AI Index: NWS 11/60/93

Distr: SC/PO

No. of words: 1590

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Amnesty International

International Secretariat

1 Easton Street

London WC1X 8DJ

United Kingdom

TO: PRESS OFFICERS

FROM: PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS

DATE: 14 JUNE 1993

WEEKLY UPDATE SERVICE 60/93

Contained in this weekly update are two external items on UN World Conference and an external item on Nicaragua.

Please note: Just to alert you to a new document on Uzbekistan being issued by the Research Department - there is no media initiative to go with it and it will not be sent to international media. However, it was sent in last week's weekly mailing called: Uzbekistan: Clampdown on dissent, AI Index: EUR 62/09/93, in case you receive any queries.

NEWS INITIATIVES

INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELEASES

UN WORLD CONFERENCE-RELATED NEWS INITIATIVES ONLY THROUGHOUT JUNE

**WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS**(New Information)

PLEASE NOTE: New fax number appears to be working at Press Office in Vienna: +43 222 219 35221 - will keep you posted on changes.

ALSO PLEASE NOTE: Statement included in this weekly update given out to media this morning about the Nobel laureates boycotting the opening ceremonies of the UN World Conf - was sent as urgent note to Press Officers earlier.

Pierre Sané is also making a speech this afternoon at the Patchwork event - see above-mentioned item for details. This speech will be faxed to us when ready and we will send out to you.

The second and third ENRs for the World Conference; Challenge to Governments, (Ref: 1838) and AI Activities Compilation, (Ref: 1840) are ready. Please order copies and refer journalists for copies from: Dubbs Copying House, giving the correct video reference number (as above) on Tel: +44 71 629 0055 or Fax: +44 71 287 8796.

Amnesty International's press office in Vienna will be based at AI's tent outside the Austria Centre and will be open for 24 hours each day. Telephone: +43 1 219 3572/3573. Fax: +43 1 219 3574.

AI's press team will be staying at Pension Dr Geissler, Postgasse 14, 1010 Vienna. Telephone: +43 1 533 2803.

The strategy team in Vienna will report developments to sections via the IS press office to section press officers. Can press officers ensure that this information is circulated to the relevant people in their section.

General enquiries from press officers should go to Paula and James at the IS Press Office, on Tel: +44 71 413 5562/5810.

**Annual Report - 0006 hrs gmt, 8 July**(New Information)

PLEASE NOTE: It is VERY important that the annual report news release does not get leaked to the media over the next two weeks - in view of the pessimistic reference to the UN World Conference. Please be careful not to let it be seen by too many people until after the World Conference is over.

Annual Report Summaries, Regional Updates, ENR and news release have all been sent to you.

Indonesia (Aceh) - 28 July

Document and news release to go with action on massive numbers of political killings.

TARGETED AND LIMITED NEWS RELEASES

Saudi Arabia - 1 July

A weekly update item is being written to go with the document: Saudi Arabia: An Upsurge in Public Executions, AI Index: MDE 23/04/93. The document and weekly update item will be embargoed for 1 July and will be sent out to selected international media by the IS Press Office. Please note that the document has been sent out in the weekly mailing.

Weekly Update NWS 11/60/93

2. IOR 41/WU 10/93 EXTERNAL

14 June 1993

PEACE PRIZE WINNERS BOYCOTT OPENING OF WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The Nobel Laureates decided to boycott the opening ceremony of the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights because of the exclusion of one of their members, the Dalai Lama.

Pierre Sané, Secretary General of Amnesty International and one of the Nobel Laureates, refused to enter the Austria Centre as a Nobel Laureate, and made the following statement:

"Is this the message the United Nations World Conference wants to send to the world this morning?

"Is this what is meant by a commitment to human rights - that a man of peace like the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is forbidden entry?

"The Conference has set the wrong tone this morning. We are appalled by this decision and are proud to join the Nobel Laureates boycott."

___________________________________________________________________________

Note to editors:

Monday 14 June, 1430 hrs. In the Stephansplatz, Vienna: Amnesty International Secretary General, Pierre Sané, will respond to the opening speeches of the UN Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, this afternoon at the launch of a major event at Stephansplatz.

The event represents the support of thousands of people from all over the world for Amnesty International's demands at the World Conference.

Amnesty International members will be presenting thousands of hexagon-shaped postcards, which will form the world's largest postcard patchwork and will feature the faces of people around the world.

