Browse Cases

Showing 1-25 of 43 results

Romanian citizens of Pungesti backed by Greenpeace force Chevron to stop fracking operations, 2014

Country
Romania
Time period
October, 2013 to July, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
4.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dong Shin You, 08/02/2015

Anti-fracking movements in Romania originated in February 2012 when Bulgarian activists, enthused from their recent victory over their government in anti-fracking legislation, contacted their Romanian counterparts. The Bulgarians informed the Romanians of the potential impending fracking in Romania and from this point on, the Romanian activists began using their Facebook group page to increase awareness of, and actively campaign against the dangers of fracking.

Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh Protest to Stop Open Pit Coal Mine 2006-2014

Country
Bangladesh
Time period
26 August, 2006 to 6 February, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Andrés Cordero and Ryan Leitner 02/04/2014

Phulbari is a region in the northwest region of Bangladesh. It is an important agricultural region that is also home to low quality coal deposit. Several companies have proposed to use the open pit technique for mining the coal, which would displace thousands of people, many of them indigenous people. The proposed mining projects would destroy farmland, homes, and divert water sources to be used in the mining process.

Parents of Los Angeles, California students win humane discipline practices in high schools, 2006-2007

Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Ojas Chinchwadkar 11/03/13

The Los Angeles, California, Unified School District had one of the highest high school drop-out rates in the entire United States in 2000. Parents of Latino and African American students were deeply worried about how their children were being punished and the relationship between punishment and dropping out.  

In 2001they formed an organization to empower themselves to act, named Community Asset Development Re-defining Education (CADRE).  

Arizona grassroots activists protest anti-immigrant measure (SB1070), United States, 2010

Country
United States
Time period
May, 2010 to 27 July, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lydia Bailey, 28/04/2013

In May 2010, Alto Arizona, an immigrants’ rights organization, began assembling different grassroots groups to come together for the “Human Rights Summer.”. Inspired by the Freedom Summer of the Civil Rights Movement, the goal of the Human Rights Summer was to force Arizona to overturn the controversial immigration law SB1070, which stated that all adult foreigners in the United States for more than thirty days must register with the US government and keep their registration documents with them at all times. Violation would be considered a federal misdemeanor and could lead to arrest.

Brazilian laborers (ganhadores) strike against ID tag and tax legislation, 1857

Country
Brazil
Time period
1 June, 1857 to 9 June, 1857
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sarah Gonzales, 27/04/2013

During the 1800s, the slaves of Brazil held
uprisings and rebellions that led to the governments’ careful construction of methods
of controlling black Brazilians. After one revolt in 1835 the Bahian Parliament
passed legislation to control the “ganhadores.” Ganhadores were freed and
enslaved African males who transported goods and people through the city of
Bahia, now known as Salvador. Part of this legislation required that the
ganhadores pay taxes for their services. 
Ganhadores refused to pay the required dues in every way possible,

Indian villagers protest Tehri Dam construction, 2001-2002

Country
India
Time period
July, 2000 to March, 2002
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lydia Bailey, 21/04/2013

In 1990, the Indian government and Tehri Hydro Power Corporation began planning to dam the Bhagirati River at the Himalayan foothill town of Tehri in Uttar Pradesh. Plans indicated that it would be the fourth largest dam in the world. Damming the river at this particular location would lead to flooding of the town and the displacement of up to ten thousand of its residents. Scientists also protested the construction of the dam because of its proximity to the central Himalayan Seismic Gap.

Belgians protest austerity measures, 2011-2012

Country
Belgium
Time period
02 December, 2011 to 31 January, 2012
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aileen Eisenberg and John Pontillo, 14/04/2013

On 2 December 2011, tens of thousands of Belgian citizens took to the streets in the capital, Brussels, to protest the austerity measures taken by the then-incoming government. The new socialist prime minister was going to be sworn in the week after this protest to try and fix the financial crisis that had left Belgium without a government for 19 months. The government needed to save 11.3 billion euros in the year of 2012 to decrease its budget deficit below the EU limit of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Irish citizens protest the shutdown of accident and emergency services at Roscommon Hospital, 2010-2011

Country
Ireland
Time period
8 August, 2010 to 11 July, 2011
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aileen Eisenberg, 25/03/2013

On 8 August 2010, members of Roscommon Hospital Action Committee (HAC) held a sit-in at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit at Roscommon County Hospital. There were rumors that the government planned to shut down this unit at 8 PM that night, so 100 protestors blocked the doorway and announced that they were willing to stay there all night. Nurses made a banner out of torn sheets that read “Our Hands Can Save Lives but This Is Death at the Hands of Fine Gael and Labour.” Health service chiefs did not intervene, nor were there visible security forces.

