Saudi Arabia Launches New Initiative to Curb Domestic Violence

Saudi Arabia Launches New Initiative to Curb Domestic Violence

By Lauren Mellinger

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – On December 29, 2008, Princess Hussa bint Tarad Ashaalaan, wife of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, launched a nation-wide campaign sponsored by the Human Rights Commission to aid the victims of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia.

 

The new campaign against domestic violence in Saudi Arabia is designed to educate women of their rights under Saudi law, according to Wafiqa Al-Dakheel, Director of the Saudi Human Rights Commission’s Women’s Division.  In addition, the campaign will educate Saudi men as to the appropriate treatment of women, provide counseling to newly married couples as to how to settle marital disagreements without resorting to violence, the rights of divorced women, and will raise funds to establish centers to treat victims.

 

The campaign against domestic violence was developed in response to an increase in incidents of violence against women and children throughout the country.  Jeddah the Kingdom’s largest city, currently has the highest rate of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia.  According to the National Society for Human Rights, in 2007, there were more than 152 reported incidents o domestic violence, 106 of which included allegations of both physical and emotional abuse.  According to the Association for Family Protection in Jeddah, over the past five months, 250 incidents of domestic violence were reported.  120 incidents were reported in Riyadh.

 

While most initiatives to discuss the treatment of women and other women’s issues are generally shunned from the public forum in the conservative kingdom, the current campaign has been welcomed by the Saudi population as a necessary initiative designed to curb a growing problem.  According to Dr. Abdul Ilah Saaty, Vice Dean of Jeddah Community College, Saudi women “have suffered for decades because their legitimate rights were not protected.  Islam protects the rights of women.  The Qur’an and Sunna urge Muslims to be kind to women.  But we are not doing that.”

 

In addition to the campaign’s plan to educate the Saudi population, government authorities are in the process of developing a legal framework that will curb violence against women and children.  The Mecca branch of the National Society for Human Rights is currently calling on the government to pass legislation that will make domestic violence punishable as a criminal offense under Saudi law.  The NSHR is also involved in a cooperative agreement with both the Family Safety Program and the Saudi National Guard to coordinate their efforts to eliminate the problem of domestic violence.

 

For more information, please see:

Saudi Gazette – NSHR Calls for Law Against Family Violence – 3 January 2009

Khaleej Times – Jeddah Leads in Cases of Family Violence: Report – 2 January 2009

 

Arab News – Stop Violence Against Women: Campaign Starts on Monday – 26 December 2008

 

Islam Online – Saudis Fight Domestic Violence – 26 December 2008

Port Moresby Governor Wants Settlements Not Based Along Ethnic Lines

By Sarah E. Treptow
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea– The Governor of the National Capital District in Papua New Guinea, Powes Parkop, wants to be sure that residents from Port Moresby’s squatter settlements are rehoused in communities that are not structured around ethnic lines.  Mr. Parkop insists that the Tete settlement must be closed permanently.  Much of the Tete settlement was destroyed under police direction after the brutal murder of a PNG businessman highlighted the violence of the settlement.  Though six were arrested, critics of settlement communities called for tougher action.

The Governor officially made his stand at a press conference at Unagi oval, “Tete settlement has seen some of the most heinous of crimes ever committed in PNG’s history and in the interest of the security of the majority of our people, we must close this settlement permanently.  If we do not close it, we will live to regret it in the future as we have seen in the recent past.”  Mr. Parkop continued, “I neither condemn nor condone the action of the police in razing down the settlement but am adamant that this settlement must be closed permanently.”  He said innocent persons have been affected but the rights and freedom of the majority of the community of the city who wish to live in peace and security were paramount.

Mr. Parkop said he was advised that Tete is state land and it was the NCDC that allowed the settlement to be established in the early 1990s.  The settlers will be relocated and NCDC will make parts of Morata and Duran Farm at Laloki available for resettlement.  NCDC will also assist with the initial cost of relocation and in setting up temporary accommodations for settlers willing to resettle, the NCDC will call on the government to support this.  Addressing the ethnic balance, Mr. Parkop said, “The resettlement exercise will follow the principle of ensuring that there is ethnic balance in the new locations the residents find themselves.  There will no longer be a settlement or community where a particular ethnic group dominates or is a major community among others.  This has been the problem with Tete in the past.”

Mr. Parkop said the cycle of violence must be stopped in similar squatter settlements or the perpetrators will be removed from the city.  The settlements are described as a mixed blessing, blamed as a source of a lot of the problems in urban areas but also where a large portion of the workforce lives by choice or necessity.

For more information, please see:
Post-Courier – Parkop set to remove Tete – 31 December 2008

Radio New Zealand International – Port Moresby Governer advocates for new settlements that are not along ethnic lines – 31 December 2008

TVNZ – Bulldoze PNG’s settlements due to crime, business boss says – 18 December 2008

Pakistani Journalist Tortured in Prison

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PAKISTAN – Twenty year old reporter Javid Lehri, from Balochistan, a southwest province in Pakistan, revealed that he was tortured while imprisoned in Quetta.  Lehri was a reporter for Azadi, a Urdu language local daily newspaper.

Lehri disappeared on November 29, 2007, taken by military intelligence agents from his dormitory in the Kuzdar district.  There was no explanation for his forced disappearance.  Some claim it was for his bold reporting in criticizing the government.  Lehri was imprisoned and released nine months later in August 2008.

In an interview with the Daily Times, he revealed that in the first three days of imprisonment, Lehri was hung up by his feet and beaten.  He was then chained and tortured.  “The torture was so unbearable that I prayed for death,” he said “I hoped I could find some object in my cell that I could use to commit suicide with.”

He was then asked the meaning behind Azadi and what “liberation” they were fighting for.  Lehri said in response, “I told them that I only worked for the newspaper as a correspondent and I could not change either its name or its editorial line.  They wouldn’t believe me and continued to beat me.”

After his release this past August, Lehri suffers from depression, insomnia and digestive problems.  He also states that he receives threats.  He said, “I am still receiving threatening phone calls on my mobile phone warning me against talking about what happened to me in prison.”

Human rights groups such as the Worldwide Press Freedom Organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders urge the government to investigate these cases involving journalists.  “The conflict between government forces and separatist movements ravaging Baluchistan has been devastating for the region’s journalists,” said the Worldwide Press Freedom Organization.  “This arrest was in fact illegal and constitutes an offense against the rule of law.  The terrifying account given by Javid Lehri, who was kidnapped and tortured for political reasons, should prompt the central government to open an early investigation so that those guilty of these vicious acts can be punished.”

In Baluchistan, there is tension between ethnic Baluch militant groups and government forces.  As a result, journalists are often caught in the middle of the violence.

For more information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists – Three Reporters Missing in Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan Province – 6 March 2008

Daily Times – 3rd Journalist From Same Newspaper ‘Disappears’ – 4 March 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Balochi Journalist Reveals He Was Tortured in Prison – 24 December 2008

Cambodia Releases Alleged Killers of Prominent Labor Leader

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – On December 31st, the Cambodian Supreme Court decided to retry two alleged killers of a prominent labor leader due to unclear evidence. The Cambodian Supreme Court reversed the convictions of a 20-year sentence upheld by the Appeals Court.

In January 2004, Chea Vichea, the leader of Cambodia’s largest labor union was shot to death in broad daylight at a Phnom Penh newsstand. Vichea is a vocal critic of the Prime Minister, Hun Sen’s government and the murder was suspected to be politically motivated.

Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were arrested and convicted of murder just days after the killing. They were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.  International and local human rights groups criticized the speedy trial and conviction.

