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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.
February 13 , 2008
Human Rights Activities of United Nations Organizations | Migration and Human Rights Women's Human Rights | Children's Rights | Corporations and Human Rights Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide
Human Rights Activities of United Nations Organizations High Commissioner for Human Rights Deploys Fact-Finding Mission to Kenya After receiving agreement from the Kenyan government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, deployed a fact-finding mission to Kenya last week to assess allegations of ongoing grave human rights violations committed there since the December 27, 2007, contested re-election of President Mwai Kibaki over opposition leader Raila Odinga. The mission began in Nairobi on February 6, 2008 and will last for three weeks. The mission will collect information from victims, witnesses, government officials, representatives of opposition groups and civil society organizations, and the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, among others, and its findings and recommendations will be made public. In related news, the Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide of the Secretary-General, Francis Deng, has staff in Kenya examining the “ethnic dimension of the conflict” and an emergency United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) team has been deployed to the border region between Kenya and Uganda, where approximately 12,000 people have fled.
UN Security Council Issues Presidential Statement on Kenya In a Presidential Statement issued on February 6, 2008, the UN Security Council strongly urged Kenya’s political leaders to “foster reconciliation and to elaborate and implement the actions agreed to on 1 February without delay,” and take action to “end immediately violence, including ethnically motivated attacks, dismantle armed gangs, improve the humanitarian situation and restore human rights.” The Security Council also called for those responsible for the country’s violence to be brought to justice, and expressed concern at the political, security, and economic impact of the crisis in Kenya on the wider region. The statement was issued following UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s briefing of the Security Council on February 5, 2008, on the subject of his visit to Africa. During his visit, the Secretary-General stressed to all the Kenyan leaders the need to stop the violence and to “resolve their differences through dialogue and the democratic process.” He announced the establishment of a United Nations Development Programme trust fund, and the assignment of several of his staff members, to assist the mediation efforts led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan. He also stated that he was dispatching Mr. John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to monitor the mediation efforts to ensure that the UN continues to meet the initial basic needs of approximately 310,000 internally displaced persons spread over 192 sites in the western and central provinces of Kenya.
International Criminal Court Takes Custody of Its Third Congolese Detainee Congolese authorities arrested Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui on February 7, 2008, and transferred him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. This marks the first time that the Congolese authorities have physically arrested someone at the request of the ICC. The ICC is also holding Congolese nationals Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and Germain Katanga. Ngudjolo, a Colonel in the National Army of the DRC and the alleged former leader of the National Integrationist Front (FNI), was wanted for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since July 2002. Specifically, Ngudjolo is believed have played an essential role in designing and implementing an indiscriminate attack against civilians in the village of Bogoro, in the northeastern territory of Ituri, in February 2003. During the attack (in which child soldiers actively participated), civilians were murdered, seriously harmed, and sexually enslaved.
By Lauren Torbett Coup Attempt and Displacement in Chad Last week, thousands of Chadians fled the capital N’Djamena to escape the violence that erupted in the wake of a rebel group’s attempted coup against President Idriss Deby. Rebels had attacked N’Djamena on February 1 and engaged in fierce fighting over the next few days, briefly seizing control of large parts of the city before being pushed back by government forces. More than 30,000 refugees sought safe haven in neighboring Cameroon, while another 3,000 fled to Nigeria. However, conditions were so miserable in the Cameroonian border town of Kousseri that many refugees decided to return to Chad while the fighting continued. Conditions in the capital had returned to normal by February 11, but aid agencies were still struggling to cope with large numbers of displaced people. Chad has provided temporary shelter to nearly 250,000 refugees from the conflict in Darfur, and tens of thousands more refugees from the Central African Republic. The rebel offensive delayed the scheduled deployment of a European Union peacekeeping force intended to protect refugees displaced by the conflict in Darfur and aid workers. In addition, almost 200,000 Chadians have been internally displaced, making for a vast pool of desperate people who depend heavily on international aid. Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, said that the displaced people “are at the end of a very tenuous aid lifeline that flows through Ndjamena. We are extremely concerned about the impact on that aid pipeline of extended instability.”
Renewed Fighting in Darfur and Flight to Chad While Chadians fled the violence in their own capital, Sudanese refugees fled renewed attacks in Darfur and sought safe haven in Chad. The United Nations reported that approximately 12,000 people crossed the Sudanese border into Chad to escape attacks in western Darfur on February 8. The Sudanese government carried out air strikes on the villages of Sirba, Sileia, and Abu Surouj, considered strongholds of the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group.
