UN Immunity for Srebrenica Massacre Upheld

UN Immunity for Srebrenica Massacre Upheld

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A Dutch appellate court ruled today that the United Nations has immunity against claims brought by family members of genocide victims for failure to protect Bosnians during the notorious Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

Mothers of Srebrenica, the victims’ rights group suing on behalf of family members of the victims, brought the claim in 2007. The allegation was that Dutch troops sent by the UN to protect the Srebrenica safe haven in Bosnia during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War failed to protect the 8,000 some Muslim boys and men killed during the massacre.

Mothers of Srebrenica argued that the UN and Netherlands should be held responsible, particularly emphasizing UN responsibility for failing to adequately assess the forces necessary to prevent genocide. In fact, the United Nations has admitted error in handling the Srebrenica episode, confessing in 1999 that it expected the small force of 100 troops to be effective in preventing genocide.

In holding that the UN had immunity from prosecution, the court affirmed a 2008 Dutch trial court decision that held that “in international law and practice, the absolute immunity of the UN is the norm and is respected.” The court on Tuesday emphasized that UN immunity is a principle implied in both the UN’s founding conventions and in essential for UN peacekeeping missions going forward.

The decision indicates that the court was sympathetic to the fact “that the mothers and their relatives have suffered atrocities”, but noted that the interests in favor UN immunity outweighed the interests in redressing these wrongs. The court said that the victims can seek further redress against the Netherlands, however.

Axel Hagedorn, an attorney for Mothers, felt that the court should have submitted the case to the European Court of Justice for further deliberation. He told the press that the case extends “far beyond the interest of the Mothers of Srebrenica. This case is all about fundamental European rights.” As such, Mr. Hagedorn said that Mothers will appeal the decision seek redress against the UN from the ECJ.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Court: Srebrenica women cannot sue U.N. – 30 March 2010

DUTCH NEWS – Dutch court upholds UN Srebrenica immunity – 30 March 2010

RADIO NETHERLANDS – Dutch court upholds UN, Dutch immunity in Srebrenica case – 30 March 2010

Unsafe Mining Practices in China Leave Over 123 Dead

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – On Sunday, 28 March 2010, more than 123 mine workers died after being trapped underground when a leak in a coalmine caused water to surge into the mine. Reports indicate that there were 261 miners working when water started to flood the coalmine. Only 138 were able to be lifted to safety. Despite efforts by rescuers, the other remaining workers died. The cause of the flooding is still under government investigation.

 Wangjialing mine, located in the Shanxi province, and lies between Xiangning county and the city of Hejin The mine covers an area of around 180 sq km (about 70 sq miles) near the heavily polluted mining hub of Linfen. It is also affiliated to state-owned Huajin Coking Coal Co. Ltd., which is a major government-approved project, expected to produce about 6 million tons of coal a year once in full operation.

Experts reviewing the accident theorize that it could have been the result of workers breaking into the old shafts or pits of derelict mines that had filled with water. David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government, stated, “It could be that they broke into old workings, works that were not properly mapped out. That’s a common problem with flooding, and Shanxi is an area where they have very extensive mining, a lot of old mines.”

Accidents like that of Wangjialing are not unique in China. Even though China’s mine safety record has improved in recent years, it is still the world’s worst, with blasts and other accidents remain common. China’s work safety administration indicates that 2,631 people died in coal mine accidents in 2009. The cause is many of these accidents is due to relaxed safety methods and poor training. Further, the demand for coal to fuel the country’s strong economic growth also encourages mine operators to open some especially dangerous mines illegally or flout official rules.

 Many of those who die belong to China’s growing underclass. They are desperately impoverished boys and men from rural villages. There are presently no unions, and regulatory safety checks on mine safety continues to be minimal, placing the many workers who seek employment as miners at high risk.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Flood in unfinished China coal mine – 29 March 2010

New York Times Rescuers Struggle to Free 153 Chinese Miners – 29 March 2010

Associated PressFlood traps 153 coal miners in northern China – 29 March 2010

Mexico: Man Arrested Then Found Dead

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch reporter – North America desk

MONTERREY, Mexico – An alleged drug cartel boss was on the front page of the Mexico’s newspapers.  He was arrested after a shootout between law enforcement and drug cartel hitmen.  The man was photographed alive while being transferred to a truck from Mexican marines helicopter surrounded by masked soldiers.  The following day, a photograph of a man with similar facial features was taken, but the man was dead and wrapped in a blanket on the side of the road.

Courtesy of L.A. Times News
Courtesy of L.A. Times News

A women identified the man in the pictures as her 26-year-old Jose Humberto Marquez Compean

Neither the law enforcement nor the military will say they know how Marquez Compean died. The military indicated they only helped local law enforcement during the operation that lead to the arrest, while the local law enforcement stated they did not seek assistance from the military.   Santa Catarina security chief, Raul Castillo said “I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything.  That’s my position.”

