Browse Cases

Showing 326-350 of 428 results

Migrant workers in Slovenia hunger strike for wages, 2010

Country
Slovenia
Time period
March 1, 2010 to March 10, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hannah Jones 25/02/2011

Migrant workers in Slovenia have very few legal grounds on which to secure fair labor practices. According to the Employment and Work of Aliens Act (passed in 2000), workers who were not citizens had to work for the same employer for at least two years straight (sometimes longer) in order to apply for a personal work permit. At that point, a migrant worker could work for a different employer, but the work permit was only valid for three years, at which point the worker must apply again. Migrant workers were also excluded from Slovenian social welfare.

UK students campaign against tuition raises, 2010

Country
United Kingdom
Time period
10 November, 2010 to 9 December, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Ashley Banks, 29/04/2011

In May of 2010, the United Kingdom held its general elections. The Conservative Party formed the new government by making an alliance with a smaller party, the Liberal Democrats. 

Welsh students campaign against tuition hikes, 2010

Country
Wales
Time period
24 November, 2010 to 30 November, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Ashley Banks, 29/04/2011

In May of 2010, the United Kingdom held its general elections. One of the candidates, Nick Clegg, ran on a platform that included a promise to vote against any proposals to raise tuition fees for students. However, by October of the same year, Clegg changed his stance on the issue. The potential for a change in the cap on tuition fees from £3,290 to £9,000 was on the table. The government also announced substantial budget cuts, particularly for public services. The news of these issues resulted in an outcry of protest from the student population across the United Kingdom.

Chilean women occupy empty mine to protest job losses, 2010

Country
Chile
Time period
November 16, 2010 to November 30, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa, 24/04/2011

On February 27, 2010 a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile and was soon followed by a tsunami. In total, there were as many as 800 deaths and $30 billion in damage because of the earthquake. Following the earthquake, much of Chile was ravaged and thousands of people were left unemployed. In response the Chilean government began instituting employment programs in the Bio Bio, Maule, and O’Higgins regions, where unemployment rates were particularly high. The programs paid residents to help rebuild their communities and to clear rubble from the towns.

Philadelphia transit workers strike against negro workers, 1944

Country
United States
Time period
1 August, 1944 to 7 August, 1944
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Carl E. Sigmond, 27/04/2011

During the first week of August 1944, employees of the Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC) effectively shut down the city's transit system, defying both the federal government and their own union.  The strike, which lasted for six days and halted much of the city's war production, was in response to a PTC decision to promote eight African Americans to the position of trolley car driver.  Throughout the decade leading up to this "hate strike," African Americans had demanded that the PTC hire them as bus and trolley drivers, motormen and conductors, and station cashiers.

U.S. student Tim DeChristopher disrupts government auction of oil lands, 2008

Country
United States
Time period
19 December, 2008 to June, 2011
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Pauline Blount, 16/10/2011

In October 2008 the Bureau of Land Management finalized three Resource Management Plans that would open new federal lands for oil and gas leasing in Southern Utah.  Some of the lands were adjacent to national parks and monuments, including Dinosaur National Monument.  A number of environmental groups mobilized and over 1,600 protests were submitted to the Bureau of Resource Management.  A coalition including the National Parks Conservation and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a lawsuit on December 17, 2008, to halt what they saw as the illegal leasing of public lan

Allegany County resists nuclear dumping, 1989-1990

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1989 to April, 1990
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Walker Stole, 18/09/2011

The state of New York was required by federal law to have a nuclear waste dump by January 1, 1993. In 1988, a special siting committee formed to determine where to put the dump. The siting commission considered five sites in rural Allegany County, New York, as potential spots to put the nuclear dump. The people of Allegany County linked arms in several acts of civil disobedience to prevent the construction of a nuclear waste facility in their backyard.

Japanese workers on U.S. military bases strike against salary cuts, 2007

Country
Japan
Time period
November, 2007 to December, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa 08/04/2011

In October of 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Defense proposed a cut in the salaries of Japanese workers employed on United States Military installations. Japan was struggling under huge national debt and the Defense Ministry saw the abolition of a workers’ allowance as a way to save a significant amount of money. The Defense ministry would have been projected to save about 10 billion yen a year with the salary cuts. On the other side, the allowance made up about 10% of each worker’s salary.

