Amnesty International Press Release Feed

Honduras: Intimidation of media workers and protestors rising

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:32:59 +0100

Amnesty International denounced an escalation in human rights abuses in Honduras and urged the security forces to respect the rule of law and human rights when the President returns to Honduras at the weekend.

Recent reports suggest that journalists who have published news stories on the crisis or covering the issue of protests and scores of detentions have been intimidated. Prosecutors have also reported threats on account of their attempts to verify human rights abuses during protests.

In another case, six protestors were arrested and conditionally released on charges of rebellion in El Progreso. Amnesty International believes they were peaceful protestors and that the charges against them are simply intended to punish them for protesting.

The organization has also received reports of attacks on national and local radio stations. A grenade was found at the premises of Radio America and at least 15 gunshots were fired on a local radio station, leading to its subsequent closure. Many broadcasters appear to have closed for fear for their safety. Others, such as Canal 36, have been closed by the security forces and members of the military are reported to be patrolling their premises.

Amnesty International called for the authorities to investigate these attacks and ensure the broadcasters are able to operate safely without fear for their safety.

"Restricting freedom of expression will only increase frustration and anger,” said Kerrie Howard, Amnesty International Deputy Director for the Americas.

"The military and the police must ensure any use of force is proportionate during law enforcement operations and in accordance with UN standards. People must be allowed to protest peacefully without fear of imprisonment, criminal charges or other reprisals," said Kerrie Howard.

Amnesty International also believes that the presidential decree formalizing a State of Emergency, which includes a curfew and the suspension of some individual guarantees and freedoms, could, if applied unreasonably, open the door to other human rights violations.

According to the Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in spite of the exceptional circumstances, the state of Honduras remains under strict obligation to protect the right to life, to physical integrity, not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment, and to enforce the judicial guarantees essential for the protection of such rights, in particular the right to habeas corpus.

The suspension of some guarantees, in particular the reported restriction to due process rights, could in some cases amount to violations of regional and international human rights treaties to which Honduras is party. The American Convention on Human Rights has clearly set the rule that no circumstances allow for the derogation of the right to life, physical integrity, liberty of conscience and religion, protection of the family or participation in government and judicial guarantees required for the protection of these rights.

Italy: Napolitano should reject the “security package”

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:36:42 +0100

Amnesty International calls on the President of the Italian Republic to send the so called ‘security package’ - approved by the Senate yesterday - back to the Parliament.

“Should this become law, it would represent a threat for the human rights of migrants and asylum-seekers in Italy and might lead to increased discrimination against Roma and Sinti,” said David Diaz-Jogeix, Amnesty International Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia.

The ‘security package’ criminalises irregular migration and puts at risk the rights of vulnerable people, based on residence and registration status and establishes and empowers citizens associations to patrol municipalities.

“President Napolitano has an opportunity to stop this law that could damage Italy’s human rights, with particular impact on the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers, and disproportionately affect the Roma and Sinti,” said David Diaz-Jogeix.

African Union: Non-co-operation with Bashir Arrest Warrant an insult for victims

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:07:34 +0100

In response to reports on the decision by the African Union (AU) not to cooperate with a war crimes warrant of arrest, issued by the International Criminal Court against Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International Africa Director said:

“This decision by the African Union member states shows a disdain for those in Darfur who suffered gross human rights violation and makes a mockery of the AU as an international body. By supporting a wanted person accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, it undermines the credibility of states who are party to the Rome Statute and the AU as a whole".

Background
The resolution, adopted at the end of the 13 th African Union Summit of Heads of States and Government Assembly held in Libya, would violate the obligations of African states parties to the Rome Statute to cooperate with the Court (article 86). This includes the obligation to cooperate for the execution of arrest warrants. Africa played a leading – indeed, decisive - role in 1998 in the establishment of the ICC. Thirty African states have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) so far.

African states strongly supported the creation of the ICC as a court of last resort to ensure that African victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes receive justice and reparations whenever states were unable and unwilling to investigate and prosecute such crimes. Three African states, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda referred situations in their own countries to the ICC on the ground that they were not able to investigate and prosecute such crimes. A fourth country, Côte d’Ivoire, has recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes in its territory or by its citizens abroad.