Indigenous groups in Peru massively campaign to protect the rainforest, 2008-2009

Country
Peru
Time period
9 August, 2008 to 19 June, 2009
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo, 18/03/2013

In April 2006, the United States and Peru signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which they planned to implement on 1 February 2009. The United States required that Peru make certain regulatory changes in law to allow access to the Amazon rainforest before implementing the FTA. In late 2006, President Alan García passed Law 840, known as the “Law of the Jungle,” which undermined the collective property rights of indigenous groups by giving land concessions to foreign investors.

Philadelphians campaign against welfare cuts, United States, 1996-1997

Country
United States
Time period
25 August, 1996 to 1 July, 1997
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo 02/03/2013

On 16 May 1996, Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania signed Senate Bill 1441 into law. This bill contained a series of welfare reforms, including cuts to medical assistance, a requirement that childless people between ages 21 and 58 work 100 hours a month to receive medical assistance benefits, and a condition that anyone making more than $5100 a year did not qualify for medical assistance. When implemented this legislation would cut 250,000 people off of medical assistance.

Black South Africans boycott Bantu education system, 1954-1955

Country
South Africa
Time period
December, 1954 to July, 1955
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sarah Gonzales, 08/03/2013

In 1953 the South African Government passed the Bantu Education Act into law.  This act gave the South African government the power to structure the education of Native South African children, separate from White South African children.  This law was intended to organize a federal education system that would ensure that all students received an education.  But it also engrained an apartheid framed education system that was predicted to impede the advancement of black children.  Many ANC members, African parents, teachers, and ministers were unhappy with the way that the

Native American and environmentalist groups block nuclear waste site in Ward Valley, California, 1995-2000

Country
United States
Time period
10 October, 1995 to November, 2000
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Fatimah Hameed 10/02/2013

In March of 1988, U.S. Ecology, a national dump operating company, decided upon Ward Valley, California as the most desired location for building a new nuclear waste dump. Because this was federal land in the state, the government of California needed to buy Ward Valley land from the Bureau of Land Management in order to give U.S. Ecology the rights to build the dump. The Valley, however, is located in the Mojave Desert, an area home to an endangered species of desert tortoise considered sacred to a number of Native American tribes.

French Christians save Jews from Nazi holocaust, Le Chambon, 1940-1944

Country
France
Time period
November, 1940 to September, 1944
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 09/12/2012

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon was a community located in south central France. With a history of being a refuge for persecuted Protestant Huguenots in 17th century, it was primarily a Presbyterian town. 

Nigerian Ekpan women protest against oil company policies, 1986

Country
Nigeria
Time period
25 August, 1986 to 8 September, 1986
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 09/12/2012

At 5 a.m. on Monday, 25 August 1986, a group of 10,000 Ekpan women from the Uvwie clan within Ethiope Local Government Area surrounded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petrochemicals Plant, and the Pipelines and Products Marketing Pumpstation. The demonstrating women chanted war songs and displayed banners and posters on which they wrote their grievances, such as, “Give us Social Amenities,” “Review all forms of employment within the Petrochemical,” and “Our sons, daughters and husbands are qualified for key posts within the Petrochemical.”

Ogharefe women protest against Pan Ocean oil industry, 1984

Country
Nigeria
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 02/12/2012

The Ogharefe people of Nigeria suffered from the effects of oil pollution and oil exploration. The Ogharefe community was afflicted with a number of health issues, ranging from skin rashes to stomach ailments, from the gas flares and release of "oil production water." Additional damage from oil production included heavy metals in the water, the eroding of iron roofs due to corrosive ash from gash flares, and the decline of productive fishing ponds and farming land.

Indiana Deaf community protests against the passage of state bill HB 1367, 2012

Country
United States
Time period
11 January, 2012 to 16 March, 2012
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rosanna Kim, 12/10/2012

On January 11, 2012, Indiana Representative Cindy Noe introduced HB 1367 in the Indiana General Assembly, a bill that would transfer outreach services for deaf children, currently provided by the Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD), to a newly established center with the state’s budget agency making recommendations on oversight of the center. The Indiana deaf community, led by members of the Indiana Association of the Deaf, quickly formed the Indiana Deaf Education Coalition (IDEC) in opposition to the bill.