Tightening of Border Entry Rules in the European Union
Each year more than 300 million travelers cross European Union borders. In 2006 and 2007, more than 53,000 people were apprehended or denied entry at a border, and at least 2,900 false travel documents were seized. The European Commission is scheduled to consider the border control measures February 13.
By Jennifer Toussaint Sharia Law in Britain On February 8, Britain’s Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, called for aspects of Sharia law to be included in British law. Sharia law is a body of Islamic law that governs in various Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Sudan. The law as applied to women has traditionally discriminated against the gender. Some interpretations of the law have mandated that women must cover themselves from head to toe in burkhas when leaving the home.
But the use of the law in divorce issues, for example, offers this problem for women’s rights: under Sharia law a husband may divorce his wife by simply saying “I divorce you” three times. A woman, by contrast, has no such ability to divorce her husband. The risk of human rights violations against Muslim British women would be great if Sharia law were to be implemented in its present form.
Honor Killings in Britain According to Britain’s Association of Chief Police Officers, up to 17,000 women in that country are subject to honor-related violence, including murder, every year. The organization warns, however, that the number of girls that fall victims to such honor crimes may be up to 35 times higher than their official figures suggest. Almost all victims of these crimes are women, who suffer at the hands of their spouses or male relatives. Also of concern are girls being sent abroad to engage in forced marriage. Women taken overseas to be married are currently being rescued on an almost daily basis by the British government’s Forced Marriage Unit. Honor killings and forced marriages are in violation of the right to be free from torture, the right to be free from gender based violence, and the right to equality in marriage.
The UNFPA Marks International Day Against FGM On February 6, the International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) called for greater efforts on the part of governments to eliminate the harmful practice of FGM and UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid pledged increased support for efforts to stop the practice. In the past year, the UNFPA, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a $44 million dollar program to reduce the effects of FGM. The initiative has partnered up governments, religious leaders, reproductive health providers, media, and civil society in the fight against FGM.
By Daniel Werly Children Affected by Crisis in Kenya Kenya has seen a rise in the numbers of child rapes since last month’s disputed presidential election. Overcrowding and lack of security at makeshift camps has led to this increase. Young girls are often forced to trade sex for food or are raped while trying to get water at night. These rapes leave girls at high risk for contracting HIV. Although exact numbers are difficult to come by, it has been estimated that child rapes have doubled since the election.
Former Congo Warlord Detained by the ICC and Charged with Use of Child Soldiers On February 7, former Congolese warlord Mathieu Ngudjolo was arrested and taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to face charges including murder, sexual slavery, and using child soldiers. Ngudjolo was the head of the Front of Nationalist and Integrationists (FPI) militia during the conflict in the country’s northeast Ituri Province, which was an offshoot of Congo’s 1998-2003 war. The warlord primarily attacked the Hema ethnic group with the participation of child soldiers under the age of 15. Hgudjolo is said to be responsible for the murder of more than 200 civilians and other crimes against humanity including rape and forcing woman into sexual slavery. Ngudjolo is the third militia chief from the Congo to be detained by the ICC in the past year. This arrest shows that there is no impunity for those guilty of war crimes in Africa even when suspects are engaging national processes of peace and reconciliation. The ICC is currently investigating other war crimes in the Democratic of Congo, Uganda, and the Darfur region of Sudan.
Trafficking of Children in Nepal Since 1986, an estimated 180,000 to 250,000 girls have been trafficked from Nepal. The majority of these girls end up in Indian brothels in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bangalore. Private middlemen, who are not a part of the government, and often work outside of Nepal’s borders, are conducting this activity. Due to poverty in Nepal, these girls are often illiterate and are lured away by promises of an easy life and good salary. The Constitution of Nepal guarantees women the right to equal treatment, including with regard to property and self-development. Nepal was also one of the first countries to sign onto the Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1990 and is a party to other international statutes dealing with global trafficking of human beings. International organizations have placed conditions on Nepal since it is a party to various binding legal instruments and Nepal has an obligation to adopt necessary and effective measures to meet the objectives put forward in halting trafficking of women and children.
By Amber Mills Nigerian Human Rights Case Against Chevron Set For Trial in California Chevron Corporation, which has been charged in a California state court with aiding and abetting human rights abuses against protestors and others in Nigeria, has tried—and failed—to get the case against it dismissed. This case arose primarily out of two incidents in the late 1990s; in one, Nigerian soldiers and police fired weapons on Nigerians protesting against Chevron, killing some, and in the other, two villages were burned down. In the suit, it is alleged Chevron had the power to hire, train, and supervise the government security forces responsible for these atrocities. The company’s alleged failure to do so appropriately is believed to have been the proximate cause of the injuries to the Nigerian people.
EU Code of Conduct on Arms Sales Under Renewed Criticisms From February 11-15, representatives of 28 countries will meet in New York to consider an international treaty on arms trade. Among other things, they will discuss the efficacy of the European Union’s decade-old code on arms sales. This code stipulates that licenses to export weapons cannot be issued if there is a threat that they will be used for internal repression or in armed conflicts. But loopholes exist that allow the purpose of the code to be circumvented. In turn, arms trade with countries known for grave human rights abuses continues, undoubtedly contributing to the very abuses the code was meant to restrict. For example, while Belgium is a member of the EU, weapons produced by the Belgian company FN Herstal are not subject to the code because the bullets are made outside of the EU, in the company’s Kenyan plant. Another problem is that the code is not binding. So, often, companies have little motivation to comply. The following statistics demonstrate the extent of the weaknesses in the EU arms sales code:
New Securities Index Invests in Socially-Responsible Corporations A new Indian index has been established that invests in companies based on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) standards. The fact that shareholders want to invest in companies that are socially responsible is nothing new. Indices that reflect this interest have already been established by many financial institutions. However, many have been criticized for implementing standards that are too subjective. Responding to this concern and the demand for investment products that truly represent the public’s concerns for corporate responsibility, Standard & Poor recently established the S&P ESG India Index. The index is the first of its kind to use a methodology that quantifies a company’s ESG practices and translates them into a scoring system that is used to rank companies. The index was initiated and sponsored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, and comprises 50 Indian companies that meet strict criteria and have been selected based on a two-stage screening process.
Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide By Cassandre Theano Bhutan and the Ethnic Nepalese Although Bhutan is the only country on earth to put happiness at the heart of government policy, many Bhutanese are not very happy with their country. In the 1980s during Bhutan’s campaign to strengthen its national identity, a nationwide census revealed a large population of Nepali origin. But when the government sought to remove them, under the guise that they were illegal immigrants, a huge backlash followed with terrorist acts against government establishments. The government fought back and thousands of civilians, including political dissidents, fled to Nepal and were admitted into UN camps and given refugee status. The United States is currently working on resettling 70,000 of these refugees in the United States (out of approximately 108,000). With the resettlement a month away, as well as Bhutan’s second round of its first-ever election (March 24th), the Bhutanese refugees, who have the choice of returning to Bhutan or going to the United States, Australia, or Canada are not so sure they want to return to Bhutan. They are classified as non-nationals there which makes it difficult to get a job, excludes them from the political process, and makes life generally hard. This flies in face of international law conventions which state that every person is entitled to a nationality. In the meantime, a new offshoot of Bhutan’s Maoist party has declared armed struggle in Bhutan and has claimed responsibility for a recent bombing there, saying that the attack was "aimed at destroying election related documents of the government."
What the Latest Attack in East Timor Means for its Future On February 11, East Timor’s President, Jose Ramos-Horta, was the subject of an attack by gunmen who also targeted the Prime Minister Xanan Gusmao. Luckily, Gusmao escaped unhurt, but the president caught a bullet in the stomach and is currently in an induced coma in Australia. Although Ramos-Horta remains on a ventilator, he is in stable condition. The leader of the attempted assassination was killed in he exchange of bullets between the President’s security crew and the would-be assassin’s gang. News of the attacks shocked the nation, especially due to the popularity of Ramos-Horta, a prominent figure in the campaign against Indonesian rule, who is a former Nobel Prize Laureate. New Zealand and Australia have put additional troops on standby should the situation deteriorate. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and ended its bloody rule in 1999. East Timor became fully independent in 2002 but has since faced major problems, with high unemployment, civil strife. and grinding poverty. Kenya: On the Road to Peace or Another Failed Attempt at Reconciliation? In Kenya, the opposition Orange Democratic Movement led by Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki’s party seem poised to announce their plans to bring an end to the violence that has rocked the country since the contested December elections. According to some reports, Odinga’s plan favors the establishment of a co-executive transitional government. In the meantime, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has dispatched a team to investigate and prepare a report on the human rights abuses, while expressing its hope that former UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan’s mediation will bear fruit. Thus far, thousands have fled to neighboring countries seeking shelter from the violence.
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