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Israel must co-operate fully with independent Gaza fact-finding mission

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:52:50 +0000

Israeli forces began a devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip without warning at 11.30am on 27 December 2008.

Codenamed Operation "Cast Lead", its stated aim was to end rocket attacks into Israel by armed groups affiliated with Hamas and other Palestinian factions, which continued to launch a barrage of indiscriminate attacks against Israeli civilian centres throughout the duration of the campaign.

By the time unilateral ceasefires were announced by both Israel and Hamas on 18 January 2009, some 1,400 Palestinians had been killed, including some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians. Large areas of Gaza had been razed to the ground, leaving many thousands homeless and the already dire economy in ruins. Three Israeli civilians had been killed and scores of homes in southern Israel damaged.

Much of the destruction in the Gaza Strip was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects as well as indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilian objects. Such attacks violated fundamental provisions of international humanitarian law, notably the prohibition on direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects (the principle of distinction), the prohibition on indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and the prohibition on collective punishment.

To date, five months after the end of Operation "Cast Lead", the Israeli authorities have failed to establish any independent and impartial investigation into the conduct of their forces and actively oppose any such investigations being established.

They have rejected the findings of a UN Board of Inquiry, which investigated nine attacks on UN facilities and personnel during Operation "Cast Lead". They have also refused to co-operate with and to grant access to the country to an international independent fact-finding mission set up by the UN Human Rights Council and headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, undermining its ability to fulfil its mission.

Hamas has allowed the fact-finding mission to conduct fieldwork in the Gaza Strip and has met with the mission's team, which accessed the territory from Egypt.

Amnesty International calls on the Israeli authorities to co-operate fully with the international independent fact-finding mission established by the UN Human Rights Council, led by Richard Goldstone; and with other international investigations into violations of international law by all the parties to the conflict.

Lithuanian parliament must vote against homophobic law

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:09:46 +0000

The final vote on a law that would prohibit the discussion of homosexuality in Lithuanian schools takes place on Thursday 11 June.

The proposed measure, which received overwhelming approval by the Lithuanian parliament last week, would ban any reference to homosexuality in public information that can be viewed by children.

Amnesty International condemned the vote by the Seimas (the Lithuanian parliament), saying that the amendment institutionalizes homophobia and violates the right to freedom of expression and the right to be free from discrimination.

On 2 June 2009, 57 parliamentarians voted in favour of the law, two against and eight abstained.

The proposed amendment goes against the joint statement that Lithuania signed at the UN General Assembly in December 2008, which reaffirmed that human rights apply equally to every human being regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Nepal must commit to ending impunity

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:32:26 +0000

As part of a national campaign to ensure justice, truth and reparations in Nepal, Amnesty International has called on the government to commit to ending impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In 2006, Nepal's parliament unanimously adopted a resolution urging the government to ratify the Rome Statute. However, no action was taken.

On 11 February 2009, the Minister of Foreign Affairs submitted the issue of ratification to the cabinet. Civil society organizations welcomed the decision and urged the government to support it - by submitting it to parliament for approval. Disappointingly, however, the then Minister of the Interior told Amnesty International that the cabinet would not approve ratification until it had consulted informally with all political parties.

Since that meeting, the Maoist Prime Minister resigned his office and a new government is in the process of being established following parliament’s election of Unified Marxist-Leninist Party leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, as Prime Minister.

Amnesty International is concerned that the refusal of the previous government to allow for a transparent discussion in parliament and the recent political changes will result in continued delays in ratifying the Rome Statute, which has already been on hold for almost three years.

Amnesty International is calling in the new government to support ratification and submit the issue to parliament as soon as possible.

Support jailed Iranian-American journalist

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:52:43 +0000

Roxana Saberi will spend her 32nd birthday in prison in Iran. The journalist, who was born in the USA but has lived in Iran for the past six years, was sentenced to eight years in prison this month after being convicted as a spy.

