Blood Diamonds and Dirty Gold: The Fuel That Flames War In the Central African Republic

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Managing Editor, Impunity Watch

BANGUI, Central African Republic –Gold, diamonds and other minerals from war zones may end up in every day products sold in the west from jewelry and kitchen supplies to laptops and smartphones. While the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme was established in 2003 to combat the sale of Conflict Diamonds, blood diamonds continue to reach the legal rough diamond market. According to a report published by a United Nations Panel, the sale of Conflict Diamonds, often known as Blood diamonds may be fueling the conflict in the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic was plunged into violent chaos when northern, mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized control of the majority Christian country in March of last year. The event sparked a violent backlash led by the largely Christian ‘anti-balaka’ militia. The sale of Diamonds, Gold and other minerals has created a funding pool for both sides in the ongoing conflict.  Last year, the Kimberley Process, which was established in response to the conflict-diamond crisis to prevent blood diamonds from entering the market and fueling conflict, imposed an export ban on raw stones from the Central African Republic. However, since the export ban was put into place an estimated 140,000 carats of diamonds, valued at $24 million, have been smuggled out of the country, According to a United Nations panel.

 

During a protest against French soldiers on A man gestures in front of a burning barricade during a protest against French soldiers in Bambari May 22, 2014 a man poses in front of barrels that had been set ablaze. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

According to a Report published by the United Nations, a panel of experts concluded that the peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) in Central Africa should deploy peacekeeping troops to the remote northern region of the country and use drones to monitor the rebel-controlled region to put an end to simmering violence there. The UN panel stated that an estimated 3,000 people have been killed in the Central African Republic between December 2013 – when the United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo in response to ongoing violence in the country – and August this year.

Despite the embargo, The UN report found that there has been no progress in disarming rebel factions in the country since March of this year and that any hopes of achieving peace were being further complicated by splitting reported within both the former Seleka rebels and the anti-balaka militia. The Report said, “Competition among political representatives of armed groups for ministerial positions, as well as among military commanders for control of resources, accounts for of the recent infighting between former components of Seleka and rival factions of anti-balaka.”

On Tuesday the International Contact Group for the Central African Republic is due to meet in Bangui. The group is made up of representatives of the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, the United States, France and the Republic of Congo. Human Right Watch called on the group to publically call for an end to sectarian violence in the country.

“Ending the violence against civilians in the Central African Republic should be the top priority at the contact group’s first meeting in Bangui,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “This is a critical moment for international policy makers to say loudly and clearly that those who kill, torture, and rape will one day face a court of law. The time of impunity is over.”

For more information please see:

All Africa – Central African Peacekeeping Force Gears Up For Action – 10 November 2014

Human Rights Watch – Central African Republic: Urge End to Killings – 10 November 2014

United Nations News Centre – Central African Republic: UN Urges Support to Meet Basic Needs in Hard-Hit Province – 10 November 2014

Reuters – Gold, Diamonds Fuelling Conflict in Central African Republic: U.N. Panel – 5 November 2014

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky campaign: Ambassadors from Council of Europe States Reject Parliamentarians’ Call to Improve Judicial Cooperation in Case Exposed by Murdered Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky

10 November 2014 – Foreign ministry officials from the Council of Europe have issued a rejection of demands by parliamentarians from 47-member states to improve international judicial cooperation in the money laundering case exposed by murdered anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

Chaired by Mr E. Eyyubov, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Azerbaijan, the Strasbourg-based ambassadors comprising the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, the international organisation’s decision-making body, refused to propose any concrete measures that parliamentarians have asked for in their Recommendation entitled “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” which was adopted by overwhelming majority in January this year.

The parliamentarians of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly asked in their January 2014 recommendation the Committee of Foreign Affairs Ministers to:

“examine ways and means of improving international co-operation in investigating the “money trail” of the funds originating in the fraudulent tax reimbursements denounced by Mr Magnitsky; and, in particular, of ensuring that the Russian Federation fully participates in these efforts.” (http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=20410&lang=en)

In the response to parliamentarians, the Committee of Ministers ignored the recommendations completely and changed the subject citing several general reports on Russia issued by MONEYVAL, a Council of Europe’s body in the area of anti-money laundering. None of the reports examine the $230 million money laundering case exposed by Sergei Magnitsky in any way.

“Although MONEYVAL does not address individual cases, it aims to provide its members with the capacity to fight money-laundering within their borders and to co-operate in order to prevent transborder money-laundering. At the international level, MONEYVAL works closely together with the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The Russian Federation is a member of both these bodies,” said the response from the Committee of Ministers to parliamentarians published on the official Council of Europe website (http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=21312&lang=en).

The diplomatic answer to Council of Europe’s parliamentarians from the Committee of Ministers adopted at the Committee’s session on 22 and 24 October in Strasbourg further said:

“The Committee [of Ministers] reiterates its call for an effective investigation and the bringing to justice of those responsible.”

