UN Backs More Troops to Central African Republic

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic – The UN believes at least 10,000 troops will eventually be required to end unrest in Central African Republic (CAR), the French UN envoy said.

A French peacekeeping soldier searches a man for weapons (photo courtesy of Yahoo!)

Yesterday, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution allowing European troops to use force and threatening sanctions against those blamed for the country’s strife.

The European Union is to send up to 600 troops to help African and French forces in the country to try and end clashes between rival Christian and Muslim militias.

Almost one million people (a quarter of the population) have been displaced by fighting since the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel group seized power in March last year in the majority Christian country. At least 2,000 people have been killed.

The African Union force is eventually intended to reach 6,000 troops while France now has 1,600 soldiers in place.

The UN resolution also allows for asset freeze and travel ban sanctions against the ringleaders of groups blamed for massacres and human rights abuses. It did not name initial targets.

Ambassador Gerard Araud described the situation in CAR as “very, very dire.”

Araud said the African Union force in the country, intending to reach 6,000 troops, “is considered now too low because frankly the situation is very, very dire and the country is huge.”

He said the resolution was a “new stage” in efforts to help CAR out of the strife in which thousands are feared killed and more than 900,000 people have fled their homes.

Security council members have been alarmed by the vicious cycle of vengeance between Muslim and Christian militias in CAR, said the BBC’s Nada Tawfik in New York.

The United Nations had warned that the conflict in the landlocked former French colony could spiral into genocide.

CAR’s interim President Catherine Samba-Panza said on Tuesday that she had written to the UN to call for the African peacekeeping force to be transformed into a larger UN operation. She said the violence had continued despite the presence of African and French forces.

“It means that the number of troops is insufficient to restore and ensure security for the population,” she said.

On Monday, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said the situation was getting even worse despite the inauguration of a new leader last week.

A day after reports, at least 13 people were killed. Eleven people were killed in the violence on Tuesday and 26 others were wounded.

“It’s really quite a challenge because there is an incredible amount of resentment and hatred between the two communities,” Aurad said.

He also said that transforming the African force into a UN operation would bring guaranteed funding and an experienced civilian component to help rebuild CAR’s state institutions, which have basically disintegrated.

CAR is rich in gold and diamonds but years of unrest and poor governance have left most of its 4.6 million people in poverty.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Central African Republic: UN ‘may need 10,000 troops’ – 28 January 2014
The Peninsula – UN backs EU force, sanctions in Central Africa – 29 January 2014
Yahoo! News – Central African Republic wants U.N. force as EU troops OKed – 28 January 2014
AFP – UN backs EU force in Central Africa amid troops push – 28 January 2014
Japan Today – U.N. backs EU force in Central African Republic – 29 January 2014
The Guardian – UN backs force, sanctions in Central Africa Republic – 28 January 2014

 

Morsi Faces Trial for 2011 Prison Break

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt’s overthrown President, Mohamed Morsi, appeared in court in Cairo on Tuesday to face charges stemming from a 2011 prison break. Morsi is accused of organizing a large-scale breakout from the Wadi al-Natrun prison and the subsequent murders of police officers during the jailbreak.

Morsi and the other defendants appeared in a glass cage in order to keep them from interrupting the proceedings. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Morsi is also accused of colluding with foreign forces, Hamas and Hezbollah, to plan and execute the prison break. Members of both organizations are on trial with Morsi for charges relating to the event. In total another 130 individuals are on trial for the prison break events, but many of them remain on the run.

The prison break was one of a number that occurred during the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. During the 2011 revolution more than 20,000 inmates escaped from Egyptian prisons.

Morsi and the other defendants are appearing in a sound-proof glass box surrounded by a cage for the duration of the trial. At one point, journalists were given the chance to hear what was going on in the glass cage.

The defendants were heard chanting “Down with military rule” and the judge quickly cut off the sound. The defendants also made the four-finger “Rabaa” protest sign, which is linked to the pro-Morsi Rabaa al-Adawiya square protest camp that was cleared in August.

At one point Morsi demanded to know the identity of the court’s judge to which the judge replied, “I’m the head of the criminal court.” Additionally, Morsi shouted a handful of statements at the court that maintained he was still the President and that the conditions of his imprisonment were unsuitable.

There were pro-government crowds outside the courthouse, but no pro-Morsi supporters. The Muslim Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist organization and it is now illegal to show any public support for the Brotherhood or Morsi.