Amnesty International believes she is a prisoner of conscience and has called for her immediate and unconditional release. Her father, Reza, said his daughter was tricked into making a confession after being told by investigators she would be set free if she co-operated.

She was arrested on 31 January and was initially accused of the less serious offence of buying alcohol. On 18 April, she was convicted of "espionage" after a closed trial.

Roxana Saberi's arrest, trial and heavy sentence suggest that she is held as a pawn to to the ongoing political developments between Iran and the USA.

France must do more for victims of police ill-treatment

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:37:37 +0000

Allegations of human rights violations by police officers in France include racist abuse, excessive use of force, beatings and unlawful killings. But cases arising from complaints of police ill-treatment are all too frequently closed without investigation.

Judges and prosecutors work with the police every day so they are inclined to believe their testimonies. Individuals who lodge a complaint often find themselves charged with defamation or insulting a police officer. Internal disciplinary investigations are not independent or impartial, meaning the odds are stacked against complainants.

Amnesty International has demanded action for a fairer system and called for the CNDS (Commission Nationale de Déontologie de la Sécurité) or the future Defender of Rights, if it takes on this role, to have the necessary powers to ensure fair and effective investigations.

Zimbabwe must drop the charges against former prisoners of conscience

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:37:03 +0000

Prisoners of conscience Jestina Mukoko and Broderick Takawira were released on 2 March and 28 February respectively, after months in detention following their enforced disappearances in early December 2008.

Both were victims of enforced disappearance, unlawful arrest, detention, and torture by state security agents. They were released on bail after each paying US$600, surrendering their passports and depositing surety of at least US$20,000 in title deeds. They will be reporting twice a week at their nearest police station.

While Amnesty International is relieved that these human rights defenders were released, it remains concerned that they they were arrested and detained purely as a result of their legitimate human rights work.

Following their release, Amnesty International is calling on the Attorney General to remove all the conditions around the release of these prisoners of conscience and immediately drop the charges against them.

Jestina Mukoko and Broderick Takawira were among approximately 30 human rights defenders and political activists who were the victims of enforced disappearance and unlawful detention. Some are being accused by the state of recruiting people to undergo military training in Botswana. Others are being accused of bombing police stations in Harare and a railway line. They deny the charges.

Picture caption: Jestina Mukoko of the Zimbabwe Peace Project was released in March after months in detention. Copyright: Zimbabwe Peace Project.

Greece: Investigate the attack of trade union leader

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:36:56 +0000

Konstantina Kuneva, a Bulgarian migrant worker and trade union leader received extensive injuries when she was attacked on 22 December 2008 in the Greek capital, Athens. The attack is allegedly connected with her trade union activities, and followed an escalation of tension between Kuneva and her employers.

As a result of the attack in which two men threw sulphuric acid in her face, Konstantina Kuneva has lost the total vision in one eye, and is left with partial vision in the other. Her vocal chords were also seriously damaged. She remained in a comatose state for several days and continues to be hospitalized.

Konstantina Kuneva, who worked as a historian in Bulgaria, came to Greece in 2001 to earn money to pay for her son’s medical treatment. While working as a cleaner, she participated in trade union activities, demanding basic rights for workers, and eventually became Secretary General of the Attica Union of Cleaners and Domestic Workers.

On various occasions, Konstantina Kuneva criticized the practices reportedly used by employers to exploit workers, including delays in payment of salaries and lack of payment of workers’ social insurance, many of whom are migrants. After taking up the post as leader of the trade union, she received a number of threatening anonymous phone calls. The trade union has reported that workers who stand up for their rights are threatened and reassigned to jobs under even more unfavourable conditions.

An official criminal investigation by the police is now underway though the initial findings of the investigation suggest that it is neither thorough nor objective. Amnesty International is concerned that the initial phase of the investigation focussed on irrelevant details of Konstantina’s private life and failed to take into consideration her trade union activities as a possible motive for the attack.