Israel/Occupied PalestinianTerritories:Impunity for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel recipe for further civilian suffering

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:16:43 +0100

Israeli forces killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians and destroyed thousands of homes in Gaza in attacks which breached the laws of war, Amnesty International concluded in a new 117-page report published today - the first comprehensive report to be published on the 22-day conflict earlier this year.

“Israel’s failure to properly investigate its forces’ conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability,” said Donatella Rovera, who headed a field research mission to Gaza and southern Israel during and after the conflict.

“The international community, led by the UN Security Council, must use all its leverage to ensure that Israel cooperates fully with the Goldstone inquiry, which now offers the best means to establish the truth.”

Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, killing three Israeli civilians, injuring scores and driving thousands from their homes. “Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are unacceptable,” added Rovera.

The report, based on evidence gathered by Amnesty International delegates, including a military expert, during field research in January and February, documents Israel’s use of battlefield weapons against a civilian population trapped in Gaza, with no means of escape.

The scale and intensity of the attacks on Gaza were unprecedented. Some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians who took no part in the conflict were among the 1,400 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

Most were killed with high-precision weapons, relying on surveillance drones which have exceptionally good optics, allowing those observing to see their targets in detail. Others were killed with imprecise weapons, including artillery shells carrying white phosphorus – not previously used in Gaza - which should never be used in densely populated areas.

Amnesty International found that the victims of the attacks it investigated were not caught in the crossfire during battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces, nor were they shielding militants or other military objects. Many were killed when their homes were bombed while they slept. Other were sitting in their yard or hanging the laundry on the roof. Children were struck while playing in their bedrooms or on the roof, or near their homes. Paramedics and ambulances were repeatedly attacked while attempting to rescue the wounded or recover the dead.

“The deaths of so many children and other civilians cannot be dismissed simply as ‘collateral damage’, as argued by Israel,” said Donatella Rovera. “Many questions remain to be answered about these attacks and about the fact that the strikes continued unabated despite the rising civilian death toll.”

More than 3,000 homes were destroyed and some 20,000 damaged in Israeli attacks which reduced entire neighbourhoods of Gaza to rubble and left an already dire economic situation in ruins. Much of the destruction was wanton and could not be justified on grounds of “military necessity”.

The Israeli army has not responded to Amnesty International’s repeated requests over the past five months for information on specific cases detailed in the report and for meetings to discuss the organization’s findings.

"For its part, Hamas has continued to justify the rocket attacks launched daily by its fighters and by other Palestinian armed groups into towns and villages in southern Israel during the 22-day conflict. Though less lethal, these attacks, using unguided rockets which cannot be directed at specific targets, violated international humanitarian law and cannot be justified under any circumstance,” added Rovera.

In addition to locally made Qassam rockets, Palestinian militants often fired longer-range Grad-type rockets smuggled into Gaza via the tunnels on the Egyptian border, which reached deeper into Israel and placed many more Israeli civilians at risk.

“Five months on, neither side has shown any inclination to change its practices and abide by international humanitarian law, raising the prospect that civilians will again bear the brunt if fighting resumes,” said Donatella Rovera.

Under international law, states have a responsibility to exercise universal jurisdiction and start criminal investigations in national courts, wherever there is sufficient evidence of war crimes or other crimes under international law, to arrest and bring to justice alleged perpetrators.

“Those responsible for war crimes and other serious violations must not be allowed to escape accountability and justice.”

Among other recommendations, the report calls on states to suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until there is no longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used to commit serious violations of international law.

It calls on Israel to commit not to carry out direct, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians; or use artillery, mortars and white phosphorus weapons in densely populated areas; and to end its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is collectively punishing the entire population.

It urges Hamas to renounce its policy of unlawful rocket attacks against civilian population centres in Israel and to prevent other armed groups from carrying out such attacks.

India: Historic ruling against “sodomy” laws, the first step to equality

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:27:54 +0100

India: Historic ruling against “sodomy” laws, the first step to equality

Amnesty International welcomes the historical decision by the high court in Delhi to decriminalize homosexuality. The decision is a significant step toward ensuring that people in India can express their sexual orientation or gender identity without fear or discrimination, said Amnesty International.

“The decision is a significant step toward ensuring that people in India can express their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear or discrimination. This British colonial legacy has done untold harm to generations of individuals in India and across the Commonwealth” said Madhu Malhotra, Deputy Director, Asia Pacific, Amnesty International.