The trial was adjourned until February 22. Morsi currently facing four different criminal trials on separate charges some of which are punishable by death.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Morsi faces court over Egypt prison break – 28 January 2013

BBC – Egypt ex-President Morsi defiant at jailbreak trial – 28 January 2013

New York Times – Egypt Locks Morsi in Soundproof Cage During Trial – 28 January 2013

USA Today – Ousted Egypt leader shouts at judge during trial – 28 January 2013

Mexican Government Legalizes Vigilantes

By Brandon R. Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – After months of implicit cooperation with rural vigilantes, the Mexican government formally signed an agreement today, which will allow the vigilantes to gain legal status.

In today’s agreement, Mexican vigilantes will legally join forces with the Mexican Military (Photo Courtesy: The Guardian).

Under the agreement, the vigilantes, or so called “self-defense groups” will be temporarily incorporated into the Rural Defense Corps and will be subject to regulation by the Organic Law of the Mexican Army and Air Force.  In incorporating with the Corps, the vigilantes will “cooperate with the troops activities being carried when they are asked to.”

Additionally, this agreement allows the vigilantes to join municipal police forces, which will allow them to protect their communities.  Prior to joining such forces, however, the vigilantes must be approved by the applicable city council.

The vigilantes must submit a list of their members to the Defense Department.  The vigilantes, who are heavily armed, may keep their weapons, provided that they register their weapons with the Defense Secretary prior to their individual incorporation.  The military will, however, give the groups “all the means necessary for communications, operations and movement.”

Though the government has admirable goals in solving the nation’s security problems, the legalization of the vigilantes comes with plenty of risks.  For example, consider that the government must enforce military discipline and instill respect for human rights and due process among more than 20,000 heavily armed civilians, then eventually disband them and send them back home.”  Instilling such respect is likely to prove difficult, as the Mexican Army itself has been accused of human right abuses during the current “war against organized crime.”

Furthermore, in other Latin American countries were vigilantes were legalized, the vigilantes morphed into state-backed militias, which carried out “widespread human rights abuses [such as] mass killings.”  For example in Guatemala, thousands of deaths were attributed to the army-backed Peasant Self Defense Patrols during the country’s civil war.  Claudia Samayoa, a human rights activist in Guatemala, said that this “cure is going to be worse than the disease” and that “it would be better not to go down that road, and instead strengthen law enforcement and the justice and public safety systems.”

However, there is optimism in such an arrangement, as the vigilantes, prior to legalization, “have seized a dozen towns terrorized by extortion, killings and rapes at the hands of the cartel’s gunmen.”  Additionally, the vigilantes are mostly pro-government and are dedicated to “ fighting against kidnapping, violence, and extortion by the cartels.”

 

For more information, please see the following:

AP News – Mexican Vigilante Legalization Plan Carries Risks – 28 Jan. 2014

Fox News Latino – Mexican Gov’t Signs Agreement With Vigilante Groups – 28 Jan. 2014 

Guardian Liberty Voice – Mexico – Three Sided Vigilante Standoff – 28 Jan. 2014 

Al Jazeera –Mexico Legalizes Vigilantes – 27 Jan. 2014 

 

WCRO: New WCRO Report Examines Obtaining Victim Status for Purposes of Participating in Proceedings at the International Criminal Court

Washington, DC January 27, 2014 —The War Crimes Research Office (WCRO) launches a new report on the International Criminal Court (ICC), entitled Obtaining Victim Status for Purposes of Participating in Proceedings at the International Criminal Court.

One of the most lauded features of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) is its victim participation scheme, which allows individuals harmed by the crimes being prosecuted by the Court to share their views and concerns in proceedings against the persons allegedly responsible.  To date, more than 12,000 individuals have applied to participate in proceedings before the ICC, and well over 5,000 have successfully obtained victim status.  However, the process established under the documents governing the ICC by which individuals apply for and receive permission to participate – which involves each individual victim submitting a detailed form with supporting documentation to the Court, observations on each application by the parties, and an individualized decision on the application by a Chamber of the Court – has proved inefficient for the applicants, the parties, and the Court.  At the same time, the process has been frustrating for victims, as it can take more than two years for applicants to receive a decision on their status, meaning victims are often unable to share their views and concerns with the Court during key proceedings in the case.  This frustration is compounded by the fact that, for the vast majority of victims, participation takes place through a common legal representative, appointed by the Court to represent significant numbers of victims together, raising the question as to why individual victims were required to endure such a lengthy and detailed application process.

