically remove ineligible voters must not be done within 90 days of a federal election. There also are specific rules about how to remove registered voters because they have moved. Importantly, these federal protections apply whether the process is initiated by the state or is responsive to third-party submissions.
The department also released a fact sheet as a resource for jurisdictions and provides information on certain civil provisions of federal law that protect the right to vote.
- Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act: Federal law broadly prohibits intimidation, threats and coercion – or attempts to do so – throughout every stage of the voting process, including registering to vote, casting a ballot and counting votes.
- Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act: Federal law also prohibits discrimination in voting because of race, color or membership in a minority language group, defined to include American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Native and Spanish heritage citizens.
- Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act: For voters with disabilities and those unable to read or write, federal law guarantees voting assistance in all aspects of the voting process by a person of the voter’s choice subject to only two exceptions barring assistance by the voter’s employer or union. And, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, state and local governments must ensure people with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote.
- Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act: The fact sheet explains that some jurisdictions, as determined by the Census Bureau, are required to provide all election information that is available in English in the covered minority language.
In April, the department announced an updated website, www.justice.gov/voting, a one-stop resource for information on voting and elections. This website includes guides on a range of topics to inform voters and state and local election officials. It includes, among other topics, information about Voting Protections for Language Minority Citizens under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, state-by-state rules regarding voting after a criminal conviction, the voting rights of members of the armed services and U.S. citizens living overseas, and information related to post-election audits, including the requirements under federal law that state and local election officials “retain and preserve” voting-related records.
More information about voting and elections is available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
The www.justice.gov/voting website also provides information on the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which leads the department’s efforts to address violence against election workers and to ensure that all election workers – whether elected, appointed or volunteer – are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.
You can report suspected criminal activity regarding voting to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or by filing an online complaint at tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact local law enforcement. If at any time you are in imminent danger, call 911.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 9-10-2024 at 12 p.m.
2024 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2024)
- Total Mass Shootings: 449
- Total Dead: 534
- Total Wounded: 1851
- Shootings Per Day: 1.77
- Days Reached in Year 2024 as of September 10: 254
MIDDLE EAST
STRIKES ON HUMANITARIAN ZONE CONDEMNED
The UN Middle East envoy has strongly condemned deadly airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Sept. 10 on a densely populated area in an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Gaza.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians were staying in the camp in Khan Younis, and at least 19 people were killed, according to latest media reports.
“While the IDF said it struck Hamas militants who were operating in a command-and-control center embedded inside the Humanitarian zone, I underline that international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, must be upheld at all times,” Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a statement.
He emphasized that civilians must never be used as human shields.
“Yet again, such actions only underscore that nowhere is safe in Gaza,” he said.
The envoy repeated his call for all sides to immediately reach an agreement that will bring about the release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, adding that the killing of civilians must stop, and the horrific war must end.
“Ultimately, only a political path that outlines tangible, irreversible steps towards ending the occupation and establishing a two-State solution can put a durable end to the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis,” he said, noting that the UN stands ready to support all efforts towards this goal.
Meanwhile, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported that on Sept. 9 the Israeli army stopped a convoy heading to north Gaza to vaccinate children against polio and held it for more than eight hours, despite prior detailed coordination.
UNRWA, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a three-part campaign this month to protect more than 600,000 young children in the enclave against polio after the disease was detected in sewage samples in June.
The UN convoy carried national and international staff travelling to roll out the campaign in Gaza City and northern Gaza, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
The convoy was stopped at gun point just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff. Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armored vehicles.
Mr. Lazzarini noted that while all staff and the convoy were released and back safe at base, he was unsure whether the polio campaign would be able to take place in northern Gaza.
“This significant incident is the latest in a series of violations against UN staff including shootings at convoys and arrests by the Israeli Armed Forces at checkpoints despite prior notification,” he said.
“UN Staff must be allowed to undertake their duties in safety and be protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law. Gaza is no different.”
“This is not an isolated incident,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević, who deplored the lack of a “functioning deconfliction mechanism,” 11 months into the Gaza war.
Between Sept. 7 and 10, WHO teams tried to reach Al-Shifa hospital four times with no success.
“But we will try again today,” he said. “We really do our best, but this is a pattern: in August the number of denied requests for access doubled compared to previous months.”
AFRICA
OLYMPIC RUNNER MOURNED
The United Nations has mourned the loss of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who died at a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, on Sept. 5, just days after reportedly being set on fire by a boyfriend.
The 33-year-old marathon runner, who lived and trained in northwest Kenya, competed in the recent Olympic Games in Paris.
During a disagreement on Sept. 1, Ms. Cheptegei’s boyfriend doused her in petrol and set her alight, causing burns across 80 percent of her body, according to media reports.
“Today we join the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women in strongly condemning her violent murder,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told journalists in New York.
Mr. Dujarric used his daily media briefing to focus attention on this “tragic death”, saying it “illustrates a much bigger problem that is all too often ignored.”
Citing figures from UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), he said that every 11 minutes on average, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world.
“We, of course, think that the true numbers are much higher,” he said. “So, if this briefing lasts half an hour, on average, three women have become victims of femicide while we are talking.”
Mr. Dujarric said gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, and should be treated as such.
“As the Secretary-General once said, we still live in a male-dominated culture that leaves women vulnerable by denying them equality in dignity and rights. We all pay the price: our societies are less peaceful, our economies less prosperous and our world less just. But a different world is possible,” he concluded.
The head of the UN agency leading global efforts to end AIDS took to social media to voice her condemnation.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, who is from Uganda, urged everyone to “rise and end GBV”, stating that “silence is complicity.”
In mourning the loss of “our national star Olympian”, she also condemned “the culture of male domination & tolerance of violence against women and men and children.”
Meanwhile, the boyfriend did not get away with it, as 33-year-old Dickson Ndiema Marangach died from burn injuries sustained in the same attack.