South Koreans protest land seizure for United States military base expansion, 2005-2007

Country
South Korea
Time period
February, 2005 to March, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa, 03/04/2011

When the United States proposed an expansion of its military base in the Pyeongtaek region of South Korea in 2001, it threatened to be the third time that the people of the region were to be displaced from their land. The people who lived in Pyeongtaek, primarily farmers, were first evicted when the Japanese occupied the region in World War II. Then they were forcibly displaced a second time in 1952, when the United States built its military base, Camp Humphreys.

Esquel community opposes to gold mining, Argentina, 2002-2006

Country
Argentina
Time period
December, 2002 to June, 2006
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hannah-Ruth Miller, 28/02/2010

In 2002 the provincial government of Chubut granted a gold mining concession to Meridian Gold, a Canadian mining company based out of Reno, Nevada, for a large open-pit gold mine just 7 kilometers from Esquel, Argentina. The local population was strongly opposed to this, due to the environmental impact that the mine would have, and decided to protest the action.

Pro-Settlement advocates protest Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and West Bank, 2004-2005

Country
Israel
Palestine
Time period
June, 2004 to August, 2005
Classification
Defense
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aden Tedla, 2/4/2010

The Jewish and Palestinian territorial claim to the same area of land has resulted in one of the most protracted conflicts in recent history.  Stemming from the Zionist demand for a Jewish homeland in the historic state of Israel, a homeland that would serve as a sanctuary for this persecuted and globally displaced people, large influxes of Jews into the former British mandate of Palestine have and continue to displace millions of Palestinian residents.

South Vietnamese Buddhists initiate fall of dictator Diem, 1963

Country
Vietnam
Time period
8 May, 1963 to 1 November, 1963
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda, 19/04/2010

Following the collapse of French colonial administration in Vietnam in 1954, the country was temporarily divided, with Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam, and Emperor Bao Dai's State of Vietnam in the South. The Geneva Conference peace agreement ending the French Indo-China war included a provision for nationwide elections in 1956. Soon after the country was divided, Ngo Dinh Diem had proclaimed himself president of South Vietnam by means of a fraudulent election.

Environmental Activists prevent construction of coal-fired power plant in Kingsnorth, England, 2007-2010

Country
England
Time period
April, 2007 to October, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alison Roseberry-Polier, 20/02/2011

In December of 2006, Eon, an energy company, submitted an application to the Medway council in Kent, England to build coal-fired generating units, the first to be built in England since 1974. The plant would emit more carbon dioxide than the world’s thirty lowest emitting countries combined. Within a few months, two other companies were proposing similar projects, with even more to follow. Eon planned to implement Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), as per the government’s request.

Campaign for the liberation of the "Suchitoto 13" prisoners in El Salvador, 2007-08

Country
El Salvador
Time period
July, 2007 to February, 2008
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa 20/03/2011

In El Salvador in 1998, the Inter-American Development Bank, a branch of the World Bank, approved a loan for a reform program directed at the nation’s water sector. The loan focused on a program based on decentralization and privatization of El Salvador’s water systems. 36 million dollars of the loan was designated specifically for the promotion of private sector participation in the decentralization program.

Mauritius Tamil community stops banknote alteration, 1998

Country
Mauritius
Time period
18 October, 1998 to 18 November, 1998
Classification
Defense
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Ashley Banks 11/04/2011

On the island nation of Mauritius, three languages appear on the banknotes. Traditionally, the languages are English, Tamil, and Hindi - in that order. On October 18, 1998, the Central Bank of Mauritius released a new series of banknotes upon which the order of the latter two languages were reversed, with Hindi appearing before Tamil.

Igbo women campaign for rights (The Women's War) in Nigeria, 1929

Country
Nigeria
Time period
November, 1929 to December, 1929
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Arielle Bernhardt, 10/04/2010

By November 1929, Igbo women in southeastern Nigeria had had enough. From the perspective of the British colonizers, the women became loud, angry, and disruptive. They marched through cities and towns and demanded political leaders to step down. The women took their British rulers completely by surprise. The British were ignorant of the discontent among women that had been building for years, and that had recently bubbled over the surface. They mistook the women’s organized action for spontaneous, ‘crazy’ outbursts.