The ruling overturns a 19th century British colonial law which bans engagement in consensual sex with an individual of the same sex as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”. The law had been used to stifle the work of organizations working on HIV/AIDS prevention in India. The court rejected the law as discriminatory and “against constitutional morality”.

“Amnesty International urges the Indian government to address abuse and discrimination by police and other officials and take measures to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in access to economic, social and cultural rights, including housing, employment and health services,” said Madhu Malhotra.

The court’s ruling rejected every argument put forward by the government in defence of the law. It found that section 377, the law criminalizing homosexuality, reflected an understanding of sexual orientation that is “at odds with the current scientific and professional understanding”. In particular, the government’s contention that the measure helped stop the spread of HIV/AIDS is “completely unfounded” and “based on incorrect and wrong notions,” the court said.

The court acknowledged that Section 377 has been used to “brutalis[e]” members of the gay community and other men who have sex with men, abuses that have long been documented by local human rights defenders and Amnesty International. The Judges ruled that popular morality or public disapproval of certain acts is not a valid justification for restriction of the fundamental rights set forth in the Indian Constitution.

India has no laws specifically criminalizing child sexual abuse and has used Section 377 to address this gap. The court’s ruling now restricts section 377 to cases of rape and child abuse. Amnesty International urges lawmakers to rewrite the law to deal explicitly with those crimes.

The Naz Foundation, an Indian sexual rights organization which brought the case against Section 377, told Amnesty International: “It's an incredible day, it's been a long battle. Today homosexuality has been decriminalized but not legalized. It is a baby step but finally India has entered the 21st century.”

With this decision, India becomes the latest country to join the global trend towards decriminalization. Amnesty International calls on those countries that continue to criminalize homosexuality to follow India’s example and repeal those laws. The majority of these laws are retained within Commonwealth countries. For more information see, Love, hate and the law: Decriminalizing homosexuality (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/POL30/003/2008/en)

Pakistan: More than two million people living outside displacement camps face appalling conditions

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:24:29 +0100

Pakistan’s central and regional governments must urgently do more to assist the more than two million people who have fled escalating fighting in northwestern Pakistan but do not have access to aid distributed in official displacement camps, Amnesty International said today. In particular, the Pakistani government must ensure that ethnic Pashtuns fleeing the fighting do not face discrimination in receiving assistance.

“As the fighting expands to North and South Waziristan, a displacement crisis that the government had said would last only for weeks looks set to go on for months, with no relief in sight for the millions of displaced people,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director. “To make matters worse, the vast majority of displaced people are living outside the registered camps where aid agencies are distributing shelter, food and water to those in need.”

Nearly 90 percent of the displaced people do not have access to organized camps and live in extremely overcrowded conditions with host communities or in existing slums and abandoned buildings. Amnesty International has documented numerous instances of three or four families sharing one household, greatly straining the ability of host communities to provide sufficient food and clean water for everyone. The World Health Organization has warned of a significant risk of communicable diseases with the advent of hot weather and the monsoons.

“The Pakistani government has to ensure that the millions of displaced people, and their hosts, get the required assistance”, Zarifi said.

Conditions are particularly difficult for displaced people who have sought shelter in other provinces of Pakistan.

Of particular note, Amnesty International has documented some two dozen cases from Pakistan where displaced Pashtuns have been told they cannot rent property, access health care or place their children in school without security clearance – something particularly difficult for many people who lost their documentation as they fled. This problem is particularly acute for women and women-led households because in areas of northwestern Pakistan under Taleban control, many women were barred from receiving national identity documents.

Conditions seem particularly difficult in Sindh province, where some local political groups have fanned fears that the influx of Pashtuns would threaten the local population. According to local aid groups, more then 200,000 displaced people have already reached various cities in Sindh, including Jamshoro, Kotri, and Sukkhar, joining millions of Pashtuns already living in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.

One leader of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, a local group opposing aid to the displaced,, told Amnesty International “All the nationalists of Sindh are against the settlement of displaced people from the NWFP or any other place as Sindhis are being turned into minority in their own province. We are afraid that once these displaced people will come to Sindh and they will not go back and will become a burden on our economy. We will not allow non-Sindhis to occupy the land which belongs to Sindh and Sindhis.”