The presumed widow of Marquez Compean demands justice, but resolving drug-related deaths remains an elusive task for law enforcement generally.

Human Rights Watch reported human rights violations by the military in the “war on drugs” such as unpunished torture, killings and arbitrary detentions.   Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, called for social and economic relief to fight the drug cartels as well as the military.

For more information please see:

Atlanta Journal Constitution – Mexico: Widow IDs slain husband as arrested man – 24 March 2010

L.A. Times News – Mexico: One day troops have him in custody; the next day he’s dead – 24 March 2010

Iran Charges Iranian-American Scholar

Haleh Esfandiari was prevented from returning to the US in December 2006, arrested on May 8, and recently accused of working to disrupt Iranian sovereignty.  Esfandiari, who holds both Iranian and American citizenship, works as the director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, in Washington DC.  Part of her job includes planning conferences for Iranian leaders, civil, academic, and governmental, in the US on issues involving Iran.  Last December, while en route to the Tehran airport, her luggage, which held both passports, was confiscated; effectively preventing her from leaving the country.  Since December 2006 and her arrest in early May 2007, Esfandiari was repeatedly interrogated and denied access to legal counsel.  In addition to Dr. Esfandiari, two other Iranian-Americans (Ali Shakeri and Kian Tajbakhsh) are in currently in Iranian prison and a fourth, Parnaz Azima, had her passport confiscated and as a result she is prevented from leaving Iran.

There are various theories as to why Iran is currently detaining four Iran-American citizens.  First,  that the hard-liners in the Iranian government are hoping to derail US-Iranian talks regarding the war in Iraq.  Second, that the Iranian government hopes to use the detainees as leverage to negotiate a prisoner trade to guarantee the release of the five Iranians arrested in northern Iraq in early January 2007.  Regardless to the reason behind Esfandiari’s and the other Iranian-Americans’ detentions, analysts agree that there is no rational basis and that the detainees should be released.

For more information, please see:

CNN:  “Iranian-American political prisoners” 25 May 2007.

Human Rights Watch:  “Iran: Another Iranian-American Scholar Detained” 24 May 2007.

CNN:  “Iran imprisons 4th Iranian-American” 23 May 2007.

NY Times:  “Iran Accuses American of Revolution Plot” 22 May 2007.

BBC:  “Iran accuses US-Iranian scholar” 22 May 2007.

BBC:  “US-Iranian academic detained in Iran” 9 May 2007.

Press Release: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center Releases Report on Iran’s 1988 Massacre of Thousands of Political Prisoners

29 August 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2009

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT – The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) today released a report documenting and analyzing the Iranian government’s massacre of political prisoners during the summer of 1988. Much of the material presented in the report, Deadly Fatwa: Iran’s 1988 Massacre, is the result of interviews conducted by IHRDC with survivors and family members of victims.

In late July 1988, pursuant to a fatwa issued by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian government began systematically interrogating, torturing and summarily executing thousands of political prisoners. The interrogations of prisoners who supported leftist parties began twenty-one years ago today. Although the exact number of victims is not known, thousands of prisoners were tortured and executed over the course of only a few months.

The victims included prisoners who had served their sentences but had refused to recant their political beliefs, prisoners who were serving sentences of imprisonment, people who had been detained for lengthy periods but had not been convicted, and former prisoners who were rearrested. Many families were never informed about the executions and many of the victims were buried in unmarked mass graves. Families who received the remains of their loved ones were not allowed to hold funeral services and, to this day, are forbidden from mourning their loss. The government recently bulldozed a mass grave site at Khavaran Cemetery in Tehran .

The Iranian government has never identified those who were secretly executed and tortured, and has never issued an explanation for this crime. However, many of the men who were responsible for the massacre continue to hold positions of power in the Iranian government.

Deadly Fatwa: Iran ’s 1988 Massacre, is available in English on IHRDC’s website www.iranhrdc.org. A Persian translation of the report will be available this fall.

IHRDC is a nonprofit organization based in New Haven , Connecticut that was founded in 2004 by a group of human rights scholars, activists, and historians. Its staff of human rights lawyers and researchers produce comprehensive and detailed reports on the human rights situation in Iran since the 1979 revolution. The Center’s goal is to encourage an informed dialogue among scholars and the general public in both Iran and abroad. The human rights reports and a database of documents relating to human rights in Iran are available to the public for research and educational purposes on the Center’s website.

For further information, please contact:

Renee C. Redman, IHRDC Executive Director, (203) 772-2218 Ext. 215 rredman@iranhrdc.org