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Zimbabwe's health system in chaos

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:11:52 +0000

As political parties in Zimbabwe argue between themselves about the form the new government should take, Zimbabwe's health system is on the verge of total collapse.

An outbreak of cholera is affecting nine out of Zimbabwe's ten provinces and major hospitals are failing to provide medical care to those in need.

The main referral hospitals in the country, including Harare Central, Parirenyatwa and United Bulawayo hospitals, are barely functioning and some wards have even been closed.

Two government maternity hospitals in greater Harare have been closed. Many district hospitals and municipal clinics are either closed or operating at minimum capacity. The University of Zimbabwe Medical School closed indefinitely on 17 November.

The system is paralysed by shortages of drugs and medical supplies, a dilapidated infrastructure, equipment failures and a brain drain. As a result, ordinary Zimbabweans are unable to access basic health care.

Around 3,000 women per month give birth in public hospitals in Harare. Between 250 and 300 of them require lifesaving caesarean sections.

Maternity services at Harare and Parirenyatwa Hospitals have been withdrawn, resulting in many poor women being denied emergency caesarean sections. Most private hospitals now charge for their services in US dollars, making them inaccessible to the majority of the population.

The cholera outbreak in the country remains the cause of hundreds of preventable deaths.

The state-owned Herald newspaper has reported that in Beitbridge, a district in Matabeleland South province, 45 people have died as a result of the cholera outbreak in the last seven days.
Failure to contain and manage the outbreak is the result of inadequate supply of safe drinking water and broken down sanitation systems that often leave residents surrounded by flowing raw sewage.

Heavily armed riot police are reported to have prevented a group of health workers from presenting a petition to the Minister of Health and Child Welfare on 18 November. The health workers were calling for the government to take urgent action to restore accessible and affordable healthcare.

Instead, they were forced to hold their protest within the grounds of Parirenyatwa Hospital. After four hours, police entered the hospital grounds and forcibly dispersed them, assaulting several health workers in the process.

"Amnesty International is concerned that Zimbabwean politicians continue to play political games while the country is collapsing. It is tragic that dozens of Zimbabweans are dying daily from preventable illnesses while politicians concentrate more on their plight than ending the suffering of ordinary people," said Erwin van der Borght, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme.

Protect the people of DRC

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:18:22 +0000

Over one million civilians, most of them women and children, have been displaced by fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North Kivu region is as high as 1.6 million according to some estimates.

Most are in a desperate situation, without sufficient food, water, medical supplies or shelter.

Fighting has continued in North Kivu despite a unilateral ceasefire declared by the armed group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), on 29 October.

Amnesty International continues to receive reports of serious human rights abuses, including unlawful killings of civilians, rape and forced recruitment, and of extensive looting in the conflict zones

Humanitarian agencies are doing their utmost to bring aid to displaced people, but are close to being overwhelmed by the scale of the suffering. Many IDPs remain inaccessible and some humanitarian operations are suspended because of the fragile security situation.

Amnesty International welcomes the UN SC resolution authorizing the reinforcement of MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC, but reminds international community that the human rights and humanitarian urgency in eastern DRC remains the same - every day of delay is costing lives. Urgent implementation of the resolution is needed.

Amnesty International calls upon states to make urgent contributions of troops and equipment to MONUC, with a view to having this equipment and personnel on the ground in the shortest possible time. EU states in particular should prioritize bilateral contributions to MONUC of equipment such as helicopters and transport aircraft, and specialist military units such as engineers and intelligence personnel, as well as infantry.

To help save lives in the DRC, the UNSC must make the protection of civilians a clear and robust priority for MONUC, and to devote the maximum possible of MONUC resources and efforts to this end.

READ MORE:

NGOs call for UN session on the Democratic Republic of Congo (News story, 18 November 2008)

Photo: Displaced people in Kibati camp, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), November 2008. © UNHCR/P. Taggart

Taiwan and South Korea call for 'comfort women' apology

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:43:25 +0000

The Taiwanese parliament passed a resolution on 11 November calling on the Government of Japan to accept historical responsibility and apologise to the victims of Japan’s military sexual slavery system. This follows a resolution passed in South Korea on 27 October.

In 2007, the US, EU, Netherlands, and Canada all passed resolutions calling on the Government of Japan to restore the dignity of those women who were drafted into military sexual slavery before and during World War II. The Taiwan and South Korea resolutions are significant as many of the "comfort women" came from these countries.

In Japan, the Takarazuka City Council in Osaka passed a resolution on 28 March calling on the Government of Japan to address the issue of the "comfort women" system. On 25 June, the Kiyose City Council in Tokyo followed suit. On 7 November, Sapporo City Council, Hokkaido, passed a similar resolution.

"These resolutions are a call for action from the Japanese government” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director, “The Japanese government should recognize that the world will not forget the abuses inflicted by the ‘comfort women’ system. The Japanese government should apologize for its actions now and move forward".

There’s no pride in silence: domestic and sexual violence against women in Armenia

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:51:23 +0000

National surveys suggest that more than a quarter of women in Armenia have faced physical violence at the hands of husbands or other family members. Many of these women have little choice but to remain in abusive situations as reporting violence is strongly stigmatized in Armenian society.

Violence in the family takes many forms, ranging from isolation and the withholding of economic necessities, to physical and sexual violence, and even murder, yet women have few options to escape situations in which they are at risk.

Violence in the family is not defined in law separately from other kinds of violence involving strangers, and abused women face powerful pressures not to report violence to the police. Strong family bonds are an integral aspect of Armenian culture and women who report violence are seen as threatening the family and are pressured to keep domestic violence a private “family matter”.

The social stigma associated with separation or divorce is worse than that associated with domestic violence. The pressure not to report rape is even more powerful and rape victims commonly encounter the attitude that they are to blame.

Women who try to report violence in the family often experience social isolation, as friends, relatives and neighbours reject them. This culture of preserving silence on violence extends to the police force.

Women often experience reluctance on the part of the police to get involved, and in some cases the police endorse the view that domestic violence is a "family matter".

Since 2002, a handful of shelters have been operating despite facing widespread criticism for their part in making domestic violence a public issue. These shelters, which are run by non-governmental organizations, are reliant on intermittent funding, and most of them have been forced to close or reduce their operations in recent years due to lack of funds.

While shelters are not a catch-all solution, they fulfil a crucial role in providing women who face violence with an initial, short-term step out of their situation. Establishing a network of shelters must be a key element in government strategies to address the issue of violence against women in Armenia.

The fact that some state officials now acknowledge that violence against women actually exists both signifies progress, but also the fact that there is a long way to go. Some positive steps have been taken towards addressing violence against women:

A draft law criminalizing domestic violence is currently under discussion.
Police training programmes have been initiated to implement guidelines for police responsibilities in responding to domestic violence.

Amnesty International is calling on the Armenian authorities to clearly and forcefully condemn violence against women. They must also take other urgent steps to change wider social attitudes to domestic and sexual violence. These should include, though not be restricted to, the following:

Criminalizing domestic violence, facilitating its prevention and providing support to its victims and survivors;
Ensuring that victims of domestic and sexual violence have access to the criminal justice system without facing pressure to withdraw their complaints;
Raising awareness of family violence as a crime and a human rights violation.

Japan urged to restore dignity to WWII "comfort women"

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:19:11 +0000

The UN Human Rights Committee has called on the Government of the Japan to restore dignity to the survivors of Japan’s military sexual slavery system.

The UN Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observations and recommendations to the Government of Japan on Thursday, expressing "concern that the State party [Japan] has still not accepted its responsibility for the 'comfort women' system during World War II."

The UN Human Rights Committee considered Japan's report on its implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 15 October.

The Committee recommended that:

"The State party should accept legal responsibility and apologize unreservedly for the 'comfort women' system in a way that is acceptable to the majority of victims and restores their dignity, prosecute perpetrators who are still alive, take immediate and effective legislative and administrative measures to adequately compensate all survivors as a matter of right, educate students and the general public about the issue, and to refute and sanction any attempts to defame victims or to deny the events."

This recommendation follows resolutions passed by the US, the Netherlands, Canada, and the 27 member states of the EU urging the government of Japan to provide a public, unambiguous and formal apology for the crimes committed against these women.

Amnesty International, which has been working on the cases of the "comfort women" as part of its Stop Violence Against Women campaign, strongly welcomed this recommendation. The organization is calling on the Government of Japan to:

accept full responsibility for the “comfort women” system in a way that publicly acknowledges the harm that these women suffered and restores the dignity of the survivors;
apologize fully for the crimes committed against the women;
provide adequate and effective compensation to survivors and their immediate families directly from the government;
include an accurate account of the sexual slavery system in Japanese educational textbooks on World War II.

Isolated and abused: women migrant domestic workers in Jordan

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:04:44 +0000

Tens of thousands of women migrant domestic workers in Jordan face isolation, exploitation and abuse, with little or no protection from the state.

Migrant domestic workers are crucial to the economy in Jordan, contributing to the well-being of the households where they work and providing vital incomes for their own families and communities. Many face exploitation and abuse, working up to 19 hours per day. Wages are meagre, and some do not receive payment until years later.

Jordan has some 40,000 registered women migrant domestic workers. Many come from South and South-East Asia, mostly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Many workers report being violently treated at the hands of members of their employer’s household; they say they are slapped, kicked, beaten, spat at and threatened with violence in the homes in which they work. Several have fallen to their deaths in recent years in circumstances recorded as accidents but which remain inadequately investigated and explained. Around 10 domestic workers are believed to commit suicide every year.

Many women migrant domestic workers are also routinely beaten by representatives of recruitment agencies shortly after their arrival in Jordan, apparently to frighten them and discourage them from running away or from making complaints about their employers.

Although new safeguards were introduced in 2003 in the form of a special contract for migrant domestic workers, they appear to have had little impact in practice.
Until this summer, the Labour Law in Jordan excluded domestic workers from the protection offered to other workers, such as minimum wage provisions, sick leave or days off. Amendments to the Law were endorsed by the Jordanian parliament in July to state that a separate regulation would be issued to define the terms of their working conditions. Although this is a step forward, more needs to be done to ensure that the rights of women migrant domestic workers are protected in line with international human rights standards.

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Jordan: Drastic improvement needed for domestic workers

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:30:46 +0000

Tens of thousands of domestic workers in Jordan live in appalling conditions with many forced to work up to 19 hours per day and denied their salary. Amnesty International is urging the Jordanian authorities to ensure that the current review of employment regulations leads to a drastic improvement in their working conditions.

Jordan has some 40,000 registered women migrant domestic workers. Many come from South and South East Asia, mostly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. According to recent Amnesty International research, the majority of these women are abused and exploited with little or no protection from the authorities.

In July 2008 the Jordanian Parliament amended the Labour Law. One amendment stipulated that a separate regulation would be issued to define the terms of employment for migrant domestic workers, including their working hours and rest periods. This regulation is currently being prepared by the government.

“We call on the Jordanian authorities to seize this golden opportunity to make the exploitative conditions currently faced by migrant domestic workers a thing of the past,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Programme Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Their actions should be bold enough to match the scale of the abuses.”

Many women migrant domestic workers:

• live in virtual imprisonment in their employer’s home from the moment they arrive in the country. They are often locked in the home, forced to work long hours and not paid some, or any, of their meagre wages by their employer, who also confiscates their passports.

• suffer from physical, psychological and sexual abuse. They are slapped, kicked, beaten, spat at and threatened with violence, usually by members of the employer’s household. Several have fallen to their deaths in recent years in circumstances recorded as accidents but which remain inadequately investigated and explained. Around ten domestic workers are believed to commit suicide every year.

• are reported to be routinely beaten by representatives of some recruitment agencies shortly after their arrival in Jordan. The aim of this is to frighten workers and discourage them from running away or from making complaints about their employers.

Although new safeguards were introduced in 2003 in the form of a special contract for migrant domestic workers, they appear to have had little impact in practice. The special contract does not specify any punishment for the employer if the contract’s conditions, which include rights to medical care, one day off a week and timely payment of wages, are not met.

The abuse is also reinforced by the climate of impunity enjoyed by recruitment agencies, both in Jordan and in the countries where migrant workers come from, where regulation and monitoring is inadequate.

“The Jordanian authorities must subject the practices of recruitment agencies to proper scrutiny and bring to justice all those responsible for abuses of migrant domestic workers, whether they are employers or representatives of agencies,” said Philip Luther.

WOZA women denied bail, as peaceful protestors released in Harare

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:52:16 +0000

The leaders of the activist organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, were denied bail on Monday following their arrest on 16 October 2008. They are being held at Mlondolozi Prison in the city of Bulawayo, where conditions are said to fall well below international standards.

The decision came as at least 40 women were arbitrarily arrested during a peaceful protest in Harare. The women, many of whom were in their 60s, were released from police custody at about 9pm last night by the Zimbabwe Police.

Those arrested in Harare were members of the Women's Coalition, an organization working for the equality of women. They were peacefully praying and protesting outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare as President Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara met with leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss the country's power-sharing deal. The protestors argue that the deal has been too slow in achieving any progress.

They were charged with "disorderly conduct in a public place" and released after paying a fine. They were initially denied access to a lawyer.

They only were able to speak with a lawyer for a couple of minutes as they were getting their lunch. Their colleagues were able to bring in food, sanitary pads and painkillers for the women.

At least 30 people were also injured when the police used tear gas and batons to disperse protestors. The majority of those injured were women from the Women's Coalition. Their injuries were consistent with being beaten with batons, falls during flight, teargas inhalation and other injuries.

One activist was admitted at a private clinic for observation after inhaling teargas and experiencing respiratory distress. Four others were admitted for severe injuries and suspected fractures.

Protestors from other organizations including student, youth and other human rights groups, were also beaten by the police with batons, exposed to tear gas and some had to receive medical treatment for their injuries.

Amnesty International has condemned the continued arbitrary arrest, detention and use of excessive force against peaceful protestors by police. The organization has also called on the Southern African Development Community leaders to speak out against human rights violations and demand an end to the suppression of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and association.

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were arbitrarily arrested after participating in a peaceful protest outside Mhlahlandlela Government Complex in Bulawayo, in which they were demanding access to food aid in Zimbabwe. Police used excessive force to break up the peaceful protest by about 200 WOZA activists. Magodonga Mahlangu was beaten by police during her arrest and is reported to be in pain. They are lodging appeals with the high court.

Amnesty International considers Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu to be prisoners of conscience and calls for their immediate and unconditional release. Their arrest is part of the government of Zimbabwe's clampdown on human rights defenders who are campaigning to highlight the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe.

Demand proper protection of womens’ rights in Mexico

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:38:09 +0000

One in four women in Mexico has suffered physical, and sometimes sexual, violence at the hands of their partner. Thousands are put at risk of repeated abuse because weak or ineffective protection measures fail to ensure their safety.

Domestic violence can have physical, psychological, and emotional effects, as well as serious economic and social consequences on women and their families. Many face a range of obstacles when trying to report cases, such as the refusal of officials to accept complaints, inadequate investigations, and poor enforcement of protective measures.

A number of factors also deter women from filing complaints, such as fear of reprisals, and entrenched social attitudes which excuse violence against women, and undermine women’s role in the family and society. Official restraining orders are rarely issued and in many cases, there are no dedicated police resources to enforce them if they are issued.

Following her divorce in 1993, Marcela Blumenkron made numerous emergency calls to the police to report threats and harassment from her former husband. Time and again, she was advised by prosecutors to resolve the issue directly with her former husband.

On one occasion, Marcela was told, “if you come back with a bruise, we’ll do something”. In 2005, Marcela’s former husband broke into her home and stabbed her, leaving her paralyzed for four months, with long-term nerve damage and limited mobility.

Although Mexico recently passed a law to counter violence against women, and many states have followed suit, more still needs to be done or these changes will make little difference to women at risk. Take action to demand that womens’ rights in Mexico are properly protected!

Armed groups and government forces continue to abuse women and children in North Kivu

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:58:43 +0000

Armed groups are still recruiting child soldiers to fight in the ongoing conflict in the province of North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Those child soldiers who attempt to escape have been killed or tortured, sometimes in front of other children, to discourage further escapes. Children who are taken captive by the DRC army on suspicion of being armed group fighters, have faced ill-treatment and torture in military detention.

There is also continuing physical and sexual abuse of women and children in the conflict, according to the new Amnesty International report, North Kivu: No end to the war against women and children.

The report is based on research and eye witness testimony collected by an Amnesty International fact-finding mission in North Kivu in February and March 2008. It says that members of armed groups and government security forces continue to rape and sexually abuse women and girls and, in a smaller number of cases, men and boys. Infant children and elderly women are among the victims, many of whom have suffered gang rape or have been raped more than once.

These abuses are happening despite government and armed group commitments to immediately end these atrocities in a 23 January 2008 "Act of Engagement".

According to the Amnesty International report, of the former child soldiers who had been reunited with their families in North Kivu through a national demobilization programme, as many as half may since have been re-recruited by armed groups.

Beaten to death
One former child soldier told Amnesty International how two youths were beaten to death in front of him and other child recruits "as a lesson to all of us not to try to escape":

"[The boys] were brought out of a pit in the ground and presented to us during a training session. [An armed group senior commander] then gave the order to beat them. Two soldiers and a captain pushed them down into the mud. When they tired of kicking them…they beat them with wooden sticks. The punishment lasted 90 minutes, until they died."

Rape has been committed in public and in front of family members, including children. Some women have been abducted and held as sexual slaves. In many cases, sexual abuse and rape appear to be ethnically motivated and/or aimed at terrorizing and demoralizing communities suspected of supporting enemy groups.

One 16-year-old rape survivor described how she had been abducted by two junior army officers and held captive in an army camp in North Kivu for several days before she was released. In the camp, she was raped nightly by one of the officers.

"The other officers and soldiers in the camp didn't seem to care or be willing to take responsibility", she told Amnesty International. She now suffers flashbacks and persistent headaches.

In its report, Amnesty International issued comprehensive recommendations to the armed groups, DRC government and the international community aimed at stopping human rights abuses. The recommendations include a call on armed groups to immediately release all children associated with their forces, and measures to end to the horror of sexual violence.

Background to the conflict
Despite a peace accord signed in January 2008, armed conflict has persisted in North Kivu. The fighting involves the regular Congolese army (FARDC) and the CNDP armed group under the command of a renegade general Laurent Nkuna, as well as a number of local mayi-mayi militia and the Rwandan FDLR armed group. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.

More than 100,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting in North Kivu since 28 August 2008, adding to more than 1 million people displaced by earlier violence in the region.