“People who lost everything as a result of the fighting are now being treated as second-class citizens in their own country,” Sam Zarifi said. “The central and local governments must ensure that all internally displaced Pakistanis, regardless of ethnic group or background, are treated in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and have adequate food, water, shelter, and healthcare.”

Russian Federation: Accountability is key to normalization in North Caucasus

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:07:51 +0100

Only full accountability for the human rights violations that have been taking place over the past decade and more can bring real normalization to Chechnya and the North Caucasus, Amnesty International said in a report published today.

The report, Rule without law: Human rights violations in the North Caucasus, highlights the continuing human rights violations in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria in a climate of impunity. It is based on testimonies that tell of indiscriminate killings, excessive use of force, as well as death and torture in custody, arbitrary and secret detention, abductions, threats to human rights activists and independent journalists, the targeting of relatives of suspected fighters, and the forced evictions of internally displaced people.

In the context of Chechnya, the counter-terrorism operation that the Russian authorities declared there gave a green light to these abuses. On 16 April 2009, the authorities announced its end only to reintroduce it in several districts shortly afterwards.

“There has been and continues to be a total failure of political will to uphold the rule of law and address impunity in Chechnya which has led to destabilization across the North Caucasus. Perpetrators of human rights violations – both past and present – too often walk free,” said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia programme Director.

While there is currently less fighting between government forces and armed groups in Chechnya, fighting in other regions has intensified.

“The recent attacks by armed groups against high ranking officials in Ingushetia, where on 22 June President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was wounded in an assassination attempt, are just the tip of the iceberg,” Nicola Duckworth said.

Hundreds of law enforcement officials and large numbers of civilians have been killed by armed groups throughout the region over recent years. Also in June, the deputy head of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia and the Interior Minister of Dagestan were assassinated.

At the same time, Amnesty International has received reports from Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria where people have been convicted of terrorism-related offences based on forced confessions and testimony extracted under torture while law enforcement officials implicated in human rights violations during the armed conflict in Chechnya, walk free.

“The legitimate aim of tackling armed groups and bringing stability to the region cannot be achieved by illegitimate means and measures that violate international humanitarian law,” Nicola Duckworth said.

“Neither can stability be achieved solely through the badly needed reconstruction of buildings, roads and energy supplies of the last years in Chechnya.”

“Only thorough and independent investigations into past and continuing human rights abuses can bring normalization and security and can heal the pain experienced by the victims. Such investigations will also be a deterrent to future violations.”

Over 15 years Amnesty International has consistently investigated and brought to light cases of human rights abuses, including war crimes, in the North Caucasus. The organization has been exposing the lack of accountability in spite of the barriers imposed by the Russian authorities on its representatives as well as those of other human rights organizations and independent observers to visit the region.

“Opening the region to independent observers and journalists would be a signal that the authorities there are ready for transparency and dialogue,” Nicola Duckworth said.

“Without true respect for the rule of law from all sides, and a genuine commitment to address the festering legacy left by the blatant failure of political will at all levels to prevent and punish a catalogue of grievous abuses, there can be no stability and security for the people of the North Caucasus.”

Cambodia: Jailing of newspaper editor setback to free expression

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:08:02 +0100

Cambodian judicial authorities should squash last week’s conviction of newspaper editor Hang Chakra for spreading “disinformation” and order an immediate retrial, Amnesty International said today.

“This case demonstrates the absence of an independent judiciary in Cambodia, and the increasing intolerance of dissent and criticism within Cambodia’s top echelons of power,” said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International’s Cambodia researcher.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the opposition Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, to a one-year prison term and a fine of nine million riel (approx. 2,250 USD) for “disinformation” on 26 June 2009. He was arrested later that day in Battambang Province and taken to Prey Sar Prison in Phnom Penh.

A government lawyer had filed a complaint against Hang Chakra for “disinformation” and “incitement” in a number of articles published in May related to alleged corruption within the office of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

Hang Chakra’s defence lawyer had been assigned the case only one day before the hearing and was not able to represent his client in court at such short notice. The Court denied his request for a postponement of the hearing, denying Hang Chakra his right to adequate time to prepare his defense.