The Greek Government must ensure that a thorough and impartial investigation into the attack on Konstantina Kuneva takes place.

Afghan government must take firm action to protect women human rights defenders

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:53:27 +0000

“I am receiving death threats and there was an attempt to kidnap my nine-year old son…The people who were threatening me were clearly saying that I should close the shelter for women at risk and if I don’t I will see the circumstances.” - Shahla, a women’s human rights defender who runs a shelter for women at risk of domestic and sexual violence and forced marriage.

The October 2001 US-led international intervention to oust the oppressive Taleban regime was accompanied by a pledge by the Afghan government to protect women’s human rights and promote gender equity in Afghanistan, but eight years on the condition of Afghan women remains bleak as Shahla’s predicament testifies.

There have been some advances in respect for women’s rights since the fall of the Taleban, notably through the establishment of the Ministry for Women’s affairs, a constitution that grants women equal status to men, improved access to education and representation of women in parliament. But Afghan women and girls still face endemic violence, including domestic violence, abduction and rape by armed individuals, trafficking, forced marriages, including ever younger child marriages, and being traded in settlement of disputes and debts.

A small number of brave women human rights defenders dare challenge the status of women and promote human rights through a variety of activities such as reporting abuses by local warlords, running safe houses, raising awareness of child and forced marriages and providing education programmes and family planning services.

These courageous women frequently face intimidation and attacks, particularly by powerful elements in society, some of them members of the government, others allied with the Taleban and other anti-government forces. In some cases, these women even suffer attacks from their family members who may be politically opposed or embarrassed by their outspokenness. In many instances women human rights defenders have faced death threats and kidnapping attempts against themselves and their families, as well as physical attacks, including acid attacks. Some have fled the country while others have been killed for raising their voice.

In 2007, Zakia Zaki, director of Radio Peace in Parwan province and known to be vocal against warlords, was shot dead while sleeping aside her two young sons. Zaki had previously received several death threats after criticising local warlords and the Taleban. No one to date has been brought to justice for this terrible crime.

Laila, a human rights defender working on justice for victims of war crimes told Amnesty International: "Since 2007, I have been under systematic pressure by unknown people who were calling me, sending me emails, following me and threatening to kill me. During the first six months of 2008, there were at least two kidnapping attempts on my children on their way home from school."

A lack of political will, together with discrimination against women in both the formal and informal justice systems, reinforces a climate of impunity and entrenches cultural attitudes and abusive practices that repress women’s rights. The police, the courts and local jirgas (tribal councils) seldom address women’s complaints and perpetrators are rarely brought to justice for attacking women or violating their rights.

Although Afghanistan has signed the Convention on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Constitution guarantees equal rights for women and men, the government – along with the international community that provides some 90% of Afghanistan’s income for public spending – has failed to ensure that the human rights of all Afghan women and girls are respected, protected and fulfilled.

As a genuine step to advance the status of Afghan women, the government must take immediate and effective measures to ensure that human rights defenders are able to play their vital role in promoting and protecting human rights in Afghanistan, without the fear of violence or intimidation.

To mark International Women's Day, take action to demand that women human rights defenders are properly protected in Afghanistan.

Call on the Government of Venezuela to protect women’s rights

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:10:05 +0000

In Venezuela, thousands of women suffer physical, sexual or mental abuse by members of their families. In 2007 alone, 4,484 women called the helpline set up by the National Institute of Women’s Affairs asking for help. Many more women are too scared to report violence.

The Venezuelan authorities have taken positive steps towards eradicating domestic violence by introducing in March 2007 the Organic law on the rights of women to a life free of violence. The law is a valuable tool to strengthen women’s access to their rights, and has the potential to produce real improvements in the life of thousands of women.

Nonetheless, while passing the law was a welcome step, its implementation has been far from satisfactory. As a consequence, many women continue to suffer from violence, finding themselves unable to escape the situations they are in or report the violence. Abuses remain behind closed doors and perpetrators often go unpunished.