Supreme Court judge, Dith Monty, dismissed the conviction upheld by the Appeals Court in 2007. Dith Monty said, “The case is a criminal one which requires more investigation,” adding in order to ensure Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun’s rights were not violated, the Court had “decided to release the two suspects provisionally, but under watch of the Court.” The judge also ordered the Appeals Court to retry the case.

The two men denied any involvement in the killing. They told the Court, which was filled with diplomats, human rights activists, and journalists, that they have been framed by the police.  Heng Pov, the former chief of police in Phnom Penh and led investigator of the murder of Vichea also believed Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun’s innocence.

The UN human rights officials, the United States and relatives of the two men welcomed the Court’s decision. The Supreme Court’s decision “was greeted with a warm round of applause by the public, including the families of the defendants, as it truly deserves,” the UN rights office said in a statement. Additionally, the UN office “hopes that this decision will set the standards for the future handling of all criminal cases by Cambodian courts.”

In a statement, the United States embassy’s charge d’affaires Piper Campbell urged the Appeal Court to “take up the case expeditiously and finally resolve this matter in a way consistent with Cambodian law and international standards of due process.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Cambodian Court Releases Alleged Killers of Union Boss – 31 December 2008

HRW – Cambodia: Supreme Court Tested by Labor Leader’s Murder Case – 27 December 2008

Phnom Penh Post – Convicted Killers of Labor Leader Released Pending Retrial – 31 December 2008

Canada’s Resolution on Human Rights Violations in Iran Approved

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TORONTO, Canada – Canada is the main sponsor of a draft resolution on human rights violations in Iran. The UN General Assembly committee recently passed Canada’s resolution. The draft was approved by 70 members of the General Assembly’s Third Committee. Fifty-one members voted against and 60 members abstained.

Iran called for a “motion of no action” in an attempt to prevent the General Assembly from considering the resolution. The motion of no action was defeated by one vote. On December 18, the fifty-fifth UN resolution concerning human rights violations in Iran was passed.

The resolution accuses Iran of gross human rights violations, including torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, such as flogging and amputations. It criticizes the Iran for executing juveniles, killing people by stoning, and for discriminating against women. In addition, Iran is accused of maintaining a lacking legal process and for arbitrarily sentencing political and religious opponents to prison. The resolution urges Iran to stop human rights violations affecting religious and ethnic minorities, including Jews, Christians, Kurds, Arabs, Sunni Muslims and Baha’is.

The resolution calls on Iran’s government to improve its progress toward a greater realization of the protection and promotion of human rights for all Iranians.

The resolution was co-sponsored by 42 European and North American countries. Israel, Fiji and Micronesia have also shown their support. Several non-government groups took part in the campaign, including members of the Baha’i faith, some 30,000 of whom live in Canada.

Though, the General Assembly resolution is not legally binding, a resolution approved by the 191-member states carries more political weight than those passed by the 53-member human rights commission in Geneva, which passed a similar resolution in April 2001.

Lawrence Cannon, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the importance of the resolution, by stating that “It sends a message of hope to the victims of state-sponsored brutality and to the human rights defenders who seek to effect positive change in Iran.” Cannon noted that Canada will continue to promote Canadian values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law across the world.

According to Iran’s FARS news agency, Iran has recently released a book titled “Human Rights Violation by Canada,” as well as a 70-page booklet accusing Canada of unlawful strip searches and beatings by Canadian police. Furthermore, Iran has accused Canada of following the Israeli regime in supporting a propaganda campaign against Iran.

For more information, please see:

United Nations – General Assembly Adopts 52 Resolutions, 6 Decisions Recommended by Third Committee on Wide Range of Human Rights, Social, Humanitarian Issues – 18 December 2008

Ahwaz – Iran Fails to Stop UN Condemnation – 26 November 2008

The Gazette – Canada Leads Victory Over Iran on Rights – 24 November 2008

United Nations – Third Committee Draft Resolutions Address Human Rights Situations in Myanmar, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran – 21 November 2008

BNET – U.N. Adopts Human Rights Resolutions Against Myanmar, Iran – 18 November 2008