Sunagawa farmers prevent expansion of Tachikawa Air Force Base, 1956-57

Country
Japan
Time period
October, 1956 to July, 1957
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Iris Fang, 23/09/2012

The Tachikawa Air Force Base (AFB) was a US airfield in western Tokyo. The US military and the Japanese government planned to use this airfield for transporting nuclear weapons. In order to accommodate for the larger aircraft needed to transport these weapons, the Tachikawa AFB needed to expand and lengthen the runway for longer landing and takeoff distances. However, that meant that the government would need to use the surrounding farmland for the expansion. The US military announced the plans for expansion in 1955.

Activists defeat proposal to build new immigration detention center near Chicago, 2012

Country
United States
Time period
28 March, 2012 to 11 June, 2012
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Patricia Gutiérrez, 05/12/2012

The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is a private company that receives government funding to run prison and detention centers for-profit. The CCA’s immigrant detention centers are notorious for particularly bad living conditions.

Occupy movement defends home from foreclosure, Los Angeles, California, 2012

Country
United States
Time period
26 March, 2012 to 24 May, 2012
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samantha Shain, 02/12/2012

After the 2008 home mortgage crisis, and particularly after the 2010-2011 recession, home foreclosure rates skyrocketed.  Very few cases received much media attention.  Dirma Rodgriguez’s situation is almost unique in that it was featured in local and syndicated newspapers.  Due to high-profile actions and support from the Occupy Fights Foreclosure sub-committee within the larger group of Occupy Los Angeles, Dirma’s case reached the level of mainstream consciousness throughout the campaign.

Burmese citizens stop dam construction on Irrawady River, 2007-2011

Country
Burma
Time period
21 May, 2007 to 30 September, 2011
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Leah Grady Sayvetz, 15/03/2012

The Irrawaddy river, the largest in Burma, begins at the confluence of the Mali Hka and N’Mai Hka rivers in the northern state of Kachin.

Guatemalan activists defend human rights, 1960-1995

Country
Guatemala
Time period
1960 to 1996
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Manuel Figueredo, 17/12/2011

The Guatemalan people have endured numerous hardships throughout the years, but none more tragic than those perpetrated by the Guatemalan government and military during the country’s thirty-six year civil war. The Guatemalan civil war began in 1960, when a group of insurgents sought to depose the US-backed military government. The military had obtained complete authority in Guatemala by overthrowing the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz in 1957.

International team campaigns against nuclear testing in Africa (Sahara Protest) 1959-1960

Country
Ghana
Algeria
Time period
6 December, 1959 to 17 January, 1960
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 05/12/2011

In the summer of 1959, the French government announced plans for a test of the first French atomic bomb in the Sahara in Reggan, Algeria, to support its military and political powers. Also at the time, Algeria was engaged in a war of independence from France. African leaders and organizations protested almost unanimously against nuclear testing in the Sahara and became concerned with the dangers of nuclear fallout in their country as well as France’s colonialist attitude.

Chinese residents force relocation of chemical plant in Xiamen, 2007

Country
China
Time period
16 March, 2007 to 2 June, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Pauline Blount, 20/11/2011

It was announced in November 2006 that a chemical plant producing paraxylene (PX) and teraphalic acid would be built in the Haicang District 7km from Xiamen, a city of about 3.5 million residents in southeastern Fujian Province China.  The two companies constructing the plant, Dragon Aromatics and the Xianglu Group invested some 10.8 billion yaun in the facility and local estimates showed that the plant would bring 80 million yaun of Gross Domestic Product to the city of Xiamen.

Mu Sochua defends women’s rights against Cambodian government, 2010

Country
Cambodia
Time period
2 June, 2010 to 15 July, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elena Ruyter, 20/11/2011

Mu Sochua fled Cambodia during the genocide under Pol Pot in the 1970’s. When she returned to her homeland in 1989 as a mother of three, Sochua began a tireless effort to further women’s rights in Cambodia. At the start of her political career she served as Advisor of Women’s Affairs to the Prime Minister, and from 1998 to 2004 was elected to Parliament and also served as Minister of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs. In 2004, Sochua changed directions slightly by joining the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the leading political opposition in Cambodia.

Larzac peasants campaign to block expansion of military camp (The Battle of Larzac), 1971-1981

Country
France
Time period
November, 1971 to June, 1981
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 01/10/2011

The plateau of Larzac is a limestone karst plateau located in the southern Massif Central area of France, extending between Millau (Aveyron region) and Lodeve (Herault region). The area is mainly agricultural and the economy relied mostly on sheep breeding and production of ewes’ milk for Roquefort cheese. Sheep farms dominated the landscape, and the land is rocky, arid, and windswept, with thin and relatively infertile soil. The French army established a military camp on the plateau of Larzac in Aveyron in June 1902, where it served as a garrison and training center.