One of the main problems hampering the eradication of domestic violence is the lack of shelters, as women who face violence can find themselves with nowhere to turn for protection. The 2007 law recognizes that the Venezuelan authorities are responsible for ensuring that women fleeing from abusive relationships are properly protected.

However, there are only two shelters run by national authorities for victims of violence to cater for Venezuela's population of over 10 million women. There's an urgent need for more shelters now.

Furthermore, in order to stop domestic violence, women must be able to report abuse with confidence. They must count on a police force that supports and advises survivors, enforces protection measures and investigates allegations of domestic violence.

Unfortunately, this is not the case in Venezuela, as women told Amnesty International how they have been discouraged from reporting by intrusive, judgemental and inappropriate questioning by police and have been made to feel that their complaints were trivial.

Law enforcement officials must be educated on legislation and trained how to deal with cases of domestic violence. The 2007 law makes the government, and the Ministry of the Interior and Justice in particular, responsible for providing such training. However, to date, the number of training programmes set up has been insufficient and have not reached most police officers responsible for dealing with complaints of domestic violence.

Sign the petition and demand that the Government of Venezuela takes urgent steps to protect women's rights!

Release all prisoners of conscience in Zimbabwe

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:11:49 +0000

Prominent Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) politician Roy Bennett was arrested at an airport in Harare on Friday 13 January, by police officers from the Law and Order Section of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. He is being held at Mutare Prison.

Amnesty International believes that Roy Bennett was arrested and detained purely as a result of exercising his internationally guaranteed right to freedom of association and is considered to be a prisoner of conscience (POC). The organisation has therefore called for his immediate and unconditional release.

The arrest and detention of Roy Bennett follows the abduction and subsequent arrest and detention of at least 27 other human rights and MDC activists, including Jestina Mukoko and Broderick Takawira, who remain in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison months after they were abducted. The MDC-T claims that about 11 of their members are also missing.

Amnesty International believes that Jestina Mukoko and Broderick Takawira were arrested and detained purely as a result of their legitimate human rights work, and considers them to be POCs. The organisation has repeatedly called for their immediate and unconditional release.

The other detainees detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison are also believed to be potential POCs. Amnesty International has called on the Zimbabwean authorities to ensure that all known and unknown political detainees are promptly charged with recognizable crimes in accordance with international fair trial standards, or are released immediately.

Police in Bulawayo also arrested ten activists on 14 February after they participated in a peaceful protest. Seven women from the activist organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and three men from Radio Dialogue, a non-profit making community radio station, were held at Bulawayo Central police station. One of the women in custody was a breast-feeding mother and was separated from her child.

Lawyers were initially denied access to the detainees. Though all of the detainees had been released by 17 February, Amnesty International believes that all ten activists were arrested for exercising their internationally guaranteed rights to peaceful protest and that they were prisoners of conscience.

Besides violating international human rights law treaties to which Zimbabwe is a state party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the arrest and detention of human rights defenders and political activists is in breach of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the political parties in September 2008. The GPA explicitly recognises the rights to free political activity, assembly and association.

Following the signing of a power-sharing agreement in September 2008, the Zimbabwean constitution was amended by parliament on 5 February to create way for the establishment of a unity government.

In February, the parties also created the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), which is responsible for monitoring and implementing the GPA. The JOMIC is composed of four senior members from ZANU-PF and four senior members from each of the two MDC formations. The Committee is co-chaired by people from the each of the parties. As part of its duties, the Committee is bound to receive reports and complaints in respect of any issue related to the implementation, enforcement and execution of the GPA and to consider steps which might need to be taken to ensure its speedy and full implementation.

Picture caption: Jestina Mukoko of the Zimbabwe Peace Project has been detained since she was abducted months ago. Copyright: Zimbabwe Peace Project.

Picture caption: Zimbabwean Prime Minster, Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe at the power sharing signing ceremony in Harare, 15 September 2008. Copyright AP/PA.