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Human Rights Institute
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Contemporary Issues in Human Rights This weekly electronic newsletter is researched and written by students in Professor Rachel Taylor's Contemporary Issues in Human Rights class. The contributors read widely in their areas of focus and choose the week's most important human rights stories to highlight. Information in the write-ups comes from the sources provided and has not been independently verified.
December 5 , 2007
Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide | Corporations and Human Rights Migration and Human Rights | International and Regional Human Rights Bodies Regional and International Courts
Crimes against Humanity and Genocide Sudan Still Refuses to Hand Over Darfur Criminals to the International Criminal Court Officials from the International Criminal Court met on Friday, November 30, to discuss the outstanding arrest warrants for two persons charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur: Ahmed Muhammed Harun, who was appointed Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister after his indictment was announced, and Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed leader. Sudan’s foreign minister is adamant that it will not hand the two indictees over to the Court, claiming that it lacks jurisdiction because Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is due to give a speech on Monday December 3 where he will "urge all member states to do everything within their powers to assist the court in enforcing the outstanding warrants" in Darfur and to praise the court for becoming "a centrepiece of our system of international criminal justice," said associate U.N. spokesman Yves Sorokobi. The credibility of the International Criminal Court continues to be called into question as these two suspects remain at large.
Khmer Rouge Leaders Charged with War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity With the arrest last month of Ieng Sary, Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge-era Foreign Minister, and his wife, Ieng Thirith, the Khmer Rouge’s former social action minister, a total of five senior leaders will face trial by the UN-backed Extraordinary Chambers next year. The Tribunal has been heavily criticised for failing to bring key leaders to justice, and these future trials will be crucial to bringing about justice and reconciliation in Cambodia, decades after the atrocities were committed. In addition to Sary and Thirith, the other accused are: Kang Kek Ieu, 65, the former prisons chief; Khieu Samphan, 76, the former head of state; and Nuon Chea, 81 who served as deputy secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. All are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. These individuals are all elderly and some question the effectiveness of bringing them to trial at such a late stage in their lives.
Further Unrest in the Horn of Africa Sparks Claims of Crimes against Humanity Violence is worsening in the Ogaden region, a predominantly Somali part of Ethiopia. According to one recent editorial in an Eritrean publication, a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Ogaden Somali civilians carried out by the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF)-led regime has given the ongoing armed conflict in Ogaden momentum, sparking concerns that violence has escalated to such a level that crimes against humanity are being committed. The violence against the Ogaden people that the TPLF carried out has seemingly strengthened the resistance forces in Ogaden and the conflict continues to worsen. Little international attention has been given to the conflict, which is often seen as merely another example of violence in the Horn of Africa. According to this editorial, the U.S. Government maintains that nothing unusual is going on in the region.
Corporations and Human Rights Product (RED) Contributes $50 Million to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Product (RED) was lunched by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006 to raise public awareness about, and engage private corporations in, the global fights against AIDS in Africa. Since its creation, Product (RED) has become one of the private sector’s largest consumer-based income-generating initiatives for a humanitarian cause. The initiative’s partners include large American corporations like GAP, Apple, Hallmark, American Express, Motorola, Emporio Armani, and Converse. The partners’ contributions from the sale of Product (RED) products are sent directly to the Global Fund, and the fund invests the money in programs in Africa. The Global Fund, which is the primary financier of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in Africa, seeks to raise $6-8 billion each year to finance such programs with the help of private corporations and other donors. The Global Fund announced this week that contributions from Product (RED) by the private sector alone reached more than $50 million.
“Fair Trade” Jewelry Could Soon Be the Ultimate Luxury Option for Consumers There is no “fair trade” certified jewelry to date. The jewelry industry in many countries is however becoming more and more concerned with their social and ethical image as their customers demand for a jewelry with a certified seal of approval. Today, there are a lot of private jewelry producers that support the idea of fair trade certification. Some producers even help and educate indigenous communities and miners how to classify, sort, and cut their stones and then make profit. TransFair USA, a Fair Labeling Organization, is planning to do a feasibility study for “fair trade” certifying jewelry that will include colored stones and precious metals. Despite the customer demand, many working in the jewelry industry, however, express their concerns regarding the practical aspects of fair labeling practices because a jewelry supply chain ranges from larger-scale mining operations to a number of dealers, sorters, cutters and traders. For example, “fair trade” labeling will be easier to implement in the diamond industry since the diamond mining tends to be a higher value industry that involves fewer people and therefore it is easier to trace the diamonds and make sure that they are conflict-free and fairly traded. In recent years, big diamond producers began to certify their diamonds as conflict-free and to boycott diamonds from countries with serious human rights violations. On the other hand, “fair trade” labeling is more complicated when it comes to colored gems that usually involve many materials making it impossible to guarantee fair trade. Despite various challenges facing the jewelry industry and the labeling organizations, the current trend is definitely towards a “fair trade” certified jewelry that has the potential to become a new luxury option for the well-intentioned consumers very soon.