Recognizing that the current system is both unsustainable and undesirable, various Chambers of the Court have been exploring alternative means by which individuals may obtain victim status in the cases before them, and the Court’s Assembly of States Parties (ASP) is considering reforming the system courtwide.  This report examines the different options that have been tried and/or that are under consideration by the ASP and ultimately recommends changes to the victim application system aimed at saving valuable time and resources for applicants, the Registry, the parties, and the Chambers.  Importantly, the recommended changes are unlikely to undermine the meaningfulness of victim participation, and in fact will allow victims to gain recognition and the right to representation much more quickly than under the current system, meaning the recommended approach is likely to make participation more meaningful for a large number of victims.

The report is the eighteenth in the WCRO’s ICC Legal Analysis and Education Project, an initiative aimed at producing public, impartial, legal analyses of critical issues raised by decisions and practice of the ICC. The ICC Legal Analysis and Education Project benefits from the insights of an Advisory Committee comprised of the following experts in international criminal law:

–        Judge Mary McGowan Davis, former Acting New York State Supreme Court Judge and Board Member of the International Judicial Academy and the American Association for the International Commission of Jurists;

–        Justice Unity Dow, Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, member of the ICJ’s Executive Committee and former judge of the Botswana High Court;

–        Siri Frigaard, Chief Public Prosecutor for the Norwegian National Authority for Prosecution of Organized and Other Serious Crimes and former Deputy General Prosecutor for Serious Crimes in East Timor;

–        Justice Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda;

–        Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and former Chief International Judge serving as Coordinator of the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in East Timor; and

–        Juan Mendez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and former Special Advisor on Prevention to the Prosecutor of the ICC.

For a hard copy of the report or more information, contact the War Crimes Research Office at warcrimes@wcl.american.edu, or +1 (202) 274-4067. The reports are also available online at http://www.wcl.american.edu/warcrimes/icc/icc_reports.cfm.

You can view a webcast of our recent event on victim participation here.

Press Release: Parliamentary Assemby of the Council of Europe Voted 81% in Favor of U.S.-Like Magnitsky Sanctions if Russian Authorities Continue to Enjoy Impunity

Press Release
For Immediate Distribution

28 January 2014 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
which unites 47 countries, has called today for the introduction of
U.S.-like Magnitsky sanctions by Council of Europe member states if Russian
authorities fail within the reasonable timeframe to adhere to the PACE
Resolution. The Resolution calls on Russia to end impunity of Russian
officials by bringing to account those responsible for Magnitsky’s death,
stopping his posthumous prosecution and the pressure on his family, and
closing criminal cases against other Hermitage Fund’s lawyers who reported
the $230 million theft and defended the Fund against the fraud.

The Resolution entitled “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei
Magnitsky” was passed by 81% of PACE delegates (151 deputies – in favor, 25
– against, 10 – abstention)
(http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/Votes/DB-VotesResults-EN.asp?VoteID=34812&DocID=14854).

The PACE also approved (151 – in favor, 29 – against, 8 – abstention) the
Recommendation to the Council of Minister to “ensure that the Russian
Federation …holds to account the perpetrators and beneficiaries both of the
crime committed against Sergey Magnitsky and that denounced by him.”

The PACE report highlights that Russian authorities are engaged in a
massive cover-up at all levels in this case:

“We are in the presence of a massive cover-up involving senior officials of
the competent [Russian] ministries, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the
Investigative Committee and even certain courts finds itself further
consolidated,” says Rapporteur Andreas Gross, MP in his report (
http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20084&lang=en).

The voting was preceded by speeches from delegates from different
countries. The Russian delegates tried to deflect blame by accusing William
Browder, the head of the Magnitsky Justice Campaign, of being responsible
for Magnitsky’s arrest and death.

Other PACE delegates from Europe stressed that this case is symbolic of
abuse and corruption. They said it was shameful that Russian authorities
have not investigated officials denounced by Magnitsky as complicit in the
$230 million theft, and those responsible for his killing in custody.

The addendum to the Report on the impunity in Magnitsky case by Rapporteur
Gross says that Russian authorities not only failed to adhere to the
recommendations made in the main report, to bring to account those involved
in the $230 million theft denounced by Magnitsky, but have instead
exonerated all officials in spite of evidence of their enrichment:

“The Russian authorities have not made any progress in investigating the
matters highlighted in the main report and in the draft resolution adopted
by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on 4 September 2013. On
the contrary, one of the main suspects – Ms Stepanova – has recently been
exonerated by the Investigative Committee, without reference to the
suspicious circumstances surrounding the disbursement in record time of a
record amount of tax refunds into freshly opened bank accounts of criminals
known as such by the authorities, with a small and ill-famed bank that
closed soon after the receipt of the funds and “lost” all records,” says
the Addendum to Report “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei
Magnitsky”.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

Report: “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky”