The American Convention on Human Rights known as the Pact of San José, is an international human rights instrument. It was adopted by many countries in the Western Hemisphere in San José, Costa Rica, on 22 November 1969, it came into force after the eleventh instrument of ratification was deposited on 18 July 1978. The bodies responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention are the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, both of which are organs of the Organization of American States. According to its preamble, the purpose of the Convention is "to consolidate in this hemisphere, within the framework of democratic institutions, a system of personal liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man." Chapter I establishes the general obligation of the states parties to uphold the rights set forth in the Convention to all persons under their jurisdiction, to adapt their domestic laws to bring them into line with the Convention.

The 23 articles of Chapter II give a list of individual civil and political rights due to all persons, including the right to life "in general, from the moment of conception", to humane treatment, to a fair trial, to privacy, to freedom of conscience, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, etc. Article 15 prohibits "any propaganda for war and any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitute incitement to lawless violence or to any other similar action against any person on any grounds including those of race, religion, language, or national origin" to be considered as offence punishable by law; this provision is established under influence of Article 20 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. The single article in Chapter III deals with economic and cultural rights; the somewhat cursory treatment given to this issue here was expanded some ten years with the Protocol of San Salvador. Chapter IV describes those circumstances in which certain rights can be temporarily suspended, such as during states of emergency, the formalities to be followed for such suspension to be valid.

However, it does not authorize any suspension of Article 3, Article 4, Article 5, Article 6, Article 9, Article 12, Article 17, Article 18, Article 19, Article 20, or Article 23. Chapter V, with a nod to the balance between rights and duties enshrined in the earlier American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, points out that individuals have responsibilities as well as rights. Chapters VI, VII, VIII, IX contain provisions for the creation and operation of the two bodies responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention: the Inter-American Commission, based in Washington, D. C. United States, the Inter-American Court, headquartered in San José, Costa Rica. Chapter X deals with mechanisms for ratifying the Convention, amending it or placing reservations in it, or denouncing it. Various transitory provisions are set forth in Chapter XI.' In the ensuing years, the states parties to the American Convention have supplemented its provisions with two additional protocols. The first, the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic and Cultural Rights, was opened for signature in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, on 17 November 1988.

It represented an attempt to take the inter-American human rights system to a higher level by enshrining its protection of so-called second-generation rights in the economic and cultural spheres. The protocol's provisions cover such areas as the right to work, the right to health, the right to food, the right to education, it has been ratified by 16 nations. The second, the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty, was adopted at Asunción, Paraguay, on 8 June 1990. While Article 4 of the American Convention had placed severe restrictions on the states' ability to impose the death penalty – only applicable for the most serious crimes. To date it has been ratified by 13 nations; the Inter-American Court makes a broad interpretation of the American Convention. It interprets it according to the pro hominem principle, in an evolutive fashion and making use of other treaties and soft law; the result is that, in practice, the Inter-American Court modifies the content of the American Convention.

As of 2013, 25 of the 35 OAS's member states have ratified the Convention, while two have denounced it subsequently, leaving 23 active parties: Trinidad and Tobago denounced the Convention on 26 May 1998 over the death penalty issue. Venezuela denounced the Convention on 10 September 2012 accusing the Inter-American Court and Commission to undermine its Government's stability by interfering with its domestic affairs. Necessary reforms of the institution were blocked. Therefore, it would henceforth increase its cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights Council. Denunciations, according to Article 78 of the ACHR, become effective one year after having been declared, they do not release the state party from its obligations r

The Korea Medal is a military campaign medal, instituted by the Union of South Africa in 1953. It was awarded to volunteers of the Union Defence Forces for service in Korea during the 1950-1953 Korean War; the Union Defence Forces were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force; the Flying Cheetahs, 2 Squadron of the South African Air Force, was South Africa's primary contribution to the United Nations Command during the Korean War, where it operated under American command. More than 200 officers and some 545 other ranks saw action in Korea between 1950 and 1953, along with some members from other branches of the Union Defence Forces. During the Korean War, South African pilots flew altogether 2,890 operational missions, during which 34 pilots and two ground crew were killed in action or listed as missing in action. Eight pilots were either shot down by Communist forces, or forced to land behind enemy lines and taken prisoner.

The Korea Medal is a military campaign medal, instituted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The Korea Medal was awarded to volunteers of all ranks of the Union Defence Forces who served in the Korean theatre of operations for one day or more, between 19 September 1950 and 27 July 1953 inclusive; the position of the Korea Medal in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, again when a new series of military orders and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003. Its position remained unchanged, upon the latter two occasions. South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994 Official SADF order of precedence: Preceded by the Military Merit Medal.

Succeeded by the Pro Patria Medal. Official national order of precedence: Preceded by the National Intelligence Service Decoration, Bronze. Succeeded by the South African Police Medal for Combating Terrorism. South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994 Official SANDF order of precedence: Preceded by the Chief C. D. F. Commendation Medal of the Republic of Ciskei. Succeeded by the Pro Patria Medal of the Republic of South Africa. Official national order of precedence: Preceded by the Chief C. D. F. Commendation Medal of the Republic of Ciskei. Succeeded by the Police Medal for Combating Terrorism of the Republic of South Africa. ObverseThe Korea Medal was struck in silver, to fit in a circle 38 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick. Around the edge is a laurel wreath, the left branch spreading from the bottom of the medal to the top, while the right branch is shorter to allow space for the inscription "KOREA"; the center has the words "VRYWILLIGERS" and "VOLUNTEERS", with outlines of the maps of the Korean Peninsula and South Africa, including South-West Africa.

The maps are connected by a line with an arrowhead at five wavy lines. Superimposed on the map of South Africa are the inscriptions "U. van S-A." and "U. of S. A.". ReverseThe reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms and Queen Elizabeth's royal cipher above the Coat of Arms; the medal number is impressed at the bottom of the medal on the rim. RibbonThe ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 6 millimetres wide orange band and a 5 millimetres wide dark blue band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 10 millimetres wide light blue band in the centre. A recipient of the Korea Medal, mentioned in dispatches during the Korean War, was entitled to wear a bronze oak leaf on the medal ribbon and ribbon bar

Waves'98 is a 2015 short film written and directed by Lebanese artist and filmmaker Ely Dagher. It was awarded the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Waves'98 tells the story of Omar, a high-school kid living in the northern suburb of Beirut in the late 1990s. Disillusioned with his life in the suburbs of segregated Beirut, Omar's discovery lures him into the depths of the city. Immersed into a world, so close yet so isolated from his reality that he finds himself struggling to keep his attachments, his sense of home; the film is a meditiation on Dagher's relationship to Beirut, his hometown, since he has left it for Brussels. Cannes Film Festival - Short Film Palme d'Or - Won Waves'98 is the first Lebanese film in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival since Maroun Baghdadi won the Jury Prize for Hors La Vie in 1991; the film was shortlisted as one of 8 from a list of 4550 short film submissions. The film was awarded the Short Film Palme d'Or by Abderrahmane Sissako in a ceremony on May 24, 2015.

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