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky campaign representative said:

“This strange bureaucratic response is defying the efforts of parliamentarians from 47 countries in Europe to achieve some measure of justice in the Magnitsky case. It is also an abandonment of Sergei Magnitsky who paid with his life trying to stop corrupt Russian officials from stealing millions from his country. The appointed diplomats in Europe should heed the call from the elected parliamentarians who have shown the resolve of the people to see that justice is done.”

The parliamentarians’ recommendation was based on the independent investigation into the Magnitsky case conducted by Council of Europe’s Rapporteur, Swiss MP Andreas Gross, who concluded that there was a need to improve international cooperation in this case because of the high-level cover up in this case in Russia.

Rapporteur Gross stated:

“My initial conclusion, namely that we are in the presence of a massive cover-up involving senior officials of the competent ministries, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee and even certain courts finds itself further consolidated.” (Report “Refusing the Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20084&lang=en).

Rapporteur Gross pointed out that the money laundering exposed by Sergei Magnitsky has been traced to a large number of European states which necessitated international judicial cooperation in this case:

“The laundering of the funds that can be traced back to the fraudulent US$230 million tax refund denounced by Mr Magnitsky has involved a large number of European States… Given the complexity of the criminal investigations required and the obvious need for international co-operation, the Assembly should also seize the Committee of Ministers in order to ensure that this important affair is included on the agenda of intergovernmental co-operation.” (Addendum to Report “Refusing the Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky”, http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20345&lang=en)

Conclusions expressed in the report “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” prepared by Rapporteur Gross were adopted by overwhelming majority this January by the 47-member state Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Resolution “Refusing the Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=20409&lang=en).

For further information please contact:

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky campaign

Phone:             +44 207 440 1777

Email:              info@lawandorderinrussia.org

Website:          http://lawandorderinrussia.org

 

The Berlin Wall, 1961-1989: The Belfast Peace Walls, 1969-????; The West Bank Separation Wall, 2000-????

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

BELFAST, Northern Ireland; JERUSALEM, Israeli-Palestine – November 9th marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that paved the way for the reunification of Germany and renewed ties between the West and what would become the former Communist Bloc. For nearly three decades the Berlin Wall, which was originally built to prevent people in East Germany from fleeing to the West, stood as a symbol of cold war tensions and soviet oppression. The fall of the Berlin wall became a symbol, not only of the collapse of a physical barriers between west and east, but of the collapse of barriers to free movement, enterprise and expression. Ultimately the Berlin Wall has been remembered as an apartheid wall whose collapse would become an iconic moments in world history. 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, apartheid walls are still being used in some countries, often justified as an attempt to preserve peace while, like the Berlin Wall, they ultimately remain a symbol of conflict.

Armed with hammers a group of Palestinian protesters broke a whole the the West Bank Separation Wall, which they see as a symbol of Apartheid. (Photo courtesy of Haaretz)

25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall the World’s oldest actively maintained apartheid wall still separates the poorest working class neighborhoods of Belfast, diving catholic and protestant communities on religious lines. The walls, constructed by the United Kingdom as a security measure, stood through the bloodiest days of the troubles. While many in Belfast still believe the walls are necessary to keep the peace between communities despite the achievement of a peace agreement that led to a power sharing government. While some believe that walls help keep the peace others believe the walls serve as a constant reminder of the troubles and ultimately keep the tensions alive and prevent the development of true peace and unity.

On the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall a group of protesters have attempted to bring the world’s attention to an apartheid wall that keeps their communities divided. Despite the risks from tight security measures, a group of Palestinian youths have dug a hole in Israel’s separation wall with the Palestinian territories, as a symbolic gesture to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The activist said in a statement about their symbolic actions that “it doesn’t matter how high the barriers will be, they will fall. Like the Berlin Wall fell – The Palestinian wall will fall.”

In 2004 the International Court of Justice ruled that “the construction of the wall, and its associated regime, are contrary to international law”. The International Committee of the Red Cross stated that the Israeli barrier “causes serious humanitarian and legal problems” and goes “far beyond what is permissible for an occupying power.”

The Israeli government argues that the West Bank Separation Wall was constructed as a security measure, intended to prevent Palestinian terrorist from entering Indian and carrying out attacks against civilian populations. However, Palestinians refer to that wall as the “apartheid wall” and see it as a symbol of Israeli oppression, in much the same way the Berlin Wall, became a symbol of oppression and division.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Palestinians remind world of their own wall – 9 November 2014
Haaretz – On Berlin Wall’s collapse anniversary, Palestinians punch hole through West Bank wall – 9 November 2014
The Jerusalem Post – Palestinians break open hole in West Bank security barrier, 25 years after Berlin Wall fall – 9 November 2014
Time Magazine – From Belfast to Baghdad, See the World’s Dividing Walls – 6 November 2014

Allegations of Mexican Government Working With Local Gang in Student Disappearances

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – Recent reports have surfaced regarding the 43 Mexican students who disappeared from Iguala in September, alleging that police abducted them after receiving an order from a local mayor. The report claims that the students were later turned over to members of the Guerreros Unidos, a local gang, who killed the students and then burned their bodies for 12 hours, before throwing their remains in a river. Human Rights Watch reported that the Mexican government delayed investigations of the disappearances and state prosecutors later sought to cover up the fact by coercing false testimony from witnesses.

The Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam gave a press conference on 7 November, addressing the recent findings and investigations.

The victims who were mostly males in their 20s were studying to become teachers at a college in Ayotzinapa. On 26 September, they disappeared from a protest in Iguala, and have not been seen or heard from since. However, recently three men arrested in connection with the disappearance of the students confessed to having killed a large number of people believed to be the students.

Officials have said that after learning of the students plan to protest, the mayor ordered the Iguala police chief, Felipe Flores Velasquez, to stop the demonstration. The police then confronted the students and forcibly took them to the police station before they were handed over to members of a local gang. The gang then transported the students to a dump where those still alive were questioned and then executed. Members of the Guerreros Unidos told authorities that they burned the victims’ corpses in a landfill and then placed the remained in garbage bags and dumped in the river.

The disappearance of the students sparked protests all across Mexico, which has spread to the capital, criticizing the governor of Guerrero to be criticized for his inaction, forcing him to take a leave of absence. The parents of the students are not satisfied with the recent findings, demanding that the government provide definitive answers. Some parents have even gone as far as to suggest that President Enrique Pena Nieto resign if he is unable to deliver answers to the egregious incidents.

 

For more information, please see the following: 

BLOOMBERG-Mexico finds Evidence 43 Students Murdered by Drug Gangs – 8 Nov. 2014.

CNN – Remains Could be Those of 43 Missing Mexican Students – 8 Nov. 2014.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH – Mexico: Delays, Cover-Up Mar Atrocities Response – 8 Nov. 2014.

NEW YORK TIMES – Drug Gang Killed Students, Mexican Law Official Says – 7 Nov. 2014.

 

Nasa Indians Intend to Bring Suspected Guerilla Murderers to Justice

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South Ameria

BOGOTA, Colombia — In Colombia, the Nasa Indians have captured seven FARC Guerilla soldiers, including two minors, for the murder of two members of their tribe.  The Nasa Indians intend to try the suspects on Sunday under their laws.  The trial will take place on the Nasa Indian land and will be convened by several members of the tribe.  If the suspects are found guilty they could face in stocks or forced labor, according to indigenous leaders.

Nasa Indians during a clash with soldiers / Photo courtesy of The Guardian

Allegedly, the Guerillas killed two tribe members on Wednesday.  The tribe members were removing a banner that commemorated the death three years ago of Alfonso Cano, the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia who was slain during a military assault.  Others say the two victims were pursuing guerrillas who had tried, but failed, to kill community leader Edgar Tumiña near Toribio.

Word of the killings spread and some 300 Nasa Indians pursued the Guerilla suspects.  Armed with little more than wooden staffs hundreds of Nasa Indians surrounded the seven Guerillas.

“They were surrounded and forced to surrender,” said Gabriel Padi, a senior member of the indigenous council in Cauca.

Colombia’s government has condemned the killings.  At this time negotiations are happening between the Colombian government and the FARC in Havana, Cuba.  The negotiations are said to be entering their final, and most crucial time.

“It’s unforgivable that while we make progress in negotiations in Havana to end the Colombian conflict, the FARC continue attacking civilian populations in this way,” chief negotiator Humberto de la Calle said in a statement Friday from the Cuban capital.

According to human rights groups 40 members of indigenous tribes have been killed this year in Colombia, several at the hands of guerillas.

Apparently another Indian was killed in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca, the same area where two other members of the Nasa indigenous community were gunned down three days ago, officials in the region confirmed on Saturday.  All three of the victims belonged to the Indigenous Guard.  

The Indigenous Guard is an organization dedicated to defending Indian rights, land, autonomy and culture.

On Saturday, 26 death threats were issued against representatives of the indigenous assemblies of that region in a leaflet attributed to the FARC but for which the rebels have not yet claimed nor admitted responsibility.

For more information, please see: 

ABC News – Colombia Indians to Try Guerillas for Killings – 7 Nov. 2014

Fox News Latino – Another Indian Slain in Southwest Colombia – 8 Nov. 2014

The New Zealand Herald – Colombia Indians to try guerillas for killings – 8 Nov. 2014

Latin America Herald Tribune – Indian Guard Units Capture 8 Guerillas in Colombia – 7 Nov. 2014