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Civil liberties - new material (52)

01 November 2003

Making the case for a human rights commission, Hannah Pearce. Legal Action October 2003, pp6-7. This piece examines the case for establishing a statutory human rights commission in the light of proposals made by the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

Why I can't wait for my identity card, David Aaronovitch. Guardian 23.9.03. The neocon journalist explains how carrying a "citizen's" card will liberate the bearer: "What I find sinister are the other systems - the inevitable alternative to identity cards - that dole out cards only to claimants, asylum-seekers, or to those with work permits. But if we all have a card - a citizen's card - then it puts us all on an equal footing as citizens."

Review: "A permanent state of terror?", Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) in association with Index on Censorship, 2003, 170 pages, £4.50. From: Tony Callaghan, c/o Index on Censorship, 33 Islington High Street, London N1 9LH or e-mail: tony@indexoncensorship.org. These thirty commentaries on the effects of the so-called "war on terrorism" by activists, lawyers, academics and journalists present a sober view of the foreseeable future. The contributors include Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Mark Thomas, Liz Fekete, Tony Benn, Gareth Peirce, Louise Christian, Liz Davies, Frances Webber, James Kelman, Harold Pinter and Conor Gearty. The book covers both the situation in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and that in third world countries bearing the brunt of state terror. Chomsky comments that it is only in "standing against repression, authority and illegitimate structures" that "we expand the domain of freedom". A highly recommended collection.