Climate Change as a Threat to Human Rights Small island states, concerned about rising sea levels, have started to draft a resolution identifying climate change as a threat to human rights and plan to present it at the UN climate change conference in Bali next month. Twenty six delegates from the world’s smallest island states claim that climate change threatens their citizens’ fundamental human right to a safe, secure, and sustainable environment. The delegates from Singapore, Micronesia, Grenada, and the Seychelles together with many environmental lawyers are expected to agree to a declaration recognizing climate change as a threat to human rights next month. The president of Maldives first raised this issue with the UN Security Council in 1987 but not much has been done with respect to the raising sea-levels threatening the India Ocean state’s $1 billion economy and the security of its people. The representatives of small island states claim that now it is finally time to force developed countries to view the climate change problem through the prism of human rights. The declaration on climate change and human rights to be presented in Bali is going to be an important step by the international community in recognizing the right to a sustainable and healthy environment.
Migration and Human Rights Newly Released Guidelines May Benefit Women Immigrants in the United States The Miami Herald reported last week that U.S. Immigration and Customs officials (ICE) had made public new guidelines stipulating that “pregnant women or mothers nursing babies can be released under supervised conditions.” These rules also apply to immigrants who are the sole caregiver of minor children or seriously ill or disabled relatives, or are needed to support spouses to care for sick or “special-needs” children or relatives. Even though the guidelines were originally supposed to apply only to those caught during “worksite enforcement raids,” ICE stated that the guidelines would apply to any “operation involving undocumented immigrants facing detention and deportation.” Interestingly, these guidelines were not new and were only announced publicly last week after Senator Kennedy and Representative Delahunt requested “clarification” from ICE. Immigration advocates have warned that the guidelines do not go far enough and that no family should be torn apart because of detention and deportation. Conversely, advocates of stricter immigration policies argue that the guidelines should not be applied broadly and should only apply on “a case-to-case basis.”
Increased Violence in Somalia Brings New Exodus from Mogadishu The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported an increase in the number of Mogadishu residents fleeing the violence in the Somali capital. UNHCR reported that around 1 million people had now been displaced in Somalia and 600,000 people had fled the capital alone since February—200,000 of whom had left in the last two weeks. A UNHCR report from Galkayo in the Somalia Puntland recounted the story of one family fleeing violence in the capital. Mana her children and her sister fled Mogadishu when her neighbors were killed by a mortar attack. Although reluctant to leave, Mana decided it was just too dangerous to stay in Mogadishu. Mana and her sister headed for an internally displaced persons (IDP) settlement in Galkayo where they have set up camp in a cardboard box. Although UNHCR has been involved in distributing needed supplies such as food and blankets, shortages remain. Prices have soared for such basic items as milk. The only water that is available is salty and there is a lack of latrines. UNHCR further reported that even traveling to Galkayo is difficult. UNHCR stated that illegal roadblocks had been set up by militants and gangsters to demand tariffs from those people traveling through the area. In the end, many of the IDPs interviewed by UNHCR said they would return to Mogadishu after the violence subsided although others said they would continue north and maybe attempt the passage to Yemen.
Thousands of Refugees Return to Iraq The BBC reported last week that around 1,000 Iraqis are returning home each day. Most of the refugees are returning from Syria. Few are returning from Jordan. The reasons for the return from Syria seems three-fold. The BBC explained that there has been a decrease in violent attacks in Baghdad and surrounding areas and that this decrease in violence may be causing the greater numbers of returnees. However, the BBC also hypothesized that the return may have to do with the conditions for refugees in Syria, where job opportunities are scarce. Finally, the Iraqi government has been providing “incentives to refugees to return” including free bus service home. 4,7000 refugees have accepted the Iraqi government’s offer and another 8,500 have registered for the program. The BBC commented that although many people are returning home, these people remain skeptical that the violence will totally subside.