Transportation will be provided at the front of the Austria Centre at 1400 hrs. Return from Stephansplatz by 1530 hrs.

For further information or interviews, please contact the Amnesty International Press Office in Vienna, Tel: +43 222 219 3572/3573.

Weekly Update NWS 11/60/93

3. IOR 41/WU 11/93 EXTERNAL FOR RESPONSE

14 June 1993

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY GENERAL CHALLENGES GOVERNMENTS TO MATCH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO) PROGRESS AT THE WORLD CONFERENCE

At the close of the Non-Governmental Forum of the United Nations (UN) World Conference on Human Rights, Amnesty International Secretary General Pierre Sané outlined progress made during the three days of the Forum:

"The Forum has been a success - 1,400 non-governmental organizations came together and worked hard to agree a set of concrete proposals. We have planted the seeds for a human rights movement that is truly diverse. Universality has been discussed in the context of the World Conference, the NGO's have demonstrated how it works in practical terms.

"Governments attending the Conference now have a yardstick by which to judge their own progress ... we challenge them to match our achievements in the 15 days that follow."

The proposals agreed by the Forum relate to women, indigenous peoples, rights of the child, and social and economic issues. The time is now right, according to Sané, for NGOs and governments to start a process to integrate all these rights.

After the conference in Vienna the NGOs will be meeting within six months to review their progress.

Weekly Update NWS 11/60/93

4. AMR 43/WU 01/93 EXTERNAL

14 June 1993

NICARAGUA: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED BY SUMMARY DEPORTATION OF THREE NICARAGUAN CITIZENS TO SPAIN

Amnesty International has written to the Minister of Interior in Nicaragua protesting at the summary expulsion on 30 May of three Nicaraguan citizens: Javier Larreategui Cuadra, Sebastián Etxaniz and Francisco Azpiazu. All three are former Spanish citizens of Basque origin who were granted Nicaraguan citizenship.

They had been detained on 25 May in Managua in connection with an explosion of arms two days earlier in the Santa Rosa district of the capital. After the three men had been held by police beyond the legal limit of 72 hours, by which time a detainee must be brought before a judge or released, their relatives presented a petition of habeas corpuson their behalf. On 29 May the Managua judge dealing with the habeas corpus petition ordered that they be released from custody and that they remain in Nicaraguan territory (orden de arraigo).

However, the three men were deported to Spain on 30 May, in contravention of the judge's order and in violation of the international standards which prohibit the sending of any person to a country where they may risk being subjected to serious human rights violations. They were denied access to a judicial hearing to rule on the legality of the decision to deport them.

Amnesty International was concerned that they might be at risk of torture or ill-treatment in police custody in Spain because they were accused of serious crimes linked with the activities of the armed Basque group, Euskadi Ta Askatsuna(ETA). Persons detained under anti-terrorist legislation in Spain may be held incommunicado for up to five days.

Amnesty International has been concerned for many years about the use of incommunicado detention and other special powers used by judges of the Audiencia Nacional(National Court) in Spain. In April, Amnesty International published a report summarizing its concerns about torture and ill-treatment in Spain. Some of the cases reported were of detainees held incommunicado under the anti-terrorist legislation.

In cases where people accused under the anti-terrorist legislation are under threat of expulsion or extradition Amnesty International asks that the government which carries out the expulsion obtain guarantees for the physical well-being of the detainee from the Spanish authorities. It asks that the person be handed over immediately to the Audiencia Nacional, responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the case, without first being subjected to incommunicado detention by the security forces.

In its letter of 3 June 1993, Amnesty International asked the Minister of Interior to inform it of the measures taken by the Nicaraguan government to guarantee that the three men would not be subjected to ill-treatment on Spanish territory before being handed over to the Spanish security forces. It also asked what measures were taken to protect their personal safety during the time they were held incommunicado in Madrid. The organization also asked to be informed of any measures being taken in Nicaragua to verify why the men were deported on 30 May despite the judicial order freeing them issued on 29 May in Managua by the judge dealing with the habeas corpuspetition. The judge later confirmed that the contents of his order had been given directly to the police.

Amnesty International has since learned that the three men were transferred to prison in Madrid under judicial investigation after being held incommunicado in police custody for the maximum limit of five days and that they were not physically ill-treated. However, the detainees claimed that they were subjected to continuous threats and other psychological pressures.