Swedish workers general strike for economic justice, power shift (Ådalen) 1931

Country
Sweden
Time period
October, 1930 to May, 1931
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Max Rennebohm, 03/10/2009

The general strike in Ådalen, Sweden, in 1931 was part of a much larger industrial struggle between the Swedish Employers’ Federation (SAF) and the Swedish Union Federation (LO), a struggle that had been continuing since the late 19th century, if not longer.

Belarusian church members hunger strike for the right to worship on their property, 2006

Country
Belarus
Time period
August 7, 2006 to October 26, 2006
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hannah Jones, 02/16/2011

Under the leadership of President Alexandr Lukashenko, Belarusians who do not practice Russian Orthodox Catholicism have had to deal with varying degrees of religious repression.

Channel Islanders resist German occupation in WWII, 1941-1945

Country
Jersey
Guernsey
Time period
1941 to 1945
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rebecca Contreras, 15/03/2011

The Channel Islands, two British territories, fell under German occupation in 1940 during WWII. The Islands politically took on a policy of “passive cooperation.” Fearing a German monopolization of oil, Britain interned German civilians living in Persia in 1941. In retaliation, German soldiers deported 2200 Channel Islanders to internment camps in Germany and France. The majority of deported were English born males between the ages of 16 and 70.

Ecuadorians defend their land against mining, 1995-2007

Country
Ecuador
Time period
1995 to September, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Arielle Bernhardt, 01/04/2010

Residents of Junin faced the first assault on their land in the early 1990s, after the Ecuadorian government signed a contract with Bishi Metals, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi. The contract allowed the mining company to prospect in and around Junin, a community in the mountainous region of northern Ecuador. Junin and its surrounding region, Intag, have exceptional biodiversity and rich water resources. Junin also happens to be rich in metals—copper in particular. The arrival of Bishi Metals raised immediate concern among Intag residents.

Palestinians in Bil'in Protest Construction of Israeli Separation Barrier, 2005-2011

Country
Palestine
Time period
2005 to 2011
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aden Tedla, 10/08/2011

In an effort to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from entering its borders, the State of Israel began constructing a 425-mile separation barrier along its border with the West Bank in June 2002. The separation barrier, known to Israelis as the “Security Barrier” and to Palestinians as the “Apartheid Separation Wall”, extends beyond Israel’s internationally recognized borders and weaves through Palestinian territory, often cutting through Palestinian farmland and dividing villages.

International campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment 1996-98

Country
Malaysia
United States
Netherlands
Canada
France
International
Time period
1996 to October, 1998
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa, 13/02/2011

In September of 1995, international negotiations began on a draft agreement called the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). The document was being negotiated by members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The stated goals of the agreement were to establish a set of multilateral rules for foreign investment that would govern the process in a more structured, systematic way. Up until the draft, foreign investment agreements were established on a country-by-country bilateral basis.

Turkmen senior citizens campaign against pension cuts, 2006

Country
Turkmenistan
Time period
February, 2006 to April, 2006
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
1 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jennifer Trinh, 19/03/2011

Turkmenistan is a country in Asia, located north of Iran and Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 6 million.  President Saparmurat Niyazov came to power after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and remained in power until late 2006.  Under Niyazov’s rule, Turkmenistan’s economy declined, with frequent food shortages and mass unemployment.  Because of the repressive nature of the regime, protests against the authoritarian government were few and far in between.

Iranian activists' One Million Signatures campaign for gender justice, 2006-2008

Country
Iran
Time period
August 27, 2006 to September 9, 2008
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aly Passanante, 03/04/2011

Prior to Iran’s revolution in 1979, women gained many rights that were retracted after the revolution concluded.  Campaigns for women’s rights since the revolution have not sought additional rights, but wished to maintain the rights women had already earned.  One such campaign was the One Million Signatures campaign, which aimed to persuade the Majles (parliament) to reform gender-discriminatory laws.  The campaign also looked to educate citizens, and particularly women, about the negative impact of these laws on the lives of women and society as a whole.