International and Regional Human Rights Bodies Ill-Treatment and Torture Reported to be a Systemic Problem in Indonesia
UN Calls on Uzbekistan To Urgently Improve its Human Rights Record 23 November 2007—The United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) has made public its highly critical report on torture and ill-treatment in Uzbekistan. The CAT, the world’s leading authority on torture, scrutinized Uzbekistan’s torture record earlier this month, during its periodic review of that country’s compliance with the UN Convention against Torture, to which Uzbekistan became a party in 1995. The CAT’s conclusions identified some positive developments, noting that Uzbekistan passed legislation abolishing the death penalty and that it introduced habeas corpus (judicial review of detention). But most of the report identified the committee’s serious concerns about “[n]umerous, ongoing and consistent allegations concerning routine use of torture […] committed by law enforcement and investigative personnel or with their instigation or consent,” and cited the Uzbek government’s “[f]ailure to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into such allegations.” The CAT called on the Uzbek government to “apply a zero-tolerance approach to the continuing problem of torture, and to the practice of impunity,” and specified urgent measures the Uzbek authorities should take to address the country’s human rights problems.
Kazakhstan OSCE Chairmanship Debate November 30, 2007—The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council agreed that Kazakhstan would assume the chairmanship in 2010. Major concerns in this regard are the fact that Kazakhstan did not have free democratic elections that meet OSCE standards, and no single opposition candidate won the last parliamentary elections. Indeed, constitutional amendments adopted in mid-2007 now allow President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who has led Kazakhstan since before independence from the Soviet Union, to run for an unlimited number of terms. Kazakhstan is also said to lack an independent media and has been accused of threatening and harassing independent journalists for criticizing the president or government. Human Rights Watch has called on European countries not to nominate Kazakhstan to chair the OSCE because of the country’s bad human rights record. “Kazakhstan doesn’t observe OSCE commitments at home,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Entrusting in Kazakhstan the leadership to uphold the organization’s human rights commitments is a singularly bad idea.”
Regional and International Courts European Court of Human Rights: Russia Violates the Right to Life in the Killing of Three Chechens The Case of Tangiyeva v. Russia, recently decided by the European Court of Human Rights, stemmed from events that took place in 2000, when the applicant’s relatives died after a heavy bombardment on the city of Grozny by the Russian military. The house where these three Chechens were hiding was bombed and they burnt to death. The European Court of Human Rights first noted that it was unable to benefit from the results of the domestic investigation due to the government refusal to deliver relevant documents from the file. The Court continued by considering that the applicant made a prima facie case that her relatives had been killed by the Russian army. Therefore and in light of the importance of the European Convention on Human Rights’ article 2, guaranteeing the right of life, the Court concluded that this article has been violated. The court also found that Russia breached article 2 under its procedural limb since the authorities failed to carry out an effective criminal investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of the applicant’s relatives. This judgment is one of a series of ruling against Russia concerning the Chechen wars and it is important to point our that similar cases are still pending before the Court.
“Customary Immunity” Granted to Donald Rumsfeld in Case Alleging Torture and Abuse at Guantanamo and Abu Gharib Jean Claude Marin, the Paris prosecutor who signed an order calling for General Pinochet to appear before the Paris Court of Appeals, dismissed a complaint filed in Paris on October 25, 2007 against Donald Rumsfeld for act of torture and abuse. The prosecutor stated in a letter addressed to the plaintiffs that the services of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the rules of customary international law gives immunity from criminal jurisdiction for heads of State and Ministers of Foreign Affairs for acts committed during their time of office, even after the termination of their posts. According to some attorneys working on the case, immunity cannot be granted under international law since it has been well established that, after leaving office, immunity from criminal jurisdiction cannot be applied to acts of such gravity.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Reduces Sentence for Three Rwandan Journalists The Appeals Chamber of the Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has confirmed the allegations against Ferdinand Nahimana, Hassan Ngeze, and Jean Bosco Barayagwiza but reduced their life sentence. Mr. Nahimana and Mr. Barayagwiza were founding members of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, and Mr. Ngeze owned the Kangura, an extremist Hutu newspaper. The three journalists were charged for public incitement in the 1994 genocide. In 2003 the Tribunal sentenced Ferdinand Nahimana and Hassan Ngeze to life in prison while Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, was given a 35-year sentence. Timothy Gallimore, a spokesman for the tribunal, said Mr. Nahimana’s sentence was cut to 30 years, and Mr. Ngeze’s sentence was reduced to 35 years. Mr. Barayagwiza’s sentence was reduced by three years.
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