“This trial clearly fell short of international human rights law and standards,” Edman said. “The law on disinformation is too broad and open to abuse. Government authorities are now using disinformation and defamation laws to harass, intimidate, and even jail their critics.”

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recently noted that Cambodia’s top leadership has lodged eight separate criminal defamation and disinformation complaints since April 2009.

“The use of disinformation and defamation charges against peaceful critics of government policy or action violates the rights to freedom of expression and opinion and stifles the political debate in Cambodia”, Edman said.

Amnesty International calls on the Cambodian judicial authorities to order a retrial for Hang Chakra. Amnesty International also calls on the government and national assembly to repeal disinformation and defamation laws or else revise them so that they conform to international human rights law and standards.

Background

The Cambodian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression, and as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Cambodia is obliged to ensure that everyone charged with a criminal offence is entitled to a fair trial. This includes the right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his or her defence and to communicate with counsel of their choosing.

The 1995 Press Law provides for some protection of journalists, but is rarely used. Instead, Articles 62 and 63 of the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia's current penal code, are used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives. Article 62 criminalises the publication, distribution or reproduction of false information that "has disturbed or is likely to disturb the public peace," with a custodial sentence of up to three years.

Article 63 provides that allegations against public figures "which the author, the journalist, editor, or producer knows to be false" may constitute defamation. Criminal defamation no longer carries a custodial sentence, since the authorities bowed to pressure to amend the legislation after controversial attempts in 2005 to silence dissent through the courts.

Honduras: Security Forces must respect human rights

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:13:43 +0100

As further demonstrations by supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya are expected to take place later today, Amnesty International is urging the security forces to “refrain from using excessive force against protesters and ensure the safety of those participating in the demonstrations.”

“We are concerned for the safety of protesters,” said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

“Failure to allow demonstrators to express their opinions peacefully would only fuel an already fragile situation, said Kerrie Howard.

Amnesty International’s call to the security forces comes after supporters of President Zelaya clashed with the military in the context of demonstrations that took place on Monday night. According to media reports, several protesters were injured.

A number of trade unions across Honduras have announced an indefinite strike commencing on Tuesday in support of the ousted President.

Zelaya has announced he will return to Honduras on Thursday. Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, has offered to accompany him.

Political turmoil in the Central American country commenced after President Zelaya was detained by the military and forcibly exiled from the country on Sunday. Roberto Micheletti, Congress speaker, has been sworn in as "Interim President".

Belarus defies Council of Europe call for a moratorium

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:33:00 +0100

The authorities in Belarus continue to ignore international pressure on them to declare a moratorium on the death penalty, Amnesty International and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, said today. The two organizations have just learnt that the Brest regional court sentenced a 30-year-old man to death on 29 June.

The sentence was pronounced less than a week after the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly voted on 23 June in favour of restoring the Special Guest status to the Parliament of Belarus on the condition that Belarus declares a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty.

“The death sentence is clear evidence that there is no “de-facto moratorium” in Belarus as has been claimed by the government, and that we need to remain alert to the possibility that they continue to carry out death sentences”, said Nicola Duckworth, Director of the Europe and Central Asia Programme.

“It is high time Belarus joins the rest of Europe and Central Asia in turning its back on the death penalty by declaring an official moratorium as a first step towards abolishing it.”

According to press reports two men (whose names were not given) were convicted of a series of murders of elderly single women committed between November 2007 and January 2008 in Drahichin district near Brest in the south-west of the country. The man sentenced to death reportedly carried out odd jobs for the elderly women using the opportunity to find out where their valuables were hidden, and then returned later and strangled them while his accomplice held them down. He was also convicted of having committed two further murders on his own. His accomplice has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Both men had been in detention since January 2009. The sentence has not yet taken effect and an appeal can now be made to the Supreme Court.

Amnesty International and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee oppose the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

On 21 January, the Prosecutor General, Gregory Vasilevich, announced to the press that there had been one death sentence in 2008, while on 25 June, the Chair of the Supreme Court, Valentin Sukala, announced that there had been two death sentences in 2008.

“There are no other sources of information available to the public, and such contradictions bear witness to the total absence of open and reliable data on the death penalty in Belarus”, says Aleh Hulak, Chairperson of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.

Amnesty International and Belarusian Helsinki Committee once again call on the Belarusian authorities to put an end to the death penalty.